In a recent blog post, we discussed a trend that some family law experts refer to as the "un-divorced." This is a phenomenon in which married couples who, on the face of it, would seem to have strong and sometimes even compelling reasons to divorce, remain married. Their continued union owes to myriad factors, many of which are often centered on financial matters.

The present blog is a tandem posting that follows through a bit more on a facially similar yet fundamentally differentiated trend. Call it the realm of "cohabiting exes" - couples who go beyond simply staying together, but opt to do so even after explicitly voicing an intent to divorce and while going through the process. In other words, we are definitely divorcing, and the split is proceeding, but in the meantime, well ... here we are.

Things can get a bit confusing. One bedroom becomes two. He pays this bill, I pay that bill. She wants to bring her boyfriend over, but I was planning on having my girlfriend over. Partner A used to cook and do laundry, while Partner B bought groceries and cut the grass. What now gives?

The considerations truly abound. For such a couple, how does it work going forward with the kids when, in the past, the "family" did everything together, but now each partner wants separate time with the children - all while everybody is still under the same roof? And what if one not-quite-yet-but-ex-spouse-to-be-for-sure partner wants to sell the home now, while the other wants to hang on until, hopefully, the market turns for the better?

It is an interesting development for a small  - albeit growing - minority of married partners, those who firmly announce their intention to divorce and are actively working through the process while simultaneously continuing to live together.

Related Resource: www.wsj.com 'When Home Prices, IRAs and Marriages Go South: Divorcing During a Downturn" August 29, 2010