Originally published by 1p21.admin.
Most people do not move towards a
divorce eagerly. Begrudgingly, anxiously, nervously, angrily- insert whatever
adverb you would like, most people are not all that excited to be legally
ending their marriage. Sure, it may be in your best interests to do so
but you would rather have a functional, loving marriage. A divorce is
admitting to yourself on some level that you have not been able to make
the most important relationship you’ve ever been in work. On top
of that you are facing the consequences of that failed relationship- legal
costs, time spent on the divorce itself and a division in your family.
With all of those negative aspects of divorce in place it should come as
no surprise that some folks who hire an attorney do so in order to keep
from having to do a lot of the painful parts of divorce on their own.
Again, this is understandable. You may even count yourself among those
that plan on doing the same thing.
Today’s blog post from the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan will center around the subject that many people seek to avoid-preparing
financially for a divorce. Hiring a good and experienced family law attorney
to represent you in your divorce is a good step in preparing for a divorce
but it is far from the only step of preparation you should embark upon.
The relationship between your finances and divorce
Most people going through a divorce will tell you that somewhere along
the line money became a problem in their marriage. That doesn’t
always mean that there was too little money, but as you can probably attest
to, there is a difference between making enough money and knowing where
that money goes. I’d venture to say most of you reading this blog
make enough between you and your spouse to support your household. The
issue that I have seen people struggle with is keeping track of where
your money is going and doing enough to control spending to save for a
rainy day. Easier said than done, however.
A divorce will require you and your spouse to divide up property between
one another. This can be relatively simple and straightforward if you
all have little property and a good understanding of what your goals are
in the divorce. On the other hand, if you both own a great deal of property
and disagree on how it should be divided then your divorce may end up
being longer and more drawn out than most.
Finances are always a touchy subject to get into with someone. The advice
that I am providing to you all today is intended to apply to divorces
generally speaking. I understand that your divorce may have different
circumstances affecting it than what I am about to describe in the remainder
of this blog. If yours is like that and the topics we touched on today
were not helpful please contact our office to discuss your case with one
of our attorneys. We can provide you with specific advice and knowledge
about the issues that are affecting your case.
Begin to budget your money if you do not already do so
This is an easy one that every one of us should do. You probably know how
much you earn but do you know where all the money that you earn goes by
the end of any given month. Every bill, every item purchased at the store,
entertainment and any other cost that is relevant to your family should
be tracked so you can provide this information to your attorney. Knowing
what your income and outgo is each month is critically important in your
divorce. If you need to request spousal maintenance or a higher than standard
level of child support your monthly bills will be relevant to that discussion.
On top of those concerns, how your community estate is divided will be
determined in part by need and circumstance. If you have relatively little
in the way of separate property and have a job that does not pay you a
significant amount of money you may be in line to be awarded a greater
than 50% share of your community estate to make up for those deficiencies.
Listen to the advice people provide but be wary of accepting all of it
While you may have numerous people in your life who have been through divorces
and are all too eager to give you advice, I would tell you to be cautious
about listening too closely. That’s not to say that you should be
overly dismissive or rude when and if you are offered advice by a well
meaning person. What it does mean is that every divorce is different and
to rely upon one person’s advice who doesn’t know anything
about your circumstances is not a smart move.
Instead, consider seeking perspectives from people with specific knowledge
of divorces- like attorneys- and confide in those that are aware of the
facts and circumstances of your case.
Don’t expect to go through your divorce without a fight
Unless you have a truly
uncontested divorce where all issues have been settled beforehand and the divorce
basically amounts to a formalization of your agreement, your case will
have its fair share of disagreements between you and your spouse. This
does not mean that your case is about to turn into World War Three but
it does mean that you should expect to be dealt some blowback by your
spouse when it comes to financial issues.
You can combat this by collecting documents early in your preparation for
the case. This is especially relevant if you believe that you will be
forced to leave your house eventually. The odds of you getting back into
your house long enough to collect the information that may be very helpful
to your case is low, so planning ahead and getting the documents when
you have a chance is a smart move.
What documents should you actually gather before your divorce?
There are some documents that are relevant to nearly all divorces in Texas.
The issue for most people is being able to track all of them down. I think
we can all admit to not being as organized as we would like to be, and
no other time does this come back to haunt people more than in a divorce.
Scrambling through file cabinets and folders on your computer for tax
documents is not my idea of a good time.
Why not start the process early by getting a year’s worth of checking/savings
account statements. Investment statements, retirement account information
credit card statements and loan information are some of the items that
represent the tip of your financial iceberg. What’s nice is that
most people, yourself included most likely, do so much of their financial
work online that it is easier to access documents when you are away.
Interested in more tips to prepare financially for a divorce in Texas?
Head back to our blog tomorrow
We will conclude our tips to prepare financially for a Texas divorce in
tomorrow’s blog post. We hope that what we have covered today has
been full of relevant and practical information. It is not easy to go
through a divorce and it is tough to know how to best maximize your time
when you have never been involved with a divorce. That’s why we
share this sort of information with you all- to help you at whatever stage
of the process you find yourself in.
Questions about divorce generally? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
The attorneys and staff with the
Law Office of Bryan Fagan thank you for your interest in this important topic. If you have any questions
about the content of today’s blog or are just seeking clarification
on a subject please
contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan today. We offer free of charge consultations
six days a week with one of our licensed family law attorneys. From Baytown
to Conroe, we represent people in our community just like you during the
hard times in their lives. Talk to us today about how we can do the same
for you and your family.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
from Texas Bar Today https://ift.tt/2QVNTD2
via Abogado Aly Website
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