3 Common Divorce Questions
If you are going through a divorce, you may be feeling overwhelmed. Speaking with an experienced divorce attorney can ease most of that stress. In the meantime, here are three common divorce questions.
Common Divorce Questions | How Should I Notify My Spouse When I’m Initiating a Divorce?
When you first initiate an action for divorce, oftentimes the husband or the wife will ask me, “What should I do now? Should I tell my wife, or should I tell my husband that I’m going to be initiating a divorce?” My response is always very consistent. It depends. It depends on whether you can do so in a way the situation can be discussed reasonably without their being a confrontation.
If there’s going to be a confrontation, then the answer is no. Let us go ahead and send out a letter, let the individual get an attorney, let me deal through the attorney regarding the service of the summons and the complaint, and then we’ll proceed on that basis. If the parties are able or feel that they’re going to be able to discuss the matter – and both parties already have an idea that a divorce is going to be proceeding anyway – then it’s fine. Go ahead and let the individual know that they’re going to be receiving a letter or that they’re going to be receiving a summons so there isn’t any real upset when it does happen, and we can deal with it.
Common Divorce Questions | What Needs to Be Completed After a Divorce?
Once the divorce is completed it is very important you take care of certain other matters. Change your will, healthcare proxy, and your power of Attorney. Make sure you designate certain individuals other than your spouse to take care of those very important issues for you. If you have investments and life insurance, you want to make sure that the beneficiaries on all of them have been changed. If you had joint credit cards, you want to make sure that the cards are put into either your name or your spouses in accordance to the divorce agreement.
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Common Divorce Questions | What is Alimony/Spousal Maintenance?
One of the most important issues that are raised when I meet with a client is the issue of spousal support or maintenance. Some clients like to refer to it as alimony and that’s an old term that we used to use. Spousal support and maintenance is a critical issue in determining your lifestyle moving forward. When we sit down, we go over all the factors, all the circumstances, everything that will have any consequence in determining what it is that you’re going to need to live on moving forward.
We will look at the length of the marriage, disparity of the respective incomes of the parties, your health, your education, the prospect of being able to earn money in the future, and whether you’ve had a career during the course of your marriage or can create a career moving forward. All these issues are very significant. When we sit down, we’re going to make sure that you’re going to be able to survive on the income that you’re going to be receiving, so be prepared. We’re going to spend a lot of time on that issue.
These common divorce questions responses were brought to you by the law office of Buffalo divorce attorney Randy Gugino. Please call our office today to set up a consultation.
