In the first article about do it yourself divorce, I discussed what to do before getting started. The next step in the do it yourself divorce process is very important in deciding whether this is right for you.
Florida divorce law requires that parties getting divorce file financial affidavits and list all of their assets and liabilities. In order to draft a complete Marital Settlement Agreement, you need to know everything you own and everything you owe. This would include all bank accounts, credit card statements and retirement accounts. It is highly recommended in do it yourself divorce situations that you obtain current statements for each and every account that you and your spouse have, whether the account is in one or both names. In a do it yourself divorce situation, you and your spouse should be on good enough terms that you share this information with one another. All of this information must be listed on a financial affidavit and both parties must sign under oath that they have provided full disclosure to one another of all assets and liabilities and that the information provided is truthful and accurate. You will need this information to decide how you are going to divide your assets and liabilities.
Once you have a Florida financial affidavit and all information about your assets and liabilities, questions may arise. Is an asset or liability marital or nonmarital? How do you split credit card debt? What happens with a retirement account that began before the marriage? What about pensions and profit sharing? A divorce lawyer can advise you about whether an asset or liability is marital or non marital. This is one of the things that should be addressed in your initial divorce consultation. Credit card debt can be a tricky issue if both parties names are on a specific credit card and the debt is to be split. In a do it yourself divorce situation, you need to think about how you are going to divide this debt and how you will protect yourself and your credit if your spouse does not pay his or her share. When it comes to retirement accounts and pensions, you may want to consider hiring a financial professional to perform a valuation of the account, pension or profit sharing. You should also speak with your divorce lawyer about your obligation to divide these assets or your rights to a portion of these assets.
The Florida financial affidavit also requires that both parties list their incomes. What happens if you do not know your monthly income? This is a common question for business owners or those who are paid by commissions. In those situations, it is important to speak with a financial professional, such as an accountant, to get advise regarding how to calculate your monthly income. If you have questions about how much your spouse earns, you should address these questions with a divorce lawyer or an accountant.
These are just a few examples of questions and issues that may arise during the do it yourself divorce process. The financial portion of a divorce may be the most challenging aspect in the do it yourself divorce process. The important thing to keep in mind is that many decisions you make in this part of the process may be binding and non-modifiable so it is crucial that all of your questions are answered before you proceed. If you have questions or concerns about these or other financial aspects of your divorce, speak with your divorce lawyer or accountant before making any decisions about dividing property, assets and liabilities.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Do it yourself Divorce Part One: Know Before You Begin
Do-it-yourself divorce is becoming more popular these days, especially among those who feel that they can’t afford to divorce. Many divorcing couples also fear that hiring divorce lawyers will lead to emotional and costly battles over children, property and finances, so they are opting for the do it yourself divorce. There are a wide range of options for DIY divorce, including using an online divorce service, obtaining a large pile of divorce forms from the Clerk’s office, mediation or hiring a divorce lawyer to draft or review a Marital Settlement Agreement. The DIY divorce may not work for many, but it also may be the only financially feasible option for those who cannot afford to divorce. No article can take the place of legal advice- but this five part series will give some tips for the do-it-yourself divorce process.
Before embarking on a do-it-yourself divorce, it is important to know what the issues are and what you can and should expect in terms of timesharing, support (child support and alimony, if it applies) and dividing property and liabilities. It is highly encouraged that the first step should be to consult with a divorce attorney. While this is the step that most do it yourself divorce seekers want to avoid, it is crucial to have an understanding of divorce law and your rights. Too many times people in do it yourself divorce situations enter into a settlement agreement and forget to include things only to find out later that either they have waived their rights or that they will now have to spend even more money clarifying their Marital Settlement Agreement. A free divorce consultation may sound tempting, but will likely be a brief meeting with little information provided about how to go forward with the divorce process. It is recommended that you have a thorough initial consultation with a divorce attorney to discuss your children, proposed timesharing, your income, assets and liabilities. During this initial divorce consultation, a divorce lawyer can give you suggestions on how to divide property, calculate child support and divide assets. A divorce lawyer can also discuss with you the information you need to gather in order to make decisions as well as the potential problems that may arise. The cost of an initial divorce consultation may be a small price to pay considering what is at stake.
