Ask a California Family Law Attorney: Should a Divorcing Stay at Home Get a Job

Ask a California Family Law Attorney: Should a Divorcing Stay at Home Get a Job

Divorce is almost always stressful but this can be even more so for a stay at home mom. It’s common that women who’ve stayed home with the kid have been out of the workforce for a number of years. They are often financially dependent on their husbands at the time of divorce and are likely to worry about money. Should they get a job? There are pros and cons. Read on to learn more and then reach out to Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell at 909-482-1422 for a consultation to learn more.

The challenges of balancing work and childcare

Of course, one of the main issues for a stay at home mom when trying to decide if she should go back to work is how she’ll juggle her duties taking care of children with her professional duties. Trying to take care of children while working full time is hard for anyone, but it’s especially challenging for a person who has been out of the workforce. A divorcing mother will have to consider how she’ll handle these challenges before going back to work.

The courts will consider several factors

When you go through divorce litigation, the judge will have some say in whether or not you go back to work. They will take a number of factors into consideration including:

  • How many children you have
  • The ages of your children
  • The likely wage you can expect

Generally the court will understand that the more children you have, and the younger they are, the more difficult it would be to find and sustain a job, while still caring for the kids. The court will also consider how much you can expect to make. Why? Because if you’ve been out of the job market for long and are most likely to get a minimum wage job, then it’s easy to end up paying more in child care than you’d make at the job.

Finally, the court is going to think about what’s best for the child. They don’t look at these situations as though they’re in a vacuum.

California’s mandate to equally support the children

The California Family Code makes it clear that both parents have a responsibility to support their children in a way that’s necessary for the circumstances of the child. When the code uses the word “circumstances” they are discussing the health, education, welfare, and safety of the child. For example, a stay at home mom caring for a young child with a disability is going to be considered differently than a stay at home mom who’s caring for a healthy 16 year old.

Long-term versus short-term marriages

If you’ve been married less than ten years then your spousal support will generally not last longer than half the duration of your marriage. As a result, you’ll need to get back to work at some point. If possible to go back sooner rather than later, then that may be to your benefit. For marriages longer than ten years, it gets more complicated. Not only will an 11-year marriage likely result in less alimony than a 32-year marriage will, it’s also true that a woman who’s been out of the workforce for 32 years will have a more difficult time getting back into the workforce.

As you have likely figured out by now, the truth is that this is not a simple question. It depends on a wide range of factors. The best way to find out for sure what your best options are is to call Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell at 909-482-1422 and set up a consultation.