Q: I’m getting a divorce. Who gets the house when the divorce is finalized? A: The short answer is, it depends. There are many factors that must be considered in determining who gets to keep the marital home during a divorce. Q: What factors are considered in determining who gets the marital home in…
divorce and your assets
Property Division in a Divorce
Q: What is martial property? A: Massachusetts law has a very broad definition of marital property. It defines marital property as property owned by either or both spouses, whether acquired during the marriage, or prior to the marriage. This means that if property is in only one spouse’s name, or was bought before the marriage,…
10 Things No One Tells You About Divorce
Not all divorce advice is created equal. For every good tip you receive from someone (don’t use your attorney as your therapist, keep those rants about your ex off Facebook), there are just as many unhelpful comments: “Don’t get mad, get everything!” Just no. The best source for advice you can actually use are divorcés…
Certain changes in financial behavior and conversations about money are sure-fire signs that your spouse is preparing to split up.
Over 25 years, I’ve worked on the financial aspects of more than 1,300 cases of divorce. Rarely are both spouses in sync when it comes to filing; one spouse is usually laying the groundwork before the other. In hindsight, most people on the receiving end of the filing have their “aha!” moment. One homemaker told…
Resetting Your Retirement After Divorce
When couples divorce, long-term financial priorities sometimes receive the least attention. Many money issues are about immediate needs – where to live, how to handle everyday expenses and if there are kids, how to support their needs in two households, not one. This is why retirement planning can face serious obstacles post-divorce. In marriage, a…
Handling Your Divorce Like an Air-Traffic Controller
The stresses placed on divorcing couples, who are making decisions about custody, spousal support, equitable distribution and parenting plans are not unlike those of air-traffic controllers, who are trying to safely land multiple jumbo jets coming in on multiple runways. Perhaps these aren’t life or death decisions, but that depends entirely on your perspective! I…
Divorce Can Mean a Trip Down the Economic Ladder for Women
Divorce can be a one-way ticket down the road to financial instability for many women, especially for those who are middle class or low-income. It can mean a loss of work hours, more time (and expense) devoted to childcare and a cold slap in the face when it comes to finding a job or finishing…
9 Tips for Dividing Your 401(k) During a Divorce
Dividing a 401(k) for a divorce settlement is less painful when you know about the plan and take the right steps that ensure both people are satisfied. A 401(k) plan is marital property, just like other possessions that need to be divided. Here are nine ways you can handle assets in the plan during a…
Managing High Asset Divorces in Massachusetts
All divorces can be stressful and important to spouses facing a divorce. However, handling divorces with a high asset value has some additional inherent complexities that not all spouses, or even all attorneys, are aware of. When addressing high asset divorces, there are complicated issues that have to be addressed within alimony, property division, taxes,…
How to Protect Your Company From Your Business Partner’s Divorce
Before you formed your business partnership, did you vet your partners’ marriages along with their bank statements? You may not consider it until divorce proceedings are underway, but your partners’ spouses likely own a part of your company, whether you want them to or not. In my day job as a financial strategist specializing in…
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