Recent Answers to Divorce Law Questions

Dolan W.

Answered Dec 27, 2024

Hello! My name is Dolan and I'm here to help! So the first thing you have to do is, gather all your financial documents before starting. You’ll need things like recent pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, credit card bills, and mortgage statements. These will help you accurately list your income, expenses, assets, and debts. As far as income, it's not just your salary; it's any source of income including things like rent or pension payments, for example. For assets, list everything you own, from big-ticket items like a house or car to smaller things like jewelry or personal accounts. For your debts, include all credit cards, loans, and other liabilities, and be upfront about what you owe. Even if you share debts, especially if the debt is something like child or spousal support from another relationship, that is necessary. You don't have to be 100% accurate with this. Just make sure that you make your BEST GUESS when it comes to analyzing the value of your assets. You can go to places like zillow.com or redfinfor any real estate to get a sense. Just make sure it's honest and thorough to the best of your ability!

Merry K.

Answered Jun 21, 2024

Generally, any sort of agreement can be enforced by a court. However, a court will look at such factors as whether each party was privy to all financial assets/debt at the time the agreement was signed; whether there was any appearance of coercion; whether each party was represented by counsel at the time of signing; whether any of the terms were unfair to one party at the time of signing; etc. It would be helpful for you to have the agreement approved and ordered into effectiveness by the judge, as part of the divorce proceedings. Once the agreement is in place, whether by just the two of you signing, or by a judge's approval, as part of the divorce proceedings (even after the divorce is finalized) if one party "breaches" the agreement, the other party can bring a motion before the court for breach of contract, and a judge can order the other party to comply. Similarly, a contract can be amended after it's signed, just like any other contract - I would advise you, at a minimum, to have your agreement reviewed by an attorney before you sign. And, please keep in mind, one should always use one's own attorney - one should never have one attorney review a contract for both parties, as there is an inherent conflict of interest. Also, your agreement needs provisions in it addressing what to do in case of conflict or breach - often, agreements have a provision that the parties to a divorce will use mediation at least twice if and when disputes arise.