It appeared that various trends would never end, but they have. The markets have crashed, home prices are down, illegal immigration is slowing and now, couples are not able to afford the great luxury, divorce.
What God Has Joined Together, Recession Makes Hard to Put Asunder
For Some, the Downturn Keeps Divorce on Ice; Ms. Brewster, Husband Share a House Divided
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By JENNIFER LEVITZ
Rhonda Brewster and her husband have decided they don't want to be married to each other anymore. But while they're ready to move on, they still can't move out.
![[Rhonda Brewster]](https://professorelam.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/hc-gn906_brewst_bv_20090708190119.gif?w=124&h=219)
RHONDA BREWSTER
They don't want to sell their home, in Huntsville, Ala., in a down market. They can't afford two households until Ms. Brewster finds steady work. So for now, they are living under the same roof but on separate floors.
The "kids are OK with it." says Ms. Brewster, a 39-year-old freelance writer and stay-at-home mother. "They just know that mommy lives upstairs and daddy lives in the basement."
Unwinding the ties of matrimony is rarely simple or inexpensive, but for many couples, the sour economy is complicating the process further.
Divorce lawyers say many couples are delaying the decision to dissolve marriages and are staying in unpleasant situations for fear of being on their own at a time of economic uncertainty. Others are being forced to live together after the divorce is final for financial convenience. That can strain the emotions and result in awkward negotiations about subjects like dating.
In Nashville, Tenn., Randy and Lori Word jointly filed for divorce in February, after 10 years of marriage, and expect to get a court date this summer. Meanwhile, they continue to share a house while Ms. Word — who had been a stay-at-home mother in recent years — tries to find work in marketing. "I don't see jobs out there," she says.
Things are getting a little cramped in the house. Mr. Word, a 36-year-old construction-project manager, keeps his clothes in boxes in the study and sleeps in the living room. "Luckily, we bought a very nice couch two years ago," he says.
Ms. Word, who is 37, works part time as a waitress while she is searching for full-time work. Some nights she returns home from a shift to find Mr. Word in the bed complaining that his back can't take another night on the couch — and asking her to please sleep in the living room, which she does.
Both say they are actually getting along better now that they are no longer in an emotional marital relationship.
"We're a lot kinder to each other," says Ms. Word, adding, "We're not so offended and bothered by each other." Mr. Word says, "We've actually developed or redeveloped a friendship that I think had gotten lost a little bit."
A May survey by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, a national organization for financial professionals who work on divorce cases, found that the recession was delaying divorces, and inspiring "creative divorce solutions" in living arrangements.
Frankly this strikes me as a much more workable arrangement. I served as a County Comptroller in a couple of Texas counties when divorce got popular in the 1970s. Guess what it does not work, The court system became the bookkeeper for all the divorced families.
Or as Barbara Walters, a multi milionaire herself observed
You can have a career
You can have children
You can have a husbad
You can't have all three
Your thoughts?
Professor Elam 
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