Financial Independence

I did a blog a few months ago concerning a book that had been published called "The Feminine Mistake", which indicated that women who choose to get off the career merry-go-round are actually making a big financial blunder. There are many women's groups as well as critics who think that this type of thinking is wrong and misleading. My own opinion on this subject is a practical one based on my experience as an attorney who handles a number of divorces. Gone are the days where women are getting alimony on a permanent basis when they have been married for only a short period of time. Gone are the days where the wife is automatically granted primary residential responsibility and given large child support awards as a result of her desire not to work in order to stay home to care for the children. Now a days, when a young couple gets a divorce, large alimony awards that continue for long periods of time are a rarity, and more often than not, women are thrust back into the work force either without any skills or rusty skills and experience based on the fact that their career for the past several years was that of a wife and mother. Additionally, statistics show that most women, in one point in their lifetime, will have to be financially responsible for themselves. Having a marketable skill is important and if you choose to not work to raise a family, I highly suggest a Pre or Post Nuptial Agreement which specifically states expectations with respect to spousal support in the event of a divorce, otherwise, you can find yourself in a very tough financial situation.