You have both decided that no amount of counselling will fix your broken marriage. You started as friends and luckily may end that way also. The trouble is you both have invested a lot of hard earned cash into your marriage.

The family home, you are so proud of the two cars in the driveway, which you both need on a daily basis and of, course the household furniture. Unless you get a good solid price for the house when selling you will have to pay extra back to the bank and then to add to this the credit card bill and other small assorted debts.

It seems when the love has gone out of some marriages what is left is potential financial disaster. With so much of your finances tied up together the unravelling of it all will need some create thinking. Why not live together until it is all sorted out. Rushing into a quick divorce may mean a hurried house sale and a loss of other assets. You both went into the marriage with the belief it would be along term commitment and did not mind being financially tied together so if you are friendly still with each other why rush.

It took considerable time to save for the house and acquire debt so taking your time winding down the financial side of the marriage is not a bad idea. Would it not be better to walk away with a smile on your face knowing that your house sold for the correct amount and all combined debts have been fairly divided?

You can bet your bottom dollar that a lot of couples that leave a huge mess behind will not be welcome company in any bank managers office. With changing times you need to hold onto your credit rating especially if it is good. Having kids may make splitting up even harder as there future welfare would be at the top of any parents priority list. It is very expensive to provide for them so running two households would be financially crippling for some couples. There are partners who could not bear the thought of being a part time parent so opted to stay together till the children were older.

It comes down to practicality in the end. Fight your way out of the marriage and leave possibly with nothing or take your time and plan for a future with separate lives and peace of mind. By giving yourselves some breathing space you can work out the nuts and bolts of the impending divorce knowing you are not willing to compromise all that you have worked for. I am sure a lot of the divorce lawyers would find couples that have stayed together till all areas of the marriage were properly wound down an absolute pleasure to work with. Not to mention the bank manager.