Recession marries divorced couples to their home

May 4, 10:09 AMOffbeat News ExaminerBroderick Perkins

For better or for worse?

In sickness and in health?

For richer or for poor?

How about in boom or in bust?

The housing market is forcing some divorced couples to live up to their wedding vows in a way they never could have imagined.

After a bitter breakup, when the only thing the ex-es have in common is the roof over their heads, parting can indeed become such sweet, sweet sorrow.

Divorce, in the current housing market, can turn the American Dream into a nightmare when couples are forced to live together until they can sell the last thing they have in common.

It's a lot like being trapped in a twisted, modern-day Shakespearean tragedy.

Some divorced couples, already drained by costs associated with ending a marriage, face the possibility of living together -- if only long enough to squeeze the most from their largest shared asset.

Blame the new phenomenon on the housing crisis say divorce attorneys.

Cohabitation after divorce may be a last resort for some, but for those facing soaring energy prices, higher food costs, the potential for pink slips and the ongoing need for child care, it could be their only option.

Shared shelter is perhaps one of the few areas where an embattled pair can find respite from financial woes, if only temporarily. Depending on the age group, the home accounts fro 20 to 60 percent of a household's net worth.

However, shacking up with the ex is housing of last resort.

Two estranged people living under the same roof can lead to domestic disturbance over everything from overnight dates to the selling price necessary to move the home off the market.

And it can go on for weeks, months, years.

However, while it may be impossible for you to imagine living with your spouse after you are divorced, it's a potential outcome you must consider in today's housing market.

The phenomenon of cohabitation after divorce gets lots of air time on FirstWivesWorld.com, a Web site devoted to empowering female divorcees.

Read FirstWivesWorld.com's takes on how divorce can really hit home.

• Man Splits with Wife, then Splits House in Two

• Is Divorce Becoming a Luxury?

• Going To Extremes For The Kids