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711 - What Information Will I Need?The information you need to gather for your divorce is mostly financial. That's because in the average divorce, almost all the negotiations revolve around money. Even the decision of where the children are going to live is laced with money, because it has a lot to do with who's going to pay child support to whom. There's lots of information here on the Divorce Line dealing with money issues. The first, and perhaps most complex of the tasks you face is to find out what you and your spouse own and what you owe. You need to do as much of this as possible yourselves. The more you rely on lawyers to gather this information, the more time and money it will take to gather it. What is involved in what you own and what you owe? Well you need to know what real estate you own. That's dirt and things attached to dirt, like houses, barns, and office buildings. You need to know what they're worth today, as well as what you paid for them and how much money you owe on them. There's a separate message here on the Divorce Line, number 721, called "What Happens to the House?" You need to know who owns what cars, and how much you owe on each car. The same goes for boats, trailers, RV's, whatever. You need to know how much is in each bank account, and at some point you will need need to know who has signature authority on the various accounts. You need to know the value of any retirement plans either of you owns. There's a separate message, number 722, called "What About Retirement Plans?" You'll need to know the value and how much you paid for brokerage accounts, IRA's, mutual funds, and other financial assets. You need to know if either of you owns any life insurance policies that have accumulated cash value. You need to know the value of any business interests either of you owns. The family business is a huge issue for some couples. If either of you owns an interest in a family business, you'll want to visit with a lawyer who really understands the treatment of family business in divorce. You have several options for dealing with it, and there are advantages and disadvantages to each one. You need to know the value of any claims you own, including claim for a tax refund. You need to know how much that refund is likely to be. Depending on how and whether you and your spouse reach agreement on dividing the household, you may need to know the approximate value of your household items. And it's easy to overlook some of the value in your household. There's a separate message here on the Divorce Line, number 723, called "How Do We Divide the Household Items?" Now about your debts. You'll need to know what the debts are, of course, and you'll also need to know who's responsible for each debt. You can't always tell that from looking at the card. You need to call up the lender and ask this question: "Who is contractually liable on this account?" Most lenders are able to give you a straight answer pretty quickly. On your debts, you also need to know the extent to which one or more of your lenders have liens on your property to secure their debt. There's a separate message, number 725, on managing your debts. When it comes to income, you probably need to know what your spouse's income is. That's a simple matter for someone on a salary from a large company. For an entrepreneur, though, it can be fiendishly difficult. If your spouse has cash income, or income from several sources, you'll probably need to get some guidance from someone about how to confirm what your spouse is telling you about his or her income. Alabama Family Law Center serves clients who need to get through divorce and who are able to be reasonably cooperative. The goal is for both spouses to survive divorce and move on with their lives with some money in their pockets and their dignity intact. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. If you'd like to make an appointment with me, call 205-979-6960. Or you can click here to return to the Divorce Line. |
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