Holiday stresses push many relationships to the brink. But read these experts’ advice before you decide to call it quits.
IT’S a new year but instead of having a spring in your step you just feel tired. Sick and tired. You were looking forward to taking time out over the holiday season to relax and unwind but instead all you and your partner did was bicker – about whose turn it was to unload the dishwasher, household expenses and the never-ending demands of family members.
Surely there must be more to life than this?
There’s a reason divorce lawyers don’t take leave in January – it’s their busiest time. For many people trapped in unhappy marriages the stresses of the holidays can be the last nail in the coffin, and often the start of a new year is seen as a chance to make a clean break and start afresh.
But before you set the legal ball rolling, know what you’re letting yourself in for, Cape Town family law attorney Bertus Preller warns.
Divorce can be an expensive and emotionally scarring process so it should really be a last resort, preceded by months or even years of trying to make the marriage work and weighing up its pros and cons, Preller says.
But how can you know for sure if it’s time to call it quits?
“Generally, there are no lightning bolts or magical signs,” celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser writes in her book It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way: How To Divorce Without Destroying Your Family Or Bankrupting Yourself.
“When the bad starts outweighing the good on a consistent basis, you may feel that taking the next step is appropriate,” advises Wasser, whose celebrity clients have included actors Angelina Jolie, Ryan Reynolds, Ashton Kutcher and Johnny Depp.
Divorce is a minefield. Here a therapist, lawyer, financial adviser, relationship counsellor and divorce mediator weigh in on all the things to consider before heading for the courts.
THE THERAPIST
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 19,2017-Ausgabe von YOU South Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 19,2017-Ausgabe von YOU South Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life