No couple expects to divorce, and when a person says their marriage vows, they never expect to experience a marriage dissolution. However, due to life circumstances, a divorce finds its way into a marriage and must be dealt with. You should have a divorce lawyer by your side to help you through this challenging process. The attorney will advise on your rights, legalities involved, and how to deal with the situation amicably. If you are contemplating hiring an expert divorce lawyer out of San Diego, please reach out to the San Diego Family Lawyer for help. Below is how our divorce attorneys can help you.
The Attorney will Help You Know your Rights
Although you could be hesitant to engage a lawyer to get you through a divorce, you need to know that a competent lawyer is familiar with family law, especially as it pertains to California. Remember that each state has its divorce requirements. Therefore, unless you are confident that you can interpret statutes and complete the necessary legal paperwork correctly, you might need to hire a local divorce lawyer.
Help you Reach a Property Agreement
Like every divorce, you should divide marital debts and assets before the court grants your divorce request. You have two options: decide what each partner will receive from the union or allow the judge to determine for you. The judge will not understand your circumstances like you do. Therefore, if you still want to have control of how you divide your debts and property in the divorce, it is wise to work with an attorney who will help you reach an agreement with your partner instead of allowing the judge to decide. Your attorney is crucial in the following aspects:
Develop a List of Your Marital Assets
Your family law attorney will begin the asset division process by asking every spouse to list assets and then outline what each partner should take away. It is wise to be honest throughout the process. Make sure you highlight all assets you have acquired throughout your marriage such as insurance policies, pensions, retirement accounts, bank accounts, recreational cars, equipment, real estate, and any other asset that has value. When you are done with your list, come up together, and compare.
If you reach a property agreement and later discover that your partner did not disclose a property, you can request your lawyer to help you reopen the case to reassess the asset division. The guilty partner could face severe penalties should the judge reasonably believe that they deliberately hid details or failed to reveal the asset.
Value Assets
Another property division step is determining the value of assets. Generally, the court will agree to take the fair market value (what you get for an asset if you sold it on an open market), rather than how much you bought it.
Start by agreeing on the value of every property whose value is more than a given amount. For complicated valuations such as antique collectibles or business, you may want appraisers. If you cannot agree on a given asset's value, you can each consult independent appraisers and then ask your lawyer to choose one for you.
Determine Whether an Asset is Separate or Marital
If you have a separate asset, it should remain in your custody even after the divorce. Bearing that in mind, each partner should outline the owner of each asset before moving forward.
If there are disputes on whether the property is separate or marital, the spouse claiming the assets should prove that they are not marital. With the assistance of your lawyer, you can do this by presenting the date of purchase, how the assets were kept separate at the time of your marriage, and how you got funds to buy the assets.
Debts
Debts cannot be excluded from asset division in marriage dissolution. Your attorney will help you split any joint debt obtained during marriage like a car loan, tax debt, or mortgage between the spouses. It is worth noting that if you have a credit card in your name and was never used for a marital purpose, then you are exclusively responsible for that debt.
Drafting a Property Settlement Agreement
Once you and your partner have reached an agreement, you can develop an asset settlement agreement that will be presented to the court. Make sure the agreement list every property and debt, its value, and the owner. To be certain that you are not making the wrong decision, ask your lawyer to review the divorce agreement before signing it.
If you cannot agree on assets and debts division, you can solve the dispute by selling the property and then splitting the proceeds. For instance, most divorcing couples will sell their home, subtract mortgage, and divide the profits. If still, you cannot decide what portion of profits each partner should receive, you may need to seek advice from a skilled divorce attorney.
Avoid Errors
There are two main reasons why people make errors when completing their divorce: divorce comes with the emotional trauma that makes it hard to make sound decisions, and the legal system is complex. For instance, if you forget to address credit card or medical debt or if you overestimate or underestimate a property's value, then you are making a substantial mistake. Such an error can result in financial harm or will be corrected by a future legal proceeding. By hiring a family divorce lawyer, you can be sure that your case is handled professionally, and you will be able to avoid costly mistakes that you might regret for the rest of your life.
Avoid Delays
Even though you could use court provided documents to file your divorce, you could still experience challenges completing the correct forms as well as providing adequate documentation and information. If you go to court without legal representation, you could find that issues with paperwork, among other marital disputes issues, causing a delay in the court ruling. This could significantly delay the date that your divorce is final. By having an attorney, you can avoid any delays and get the marriage dissolution process completed as quickly as possible.
Objectivity
Marriage dissolution is an emotional time for the couple. You could experience feelings of betrayal, sadness, fear, confusion, rage, resignation, anxiety, and depression, all at the same time. The fact that your emotions are running high, and you can't be objective about the divorce, will affect your judgment. If you are considering representing yourself, you need to know that your emotional state could hinder you from making sound decisions about the future.
As a third party to your marriage, your attorney will be able to separate themselves from the emotional aspect of the divorce and work towards the most effective resolution for all parties involved.
Moreover, divorce lawyers are trained to handle marriage dissolution cases objectively, and as a result, they are less likely to make decisions promptly. For instance, you could be tempted to settle for a quick resolution of asset and debt division through an early settlement, but the lawyer could advise you that it's wise to wait for an equitable and fair division.
Throughout the entire divorce process, your attorney will remind you to keep your emotions in check or even introduce you to other professionals who can assist you channel your emotions positively. Any experienced legal counsel will also tell you when you are requesting something impossible or being unreasonable.
Determining Alimony
Your divorce attorney can assist in assessing whether you have a right to spousal support or may be needed to pay for it. The purpose of alimony is to reduce the unfair economic consequences of a marriage dissolution by offering a continuing income to low-wage-earning partners. This can be justified by the fact that the spouse chose to forego their career to support their family, and requires time to develop job skills to support themselves. Also, it is meant to assist the partner in continuing living in the same standard they had during their marriage.
