Q My husband and I have been separated for five years. During that time, we lived separately, each paid half of our children’s college expenses and continued to contribute to our joint account which we both used to pay our respective living expenses. My mother died recently and because I was about to receive an inheritance, I filed for divorce. We quickly agreed to divide everything except I keep my inheritance.

We filed the papers and had the hearing two weeks ago. After the hearing, we left the court and went for coffee together. We have literally seen each other every day since. During our five years apart, we each worked on ourselves but neither of us partnered with anyone else. It seems we just needed a break, and we are now really sad that we got divorced. We want to take it slow to make sure we don’t make another mistake.

What is the best way to move on from here if we want to stay together and how do we do it?

A The good news is you have a little time before you have to make a decision as to how to move forward. I suggest you spend that time continuing to get reacquainted with your husband before he is no longer. Since you filed a joint petition and agreement, you have the added 30-day waiting period on top of the standard 90 days before you have to do something to stop the divorce from becoming final and absolute.

I suggest you and your husband spend the next month enjoying each other’s company and talk openly about the future of your relationship — is it a friendship or a marriage?

If you still want to remain married but have concerns about protecting your inheritance given how new the reconciliation is, you can take the agreed upon terms and turn them into a post nuptial agreement to give yourselves more time to figure out the future. This will allow you financial security while you explore the extent of the relationship. If it ends up working out, great. If not, you can always start the divorce process a second time.

Assuming you want to follow my suggestion, you and your husband need to go to the court before the expiration of the 120 days and ask the registry staff to revoke your judgment. You will be given a form to complete and sign. Once signed by both of you, the judgment will be revoked and you will remain married — no harm, no foul.

Email questions to whickey@brickjones.com