What do you know about living with you ex during divorce?

National Family Solutions offers tips for living with your soon-to-be-ex during or after your divorce.

• Have a conversation with your children
  • Use your children’s age and level of maturity to decide when and how to discuss the living situation in the household. Using their age and level of maturity as a factor in the discussion of divorce and the revised living situation will assist with determining how much to reveal and how to share the news.
  • The news should be shared with a united front
• Create new house rules
  • Have a conversation with your soon-to-be-ex in regards to sleeping arrangements and quiet hours, as well as what rooms and possessions are off limits.
    • It is best to think of this situation as having a roommate – adhering to roommate rules may benefit you both, as well as your children.
  • Negotiate bills
    • Lenders and bill collectors do not care about your divorce, they still want payments made on time. Some soon-to-be-ex-spouses may want to continue to adopt the bill payment plan that was exercised throughout their marriage. If that strategy is no longer in effect, a new strategy must be implemented. If that is the case, you may want to consider each other’s income, cost of the divorce process, and what bills each party will pay. This may also represent an opportunity to discuss how to handle joint bank accounts shared with your soon-to-be-ex-spouse.

You may have little choice but to continue living under the same roof as your soon-to-be-ex-spouse. With the right foundation and insight, you can make it work.