Is It Unethical to Divorce Your Spouse If They Are Mentally & Physically Absent from Your Relationship?
The Atlantic recently featured an important article about the kind of guilt and questions that can sometimes arise from divorce that occurs due to losing a partner due to a brain disorder or other disease. The author describes being married to his wife for 30 years and caring for her for five years after she was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. After having to place her in a long-term care facility, eventually he had to file for divorce because the cost of her care was bankrupting him and, if she was single, her care would be completely covered by health insurance. Since then, he describes needing and meeting a companion, and the difficulties he has experienced with family members, such as his son, even though he still visits his ex-wife daily to ensure that her needs are met.
This author is not alone: every year, there are a number of couples who separate or go through divorce due to medical, physical, or behavioral changes, especially dementia. And while many people assume that memory loss is what comes first with conditions like these, that is not always the case, and in fact, sometimes the spouse will act out and become aggressive, argumentative, or even abusive towards the other spouse, especially as memory problems worsen.
Divorcing Due to A Degenerative Brain Disorder
This article and others not only highlight the guilt that sometimes comes with a couple having to divorce due to a mental and/or physical illness, but the kind of judgment that can sometimes surround caregivers who are often lacking in support from others in general. While, ultimately, no one can decide if you have made the right decision other than you, arguably, a decision such as this is understandable, especially given how physically exhausting being a caregiver is, as well as financially stressful; not to mention how difficult it can be to watch one’s partner disappear. And while some people seek out support groups to help them, others realize that they need a partner and someone to provide them with emotional and practical support; in fact, sometimes this makes them a better caregiver to her spouse.
The situation can also sometimes be reversed, where individuals in care facilities will sometimes start relationships on their own, especially if they do not remember that they are married. By no means does this automatically mean that a couple has stopped loving each other.
Contact Our Florida Divorce Attorneys for Help
Divorce is a fact of life for a number of couples in today’s world. While this doesn’t necessarily make the decision any easier, having a supportive, experienced, knowledgeable divorce attorney working by your side to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible is priceless. If you live in Florida, contact our experienced Orlando divorce lawyers at Arwani Law Firm, PLLC today to find out more about our services.
Resources:
theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/09/was-i-right-divorce-my-dying-wife/597604/
chicagotribune.com/suburbs/ct-ahp-column-love-essentially-tl-0809-story.html
