A divorce should ideally be a simple process if you have no children or assets to declare. However, this may not be the case with everyone during times of couples separating. If this is the case, there are several things you should be discussing with your divorce lawyer.
Below we take a look at a few of these things including custody, child support, division of property, alimony and also insurance. There are a lot of decisions to be made during the proceedings and it can be hard to miss the most important ones if you are not clued up.
Alimony lawyers specialize in providing legal counsel and representation for individuals navigating complex alimony cases, ensuring fair and equitable financial resolutions. Expert advice can be sought from professionals, such as, Bethesda alimony lawyers, or others depending on your location.
According to one online source, a divorce lawyer deals with civil law issues. These legal professionals help to justly and delicately handle life-changing decisions from divorce to legal separation and marriage annulment. Divorces are a tricky thing if not handles correctly, and they can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to finalize, and in between both parties and their children may suffer emotional damage.
There are a few types, namely:
- No-fault Divorce
- Uncontested Divorce
- Contested Divorce
- Simplified Separation
Click here to read further information about these.
Discussing Alimony
Alimony, which is the financial support that one spouse needs to give the other during separation for items such as childcare and maintenance, is a significant ingredient in any separation and needs to be discussed and handled by the right person. A better definition can be found online: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/alimony.asp
In cases where one spouse stays at home and looks after the children and maintains the home, alimony is an important aspect so that they are not left without any financial help. There is validity behind this because not everyone has the opportunity to work a high-paying job when they are looking after their children, and as such, the spouse who does work must help to cater for expenses and pay the non-working spouse.
If both parents are working and earn a certain amount of money, the courts may not offer alimony or may provide it for a limited period until such time the children start to go to school and then the alimony will either be reduced or stopped, especially if the spouse goes back to work. Court rarely sanction alimony when one payee has an income that is higher than the payer.
Discussing Property
Filing for separation can be worrisome if you’re not sure how to divide assets such as property. Starting from who will get custody of the children, to where you will live are integral things to discuss with your legal advisor.
This is one of the most discussed issues between couples, and dividing marital property has to be something on the top of your list to speak to your advisor. This comes as no surprise, as studies have shown that the two main reasons why couples separate are assets and money.
It can be a complicated issue to handle and if you are dealing with a “high asset divorce” it makes it even more so. This is when the properties and assets are of high net worth. Estimating the value of everything needs not to be complicated. Things such as furniture, Jewellery, houses, cars and more can however take months to evaluate so speaking to your lawyer can help to minimize the complications and make an equal and fair divide.
Discussing Custody
According to some online studies, when both parents are involved in any decisions regarding their children, it is in that child’s best interest. When parents are involved in all the major decisions, the children feel loved and included. However, if there is abuse in the family, then the parent responsible should be involved or be near them.
When discussing physical custody of children, a divorce lawyer takes into consideration a few factors. A Lebanon divorce lawyer clears this out for us – If for example there are older children capable of deciding, the older child would be asked whom they would like to live with. However, they may not have the final say in the discussion, it is always best to hear them out.
Children should ideally remain in their current home and attend the same school, and try not to change any environment including their circle of friends or disrupt anything that feels familiar to them. Nevertheless, in cases where both the spouses need to leave the home, it may get a bit complicated to make a final decision, in which case your legal professional will handle things as accurately as possible keeping in mind the best interest of all parties.
Discussing Insurance
Lastly, discussing matters relating to insurance is also something you should touch on with your advisor. This includes insurance cover for the children which includes any dental, medical and vision insurance. The decision on who will be paying for this should be deliberated with the legal advisor. Often child support will resolve a lot of disputes in many divorce cases.
The above-mentioned aspects are extremely important to have a conversation with your hired lawyer.
