Chapter 23 - The divorce
Our divorce took fourteen months.
Not because we had a giant fortune.
Because Hartwell Hospitality equity was difficult to value.
Julian’s shares were partly premarital, partly appreciated during marriage.
Experts disagreed about active versus passive appreciation.
We settled.
I received a negotiated marital-property equalization payment.
Not half the company.
No company control.
I kept my retirement.
My separate brokerage account.
My car.
Julian kept his Hartwell shares, subject to the settlement valuation.
We sold the suburban house we had owned together.
Split net equity after agreed adjustments.
No spousal support after the property settlement.
Parenting was more important.
Final structure at first:
Lily primarily with me during school weeks.
Julian alternating weekends plus one weekday dinner.
Joint legal custody with tie-breaking procedures for medical and school disputes.
No contact between Chloe and Lily.
Julian could petition later if circumstances materially changed, but he never did during those three years.
His parenting time expanded modestly after sustained compliance.
No supervision by the final decree.
Did I love that?
Not initially.
Then I watched him parent.
He improved.
May you like
Family court was not obligated to preserve my anger.
Good.
