Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog

Divorce is a process that can be mentally, emotionally and financially draining. While there's not always much to be done about the mental and emotional pain, financial disaster can be mitigated with a little planning. The following are several tips by Angela Colley of BusinessInsider.com on how to prepare your money for a divorce.

1. Separate your bank accounts

Many couples preparing for a divorce will leave their joint checking accounts open, not wanting to appear spiteful. However, an irresponsible spouse might not be so considerate and could easily drain your joint account before you realize what has happened.

Establishing separate bank accounts and dealing with whatever uncomfortable conversation that might cause is better than taking the financial risk of inaction. The best advice would be take half the money from any joint account and place it in your own checking account.

2. Protect your credit

If you and your former spouse have joint credit accounts all the hard work you put into building a solid score can evaporate with a few bad financial decisions by your ex. Establishing separate credit and loan accounts is critical.

First things first, order an official copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Review the reports carefully and flag any accounts you share with your spouse.

Though it may be uncomfortable, have a direct conversation with your spouse and decide who wants to keep what and how the accounts ought to be divided.

Actually dividing these debts isn't so easy. You cannot just call a lender and ask to have your name removed if the obligation is joint. Instead, the debt must usually be repaid or refinanced in the name of only one spouse. If the spouse responsible for the debt isn't capable of having it refinanced alone then selling the asset or paying off the bill is usually the best move. Signing over control of an asset while leaving your name on the loan is a recipe for disaster and should be avoided at all costs.

3. Check on your insurance coverage

If you've shared insurance coverage with your spouse you may now find yourself out in the cold during a divorce. Plan ahead and negotiate a specific time to change the insurance, giving yourself enough time to secure new coverage. Make sure that you have the necessary health, auto and homeowners (or rental) insurance.

Continue reading "Protecting Your Finances in a North Carolina Divorce" »

According to a recent report on HuffingtonPost.com, a new study entitled "Divorce and Death" appearing in "Psychological Science" shows that failed marriages can actually kill at the same rate as cigarette smoking or obesity.

The results of the study were shocking as the stark numbers showed that the risk of dying is a full 23% higher among those that have gone through a divorce than married people. Researchers were surprised as they did not believe life expectancy would be slashed to ages comparable with smokers, heavy drinkers, and the obese.

Study authors David Sbarra and Paul Nietert make sure to point out that the association between divorce and death "cannot be deemed causal." They never intended to imply that the moment you sign divorce papers your life expectancy is slashed. Instead, the research indicates, "there is something uniquely difficult about remaining separated or divorced that accelerates time of death."

It's the cumulative strain of being a long-term single parent or the burden of a persistent conflict with an ex that causes the stress that can be a killer. Experts have long believed that interpersonal relationships and health are entangled in a complicated and confusing way. In a sad way, one spouse's damaging personality trait - whether hostility or negativity - can be responsible both for killing the marriage and, in the long run, for killing the ex.

Ex-husbands are at significantly higher risk of a premature death than their ex-wives. The reason is that it appears wives help keep their husbands alive. Men generally die younger than women, but wives are de facto caregivers. Studies dating back as far as the 1970s have shown that without a woman around, a man's health fails and he typically refuses to do much about it. Though technology and the ease of self-diagnosis have improved the situation, these are usually afterthoughts. Companionship with a nurturing woman is a built in prevention for sickness in old age.

Continue reading "Divorce Can Kill" »

The common saying is "the seven year itch." The theory being that around the seven year mark in a marriage, the couple is likely to become too comfortable and maybe even disenchanted with the relationship. Similarly, it may be that the rush of first being married has worn off. Or, maybe the couple has finished having babies so that thrill is gone too. Obviously, there is no formula which can predict with any certainty how long a marriage will last. Some end in divorce sooner, some end in divorce later, some marriages do not end in divorce. Perhaps the marriage ends when one of the spouses passes away.

But, according to a study in the UK involving 2,000 respondents, more couples run into trouble after the first three years of the marriage. The data seems to show that this is the point where the honeymoon phase really wears off. Similarly, this is also the point when the couple is likely to be making more significant financial investments together. Maybe the married couple signs an apartment least together, gets a joint bank account, joint cell phone contract, buy a house or maybe start having children (though it seems like couples are waiting longer and longer these days).

Continue reading "More Divorce After 7 Years? Or 3?" »

Another North Carolina equitable distribution case appeal was ruled to be interlocutory by the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Williamson vs. Williamson. Here the North Carolina District Court Judge announced its decision from the bench - meaning the Judge stated the ruling in open Court. When the wife appealed the equitable distribution ruling, the decision had not been reduced to a written Order and the issue of alimony was still pending before the Court.

Continue reading "Equitable Distribution Appeal Ruled Interlocutory by North Carolina Court of Appeals" »

The North Carolina Court of Appeals rendered a decision relating to equitable distribution. In the case of Bodie vs. Bodie, the plaintiff appealed an equitable distrubution order which indicated on its face that it was a final decision on the issue of equitable distribution. Importantly, alimony was still pending at the time of the entry of the equitable distribution order. The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that the language in question did not satisfy Rule 54(b) and, therefore, the order was interlocutory and not yet appealable.

