Husband and Wife have Children.

Husband earns a pretty good salary. Wife earns substantially less.

Daycare is pretty expensive. It eats up a very substantial chunk of Wife’s salary.

Husband and Wife jointly decide that it just doesn’t make financial sense for Wife to work to, more or less, break even on daycare for the Children.

Fast forward.

Husband and Wife break up.

Now, Husband’s knee-jerk reaction is that he’s not going to pay for Wife to stay at home with Children. Wife should get out and get a job.

But Wife isn’t going to be able to earn any more money by virtue of the parents’ divorce or separation. And daycare won’t cost any less than it would have before the parents’ divorce or separation.

So, does it make any more financial sense for Wife to work, now that the pair are divorcing / separating? Is it any more cost-effective for Wife to work now that the pair are divorcing / separating?

While the legal landscape is certainly different and more legal considerations may need to be addressed, very carefully, despite Husband’s knee-jerk reaction, it may still be worthwhile to ask the above questions in the face of divorce or separation. And, depending upon the answers, take on the additional legal complexities and tackle the potential legal concerns head-on.

Read more in this CNN Money article: Moms: ‘I can’t afford to work’.