Perhaps you are worried about balancing your career and parental responsibilities post-divorce. Here are a few tips that might help.
Divorce has traditionally been viewed as an adversarial process, but this approach doesn’t benefit parents or their children. It’s important that both parents manage their expectations realistically and make custody requests that they can handle. For example, if it is unrealistic for the children to live with you full-time, then it may be more beneficial to allow the children to live with the other parent. Doing this allows you to think about which visitation days would work better. Quality of time is more important than quantity.
You’re not obliged to tell your boss everything that’s going on in your personal life, but in certain situations, it can help. For example, your boss may allow you to have more flexible working hours so that you can see the kids. It might even be possible for you to work from home sometimes. Most companies have family-related policies that allow for at least some flexibility.
You don’t need to pick between your career or children post-divorce. With the right custody arrangement and communication between parents, both your career and children can thrive.
As you navigate custody during and after divorce, it will benefit you to have as much legal information as possible.
]]>Before you start crafting your priorities, however, you’ll need to determine if any of the assets that you think of as jointly owned are technically separate property. Separate property is not subject to division in the event that you litigate your divorce, although you and your spouse can make virtually whatever arrangements you want if you can agree on your property division terms without judicial intervention. Most of the time, marital property includes assets and debts acquired during the marriage, whereas separate property refers to assets and debts owned by one spouse before the marriage or acquired by gift or inheritance.
By focusing on what you really want, you’ll be less likely to make the kinds of missteps that can derail property division negotiations and/or litigation. You can start setting expectations by creating a comprehensive inventory of all your assets and debts. This list should include real estate, bank accounts, retirement accounts, investments, valuable personal property (like jewelry and art), vehicles, particularly sentimental property and any debts like mortgages, loans and credit card balances. Having a clear picture of your financial situation can help you to craft informed priorities.
Next, you’ll want to think about your future financial needs. This includes your earning capacity, potential career changes, health considerations and retirement plans. Understanding your future financial landscape will help in prioritizing assets that support your long-term stability.
Finally, you’ll want to be realistic about what you can keep. The division of property often involves compromise. Be prepared to be flexible and understand that you might not be able to retain ownership of everything you want, and that nor is everything you want perhaps something that you’re financially and practically prepared to maintain.
Setting property division priorities pre-divorce requires a balance of emotional, financial and practical considerations. By taking a structured and informed approach, you can better ensure that your priorities align with your long-term well-being and goals, paving the way for a smoother transition into your post-divorce life.
]]>Divorce and finances become even more overwhelming when one party is not being forthright and is purposefully trying to avoid disclosing their real financial situation. It’s important to understand that this amounts to hiding marital assets, and it comes with consequences. So, what do you do if your spouse is not being truthful about marital assets?
Hiding assets refers to when a spouse deliberately conceals what they own during the divorce. It can take a variety of forms such as having a secret bank account, passing money to friends to hold onto or stashing money in secret safe boxes. The overall goal of hiding assets is usually to deprive one spouse of their fair share of the marital property per Rhode Island’s equitable property distribution laws.
If your spouse is hiding marital property, you have options. First, you need to put your evidence together. Hiring a forensic accountant may be crucial to this, as of course is taking legal help to put the case together.
Whether it is intentional or accidental, hiding marital assets is a big deal. Understanding your legal options can help you assert your rights if your spouse is concealing marital property.
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