Divorce question (curious and want opinions)

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Beatlegirl66
Beatlegirl66 Posts: 68 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have been divorced now for 3.5 years. I was married for 5. I have this thing about hating to check mark the "divorced' box on forms. I feel like it is admitted that I was a failure. Yes my marriage failed. What does that have to do with my car insurance? (or whatever form I am filling out). Is there ever a point in life where I can just mark "single" again? If I never re-marry (which I don't plan on doing) does that mean that if it has been 40 years later, I still have to mark divorced? I know this isn't the biggest deal in the world, but it is something I was talking about this weekend and I was just curious of other folk's opinions on the topic.

Sara S.
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Replies

  • catherine4211
    catherine4211 Posts: 944 Member
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    I have been divorced 4 years and married 14 - I wonder the same thing!
  • Liseii01
    Liseii01 Posts: 20 Member
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    I would check single. in reality thats what you are right =)
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Do you have a legal obligation to declare divorced? If you don't like that box, check single! I don't know anything about the law, but I can't imagine that you are legally obligated to tell anyone your marital status.
  • gregavila
    gregavila Posts: 725 Member
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    Don't know how this would affect your insurance status, but as they have the option for divorced I wonder if it could make a legal difference if you didn't check it as in you falsified information on your application.

    Cn you ask the insurance agen what they do with that information?
  • SFalconStorm
    SFalconStorm Posts: 77 Member
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    If everything is finalized and none of your finances are tied to your ex (alimony, child support, shared debt, etc.) then I would say you should be able to claim single. What difference does it honestly make at that point? I think that check is really more applicable for people going through a divorce or that just divorced in the last year and are still getting everything untangled from their spouse.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Before I got divorced it seemed like the worst thing in the world, that I would have to admit that I failed.
    But, I soon got over that and felt as though I'd made a very smart choice and had a much better life single.
    Against all my plans and expectations I have got married again - but if I stil had the tick the divorced box, I wouldn't mind.
    Really though, if it's for something like car insurance (completely irrelevant!) I would leave it blank.
  • MindyBlack
    MindyBlack Posts: 954 Member
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    Do you have a legal obligation to declare divorced? If you don't like that box, check single! I don't know anything about the law, but I can't imagine that you are legally obligated to tell anyone your marital status.
    I agree. This has bugged me too. I have been divorced much longer than I was married. From now on I declare my singleness!
  • KatKatatrophic
    KatKatatrophic Posts: 448 Member
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    I'm sure that have to check Divorced by law. I would ask your car insurancer...I don't know why they'd want to know.
  • gregavila
    gregavila Posts: 725 Member
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    Really though, if it's for something like car insurance (completely irrelevant!) I would leave it blank.

    But I know for insurance it can make a difference - particularly for males. Being a single male driver typically means higher rates than a married male driver. Just saying.

    I would still ask the insurance agent. It would suck to have to pay more a year because your pride wanted to claim single.
  • LatinaGordita
    LatinaGordita Posts: 377 Member
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    I am divorced 6 years now, I marked divorced the first 2 years, but now I mark single. I would say you are single now! :D
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Maybe because we had kids together I don't mind checking the divorced box. I also think that it's a lot better than having to check the widowed box like several of my friends have to.
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
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    Unless there is a legitimate need for that fact to be known (legal stuff, taxes, etc.), I would check "single." You have the right to keep your divorce private if you wish.
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
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    Well, you're single right now; therefore, I'd check single.
  • Pebbles536
    Pebbles536 Posts: 199
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    As soon as the divorce was final I marked SINGLE on Everything. Why do they need to know! So what if their demographics are off! It's non of their business.
  • MsTanya77
    MsTanya77 Posts: 357 Member
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    Don't think of yourself as DIVORCED, think of yourself as SINGLE AGAIN. You were single once, and now you are single again. But yes legally it will always be on record that you were once married and now divorced, what impact this has if any at all, I don't know.................
  • Macrocarpa
    Macrocarpa Posts: 121 Member
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    Insurance questions etc are based around the dark arts practised by actuaries.

    There are quite literally tables of probability which map out critical points in your life / your personal definition and assign them a risk. Obese (heavy) people die more. Men are more likely to be involved in a car accident (this is a misleading statement, because it doesn't include a bunch of additional information, but it's factually correct). Women live longer but die more frequently during childbearing years.

    One of the reasons I started with MFP was from some info that came to light from insurance forms. Over half men my age die of preventable lifestyle diseases (obesity-related).

    So I would say that there is a correlation between people being divorced and people claiming on car insurance. That's why you're asked.

    *DO NOT* put down 'Single' if you are divorced - if you read the fine print it will say 'any wilful incorrect information on this form may invalidate your claim'. Insurance companies would prefer not to pay out wherever they can. Just tell the truth.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
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    Really though, if it's for something like car insurance (completely irrelevant!) I would leave it blank.

    But I know for insurance it can make a difference - particularly for males. Being a single male driver typically means higher rates than a married male driver. Just saying.

    I would still ask the insurance agent. It would suck to have to pay more a year because your pride wanted to claim single.

    But how would you compare a single male driver to a divorced male driver? more or less risky?
  • Macrocarpa
    Macrocarpa Posts: 121 Member
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    As soon as the divorce was final I marked SINGLE on Everything. Why do they need to know! So what if their demographics are off! It's non of their business.

    ...you realise that if you do make a claim, they can invalidate it? Seriously, this (and other comments encouraging the OP to put down 'single') are really, really silly.

    What happens if you're in a massive car accident, the car's written off, you get massive medical expenses, and the claim is denied because you decided to take a moral stand about an insurance company's definition of what marital status you had?

    And where do you draw the line? Refusing to nominate a pre-existing condition on a medical form because it's none of the health insurer's business?

    I'd rather take the knock to the ego and get the payout after the event...
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
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    i have been divorced and checked 'divorce' a couple of times maybe (like your insurance example). i didn't do it for a long period of time though... i mean, i was single, and unmarried. those types of defining questions annoy me more than i can say. do what you want regarding that as long as it's the truth!
  • ladywolfkahn
    ladywolfkahn Posts: 77
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    as soon as divorce was final from hubby #1 I went through process of changing my SS# back to my maiden name, from that point on i always checked "single".

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