I read an article this morning in the HeraldTribune.com by Jennifer Shea. The article was titled, Hit by divorce and foreclosure, single mother looks for work. The article tells the story of a forty year old mother of three, who became the sole provider for her family after her divorce. She worked part time and was attempting to go to school to become a dental hygienist. When she completed the requirements, she began work immediately. Unbeknownst to her, there was a second mortgage on her house. She became aware of this fact when she was served with foreclosure papers in June. To make a long story short, this woman’s saga is not unique.
Why is it so difficult for the general public to understand that, a SAHM, housewife, homemaker, stay at home mom, is not on an equal footing with her male and female counterparts who work outside of the home? Because they are naive and have been out of the work force for years or even a life time, these women are vulnerable to financial devastation! They forfeit economic security in order to enter the fairy tale world of being a stay at home mom, in order to take care of their families.
The idea of preparing such women legally for their protection, in the event of the demise of their marriages is ridiculed by skeptics, especially the ignorant, archaic and chauvinistic ones. These antiquated Ward Cleavers, expect that the modern day June Cleavers,
should quit their jobs and just hope for the best. Back in the day when these obsolete husbands ruled the world, the divorce rate was not 55% of all the couples who said, I do.Now the verbiage of the wedding vow seems synonymous with Maybe I will and maybe I won’t. Life insurance is advocated by almost everyone as a financial safety net in the event of the death of a spouse. Why is it so difficult to come to terms with the possibility of legal contract that serves as a type of insurance in the event of the death of the marriage?
