To many people who are experiencing the trials of divorce, it can sometimes feel like a full-time job. It can consume all aspects of your life. Between phone calls with your attorney, to contact with your ex-partner, to figuring out child custody and where to live, it can consume all aspects of your life. And regardless of how affluent the couple may be, there is often stress about your financial future.
A lot of times after two people have separated or divorced, someone has to start from scratch. While some degree of worry and apprehension is to be expected, these fears can be eliminated by a little work and planning on your part. This planning can help you feel confident and secure while you establishing your new life.
1. Fear of not getting a fair share.
Many people worry when they begin the process of divorce that they may not end up with their fair share of the finances. If your finances are simple, it can be easy to evenly divide your assets. But many times other items are involved that make things more complex. Things items can range from anything to multiple homes to closely held businesses and non-liquid investments. First, determine exactly what you own and how much it is worth. Next, establish a fair value for each asset. When doing this, be cautious that some things may be prone to subjectivity and manipulation in the divorce context.
Appraisals of real estate of other valuables such as jewelry or art may be advisable.
2. Fear of not knowing what you will have.
Fear of not knowing what you will have is a justified fear that many have when entering a divorce. When dealing with a divorce, it is easy to get lost in the details and lose sight of the bigger picture. It is crucial to stay focused on what your finances are going to look like post-divorce. Not only should you know how much you have, but you need to know exactly what and where you have it. One tip to help with this fear is to meet with a financial adviser before the divorce is finalized, that way you can make sure that not only are you getting your fair share, but that you don’t get stuck with non-liquid assets while the other party gets the cash.
3. Fear of not knowing how your lifestyle will change.
This fear stems from your cash flow. How much will you have left? Many people worry that after alimony, child support, income and basic living expenses there will not be enough money left over to keep living the same day-to-day lifestyles they had before the divorce. To squash this fear, have your financial adviser create a post-divorce income and expense report for you. If you do not have a financial adviser, you can look at your recent spending history to determine what your anticipated monthly expenses will be. By doing this, you will be able to see how your new finances will affect your lifestyle.
When you experience a divorce, it is common to go through a wide range of emotions. For a spouse who isn’t financially savvy, fears and uncertainties are after a common experience. However, if you plan ahead and have a little help, you will be able to feel at ease about your financial situation and can focus on other aspects of the separation.
Divorce brings with it many negative emotions. Many of these emotions usually cause stress that will interfere in our ability to function from day to day. Research says that the biggest favor you can do yourself is to learn how to relax. You just need to let go of the stress and let everything fall into place. Focus more on keeping yourself active, healthy and moving forward instead of staying stuck. Below are 5 tips that will help deal with divorce stress.
Top 5 Tips for Dealing with Divorce Stress
1. Make sure you pay attention to your personal needs
It’s always best to find a group, close friend or someone that you can talk to about everyday problems. It’s healthy to be able to do that and let go of certain negative feelings.
2.Keep yourself physically fit
Being active is a good way to reduce stress. Whether its yoga, spin class, boxing, any type of exercise will help reduce stress and let out built up anger. It will also though make you feel better about yourself anyways.
3. Make time for some fun
Regarding any situation that someone is in, there should always be time for fun. Going out with friends, family, whoever will always make you happy. Everyone deserves to have fun and let go of what has held them back enjoying life.
4.Change any expectations you have
Let go of what you feel the outcome should be and learn to accept what could possibly happen. Overall just let go of feeling like you can control every aspect of the situation.
5. Let go and move on
Take the time needed to heal from the divorce and all feelings that are still around. Its important to take that time to heal so when you are ready to move on everything is behind and you are ready to start that new journey in your life.
As we all know, one of the biggest issues in a divorce is the family home. It all starts to get messy when the decisions of what will happen to it and who is going to live in it become a concern for the parties. Typically, parties go from having two incomes to contribute to the mortgage and other household expenses during the marriage to having only one income to contribute to those expenses after the divorce.
Below are important questions people need to ask themselves when they aren’t sure if they should keep their home when going through a divorce.
1.Is your marital home a great fit for your new lifestyle?
2.What is your house worth today?
3.What would be the cost to keep the house up?
4.Are you willing to sacrifice financially in other areas to keep the house?
5.Is there any equity in the house or are we “upside down?”
6.If there is equity, can I afford to buy my spouse out?
7.Do I have the income and credit to refinance if the Court so orders?
8.Would it benefit me/us more financially to sell the house?
Having to choose whether or not to keep your residence could possibly be one of the most difficult decisions you will have to make during divorce, as there are likely many good and bad memories associated with your marital home. Its always wise to give yourself time to think it all through very carefully. Everyone needs to be able to manage their assets and develop a plan for financial stability and security in the future.
Lagniappe, our alternative weekly paper in Mobile, has named Alison Baxter Herlihy as its 2016 winner of Best Divorce Lawyer, aka Best Lawyer if Your Spouse is a “Ho.” The readers of Lagniappe vote in the annual poll, and this year over 1.4 million votes were cast in this year’s Nappie Awards. It is a tremendous honor to have such support from all of the family, friends, clients, and colleagues who cast their votes for the best divorce attorney in Mobile.
A Prenuptial Agreement is a contract executed between parties prior to their marriage concerning the division of assets, debts and possibly spousal support in the event of divorce. Almost anything can be included in a prenuptial agreement, except matters of child support, child custody and visitation.
Many people think of prenuptial agreements as the province of celebrity marriages, and that they are designed to award million dollar settlements in short term marriages. This is not the case. As more and more Americans are marrying later and later in life, many of us have our own assets when we get married, such as owning your own home and retirement or other investments, and you want to make sure your assets are protected. Prenuptial agreements have negative connotation for many people, but it is actually smart financial planning, just like having a will or a retirement savings strategy.
The simplest form of prenuptial agreement can simply state that each spouse retains ownership in anything they owned prior to the marriage and any items acquired subsequent to the marriage in that spouse’s individual name. In that scenario, the couple would have to intentionally title any assets in joint names for them to be considered “marital” property. In a country where many marriages end in divorce, a prenuptial agreement can help take financial incentives out of the decision-making process if your marriage hits a rocky patch because the financial decisions have already been made.
For a prenuptial agreement to be valid in the state of Alabama, both parties must have independent legal counsel to advise them of their rights and interests. If you are planning your marriage and are considering a prenuptial agreement, please contact us for a consultation.
