Family Lawyer

Because relationships are complex, divorce isn’t often a decision that is easily made. Spouses can have shared bank accounts, retirement plans, homes, and other assets. There is also the complication of having children. Untangling your lives can be complicated and it might feel impossible, which is where a lawyer can help.A  family lawyer from a firm like Law Group of Iowa can provide an objective perspective on divorce. A lawyer will provide their unbiased opinion on what your legal options are so that you can make informed decisions on the best path forward. 

Do you have a prenuptial agreement? 

Some couples create an agreement before or after their marriage in the event that they decide to get a divorce later on. This is called a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. If you and your spouse have an agreement in place, it can make a divorce much easier to execute. However, if your situation has changed since signing the prenuptial agreement, there might be additional elements of the divorce to work out. For instance, if the agreement didn’t take into account having children, then you will still need to determine the circumstances around custody. In addition, if you think that your spouse has hidden certain assets or is otherwise hiding pertinent information, then a lawyer can help determine if this is true. 

How complicated is your shared estate?

The more you own together the more complicated it is to separate and divide what you own. Couples will need to determine what to do with their savings, retirement accounts, investments, real estate, house, cars, and other assets. There is also the question of what to do with any debts. Who will be responsible for continuing payments or if you filed for bankruptcy, who will be responsible for fulfilling your obligations. 

Do you have children? 

If you and your spouse have children, you will have to decide how the children will divide their time between two households. If this wasn’t hard enough, you will need to determine whether you or your spouse needs to pay child support. For instance, if it is determined that one parent will have majority custody, the other parent might need to make payments to support their children. You will also need to agree on what the money can be sent on. Child support can pay for the mortgage of the main residence, food, clothing, school, medical expenses and other expenses.