On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Property Division on Wednesday, June 27, 2012.
When talking about divorce, we often think of the couple who is fighting over every dish, knife and bowl in the house. These are the people who go through a contentious divorce where every aspect of child custody, child support, property division and alimony is fought over in the courtroom. However, the truth is that not all divorces go like this. Rather, some go out of their way to be nice and courteous, and even end up financially hurting themselves in an attempt to not rock the boat.
For example, instead of weighing the pros and cons of having the family home versus the cash or liquid asset, many times one spouse just decides to move out and one decides to just keep the home. Quite often the thought is that it’s best for the children to remain in the family home. However, without looking at the whole financial picture, people may be selling themselves short on what is really best.
This idea of whether to keep the home or not leads to the next point of making sure to know the entire financial picture before agreeing to anything in a divorce settlement. This may mean having uncomfortable conversations and looking at paperwork related to investment and retirement accounts.
Lastly, in cases where couples want a friendly divorce, many mistakenly believe they can just handle all of the legal logistics themselves. However, having an attorney can help to make sure the settlement is fair to everyone.
In the end those going through a divorce should make sure that fear of an argument, or the desire to have a 100 percent uncontested divorce, should not be what drives the decisions being made now that could end up affecting a person’s financial future.
Source: Reuters, “Divorce mistakes you can make by being too nice,” Geoff Williams, June 26, 2012
