In this time of recession and falling home prices, neither party wants to keep the house anymore. As this article illustrates, there are options to break the We Can't Afford the House deadlock. Word to the wise: simply quit claiming the house to your spouse does not get you off the hook for the mortgage. Make sure you are protected credit wise and against a possible foreclosure in the future.
Read the article
Showing posts with label divorce and recession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label divorce and recession. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, July 31, 2009
Saving marriages during a recession
One New Jersey family therapist took to heart President Obama's national service provision. Its a little known portion of the economic recovery plan which calls for a national service plan similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was created in response to the eerily similar Great Depression. But Dr. Alan Singer is doing more to answer the call than the President requested.
In response to a blog posting criticizing the plan, Singer submitted the following:
"I want to take it one step further during these stressful times of increasing unemployment and home foreclosures. I believe it is time to think about giving one day a month to help others by using our profession skills, especially to help those who recently lost their job or their house."
Singer volunteers his services on the weekends, meeting with couples who have been hard hit by the recession and whose marriages are struggling as a result. He spends his "free" time, free in two senses of the word, helping middle aged couples address the loss of the savings and helping younger couples struggle with the decision to begin or expand a family in these tough economic times.
Singer has seen the "nightmarish" stress that unemployment and foreclosure can impose on a marriage. He said there's an overwhelming lack of hope among these victims of the recession, for whom each new day brings only a new bill to pay or resume to submit.
If Singer had his way, these marriages would all survive. His efforts will certainly help some. But, even if divorce is inevitable, Singer's efforts will help these couples deal with the reality of divorce without the negative emotions that cause people to engage in battles over property (even when there is no property to fight over) and children.
In response to a blog posting criticizing the plan, Singer submitted the following:
"I want to take it one step further during these stressful times of increasing unemployment and home foreclosures. I believe it is time to think about giving one day a month to help others by using our profession skills, especially to help those who recently lost their job or their house."
Singer volunteers his services on the weekends, meeting with couples who have been hard hit by the recession and whose marriages are struggling as a result. He spends his "free" time, free in two senses of the word, helping middle aged couples address the loss of the savings and helping younger couples struggle with the decision to begin or expand a family in these tough economic times.
Singer has seen the "nightmarish" stress that unemployment and foreclosure can impose on a marriage. He said there's an overwhelming lack of hope among these victims of the recession, for whom each new day brings only a new bill to pay or resume to submit.
If Singer had his way, these marriages would all survive. His efforts will certainly help some. But, even if divorce is inevitable, Singer's efforts will help these couples deal with the reality of divorce without the negative emotions that cause people to engage in battles over property (even when there is no property to fight over) and children.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Recession is the right time to divorce: family law attorneys weigh in on the subject
It is no secret that divorce filings have decreased in recent months. Many people believe they are in a situation where they "can't afford to divorce". However, two divorce lawyers believe differently.
According to a St. Louis attorney who describes himself as representing men in divorce, the current recession is the ideal time to divorce. If divorce is going to happen, he reasons, its far better to divorce at a time when assets and income are at their lowest.
A Tampa based divorce attorney who represents women agrees, but for different reasons.
The recession can be used to his client's advantage as well, especially in what were two income families. If a woman has been laid off from her job, it stands to reason that she will have a need for increased child support and alimony.
Its hard to say whether many people agree with the reasoning of either lawyer. One thing is clear: divorce rates in south florida have declined. In Miami-Dade County, divorces dropped from 3,239 for the first three months of 2008 to 3,196 during the same period in 2009. In Broward, the number dropped from 2,148 for the first quarter of 2008 to 1,543 for the same period in 2009.
No one can say which gender will fare better by divorcing in a recession. But the one encouraging thing I see, as a collaborative attorney and a mediator, is that many couples are not buying into this "seize the opportunity to divorce now and pay less to your spouse" mentality. They seem to recognize that their spouse may not go quietly with less money and will probably launch a counter attack, i.e. a highly contested divorce. A highly contested divorce = lots of money spent in lawyer fees. Forget dividing what is left of the 401k- it will be liquidated and divided between your two attorneys.
If this happens, the economic gain advertised by these lawyers, i.e., less assets to give to your spouse, less alimony/child support, etc., will be offset by the high cost of contested divorce litigation. As the saying goes, only the lawyers will win. It appears that many recognize this, preferring to wait to divide their union in less economically distressed times and, perhaps ironically, have decided that, at least for the present, that they are in this together.
According to a St. Louis attorney who describes himself as representing men in divorce, the current recession is the ideal time to divorce. If divorce is going to happen, he reasons, its far better to divorce at a time when assets and income are at their lowest.
A Tampa based divorce attorney who represents women agrees, but for different reasons.
The recession can be used to his client's advantage as well, especially in what were two income families. If a woman has been laid off from her job, it stands to reason that she will have a need for increased child support and alimony.
Its hard to say whether many people agree with the reasoning of either lawyer. One thing is clear: divorce rates in south florida have declined. In Miami-Dade County, divorces dropped from 3,239 for the first three months of 2008 to 3,196 during the same period in 2009. In Broward, the number dropped from 2,148 for the first quarter of 2008 to 1,543 for the same period in 2009.
No one can say which gender will fare better by divorcing in a recession. But the one encouraging thing I see, as a collaborative attorney and a mediator, is that many couples are not buying into this "seize the opportunity to divorce now and pay less to your spouse" mentality. They seem to recognize that their spouse may not go quietly with less money and will probably launch a counter attack, i.e. a highly contested divorce. A highly contested divorce = lots of money spent in lawyer fees. Forget dividing what is left of the 401k- it will be liquidated and divided between your two attorneys.
If this happens, the economic gain advertised by these lawyers, i.e., less assets to give to your spouse, less alimony/child support, etc., will be offset by the high cost of contested divorce litigation. As the saying goes, only the lawyers will win. It appears that many recognize this, preferring to wait to divide their union in less economically distressed times and, perhaps ironically, have decided that, at least for the present, that they are in this together.
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