Navigating Cultural Impacts and Myths During Divorce

Cultural and racial stereotypes can impact divorces in ways you never thought about. Attorney Kimberly Cook and I sat down for an interesting conversation about this for this week's episode of my Find Me The Money podcast.

Kimberly is the founder of Grown Girl Divorce, a company that provides resources to Black women going through divorce. She recognized that Black women have unique needs during divorce and stepped in to address them. I thought she was the perfect person to have a frank conversation about how biases and stereotypes can negatively impact women as they're getting divorced.

One common myth that we talked about was the idea that Black women do not know how to properly manage money. A perception like this can impact how professionals work with a woman in her divorce, and it's easy to see how this could be damaging. It could taint communications between the professional and the client, it could lead to the client's wishes and opinions being discounted, and it can more generally end with a very negative divorce experience.

Kimberly and I talked about the need for Black women find and retain support and expert help during their divorce from attorneys to accountants to financial planners who do not buy into myths or stereotypes about them.

Unfortunately there is a great risk of bias impacting how Black women are represented by their attorneys or other experts involved in their divorces. If those you hire to help you cannot set aside cultural stereotypes that are harmful, you may not be getting the divorce settlement that you deserve.  Professional help is so important during divorce, but we need this help to be from trusted advisors who truly understand their clients and have their best interests at heart.

You deserve an attorney who does not base decisions on myths, stereotypes, and misconceptions. It is important to interview your attorney and actively listen to her or his responses. If you do not feel well supported, you do NOT have to stick with your attorney. You can change attorneys and it may be necessary. 

Listen to this important conversation here.