Divorce

Important Divorce Decisions

Both divorcing parties will need to negotiate and work together on several important matters in their marriage dissolution:

Division of property: Assets, property and debt acquired during the marriage must be split equitably (50/50). Property from before the marriage or an inheritance or gift given to one spouse during the marriage will likely be exempt from this split. Work benefits and pensions will also need to be divided. 

There are exceptions to the equitable split rule. If one spouse lost a significant amount of their share of resources through gambling, substance abuse or excessive spending, those lost assets might be subtracted from their half of assets. 

Child Support: Unless parental income is identical, and each parent is sharing custody down the middle, it’s likely that some child support will be necessary from one spouse to the other. In some cases that child support may be direct payments from the non-custodial parent to the primary care giver, but it may also come in the form of ancillary costs like school tuition and health care. 

Decision Making and Parenting Time (Custody and Visitation): The distribution of parental responsibilities and parenting time is often the most heated point of contention during divorce. Parents, especially those who can be amicable, generally both have input on education, upbringing and health care decisions. Custody schedules and visitation time are often more aggressively contested by mothers and fathers. 

Spousal Maintenance/Alimony: Spousal maintenance or support, sometimes referred to as alimony, isn’t an issue in every divorce. It generally becomes an issue when:

• Two spouse have vastly different incomes
• One spouse didn’t have a career during the marriage
• They have very different educational backgrounds
• One will be primarily engaged in raising children from the marriage

You should visit our spousal maintenance page for more information on factors that may influence spousal support.