Major life changes can happen at any time. While you and many other California residents may have the ability to prepare for certain changes, such as buying a house or deciding to have a baby, you may not receive much notice for other scenarios, like when your spouse announces that he or she wants a divorce.
You may understandably have many concerns about how your pending divorce will affect the various aspects of your life. Divorce itself is a major change, and it can have a ripple effect that touches many areas of your life. In particular, you may have concerns regarding the financial impacts of ending your marriage and how the divorce proceedings themselves will play a role.
Money misconceptions
As your divorce case moves forward, you may think that certain details of your marital relationship will have a positive effect on the financial outcomes for you. However, you may want to determine whether you hold any money misconceptions like the following examples:
- You may think that, because you saved money in a separate bank account, the cash will remain yours. However, it is possible that community property laws could entitle your spouse to a portion of those funds, depending on the circumstances.
- You may think that you could get more money out of the divorce because your spouse cheated on you. In reality, your spouse’s infidelity will likely not have much influence on the outcomes of your case because of no-fault divorce laws.
- You may think that you will not end up saddled with any of the debt your spouse accrued, but because of community property laws, the court will likely consider you responsible for half of your spouse’s debt that he or she accumulated during the marriage.
- You may think that you will receive lifetime alimony payments because you did not work while married. In truth, any payments awarded may not last a lifetime, and new alimony tax laws could affect alimony terms.
If you have misconceptions about how the details of your marriage will affect your case, you may find yourself displeased as your case gets underway.
Gaining the right information
Before your proceedings start, it is wise to gain information on state laws regarding divorce, other money misconceptions and your options for fighting for the best outcomes. Luckily, speaking with an experienced family law attorney can help you obtain reliable and applicable information.