Divorce Survival – Financial and Emotional Suggestions

Divorces are rough on everyone – even when the divorce is friendly. At a minimum, a divorce means a breakup and a new beginning. At worst, a divorce completely upends your confidence and your trust. Financially, it’s always tougher for two people to live apart then together. If there are children involved, emotional and financial consequences can escalate.

The good news is that our legal team understands the difficulties that the end of a marriage bring. We offer resources and advice to help you and your family get through a divorce as unscathed as possible.

Alternative dispute methods

In many cases, with time and understanding, spouses may reach amicable agreements through discussion and alternative dispute resolution procedures such as mediation and collaborative divorce. Mediation and collaborative divorce are generally:

• Less expensive than a court trial
• Less adversarial and less confrontational than family law hearings
• Better methods for reaching compromises, so that you have financial security for you and your children

Mental health counselors

Moving forward after a divorce can be emotionally difficult when:

• The divorce is based on some dishonesty such as one spouse having an affair
• There are children, especially if the children feel pressure to choose one parent over another
• The marriage was longer rather than shorter

Our firm works with psychologists, therapists, and other counselors (for women, men, couples, and children). It’s generally easier to be honest and comfortable with professionals who don’t know you, rather than with family or friends. Professionals can help you and your children focus on goals, so that you make wise decisions about your emotional and economic future.

Our Tennessee lawyers understand the economic issues

Once you settle your economic issues, there’s no do-over. You get one chance to reach an agreement on your financial matters, or one chance to have a judge hear your arguments. The main economic parts of any divorce are:

• The division of property. Your marital property will be divided equitably based on factors such as the length of the marriage and the needs of everyone involved. Your property is generally the items you acquired during marriage, such as a home, vehicles, bank accounts, and possessions. Marital property generally also includes an interest in retirement benefits.
• Alimony. You should know that that there are different types of alimony. Rehabilitative alimony is used to help a spouse attend school or learn new skills. Periodic alimony is regular payments, usually monthly, due until the spouse receiving the alimony remarries or dies. Transitional alimony is a form of short-term alimony. Alimony in solido is paid even if the spouse remarries or dies. It’s generally a lump sum or installment payment.
• Child support. Generally, this amount is based on the income of both parents, the number of children, and who has custody.

Spouses should set priorities

It’s critical to set emotional and financial priorities during a divorce. It should go without saying that every parent wants their children to understand that both parents love them and want what’s best for them. Spouses need to figure out their own priorities too, in addition to priorities for their children. While some spouses quickly move into new relationships, many divorced spouses need to allow themselves time to adjust to the end of the marriage before they consider a new marriage.

Financially, it’s generally a good goal for the parent who is going to have the primary responsibility to raise the children to keep the family residence, so the children have the stability of the same school, the same friends, and the same home.

At the Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates, we have been representing families since 1991. We handle divorces where spouses have been married for decades and divorces where people were just married. We handle complex divorces with many assets and with young children. We also handle simple divorces where the spouses just want to end the marriage and quickly start over. We have Tennessee locations in Franklin, Columbia, and Brentwood. Please call our office at 615-977-9370 or fill out our contact form to discuss any family law issue.