Over the past several decades women have made great strides in entering the workforce. In fact, a study by the Pew Research institute revealed that, in 2011, 40 percent of households with children under the age of 18 have mothers as either the sole or primary source of income. This number has almost quadrupled since 1960, when it was only 11 percent.

These mothers fall into two distinct groups. A little over one third of them are married women who earn more income than their husbands. The rest are single mothers. The first group, married women earning more than their husbands, is driving an interesting demographic change in the outcomes of divorce cases.

How Working Affects Child Custody 

Summer can be a particularly stressful time for parents. Kids are home from school and need supervision and entertainment. In addition to the time these things take, there can be an added financial stress during an already stressful time.

In fact, the majority of adults feel extra worry about money during the summer, and this worry is particularly pronounced among parents of children under 17, with 62 percent of whom expect to spend over $1,400 on activities for their kids, according to a study done by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. These stresses are only compounded for divorced parents who have an extra layer of complexity because of joint child custody agreements.

Added Summer Stress from Divorce

Much of the divorce process involves a negotiation between the two spouses. This can be a difficult experience for many people since Americans as a culture tend to shy away from negotiating, according to a report by Business News Daily.

Fortunately, the spouses will have their lawyers there to handle much of the negotiating for them, but understanding basic negotiation strategy, particularly how to handle the opening phase of negotiations, can still help people feel more comfortable with the process.

Negotiation Strategies

The idea of a lawsuit culminating in a trial is heavily ingrained is a common motif, especially in pop culture. If a television show or a movie involves a lawsuit, then the climax probably happens in a courtroom with a lawyer giving an impassioned speech to a judge or jury. However, in real life the trial is the exception.

According to a Northwestern law professor, only two percent of civil cases go to trial. Most cases end in a settlement between the two parties. This is because trials are not the ideal way to solve disputes. They are long, expensive processes, which is as true in the divorce context as it is in any other. Consequently, many parties attempt to engage in a four-way settlement conference to come to an agreement themselves rather than allowing courts to decide.

What is a Four-Way Conference? 

The emotionally charged nature of divorces can lead to a lot of bad blood welling up between the soon to be ex-spouses. If this happens then it can lead to one of the spouses becoming intractable and difficult with whom to negotiate. This can be especially difficult in a world where divorce mediation is becoming common, as more and more people begin to recognize the benefits of cooperating with their partner to divide up the assets. Fortunately, there are strategies available to help a person cope with an uncooperative spouse, and still move forward with negotiations.

Accept Their Point of View

People going through divorce, particularly those with uncooperative spouses, often find that their spouse’s view of the relationship varies wildly from their own. The spouses may view their own contributions to the marriage in a more favorable light, while simultaneously devaluing the other’s contributions.