During an initial divorce consultation, there are several items that must be addressed. If you have children, your divorce lawyer should explain to you the changes in Florida law regarding parenting plans and time sharing. Florida law now requires a parenting plan in all divorce cases, so your do it yourself divorce plan should take this into consideration. You can also discuss with your divorce attorney whether or not to include extras such as college tuition and extracurricular activities. During the initial divorce consultation, your divorce attorney can also review the particulars of your financial situation, especially the big concern for most do it yourself divorce seekers, which is the residence. Your divorce lawyer can discuss with you whether you should keep your house or sell it, who will live in the house until it is is sold and how you will pay not only the monthly bills but any expenses and repairs that arise. In order to have a complete Marital Settlement Agreement, you need to be aware of these concerns.
These are just a few of the concerns you need to discuss with a divorce lawyer. There may be more depending on your specific situation. In the next article, I will discuss how to become familiar with your financial situation and how to deal with questions about assets, liabilities and income.
The information included in this article has been prepared by Lori Barkus, Esq. for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advise from your own legal counsel. Transmission of such information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between Lori Barkus, Esq. and the receiver. No information in this article should be acted upon any person, entity or firm without first obtaining proper legal advise. Please feel free to contact us for a free case evaluation. However, be advised that the act of sending electronic mail or any telephone communication with Lori Barkus, Esq. or Lori Barkus P.A. does not in and of itself create an attorney-client relationship.
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements or articles written by the attorney. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.
Before embarking on a do-it-yourself divorce, it is important to know what the issues are and what you can and should expect in terms of timesharing, support (child support and alimony, if it applies) and dividing property and liabilities. It is highly encouraged that the first step should be to consult with a divorce attorney. While this is the step that most do it yourself divorce seekers want to avoid, it is crucial to have an understanding of divorce law and your rights. Too many times people in do it yourself divorce situations enter into a settlement agreement and forget to include things only to find out later that either they have waived their rights or that they will now have to spend even more money clarifying their Marital Settlement Agreement. A free divorce consultation may sound tempting, but will likely be a brief meeting with little information provided about how to go forward with the divorce process. It is recommended that you have a thorough initial consultation with a divorce attorney to discuss your children, proposed timesharing, your income, assets and liabilities. During this initial divorce consultation, a divorce lawyer can give you suggestions on how to divide property, calculate child support and divide assets. A divorce lawyer can also discuss with you the information you need to gather in order to make decisions as well as the potential problems that may arise. The cost of an initial divorce consultation may be a small price to pay considering what is at stake.
During an initial divorce consultation, there are several items that must be addressed. If you have children, your divorce lawyer should explain to you the changes in Florida law regarding parenting plans and time sharing. Florida law now requires a parenting plan in all divorce cases, so your do it yourself divorce plan should take this into consideration. You can also discuss with your divorce attorney whether or not to include extras such as college tuition and extracurricular activities. During the initial divorce consultation, your divorce attorney can also review the particulars of your financial situation, especially the big concern for most do it yourself divorce seekers, which is the residence. Your divorce lawyer can discuss with you whether you should keep your house or sell it, who will live in the house until it is is sold and how you will pay not only the monthly bills but any expenses and repairs that arise. In order to have a complete Marital Settlement Agreement, you need to be aware of these concerns.
These are just a few of the concerns you need to discuss with a divorce lawyer. There may be more depending on your specific situation. In the next article, I will discuss how to become familiar with your financial situation and how to deal with questions about assets, liabilities and income.
