Divorce: The Latest In Luxury?

Nine months ago, Rachel Gund (some names have been changed), 44, decided she wanted to divorce her husband of nearly 20 years. But nine months later, she continues living under the same roof with him and their two teenage daughters: Neither partner afford to move out so they live like roommates, sharing the marital home and dividing the expenses.

Sound far-fetched? Not really, say attorneys and therapists who are seeing more couples delaying divorce filings and physical separation due to the economic recession. In many cases, couples can't sell their homes because of the soft real estate market. In others, one or both partners has suffered a job loss. Often, there's a mountain of shared debt that must be cleared before a split can occur.

"Cohabiting has spiked because people just can't afford to move out. They can't afford to buy themselves out [of the house]," notes Kathyrn Dickerson, partner at Smolen Plevy in Vienna, Va. "You used to be able to refinance a mortgage more easily, but not any longer." In some cases, she says the value of a house is "under water" (when the value of the home falls beneath the value of the mortgage) and there's simply no equity to divide. "The question is who will take what debt," Dickerson says.

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