I've been trying to get divorced for almost 2 years. During this time, the person who I called my best friend took my ex's side about a lot of stuff. She knew he was abusive to me and our children, but still felt like I was in the wrong about everything. She felt like I should give him 50/50 custody. She felt like I should give him money. The final straw, though, was when she told me, "you are the one who has to live with what you did" when I told her that I claimed both kids on my taxes (as I was well within my rights to do) which allowed me to get a refund and him to have to pay. I made the decision because he cashed out his 401k after we split and didn't pay the penalties for early withdrawal and I didn't feel like I or the children should have to suffer for that.
