If you are having this 6 months time, I suggest you also take the time to check through various things. So in financial terms , finding out what you are entitled to, and also what you are committed to. So things like , do you have a joint account, and especially checking if you have an agreed overdraft , because if you do decide to split up , these can cause a lot of problems. Would you be able to able to go away for a few days to a b@b somewhere , to let you spend time thinking quietly what you want to do, and experiencing a stress free time from your husband? You could then think through the options you have , in a more calm situation. Eventually being able to make a plan or choice yourself I think is better than feeling pushed into it by others, even if you cannot do exactly what you want.
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Divorce at 60
(15 Posts)You do need professional advice, but sadly pulling up the" gang plank" might be the answer to your problems. You are both miserable, life is too short to spend them constantly unhappy, don't spend the rest of your life, wishing you had called it a day.
Best of luck
Loopyloo has good advice, I would see a solicitor and also a councillor, and at 60 renting isn't a bad option, mind yourself ,you have health issues and you must think of yourself now first, seems you have been very reasonable with his problems
Kandinsky
Staying in an unhappy marriage is also stressful, especially if you’re always arguing.
If you can agree to stay in the house together but live separately that could work, but that takes some doing I’d have thought. It’s something only you & your husband can decide.
I know two couples who are doing that because they can’t afford to separate.
One couple just fell out of love but rub along & not bothered about meeting other people.
The other couple do niggle at each other but their house has two living rooms so just do their own thing with regards to meals, etc.
Sixty is still quite young. Plenty of years left to lead a happy and useful life.
From the point of the person saying it can be lonely, I would say that nothing is more lonely than being with someone you do not wish to be with. Loneliness is not necessarily being by oneself.
I would definitely advise against putting yourself into any sort of debt (mortgage) - surely, your fifty percent of your present home, would get you a small flat, and that is the way to go.
Go for your retirement and join groups like u3a, etc and look forward to having some wonderful times, with people you like.
So, firstly find out how much your present home is likely to sell for (realistically), then start to look at your options as to what you could buy for that money (remembering that selling and buying does take some of that money).
Silly, being miserable and argueing with someone you are living with.
Get some counselling it may help you make the right decision for you. Then get some financial/legal advice.
I have always said to anyone who has asked me, better to be happier on your own than in a stressful unloved relationship.
You could/will be on your own one day as the widows on this site attest, so start early while you are still quite young.
There have been so many threads on here from unhappy women with selfish, well actually horrid sounding, husbands. Don't be one of them in 5 or 10 years time.
One thing I would totally rule out is trying to get a mortgage on your own & working longer - wouldn’t even consider that given your health conditions.
Staying in an unhappy marriage is also stressful, especially if you’re always arguing.
If you can agree to stay in the house together but live separately that could work, but that takes some doing I’d have thought. It’s something only you & your husband can decide.
It’s a pity you can’t rub along together & share the house but kind of separate, iykwim.
If you already have heart trouble is the stress of a divorce, looking for a suitable house/flat not going to add even more stress to your health?
I agree.
Your daughter and yourself also think you need counselling.
I dont think all hope is lost.
Without knowing either of you I wouldn’t presume to advise you but you should both be aware that it can be quite lonely on your own after this number of years and think very hard, both of you, before you take this step.
Hi izzibear
Firstly, I’m really sorry you’re going through this awful situation, looming divorce is difficult at any age, but particularly harder as we enter into our retirement years. But, and it’s a very big but, you’re not too old to start again and make a new & more peaceful life for yourself.
With the situation you’re in you either dance to his tune and hope for the best, or you take control and tell him where to shove his ‘I’ll give it six months’ and walk away now.
Regarding the house situation, would you have enough money to buy a small flat?
I know a lot of couples stay together because they just can’t afford to ‘go it alone’ and I understand that, but I’d personally rather live in a tiny flat and have my happiness.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
In your position, your physical and mental health seem to need full attention. Heart failure and depression? I think best concentrate on that without adding the additional stress of a divorce if possible.
Izzybear,
You have put up with this man for too long. And now he's trying to tell you it's your fault.
Please see a solicitor ASAP and also find a counsellor.
If he wants to leave let him but don't rush to sell your house.
All best wishes.
My husband has told me he wants a divorce after 30 years of marriage. We've had problems lately and have argued a lot over the last few years particularly, but I never thought it would come to this. He says I'm not happy and he's realised he can't make me happy.
It's true that i've been unhappy about where I am in life by this time and finding it hard to let go of past decisions and resentments (he put us in a bad financial situation years ago by borrowing money to try to rescue a doomed business without telling me). It's a long story but I could easily have left him at the time and started again on my own, but I stuck by him through several bouts of depression and problems on his part and now it seems he can't handle my unhappiness.
He's agreed to try for another six months if I have counselling to "sort myself out". I've agreed to have counselling because I think I need it anyway (my daughter has been urging me to get therapy so it's not just him who thinks I need it) and whichever way it goes at the end of the six months it will put me in a stronger position. If we do end up staying together I'm going to insist that we have couples counselling (we had it before a few years ago and it helped but he's refusing this time because he says this time it's all on me).
This is really a separate issue but if we split we can't afford two separate homes outright so I'd have to try to get a mortgage and work past retirement age, when I was supposed to be retiring in two years. I have heart failure and really don't want to carry on working much longer.
Does anyone have any advice or been through similar? Btw I'll be spending these next six months looking into my options re housing, finance etc but really need advice and not sure where to get any
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