Getting divorced can be one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. Two people in California may find themselves in disagreement about how their assets should be split and even how issues such as child custody should be handled. Unfortunately, the difficulties of divorce can continue to plague a person even years after the marital dissolution if a person fails to make educated decisions regarding the divorce settlement.
One of the biggest concerns that people may have when getting divorced is how their standard of living will change after the divorce. In most people’s cases, this living standard will be reduced, as income and assets that had previously supported one household will now be needed to support two separate homes. This includes covering insurance, taxes and more than one set of utility expenses, for example.
A second financial consequence of divorce is the chance that one’s income will be reduced due to complications related to parenting. Child support is one brand new expense that may crop up following divorce, for instance. The anguish of a particularly contentious divorce may also diminish a person’s focus on the job, which can end up impacting his or her ability to generate income as he or she once could.
Because divorce can be complicated in California, it can be helpful to become organized at the very start of this legal process. Proper legal guidance may help divorcing individuals to assess their financial needs and determine what type of settlement would best suit them long-term when it comes to splitting up shared property or retirement accounts, for instance. It is within the rights of both divorcing individuals to pursue their fair share of marital assets during this type of family law proceeding.
Source: normantranscript.com, “Pre-divorce financial considerations and checklists“, Kenny Divelbiss, May 10, 2015