Divorce � A Case Study
by James Walsh
The Beginning
Melanie and Thomas had been high school sweethearts. She was the daughter of my maternal aunt. She was a good sportswoman, and that was why Thomas gelled in so well with her. They were both tall and good-looking, and would spend hours discussing league victories and drooling over their favourite football stars. Getting into college was easy for them, their achievements in sports helped them, and we all knew it. Their grades were not bad either, but they definitely weren�t the brightest couple around. Thomas got himself a job at a bank, and soon Mimmy and Tommy were walking down the aisle.
Around this time, I left town to go to university myself. Two years down the line I heard that Melanie�s marriage was on the rocks. When I returned home for my term-ending vacation, Melanie and Tom were not what they used to be. They had agreed on a �no faults� divorce because they could not figure out specifically what was going wrong. They did not have big fights, but were constantly bickering. They still went on vacations, but got bored. Within two days of returning, they would be so tired that they would start planning for the next vacation. In legal terms, their marriage had �irrevocably broken down.�
Getting the Divorce
Melanie would have got her divorce much more easily if Tom didn�t go overboard with the drinking. The oncoming divorce was a strain greater than he could voice, and he took to drinking with a vengeance. Melanie kept her calm till Tom wrecked their car one night. She had put in a sizeable portion of her savings into it, and was not amused. Tom was mad that she was more angry about the car than concerned about his broken arm and sprained knee. That was their first major fight, and we could hear them all over the neighbourhood at three in the morning.
Shortly after this, Melanie downloaded a DIY divorce kit from the internet, and started getting their finances in shape. Tom did little to help her. He was too busy drowning himself in self-pity and alcohol. He neglected his work, though not badly enough to get fired. Melanie was getting the divorce in order and had filed for it through the kit. Unfortunately for her, things took an ugly turn all of a sudden. Tom had not been very attentive about the procedures till he came to the part which concerned the division of their assets. He was unhappy with the way Melanie had divided their money and property. She had kept the house for him, but wanted the computer (since only she used it anyway) and the repaired car for herself. The money had been split evenly between them. Tom felt this was unfair since he had done all the earning. Melanie pointed out that she had done all the saving and financial planning. By this time, she could not turn around and file for a divorce on the grounds of unreasonable conduct because the process might become too complicated and costly.
Luckily for Melanie, the firm from where she had bought the DIY pack had the provision for free consultation to its clients. She was not ready to believe this, and expected some hidden costs to come up on the way. But she really needed advice, and after some thought, wrote them a mail. The answer was prompt, sympathetic and useful. Encouraged, she followed up on phone, and even managed to get a solicitor�s appointment at a pretty low cost from the firm. Thereafter, she managed to strike a deal with Tom by getting him muddled with financial jargon. But she still did not have a fair deal, and there was nothing she could do about it, and there the divorce was finalised.
Coping
Melanie took up a job at a local supermarket shortly after the separation. Today, she runs her own home business from her pc, has hired an apartment, and started dating again. Tom is still drinking.
Melanie�s divorce and the need to earn had made her a stronger and better person. Tom, at the rate he is going, will be bankrupt in some time, despite having won most of the money, the house and the car. We make our own destiny.
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