A recent CNBC piece about stay-at-home moms and their earning ability in the event of divorce brought up the very real issue of what many SAHMs (and SAHDs) run into when they suddenly need to find work in the career they left: It’s not always easy.
As the piece points out, when women or men leave the workforce to raise kids, they are often sacrificing more than just paychecks and promotions. When you’re at home and not the office, valuable personal contacts, networking opportunities, and the ability to evolve as workplace technology changes, can all be very difficult to maintain. This isn’t to say SAHMs and SAHDs can’t get very good jobs when returning to the workforce. It can happen, but may require more time, effort, creativity, and even retraining, to land the right position.
The good news is that you can take steps to protect yourself against the uncertainty of re-entering the workplace. How? By making smart choices during your marriage, including entering into a NJ post-nuptial agreement.
You may have heard of prenuptial agreements signed before a couple gets married. A “post-nup” is a similar type of document, but signed after the couple is married. Also referred to as a “mid-marriage agreement”, a post-nup is generally designed to protect assets acquired during the marriage and can be used for couples to come to agreement on such matters as alimony/spousal support.
Let’s say there is a couple about to have their first child. The have decided that the mother will stay home to raise the child, meaning that she will need to give up the $50,000 per year salary she’s been making. Being a SAHM means that she will have no outside income and will need to rely solely on her spouse for support.
By entering into a post-nup at this time, the two of you can thoughtfully consider important factors, such as the amount of salary you’re sacrificing and the value (in actual dollars) of the childcare you’re providing. You and your spouse can also decide on alimony terms, given changing circumstances, such as if you change your mind about being an at-home parent and go back to work, or develop a medical condition.
It may not be pleasant to think about the possibility of divorce, but post-nups really function more as life insurance covering what happens in life should you divorce. It may be exactly what you need to feel peace of mind for years to come.