Thirty-eight percent of couples considering divorce or separation have postponed those plans due to the recession, according to a study released earlier this year by the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.
The reason? Divorce is expensive, and in a tough economy, families don't have extra money to spend. Those couples who choose to go through with divorces are facing new financial challenges, such as determining what to do with upside-down mortgages or establishing individual credit in a tougher regulatory environment.
"The economic downturn has made divorce more complex than ever," says Lee Block, a national divorce coach and the writer behind the Post-Divorce Chronicles blog.
Here are some of the common financial challenges faced by couples divorcing in an economic downturn along with experts' advice for dealing with each one.