During a marriage, some couples may make decisions about whether a spouse should stay home to take care of minor children. Many families believe it is important for a parent to be the primary care taker during a child’s pre-school years; and many families, especially those with more than one child, find it beneficial to have a stay at home parent when children are in school to help with activities and homework.
When a separation occurs, the stay at home parent can sometimes have to face a decision, either voluntarily or out of necessity, to return to work. Depending on how long he or she has been out of the work force and depending on the spouse’s prior employment history and skills, finding a job or getting back into a career can be scary.
Your family law attorney can help put together a work force reentry strategy that also looks out for the best interests of the family’s children; working with a vocational expert also may be helpful in this regard. A vocational expert can discuss with you many different aspects of going back to work including the availability of positions in your work field, what additional schooling and or education you may need to get back up to speed to be a competitive candidate, and if changing careers makes more sense given the length of time out of the job market.