Moreover, you could be entitled to a percentage of the company's interest that your soon-to-be partner operates. Only a few spouses should worry about the immediate financial effects of divorce. This is because you are entitled to a percentage of your spouse’s social security income or pension as long as you have been married for more than ten years.
So what happens when your ex refuses to pay spousal support? Ask your lawyer to assist you in enacting the spousal support order by bringing legal action against the party in contempt. You have the burden of proof of proving that your ex is not complying with court rules. At the contempt hearing, you should present documentation of when you received payment when you were requesting for an official accounting, and showing deposit history. You can also show communication in which you are requesting your spouse to adhere to the order or from your ex stating that they are behind on payments.
Your Lawyer Can be Your Divorce Mediator
Mediation is an informal way of settling marital disputes, such as child custody, spousal support, child support, and division of assets and debts outside of court. It involves hiring a third party who helps the divorcing couple to reach an agreement that works for them on their own. Mediation is a skill set unto itself. Additionally, attending law school offers family law attorneys the skills needed to practice mediation.
How a Lawyer Can Help in Mediation
While you do not require a lawyer in divorce mediation, it is a good idea to hire one. If you underestimate the strength of a lawyer's legal position, you could have a hard time getting fair negotiations. This is because your mediator could be very instrumental in helping you talk about your fears, family issues, and concerns, and assisting you to come up with an amicable agreement for the divorce. They may also help you understand California's law on marital assets, how alimony or child support is determined, and other relevant family laws. However, the mediator should be neutral and therefore, can't offer legal advice.
Since the attorney knows family law norms, they can help you determine if certain provisions benefit your family or not. The attorney will also identify any missing information or possible gaps that the divorce mediator has not found. For instance, your agreement may say that both spouses can't move twenty-five miles from your current home. Your lawyer may ask clarifying questions like:
- Where do your children attend school?
- Does either spouse plan to move?
- What happens once your children join college? Will this rule still apply?
These clarifying questions will help in seeking for vital details that make the agreement easy to read, understand, and interpret.
If you hire a lawyer right from the initial stages, the lawyer will be your consulting lawyer who will prepare you for mediation by explaining the norms in your jurisdiction. You can also discuss with them your concerns and fears. This will assist you to figure out what decisions should be made immediately. Additionally, they will clarify questions, give you feedback after sessions, and assist you in weighing the available options.
If you hire an attorney in the final stage of your mediation, they will become your reviewing lawyer. Because mediation agreements are written in a legal language, legal counsel should make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before signing the agreement. They will do this by explaining different elements of the agreement to you in a simple language. Since your lawyer was not involved in the mediation process, they should review the agreement to check for missing points.
Your attorney should also help you in the following:
- Choosing a mediator (if the judge did not choose the divorce mediator for you),
- Assisting you to analyze potential settlements, and
- Preparing the formal divorce agreement.
The Lawyer Should Suggest Options that You Don't Even Know Exists
Your divorce attorney will evaluate your case and tell you the likely outcome should you take the case to court. Based on the experience with similar divorce cases to yours and the court, your lawyer will be in a position to offer several lawfully-acceptable options to settle the divorce.
If you and your soon-to-be-ex represent yourselves, you may come into an agreement on issues that the court may reject. When that occurs, you will be causing more delays. Your attorney will assist you in developing a reasonable settlement proposal. Moreover, if the proposal is from your spouse, the attorney will advise you on whether to settle, fight it in court, or develop a counter-proposal.
Your Lawyer will Help you to Pay Attention to the Big Picture
While a spouse could be solely dedicated to winning their case, their attorney will focus on developing the best strategy possible. That could mean assisting you in compromising on certain issues. The best deal in marriage dissolution is one that the spouses compromise some things they hoped to get, but both can live with the agreement.
A competent family attorney understands that they are representing people with limited resources hence the importance of reducing costs. Therefore, they will advise the divorcing couple not to waste money and other resources by fighting over issues. They will also assist them in setting their priorities so that they can gain more than they need or expected in the end.
A Lawyer Can Help Reduce Child Support Payments
Child support is a fundamental right of a child that is taken seriously by the court. Failure to make payments could lead to severe penalties such as loss of professional and driver’s licenses, jail time, and wage garnishment. In other words, when a judge orders you to pay child support, you should pay it unless you have a good reason not to.
If you are no longer able to make the payments, you need to hire an attorney. The lawyer will file a petition with the court requesting a reduction. Your lawyer should demonstrate that you have an ongoing and significant change in your life that hinders you from keeping up with the payment. Perfect examples include where you have an increase in expenses due to involuntary loss of employment or expensive medical expenses.
Fear of Violence
Sometimes, a spouse can fear their partner when the marriage dissolution comes to light. In such cases, it is most likely that severe physical or emotional abuse took place in the past. When you fear violence from your spouse, your lawyer can devise an immediate action plan that keeps you and your children safe. It could be filing a restraining order and seeking a temporary custody order for your children. Additionally, the lawyer will advise you on how to handle money like if you can withdraw money from your joint account, and if so, how much.
Find A Divorce Attorney Near Me
The stress a divorce brings to you as a divorcing couple, and your family, is immense. Although finding a reliable divorce attorney can be challenging, in the long run, this is one of the best decisions you can make in your divorce process. The attorney will assist you in many ways than you probably think. This is because the attorney remains objective and knows how to navigate throughout the process. Reach out to the San Diego Family Law Lawyer today at 619-610-7425 for help on divorce issues.
