Breaking Up the Nice Way
Divorce, Fool Style
February 18, 1998

Divorce is never easy. It doesn't even help to know that you're not alone. Half of all marriages end in divorce in the United States, with the average marriage lasting only about seven and a half years.

Getting a divorce will mean a big change for your pocketbook as well as your heart. While we can't help too much with that broken heart, we certainly can give you some pointers on how to keep those bank accounts as healthy as possible while your heart is healing.

-- In our Fool Divorce Quiz, you can be enlightened on diverse facets of the rude stone which is divorce. Hear what one divorce therapist suggests as a way to patch things up. See if Aunt Jemima has anything to do with any of this.

-- Why give all your money to lawyers when you can work it out together for a fraction of the cost? In Plays Well With Others we talk about a very Foolish concept called Family Mediation that can save you a bundle on breaking up.

-- Don't miss our 10 Foolish Money Tips for some do's and don'ts on taking care of your interests while you decide who gets what.

-- Play Dough suggests seven key steps that children might keep in mind when their parents are going through a divorce.

-- And finally, in our Stock-In-Trade, we look at Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kleenex. You probably feel you're keeping them in profits all by yourself these days.

Just because you no longer want to spend the rest of your life with your ex doesn't mean you can't end it cordially and maturely and fairly. In other words, like a Fool.

--Trudy Hoyden
(TMF Hoyden)