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Airport Divorce: Should You Try Out The Latest Family Law Trend?

Social media allows new terms and trends to spread quickly across the internet, and the latest of those is Airport Divorce. Travel is a highly important part of many people’s relationships, but not everyone has the same approach to travel. Airport divorce can provide a temporary solution to bridge this gap. But if it’s just a band-aid for much deeper issues, the couple may need to consider an actual divorce, among other options. Have you been reading up on these topics due to strain in your marital relationship? Do you have questions about what legal separation or divorce would look like in your situation? Contact our Arizona divorce law firm for your free consultation today at 480-470-1504 for more information.

What is an Airport Divorce?

Airport divorce is the latest term to sweep the internet in a family law context, although it doesn’t actually involve the dissolution of marriage. It was invented by British travel writer Huw Oliver when describing his and his wife’s airport routines. An airport divorce is a highly temporary break spouses can take from each other while in an airport terminal. Generally, the spouses will go through security together, but separate to complete their favorite pre-boarding activities independently, such as reading or exploring the shops. Feeling rushed or monitored before a flight can cause additional stress and unnecessary fighting during a vacation- or while returning from one. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, and as long as both spouses can make sure to return to their gate when boarding starts, airport divorces can help reduce the stress that travel puts on a marriage. It also helps couples run out of conversation topics so they won’t be stale by the time the couple arrives at their destination.

Overall, airport divorce is a dramatized term for an airport habit that many couples have been putting into practice for decades. But its growing popularity could indicate a trend towards more independence in marriage, which could have an effect on both the marriage and divorce rate in Arizona. Some of the tips experts provide for spouses looking to utilize airport divorce in their travel include:

Keep your phone on you in case your spouse needs to contact you about something urgent.
Regularly monitor your flight to make sure there aren’t delays, boarding doesn’t begin early, etc.
See if there’s anything your spouse would like you to get for them if you are visiting the shops.
Agree on a meeting point for when boarding begins if the spouses wish to be together for that process.
Offer to watch your spouse’s bag if you wish to sit and wait at the boarding gate and they want to walk around the terminal.
Bring your headphones in case you want a break from your spouse while in close proximity.
Make a fair plan in advance for who will be responsible for young children, if applicable. For example, if one parent will be responsible for them in the airport, the other spouse can be responsible for them on the flight.
Don’t expect your spouse to be responsible for your needs in the airport if you have agreed to an airport divorce.

How to Know When It’s Time to Formalize the Break

An airport divorce can help a married couple curb their arguing during travel, but it likely won’t fix deeper issues that aren’t travel-related. Some couples will try out a trial separation before filing any petitions related to their marriages in court. Every situation is unique, but some of the signs you may want to consider a break from your partner include:

Frequent and unresolved conflicts: Some married couples give the advice to never go to bed angry. If this is a common practice in your marriage, it may be time to give each other space to reflect on the relationship and the issues causing conflicts. Some of these problems will seem smaller when the spouses aren’t being triggered by other conflicts every day.
Personal and life circumstances: Timing can be everything, and relationships are no exception to this phenomenon. If someone is stressed out by their job, their housing situation, disputes with family members, etc., it makes it harder to tolerate stress from a romantic relationship. A spouse may need a formal break to deal with those personal issues and get their life back on track before they can focus on their marriage.
Misaligned goals for the future: If one spouse wants to start their own business while the other wants to start a family, it can cause conflict in a relationship. And if one spouse wants to buy a house and adopt lots of pets, it could conflict with the goals of a spouse who loves to travel. Sometimes, no matter how much we love a person, they simply aren’t a good fit as a spouse. These kinds of situations often lead to amicable divorces and meaningful friendship after the breakup. But a break can also give a spouse a chance to reconsider what is most important to them and fix the relationship.
Emotional issues: People change over time, and after several years, your spouse may no longer seem anything like the person you originally married. There could be a betrayal by one spouse, mental health and substance abuse problems, etc. A breakup might be the ultimate solution here, but a break can give a vulnerable spouse clarity to decide what they truly want to do.

Pursuing a Legal Separation in Arizona

Spouses can move into two separate households, open their bank accounts, and essentially operate as if they were divorced without getting a court involved. But if they wish to have court orders to enforce terms of the breakup, or have another reason for moving on with their lives, legal separation may be an option. Legal separation is far less common than divorce in Arizona. But it has long been used by those who have religious beliefs against divorce, or who wish to remain on each other’s health insurance and file joint taxes together.

Legal separation is just about as involved and complicated, from a legal perspective, as a dissolution of marriage, the formal term for divorce. The spouses will need to handle all the same issues they would need to in divorce, such as spousal support and property division. But the spouses can end the legal separation if they reconcile without their marriage ever being ended. So if you want out of your marriage but have no plans of remarrying, and want to retain the tax and health insurance benefits of marriage, legal separation may be right for you. But if you’d rather have a clean break, especially given that a legal separation requires the resolution of the same issues as divorce, you should discuss a dissolution of marriage with a local attorney.

Experienced Arizona Attorneys for a Wide Variety of Family Law Issues

Utilizing an airport divorce could make you and your spouse realize that it’s time to legally address the state of your marriage. You may have property to divide, the question of spousal maintenance to answer, and need to deal with child custody and child support if you share children together. Our top rated Arizona law team offers competitive rates and risk-free phone consultations by phone to learn more about your options. Get started today by calling 480-470-1504.