Maine Divorce Law Blog

10 Crazy Divorce Stories

Check out this site for Ten Divorce Stories Too Strange To Make Up.  What do you think, all legit?

Divorce in difficult financial times

I don’t mean to ignore the other important aspects that often occur in a divorce — custody and visitation of minor children, spousal abuse, marital infidelity, and the very real pain of just being rejected by your spouse — but looking only at finances, should you get divorced in today’s difficult economy? 

There are several pro and cons depending on your situation.

If you’re the primary financial earner, you may be in a position to have to contribute less to your spouse because either your income may be lower (if your job itself isn’t in jeopardy), your retirement has probably declined with the stock market losses, and the value of your home is probably less.

If you’re still capable of earing a good income, this may be the perfect time to get divorced as it relates to a division of your assets.  (Again, I’m ONLY dealing with the financial impact of a divorce.)

If you’re the primary bread winner, the difficult thing about divorcing in today’s economy is that you’re losing the value of your possessions in the recession AND then giving away 1/2 of what you have left to your spouse.  It can feel as if you’ve worked hard to earn all these things and are being left after a divorce with little to show for it.

What about if you’re not the primary breadwinner — is this a good time for a divorce?  If you’re short on income, probably not.  The real problem is going to be that you don’t get as much of a financial cushion if you get divorced. 

Would you rather split a 401(k) that has $1 million or one that has $500,000?  Would you rather have a house worth $400,000 or one that is worth $250,000? 

Clearly if you don’t have a high earning capacity that will allow you to “make up” some of this loss of value due to the economy, it’s probably not in your best interest to get divorced now.

The flip side is that if you’re awarded the house and you’re able to keep it due to a low mortgage, you’re probably getting it at an excellent time that will allow it to appreciate when the economy turns around.  So if you have enough earning capacity to keep your marital home, you may be able to reap substantial rewards when the economy improves.  Of course, no one knows if that is going to happen this year — or in 5 years!

Is divorce the right decision for you in today’s tough economic times?  It all depends on how you look at it.

 

Is a Post-Nuptial Agreement in Your Future?

You’ve heard of a pre-nuptial agreement, right?  But have you ever heard of a post-nuptial agreement?

Unlike a pre-nup, a post-nup agreement is signed by married couples during the marriage and it typically deals with how the parties manage their finances, assets, children or any other matter if they later divorce or if one of them dies.

The Washington Post has an informative article about it here.  I have yet to run into one in Maine, but it seems to be something that would be appropriate in certain circumstances.

Is it anything you’d consider?

California Says No to Gay Marriage Ban

The California Supreme Court has struck down the ban against gay marriages in that state.  Now both Massachusetts and California allow same-sex marriages.

Will Maine be far behind?

Women with Advanced Degrees More Likely To Get Divorced

The Wall Street Journal reports that Women M.B.A.s are twice as likely to divorce as are their male counterparts.  To a lesser degree, the same thing applies for women with law or medical degrees.

I suppose that it’s not surprising that advanced degrees prompt more divorces.  After all, more intense and stressful work — especially in careers that demand lots of overtime — is bound to be make things more difficult at home. 

So watch out women — a professional degree appears to be very hazardous to your marriage!

Real Estate Market Forces Divorced Couples To Stay Together

Now there’s a frightening thought.  You want to get divorced but because the real estate market is so bad, you’re forced to continue to live with your spouse during your divorce because you can’t afford to move on until the house sells. 

Here is an article dealing with this issue.

Could this be your situation?

Maine Divorce Law Blog Is Tops

This blog was recently featured as one of the top family law blogs on-line by the website prenuptialagreement.org.  Check it out here.

It’s an honor to be mentioned with the other highly informative sites!