The information included in this article has been prepared by Lori Barkus, Esq. for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advise from your own legal counsel. Transmission of such information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between Lori Barkus, Esq. and the receiver. No information in this article should be acted upon any person, entity or firm without first obtaining proper legal advise. Please feel free to contact us for a free case evaluation. However, be advised that the act of sending electronic mail or any telephone communication with Lori Barkus, Esq. or Lori Barkus P.A. does not in and of itself create an attorney-client relationship.
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements or articles written by the attorney. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Facebook and divorce: How to Twitter, post and status update your way into family law peril
A recent article in Time Magazine about Facebook and divorce reported some not too surprising findings about how a divorcing party’s facebook posts lead to further legal troubles. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1904147,00.html?cnn=yes)
It is a common practice to post details of one’s life on a website such as Facebook or Myspace along with personal information such as relationship status, photos and, apparently, comments about divorce proceedings. What divorcing posters (and postees- those who are being posted about, that is) need to keep in mind is that this public information may find its way in front of the judge who will decide how you share time with your children, how support will be paid and what assets and liabilities need to be divided.
During the high emotion throes of a divorce, it may be tempting to update your facebook status with a rant about what a bad person your soon to be ex is or to send a post into Twitter cyberspace notifying all interested and non-interested persons of this information. But, before doing so, keep in mind that, if it can be seen by the public, it can be printed by your spouses attorney. For those of you thinking, so what, bear in mind that the Judge deciding who will promote the relationship between the children and the other parent is likely not to see this as harmless venting. This is especially true where there are children who are old enough to access a computer and savvy enough (as more and more young children are these days) to search and find such posts. Venting and losing your cool during an emotionally stressful situation are understandable; posting your thoughts on a medium where they will be around for eternity and accessible to your children are not, at least not from the point of view of the person who may be called upon to preside over this aspect of your life.
What about the rest of the picture? It might be harder to convince a judge that you cannot pay that large amount of support when you are “tagged” in photos from a recent vacation or that there are no assets to divide when you inform the cyber-world of your recent purchase of a boat, motorcycle or car or that you didn’t commit marital waste (spend marital funds on another person or relationship) when there are photos of you and a significant other at a restaurant, out on the town or on that vacation mentioned above.
The bottom line is that what’s posted on the internet does not always stay on the internet. And, even if none of this surfaces in a divorce proceeding, your children may find it.
It is a common practice to post details of one’s life on a website such as Facebook or Myspace along with personal information such as relationship status, photos and, apparently, comments about divorce proceedings. What divorcing posters (and postees- those who are being posted about, that is) need to keep in mind is that this public information may find its way in front of the judge who will decide how you share time with your children, how support will be paid and what assets and liabilities need to be divided.
During the high emotion throes of a divorce, it may be tempting to update your facebook status with a rant about what a bad person your soon to be ex is or to send a post into Twitter cyberspace notifying all interested and non-interested persons of this information. But, before doing so, keep in mind that, if it can be seen by the public, it can be printed by your spouses attorney. For those of you thinking, so what, bear in mind that the Judge deciding who will promote the relationship between the children and the other parent is likely not to see this as harmless venting. This is especially true where there are children who are old enough to access a computer and savvy enough (as more and more young children are these days) to search and find such posts. Venting and losing your cool during an emotionally stressful situation are understandable; posting your thoughts on a medium where they will be around for eternity and accessible to your children are not, at least not from the point of view of the person who may be called upon to preside over this aspect of your life.
What about the rest of the picture? It might be harder to convince a judge that you cannot pay that large amount of support when you are “tagged” in photos from a recent vacation or that there are no assets to divide when you inform the cyber-world of your recent purchase of a boat, motorcycle or car or that you didn’t commit marital waste (spend marital funds on another person or relationship) when there are photos of you and a significant other at a restaurant, out on the town or on that vacation mentioned above.
The bottom line is that what’s posted on the internet does not always stay on the internet. And, even if none of this surfaces in a divorce proceeding, your children may find it.
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