Divorce can be hard on all members of the family. A union that was supposed to be happy and lifelong is being torn apart. It is common to have a variety of feelings, including anger, resentment, guilt, sadness, and even hope. Because there are so many emotions involved in the divorce process, it can quickly get messy. It is often best to have a neutral mediator to help with the negotiations. There will be a lot of decisions surrounding who gets what during the divorce proceedings. Divorce attorneys can be a valuable resource during this process.
The home. Most couples end up purchasing a house together. It is likely that the couple both contributed to the payments and to furnishing and increasing the value of the house. It can be difficult to decide who deserves the house more. In most cases, it is best to split the equity of the house in some manner.
This could require the sale of the house, then splitting the profits. It could also include one spouse living in the home, while paying the other a portion to live and own the home, until their share is paid off. Divorce attorneys can be helpful in coming up with housing alternatives to protect the investment of both spouses.
Custody of the children. This one is often tricky and almost always requires the services of a child custody attorney. It is likely that both spouses feel the children should reside primarily with them. It is also common that neither party is unfit, making the decision more difficult. Split custodies do not always work, as the child needs to be at a primary residence during school days. The situation can also be made more difficult if the spouses live far apart from one another.
A divorce attorney can help the couple come to an agreement that works. This process often involves negotiations between both parties, coming to an agreement on who gets the children for school days, weekends, holidays, and other special events. An estimated 14.4 million parents lived with 23.4 million children under 21 years of age while the other parent lived somewhere else. Transportation details and fees may need to be figured out when one parent lives far away.
Child support. One parent may be required to pay child support to the other. This often is necessary when one parent takes on the sole responsibility of the children or when one parent has the majority caretaking role of the child. The court will often award a child support payment amount to the other parent, to help out with the costs of the child.
Approximately 62.3% of the money owed in child support, an average of $3,770 per year, was received. In other words, on average, custodial parents who receive child support get about $311 per month. The amount that is awarded is often much less than the actual cost of the care of the child. However, the child support amount is based on income and other financial situations. A child support attorney may be needed when one parent fails to make child support payments.
Ownership of large items. In addition to the house, couples may have accumulated other large items, such as vehicles and vacation houses. Divorce lawyers are often necessary in these types of cases, as it can be difficult to come up with an agreement. The divorce attorneys will work on negotiating until each party is satisfied with their items. When an agreement cannot be found, the court will often require that the item be sold and then split equally.
Divorces are extremely common in our country. In America, there is one divorce approximately every 36 seconds. That is nearly 2,400 divorces per day, 16,800 divorces per week and 876,000 divorces a year. The divorce process is often a timely, emotional process that requires couples to split up everything they have built together. Divorce attorneys are often needed to act as neutral mediators in order to come to an agreement.