Continue reading "Equitable Distribution Ruling by North Carolina Court of Appeals" »

According to Getting a Divorce? 5 Ways to Ensure It's Not a Financial Disaster, the fourth bit of advice is to sell the house or other valuable assets if it is financially prudent to do so. Often times we will see people who want to hold on to the former marital home for emotional reasons. If you cannot afford it, it is typically wise to put the emotional issues aside and make the reasoned decision. This is something that a family law attorney can help you decide.

Continue reading "Divorce Financial Tips (4 of 5)" »

This is the third of five divorce financial tips discussed in the article Getting a Divorce? 5 Ways to Ensure It's Not a Financial Disaster on Yahoo.com. You should pull your credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies before and during your separation and divorce.

There are several good reasons for doing so:

1) This can allow you to spot and correct errors early.

2) You will likely need to do an inventory of your assets and debts as part of your separation and divorce, this will give you one more resource for doing so.

Continue reading "Divorce Financial Tips (3 of 5)" »

Think you've seen some unusual divorce settlements in the United States? A recent judgment out of China might take the prize for the most unusual. In December, a judge in China denied a divorcing woman's claim that she owned half of the "virtual assets" accrued during her marriage.

Continue reading "Equitable Distribution of Virtual Assets?" »

In this issue of our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter, we take a look at how difficult it can be to divide property in equitable distribution. We also take a look at the legal impact of signing a legally binding document without reading and understanding it. Finally, we take a look at relocation issues in child custody cases.

Click here to view and print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter - Summer 2010:

CHARLOTTE DIVORCE LAWYER BLOG FAMILY LAW NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2010

As reported by the Charlotte Observer, reports coming out this week indicate that Elin Nordegren, the soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Tiger Woods, will receive over $750 million from her husband in their divorce settlement. Although Elin estimated that her legendary golfer husband was worth approximately $1 billion, her attorneys uncovered several additional assets owned by Woods which served to increase his net worth. Elin will also receive sole physical custody of the children and will share legal custody with Tiger.

In exchange for her large payout, Elin is banned from publicly speaking or writing about Tiger's reported affairs and any aspects of their divorce. Thus, unlike many wronged celebrity spouses, Elin must maintain a dignified silence for the rest of her life, regardless of whether Tiger predeceases her. For his part, Tiger is also banned from allowing any future or current mistress or girlfriend near his two children - unless he is marrying one. Under this deal, only married women not romantically linked to Tiger and female members of the staff known to Elin are allowed near the children.

Elin's receipt of over $750 million is by far the biggest celebrity divorce payout in U.S. history. The previous record was a $168 million payout to Juanita Jordan - otherwise known as the former Mrs. Michael Jordan. Other celebrity divorce settlements rounding out the top twelve include: Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey ($150 million), Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving ($100 million), Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison ($85 million), Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva ($80 million), Madonna and Guy Ritchie ($76 to $92 million), Paul McCartney and Heather Mills ($60 million), James Cameron and Linda Hamilton ($50 million), Michael Douglas and Diandra Douglas ($45 million and two homes), Lionel Richie and Diane Richie ($20 million), and Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall ($15 to $25 million).

According to an article entitled Five Ways to Save Your Marriage published last week by CNBC, positive financial behavior contributes greatly to the long-term stability of marital relationships. Certainly, this does not come as a surprise to married couples in Charlotte working through these tough economic times.

Conversely, and also not surprisingly, according to reports by the National Marriage Project at University of Virginia, the negative effects of poor money management are one of the leading causes of divorce. Couples who do not manage their money well and contribute to savings together are more likely to accumulate marital and individual debt, which puts a great deal of stress on a marriage.

The National Marriage Project's 2009 State of Our Unions report indicates that debt accumulation contributes to a sense of financial unease, which in turn increases a couple's likelihood of fighting over both financial and non-financial matters.

However, couples do not need to be approaching the unhappy prospect of financial destitution in order for financial issues to impact their marriage. The State of Our Unions report indicates that relatively minor decisions, such as using credit cards for large purchases or keeping up with a savings account transfer, can impact the stability marriages in the short-term and the long-term.

Thus, as these reports demonstrate, monitoring household budgets and limiting the accumulation of consumer debt is absolutely key in order to preserve a happy and healthy marriage.

According to a recent report from divorce360.com, Americans who live in the South are much more likely to get divorced than residents of the Northeast. This study, conducted by the Barna Group, reports that 27% of people who were married in the South get divorced, as compared to 19% of those in the Northeast. The Midwest also boasts a comparable 27% divorce rate, closely followed by a 26% rate in the West.

Although the results of this study may seem atypical to those Southerners who generally consider themselves to be more traditionally conservative, the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia has an explanation. People who live in one area and do not move or relocate are much more likely to stay married over people who move, such as residents of the Midwest, the West, and the South.

One wonders whether there might be other explanations, or at least other factors, involved in these elevated divorce rates other than migratory trends. Does it make a difference at what age couples are married? Perhaps employment status or work conditions are impacting the divorce rates. Similarly, maybe there is an economic element which correlates to the higher divorce rates which relates to the economic and financial strength of the area. Family history and demographic trends may also play roles in the equation.