Balancing Love and Life in the Time of COVID

While COVID has been devastating for business, it’s also taking a toll on relationships. The stress of being together 24/7, trying to homeschool the kids while managing their own workloads can create volatile situations. In many cases, there’s additional stress when partners work in essential, high-risk jobs where they’re exposed to COVID, worrying they’ll bring the disease home to their families. The following scenario describes a situation with which many couples are likely familiar.

In New York: “I can’t take it anymore.”

After seven years and two children, “I can’t take it anymore.” One New Yorker stormed out of their 700 sq ft apartment in tears. She and her partner had weathered miscarriages, birth of two children and a cross-country move.

But it was the pandemic, the months of isolation and sheltering in place, that brought their relationship to the breaking point. One partner a healthcare worker, exposed to the virus every day in long, punishing shifts. The other stuck at home trying to work while caring for two toddlers. No family to provide support or discretionary money for child care. It’s easy to understand how relationships are pushed to the breaking point.

One in ten couples is likely to separate because of pandemic-related problems

• According to an Ipsos poll released Aug. 4, studies have shown that financial problems, an unequal division in parenting and household responsibilities are among the top reasons couples separate or file for divorce.
• Miami family law attorney Aliette Carolan has seen an increase in the number of couples filing for divorce. “If you were on the cusp of a divorce before COVID, this is likely to push that relationship over the edge.”
• Cynthia Rogers, M.D., child psychiatrist and associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, explained: “The constant anxiety that many of us feel can place an enormous strain on relationships, especially now as parents are making decisions about their children’s schooling.”
• Anxiety is exacerbated by the realization that the government is doing nothing to halt or manage the pandemic, further increasing the feelings of isolation and futility.

Yet incomes can be uncertain, house and other asset values may have shrunk. People are unsure of what they can afford. Many worry that trying to divorce during these uncertain times may be out of reach.

If you and your spouse are thinking about Divorce

California Document Preparers has been assisting couples with Divorce since 2003. If you and your spouse can agree on a parenting plan and division of property, we can save you a lot of money. The best part is that we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Contact us to talk to us about your amicable Divorce.

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