Divorce is never easy. It’s the conscious separation of two people who made a commitment to stay together, which is a very difficult thing to deal with on a personal level. However, since marriage is both a personal and a legal contract, there are often other things to be concerned about once separation occurs.
That is why services like divorce mediation span Colorado Springs and many other places across the country. With the sheer amount of paperwork, personal agenda, state requirements, and other concerns, divorcing couples will need all the help they can get to make the transition as smooth as possible.
However, the things that can often trip people up are the ones that aren’t easy to account for. Just look at the following scenarios. Bear in mind that legal jurisdictions handling these scenarios may be different, so consult with your lawyer before doing any legal action or claim.
The length of the marriage
If the length of the marriage is less than two years before it is terminated, a court may order a couple to consider counseling in order for a reconciliation to happen. This is done due to the assumption of the court that each marriage has been made in good faith, with the aim to last for a lifetime.
A sudden reversal in this dynamic between couples is grounds for a court to mandate therapy and counseling between the two parties to make sure that the reasoning behind the separation is based on a solid circumstance that can be defended in a court of law. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but these are best discussed with your divorce lawyer.
Asset sharing and distribution
Another thing that separating couples can often disagree on is the assets that became shared once they got married and the subsequent splitting of the assets now that they’ve separated. Unless both parties have signed a prenup, (which is becoming more common in today’s marriages), it can often be difficult to reach an agreement when it comes to this area.
One of the reasons this is so difficult is that it’s often very tricky to determine which are “splittable assets”. While the ideal scenario is that both parties are liquid enough to reach a settlement, there are often other things such as property or possessions that can complicate the case.
Shared accounts and policies
For long-standing marriages, untangling the legal web of shared accounts and insurance policies can often be a nightmare without professional help. Since being married often confers plenty of tax benefits, it’s not unusual for separating couples to forget to account for these plans in the middle of dealing with all the other paperwork.
The best way to get this type of dispute settled is to rely on the accounts and regulations of the issuing institution—either a bank or a lawyer—and use that as a basis to reach an agreeable settlement. Since the plan/account/policy can no longer continue in its current form if the couple has separated, it falls to the divorce lawyer to analyze and make a recommendation.
