First off, losing your children in divorce is by far the greatest injustice for men in our so-called "family" courts. This post in no way diminishes these tragedies that happen every day in our so-called "free" country. I've written and ranted about this ad nauseum over the last several years here on r/mensrights, but this post deals only with the financial aspect of divorce.

So, I went to see a divorce attorney the other day to get an idea of what the damage would be if I divorced my wife. I put her through college for 4 years by the way, so the lawyer said I'd get "credit" for that. She has two college degrees. She works full time. She's not (currently) a housewife. She did the housewife, I mean "stay-at-home mom" bit, for a while against my wishes, and she quit a lucrative career as she "changed her mind" about working after she had our only child.

Needless to say, those with the burden of a full-on housewife and a few kids, divorce would be far more devastating, meaning entirely impossible, for you. With a working spouse and only one kid I'd get off relatively easy.

I didn't make a mistake in the heading. That's right she gets 60% and I get 40% of the marital assets (which is everything for us). I live in an equitable distribution state, so 50% is a pipe dream for me. I have been nearly 100% responsible for our assets, so "equitable" distribution means I take less upon divorce. This is so her standard of living doesn't take to big of a hit. Again, she has a decent job - she's been out of the home for many years now.

She gets alimony. We've been married over 20 years, so she's entitled for somewhere between 4-7 years according to the attorney. Even if I get a significant amount of time with our child, which is doubtful since we don't have a presumption of shared parenting in my state, I'll owe HER so-called "child" support. Our child is older so thank God this wouldn't go on for a long period.

For good measure the attorney said she would likely file to have me pay at least some of her attorney fees.

Have you ever heard that "it's cheaper to keep her?" Well, it's true. I'll either spend the rest of my life with this woman or she'll divorce me and I'll lose most of what I've worked for. I can't afford divorce.

As I've said many times here on r/mensrights, the 50% divorce rate doesn't even come close to reflecting what a disaster marriage really is. Although I can't put a precise percentage on the number of dysfunctional marriages that end in death, by all indications the number must be staggering.

Don't let this happen to you. MEN, DO NOT GET MARRIED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!!! There is simply nothing in legal marriage for you. You are only wanted in marriage to pay the bills. Marriage is for her.