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The author, Dave Johnson, was surprised by the unexpected financial implications of getting divorced.
- My divorce was more amicable and less stressful than many, but even so, it was chock-full of unexpected financial landmines.
- I've learned that everything is more expensive when you're single, from taxes to insurance to your phone service.
- Not only does spousal support leave me without disposable income, but the division of assets torpedoed both of our retirement plans.
- Here are the biggest surprises I wish I had known before we started our divorce.
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In a few months, I will pass one of the sadder milestones in my life - I'll have been divorced for about two years. After a 30-year marriage that spanned my entire post-college adult life, I'm still not used to the idea of being single again.
My wife and I split amicably, opting for a mediator rather than a lawyer, which saved us an enormous amount of money. We sold our home without much trouble and divided the relatively meager equity between us. We each already had a car - both were in my name, so I transferred my wife's title to her. She moved away, to be closer to our grown kids. I moved a shorter distance, into an apartment in the heart of Los Angeles.
Read more: My divorce cost me $17,695 - these were the most surprising expenses I faced
Life after divorce has been full of surprises. Everything from becoming my own accountant again after my wife paid the bills every month for decades, to doing my laundry and all the household chores has been an on-the-job learning experience for me. And while I thought I was headed into the divorce process fully aware of the financial implications, the reality of divorce still manages to catch me off guard, again and again.
Here are eight things I wish I had known before I got divorced.