Sunday, May 7, 2017

There Are Ways To Finance Divorce And Start Over

By Patrick Meyer


Couples who decide they can no longer live together have to divide assets and come to some agreement concerning minor children, if there are any. There is paperwork to file and court dates to set. For some spouses, with limited financial resources, the idea of hiring a lawyer and having legal representation seems out of the question. They may even decide to stay in a bad relationship because they don't think they have any other option. Experts argue that there ways to finance divorce, if that is really what you want.

Experts say there are some things you should not do when you are contemplating divorcing a spouse. Even the simplest and friendliest divorces require some legal skill. Unless you are an attorney yourself, you need to hire a professional to help file the correct papers with the court and to represent your interests. You also can't expect a lawyer to offer up front services and depend on you paying the fees out of your eventual settlement.

If you have a checking and savings account in your own name, you can assess the amount available for you to take out and use for the proceedings. Savings accounts don't accrue much interest, so that should not be an issue.

When you have assets that are not held in common with your spouse, you could try to put them up as collateral for a bank loan. You might also discuss the possibility of borrowing against a future settlement.

If you have family that is in a position to help, and is willing to do so, you could get the money necessary from that source. A lot of times family money is given as a gift with no expectation of return, but this can cause problems down the road. It is usually a good idea to treat any such loan as a business transaction with repayment papers drawn up and signed. This way there are no misunderstandings, and everyone knows what the expectations are.

Putting a certain portion of the expense on a credit card can be an option for some. The credit limit on most people's cards is too low to be of much help, but when you are someone with a large line of credit, you might consider it. Charging for a short period of time, until a loan is finalized for instance, could be helpful. Interest and late fees could become a major problem if you find yourself unable to make the minimum payments though.

If you own a home, you might borrow against the equity in it. This could even be possible if it is jointly owned with the separated spouse. He or she might agree to it as long as the loan repayment is taken out of your portion of the proceeds of the sale of the property.

Divorcing is not easy or inexpensive. You need to consider all your options and think carefully before you commit to such a drastic action.




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