Divorce.

It’s right up there with death of a spouse for the most stressful life events we can experience. Yet just as you cannot escape the paperwork and financial issues after the death of a loved one, you can’t afford to ignore the financial aspects of a divorce, as you are setting the foundation for the next chapter in your life. As difficult as this time is, and regardless of which side of the divorce you are on, you must keep good records and clear thoughts.

First things first

The first task is to gather copies of records, documenting what you own and what you owe. As with all things in a divorce, if you and your spouse are able to collaborate and work together, this will be easier than if you have to hunt for things on your own, especially if you don’t know what to look for.

A good place to start is with the tax return. A tax return tells a lot about a person’s finances, from income to housing costs. Schedule B should show you where you’ve earned interest and dividends, so you can track down those statements, and Schedule D (if any) leads to more investment statements. The return may show an IRA deduction or you may see a “D” on a W2, leading you to a retirement account deferral. You’ll also need that tax return itself, to document earnings and project taxes.

Read More: Pocono Record

Divorce.

It’s right up there with death of a spouse for the most stressful life events we can experience. Yet just as you cannot escape the paperwork and financial issues after the death of a loved one, you can’t afford to ignore the financial aspects of a divorce, as you are setting the foundation for the next chapter in your life. As difficult as this time is, and regardless of which side of the divorce you are on, you must keep good records and clear thoughts.

First things first

The first task is to gather copies of records, documenting what you own and what you owe. As with all things in a divorce, if you and your spouse are able to collaborate and work together, this will be easier than if you have to hunt for things on your own, especially if you don’t know what to look for.

A good place to start is with the tax return. A tax return tells a lot about a person’s finances, from income to housing costs. Schedule B should show you where you’ve earned interest and dividends, so you can track down those statements, and Schedule D (if any) leads to more investment statements. The return may show an IRA deduction or you may see a “D” on a W2, leading you to a retirement account deferral. You’ll also need that tax return itself, to document earnings and project taxes.

Read More: Pocono Record

Just in case you didn’t hear, Heidi Klum and Seal have headed to Splitsville. In anexclusive statement to People magazineover the weekend, the celebrity duo, who even renewed their vows each year on their anniversary (May 10), said:

“While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. This is an amicable process and protecting the well-being of our children remains our top priority, especially during this time of transition.”

Read More : Forbes

On Monday the Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, signed a law that would limit alimony and make changes to the outdated system.

The previous system was flawed because it allowed judges to award lifelong alimony within short and long marriages, and it also required a spouse to continue paying the alimony after retirement or even if the former spouse began living with another partner. The new law will base the length of alimony on the length of the marriage and allows for it to cease after retirement.

There is some worry that the law is detrimental to women who must leave the workforce to care for children or those who are in an abusive relationship who feel they must stay in the relationship longer to qualify for alimony.

Read more about this at: The New York Times

Divorce usually the largest single financial transaction of people’s lives. The following tips offer assistance on how to go about it in the most effective and non-debilitating manner though the most helpful tip is obtaining a divorce lawyer.

1. Cancel ALL joint credit cards

Even if a court rules that you aren’t responsible for charges made by your spouse after you separate, the credit card company can hold you responsible while things are sorted. Better safe than sorry, they say.

2. Use joint funds to pay family expenses

Begin your divorce with these expenses already paid, rather than arguing with your spouse about who should pay them later. This includes automobile repair, clothing, and home necessities.

3. Start what you wish to continue

Judges usually enforce the status quo, so go wild: get braces for the kids, go to school, or receive medical treatments.

4. Open a personal post office box

Confidential information can be sent to you there, and it provides a stable mailing address as your life changes.

5. Open up a separate bank account. 

Accumulate money so you can get through the divorce. However, you are required to eventually tell your soon-to-be ex-spouse about the funds.

6. Apply for credit cards in your own name. 

These cards allow you to establish credit in your own name, to use when you cancel your joint accounts, and during the divorce.

7. For fast cash, borrow from parents, a credit union, or your 401 (k) 

The cost of these sources anvil credit card interest rates

8. Copy ALL papers that do with money now so you won’t have to subpoena them later.

This includes all tax returns, loan applications, wills, trusts, financial statements, banking information, loan documents, credit card statements, deeds to real property, car registration, insurance inventories, and all insurance policies.

9. Gather financial information

Even if you are unsure of divorce, knowing your finances will make you a better partner if the two of you stay together, and will help you get the best settlement possible if you don’t.

10. Copy records that you can use to trace your separate property, such as an inheritance.

If you can document them, the assets remain yours.

