After a divorce, the last thing you may expect is to have another marriage end the same way. And while a divorce can be stressful for all parties involved, if you are going through a divorce for the second or third time, there are certain complexities that can be challenging, unexpected, and more difficult than your first divorce. An experienced divorce attorney can help you with your divorce case, determine a fair financial settlement, and help get you the outcome you deserve.
Issues With Divorcing a Second or Third Spouse
While half of first marriages end in divorce, statistics show that nearly 70% of second marriages and approximately 75% of third marriages will end in divorce, also. The higher level of divorce rate in both second and third marriages may be because:
- People don’t always deal with the problems that caused their first divorce and will often repeat the same mistakes.
- A second and/or third marriage may be a rebound relationship, and people don’t always allow enough time to get over their first divorce.
- Less people in second/third marriages have young children who are often the reason couples stay together.
In a second or third divorce, you may face additional debt and financial responsibilities you didn’t have to deal with in your first divorce. You may also have obligations from your previous marriage, but you may now have more with ending your second marriage as well.
Since many people are at a stage later in their life during a second or third divorce, there are more issues involved that need to be addressed.
Some potential complications of a second/third divorce can include
Financial considerations.
During a second/third marriage, you may have accumulated more wealth than during your first marriage and need to understand how to divide assets, pension, retirement account, debt, and legal costs.
Property division.
You may own a house with your second or third spouse, have a mortgage, and/or have mortgage debt from your prior marriage. Not only will these things affect your credit, but they will need divided up as part of the divorce settlement.
Child custody and support.
If you have children from the marriage, there may be issues such as custody, visitation rights, and child support to address. However, you may already be paying child support from your previous marriage or are involved in raising your stepchildren from your current marriage. These issues can be complicated to sort through and need to be resolved as part of the divorce.
Alimony.
You may be paying alimony from your first divorce and will need to pay your second or third spouse alimony as well. These responsibilities can add up and leave you at a financial loss.
