Although many celebrities marry with divorce plans in place before they even exchange vows, most couples approach marriage as a permanent arrangement. Young people plan to work hard, buy a home, raise a family, retire and spend time with their grandchildren.
But not every union will carry out the marriage vow “until death do us part.” Statistics show that the overall U.S. divorce rate continues to hover around 50% with a lower rate for first marriages and couples with children. For second and third marriages, the rate of divorce increases significantly.
Should you hire a divorce attorney if the break-up with your spouse is an amicable one?
There is no law that requires either spouse to hire a divorce lawyer, but it really is a good idea to have an experienced advocate in family court. Some breakups are reasonably amicable and uncomplicated, involving no children and little marital property to settle. Other divorces are highly contested, with minor children, and pit the spouses against each other as bitter rivals. In either instance, hiring a divorce attorney is recommended for the best possible outcome in the case.
Before you decide to represent yourself in court, consider these questions:
1. Are there minor children involved?
When a divorce or legal separation involves children, there are many court processes used to determine what is in their best interests. Consequently, divorce with minor children is procedurally more complex and more expensive. There are many important decisions to make regarding the children’s future, such as child custody, parenting time, visitation, and child support:
- Who should be the primary residential parent?
- Will the parents share joint legal custody?
- Who will make decisions about the children’s education, religion, and health care?
- How will child support be paid and by whom?
All states apply specific child support guidelines to determine each parent’s financial responsibility for the children. In some states, child support obligations are tied exclusively to the number of parenting time days in a year. In other jurisdictions, the alternate residential parent is ordered to pay child support and gets visitation time.
With any divorce or legal separation involving minor children, there are likely to be child specialists involved such as custody evaluators, parenting coordinators, psychologists, mediators, and the like. Deciding custody matters can be emotionally challenging for parents. Having a divorce attorney advocating your interests at every step in the custody process will help you arrive at a parenting plan that is in your child’s best interests and passes judicial muster.
2. Are both spouses in agreement on everything in the divorce?
Divorce negotiations between spouses may start amicably enough, but deteriorate very quickly from there. The spouses may not be able to communicate at all without every discussion falling into accusations, demands, or bullying. The passionate nature of divorce, combined with immediate financial concerns, only serves to raise tensions, making it even more difficult for parties to arrive at a fair settlement agreement.
If the spouses cannot agree on any issue in the divorce, then the court must step in and decide for them. An experienced divorce lawyer presents the client’s position during settlement negotiations, deals with all procedural matters, drafts the proposed settlement agreement, and litigates any outstanding issues at trial.
3. What are the financial stakes in divorce?
Whether the marriage lasted two years or two decades, the court must order the division of marital assets and debts. Depending upon the jurisdiction, there will also be the matter of awarding alimony, spousal maintenance, or spousal support.
When dividing marital property and allocating separate property to one spouse or the other, disputes are not uncommon. And, unfortunately, some parties will try to steal the advantage by hiding assets from the other spouse and the court.
The process of determining who should get what property begins with divorce negotiations. In preparation for those discussions, a thorough analysis of the assets and debts is necessary:
- Is the item separate or community property?
- Who will stay in the marital home?
- What is the value of the property?
- Will an equalization payment be necessary?
- Will lump-sum alimony be needed to adjust the property distribution?
- Who will be responsible for paying which debts?
- What transfer instruments and deeds are needed to comply with the court’s final decree?
Divorce Is a Life-Changing Event
Divorce is a life-changing event for both spouses and their children. There are emotional concerns, financial issues, domestic violence, and substance abuse problems, property valuations, settlement negotiations, and crafting a comprehensive parenting plan. To further complicate the divorce process, many jurisdictions require a showing of fault in the breakdown of the marriage. Others are “no-fault” states requiring only an assertion that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
Filing for divorce is far more involved than simply asking the court to undo the marriage vows so you can both go your separate ways. Protect your rights, financial interests, and access to your children by contacting a reputable divorce and family law firm in your area.
Aarti Bhaga is a family law and divorce attorney working in Stewart Law Group’s Gilbert Office. The firm has helped many clients with divorce, child custody, spousal support, property division, parental visitation, and child relocation disputes.
