Divorce Settlement Issues in a Nutshell
by Susan Deveney
Getting divorced is a difficult project for many reasons. The emotional and financial difficulty of it cannot be understated, even when both spouses agree that it is the best course of action for their relationship. But the legal difficulties can prove overwhelming, turning the project from emotionally and financially difficult to emotionally and financially devastating.
To minimize the negative impact of divorce, some spouses are able to work together to settle some or all of the terms of their divorce. They may do this on their own or with the assistance of a competent divorce mediator.
An experienced divorce mediator will be able to walk divorcing spouses through the terms of their divorce, making sure that any agreements, decisions or disclosures made by the spouses are fair and equitable and likely to be easily accepted by the court that will issue the necessary paperwork to make the divorce official.
Here is a list of the things that need to be decided or agreed upon by the spouses in order for them to get a simple, uncontested divorce:
1. With respect to the minor children of the marriage, if any: ( a.) Will one or both spouses make major life decisions for the children; and ( b.) With whom shall the children live, and when will they spend time with the other parent; and ( c.) How much child support shall the parent with whom the children live receive from the other parent?
2. The marital home - What will happen to the home itself and the contents within it?
3. Other real estate, if any - What will happen to any timeshare(s), summer homes, investment properties, etc...once the parties are divorced?
4. Vehicles of the spouses - who keeps what automobile, motorcycle, boat or camper? Who pays any existing loan(s) on each, and how will the registration, title and insurance on any of them be ironed out?
5. Health/Dental/Vision/Orthodontic Insurance - How will be each spouse and the children of their marriage be covered after the divorce?
6. What type of life insurance policies exist prior to the divorce, and what will be done with these policies after the divorce?
7. Cash assets - each spouse must disclose his/her cash assets to the other, and decisions must be made on how the cash assets of the spouses shall be divided upon their divorce.
8. Retirement accounts - each spouse must disclose his/her retirement assets to the other and decisions must be made on how retirement accounts shall be divided between the spouses upon their divorce.
9. Businesses owned by spouses - each spouse must disclose the value of each business he/she owns, and the spouses must agree upon what will happen with respect to each such business in terms of its assets, liabilities and future ownership.
10. Credit card and loan debt - each spouse must disclose his/her credit card, loan or other debt and decisions must be made on how the debt of the spouses shall be divided between them.
11. Tax Filings - the spouses must decide how they will file their income tax federal and state returns for the year in which they get divorced, and if separately, who gets the dependency deduction for each of the children of the marriage.
12. Married vs. Maiden name - if the wife has taken the name of the husband, then she must determine whether or not she shall resume using her maiden name or continue using her married name.
13. Miscellaneous issues - these are issues particular to the divorcing spouses which will not apply to everyone. These include issues like pets, cemetery plots, collections of any kind and anything else of significance to the couple that they would like to have included as part of the terms of their agreement.
If spouses follow this list in making determinations about how they shall settle the terms of their divorce, they are far less likely to feel overwhemed by the legal portion of the project of getting divorced. They are more likely to achieve an uncontested and possibly even amicable divorce if they work together, with or without a mediator, in ironing these things out, because each will have had significant input on each settlement issue.
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