For more information, check out: divorce 360

New Yorkers are marrying at a later age, and with later marriages, those who choose divorce are splitting up at a later age. A late-life divorce certainly involves different considerations. For example, you may not have to deal with issues of child custody or visitation as your children may now be legal adults no longer living with you. Though children might not be involved, it doesn’t necessarily mean that late-life divorce is easy.

According to a recent U.S. Census report, less first-time married couples are lasting until their 25^th (or later) anniversaries. Many couples choose divorce later on because they realize they want to make the most out of their life, and know that their relationship is no longer satisfying for them.

Getting divorced, however, brings new considerations. A couple’s investments and assets have lasted longer, and must be divided. A couple will have more homes or businesses that need to be fairly divided. New York courts, being in a state of equitable distribution of assets, will likely split these assets even if one spouse invested more of their own money. New York spouses also have the right to claim a share of pensions, 401(k) accounts and individual retirement accounts even if they are under the name of one spouse.

Another consideration of a late-life divorce is the fact that you are either already retired or close to retiring. You likely do not have the same regular income as you did in the past, so your divorce settlement is key to protecting your future finances.

Source: Wall Street Journal

If you are divorcing in New York, the court considers several factors when determining which spouse receives and pays alimony. The court will be considering the individual earnings and sources of income of both you and your spouse. Courts also consider which parent has spent more time taking care of the children and whether or not there was domestic violence, among other factors. The court also considers who will be raising the child post-divorce and how the divorce will affect that parent’s ability to financially support the child.

Whether or not you will have to make alimony payments does largely rest on your job, and this has resulted in a trend in alimony payments. Today, more and more women are earning more money than their husbands, making them more likely to be the one paying alimony. This may be because more women are getting higher paid jobs or because with the nation’s weak economy more men are losing their jobs, making their wives the breadwinners.

Source: News Junky Journal

Though a divorce is certainly not a planned or ideal event, there are better times than others to get a divorce. Many couples choose divorce based on their current financial situation or the environment around them.

So what should you look out for? New York actually has a lower divorce rates than other states, which experts claim can be partially attributed to the state’s poor economy. With higher taxes and fewer jobs, individual spouses feel less confident on their ability to live and thrive on their own. In addition to paying for the divorce itself, post-divorce you may have to purchase or rent a new house, car, furniture, etc., all of which can be costly.

Connected to a bad economy, an unstable real estate market, can also make getting a divorce more difficult. If you or your spouse is selling your former home, you are likely not going to sell it for your ideal price. A good idea would be to have one spouse stay in the house so you do not have to deal with the market.

Having a bad credit history is not good when you are getting a divorce. Post-divorce, you may find yourself looking for a new place to live, opening a new credit card, or interviewing for a new job. Al of these may be affected if you have a bad credit report. It also can hurt you when settling child custody and financial support arrangements.

Many couples also wait until their children are older to divorce. If you and your spouse choose to divorce with a child under 18, you are going to have to settle custody and financial support. A divorce will affect your ability to pay to support the child and even larger expenses, such as college, may be affected.

If you choose to split up under any of these conditions, pay attention to how those circumstances will affect your life during and after divorce.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Marriage statistics, though revealing some changes over the years, have consistently shown since the 1950s that most couples split after about seven years, according to Boston.com. We know that today couples are marrying at older ages and dealing with different financial worries and divorce laws. So why has this statistic remained? What makes the seventh year different?

A professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University, Andrew J. Cherlin, explains that seven years marks a crucial point in the relationship between spouses. By seven years, a couple has a sense of how they work together, how they sort out problems and whether or not those problems can be fixed. Cherlin stated, “Over time, people’s flaws reveal themselves. The positives remain, but the negatives build up. It may be that after a while you realize your spouse won’t be providing for you economically as well as you want.”

Additionally, while a couple may see reason to split before reaching the seventh year, they may not be emotionally or financially ready to make the decision. Raising kids or trying to move up in the workplace may encourage couples to stay together.

According to the New York State Department of Health, New York couples also followed this trend. In 2009, more marriages lasted between 5-9 years in both New York City (8,057 divorces) and the state in total (14,700) than any other duration. While New York has seen a recent increase in the divorce rate by 12% due to the enactment of no-fault divorce, it is still unclear as to how this has affected the median age of marriages.

Couples divorcing today need to consider some of the income and tax consequences that may come from real estate transactions during a divorce.  Real Estate Divorce Specialist Robert Bailey-Lemansky estimates that about 70% of splits involve some form of real estate transaction.

With today’s market, a house can sit on the market for a long time or even sell at a loss. Being on the market longer can make the divorce proceedings last longer as well.

Bailey-Lemansky suggests fairly pricing the home and lowering the price in order to increase interest in the listed home. He also suggests trying to limit disagreements and schedule showings at times that are good for both parties.

Source: U.S. Politics Today