You are finally ready to accept that your marriage isn’t working, now what? There are many things to consider, and financial questions are definitely at the top of the list. What property will be subject to division? Will you owe or receive any payments after the breakup? Are there retirement issues that will ensue?
With a myriad of potential financial aspects that can come into play during your divorce, taking advantage of the many resources available to you could prove vital to your financial future.
Assessing your financial situation
One of the most commonly recommended steps is to take a hard look at your finances when you know you will soon be facing a breakup. If you have separate property that you accumulated before your marriage, you may want to make a list of it all. Check in on any bank accounts, investments accounts and debts so you know on where you stand. Any finances that the two of you accumulated together is considered shared marital property.
In Florida, an equitable distribution state, the court will try to determine a fair separation of shared property. In some cases, one spouse may have assets that are extremely complicated to value and possibly even hidden from the other spouse. An experienced attorney can ensure that all items are accounted for before your divorce is finalized.
Support payments
Support payments include both child and spousal support. Child support orders will affect the financial picture of both the custodial and the non-custodial parent. In addition to these monthly payments, some divorcing couples will need to talk about less common expenses including those needed for a college education.
Spousal support can be temporary or permanent. Rehabilitative support pays out until the ex-spouse can become self-supporting financially. Permanent support will last until the death of either spouse or until the person receiving support remarries.
Social Security
Social Security and other division of retirement accounts is also a part of divorce. For Social Security, if the couple’s marriage lasted long enough, one ex-spouse may have the right to claim a certain percentage of the other party’s benefits. The amount that the individual can claim is up to half of the retirement benefits. The couple must have been married for ten years, and the individual entitled to the claim cannot have remarried and he or she must be at least 62 years of age.
For every ending, a new beginning comes along with it. For those going through a divorce, the new beginning can come much quicker and last for the foreseeable future with proper planning.
