The Huffington Post has this story about a couple who is in love and who made a decision to divorce because, for this rare pair, it’s actually financially beneficial to do so.
Following a series of incredibly costly medical issues, the couple is broke. They actually declared bankruptcy even before having to pay for her breast cancer surgery and his open heart surgery. Now, with their house repeatedly refinanced, this couple is looking to be financially “creative” in a sad way.
Ms. McCurnin was married once before, for over 20 years to a man who passed away. Now, if she were to be a “single” woman, she’d become eligible for survivor benefits when she turns 60 in a couple of months. In another weird twist, once she starts receiving the benefits, she can continue to receive them even if she remarries.
There are other “benefits” to divorcing. For this couple, their taxes could be lower. Also, by being unmarried, one person’s medical debts remain his or her own, rather than being the responsibility of both people in the relationship.
Both Ms. McCurnin and her husband (Ron Bednar) have moving things to say about this. Mary McCurnin said: “It’s absurd… Having to get divorced in order to be able to eat. I have no idea why it’s like that.” And Ron Bednar said: “It makes me feel awful, to tell you the truth…It makes me sad. It really does. I believe in the marriage. I believe in the whole act of marriage, to declare that we are married in front of friends and family and God and all that. It just makes me sad to have to go through that process.” It’s a sad story, indeed.
