Posted on April 11, 2008 by Peggy Roston

Know Your Finances: Tips On Steps To Take Before Divorce

A divorce can have a catastrophic impact on a family’s finances. But if you have reason to believe a divorce is looming on your horizon, there are precautionary steps you can take to make sure you know what you own and what you owe. Here are a few suggestions. You might also want to look at CNN's on-line article about planning for a divorce.

  • Run a credit report on yourself.
  • If you track your finances on your computer, make a backup copy of each financial data file.
  • Open a checking account in your name only at a bank or credit union. The account should not be opened at the bank or credit union where you already bank.
  • Apply for a credit card in your own name using an address other than your home address.
  • Make copies of at least 5 years of tax returns, investment account statements, loan applications, and store these copies off-premises with your lawyer or if you do not have a lawyer, store them with a friend or relative.
  • If your spouse manages the family finances on-line and you do not have access to any of the bank or credit card passwords, you could ask your spouse for the passwords. If this is likely to provoke an argument, then you can call your credit card company and/or go to the bank to request copies of account statements.
  • Once you get access to bank statements and credit cards, you should go through them to see if your spouse is transferring money or is taking frequent cash advances.

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Posted on April 4, 2008 by Peggy Roston

Alternatives To The Traditional Divorce Case

A divorce is processed through the court system like any other civil case. Both spouses retain attorneys to represent them. One spouse, the “plaintiff,” files a complaint for divorce against the other spouse, the “defendant” who then files an answer to the complaint. The case is assigned to a superior court judge on a random basis. Judges certainly encourage attorneys and their clients to work cooperatively. But the court process is based upon an adversarial system, which pits the parties against each other as each attorney argues in favor of the client’s position. Consequently, divorce litigation is financially draining because of the amount of time and legal fees involved. It is emotionally draining, particularly since it is almost impossible for an attorney to give a client the peace of mind of knowing how the judge is going to rule on the points of contention between the parties.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to the adversarial court case. These alternatives seek to build a consensus between the parties on issues related to property, custody, and support. The first alternative is mediation. In divorce mediation, a neutral third party works with you and your spouse to identify issues on which you do not agree and to assist you and your spouse in coming to an agreement on all financial and child-related divorce issues. The neutral third party cannot give advice to either of you so it is quite common for each spouse to have an attorney present at mediation sessions. 

The second alternative is the collaborative law process. Unlike mediation, the collaborative law process does not involve a neutral third party. Instead, you and your spouse each hire an attorney whose role is to assist you in going through each step of the collaborative process to come to an agreement on all divorce issues without going to court. The attorneys may bring other collaborative professionals including coaches, child specialists, and financial planners into the process for guidance and information. 

You can learn more about the differences between the traditional court case, mediation, and the collaborative practice from the Comparison Of Divorce Options chart, created by Conneticut attorney Harold Brienes.

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