Bay Area Family Law Blog

Postnuptial agreement may provide protection in a divorce

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Monday, January 20, 2020.

Two married individuals in the Bay Area may now be questioning their decision not to create a prenuptial agreement before getting married. Fortunately, they can still put together a postnuptial agreement, which can help them to protect their assets in the event that they get a divorce down the road. Here is a look at a couple of situations where developing a postnuptial agreement would be wise.

First, it may behoove married individuals to create a postnuptial agreement if one suddenly becomes wealthy in the course of their marriage. The spouse's sudden wealth may have come from a successful business venture or book deal, for example. Drafting a postnuptial agreement might be wise because this person may prefer to give up 50% of only $2 million now versus 30% of $20 million down the line.

Tips may help with dealing with emotional aspect of divorce

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Saturday, January 18, 2020.

Feeling emotional is natural during the process of getting divorced in the Bay Area. However, it is possible for people who are going through divorce to remain in control of their emotions during this process. Here are some tips for finding balance amid the emotional ups and downs of divorce.

First, it may be helpful for people who are getting divorced to shift their focus from their spouses to themselves. Rather than concentrating on how their future exes may have messed up, they may want to reflect on their own mistakes and how they can learn from them. Only then can they more easily move forward emotionally from the marital breakup.

Preparation may help with divorce asset division

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Thursday, January 16, 2020.

Getting divorced can understandably be stressful from a financial perspective. This is particularly the case when two divorcing individuals have a large number of assets that must be divided. Here are some tips for navigating the financial aspect of divorce in the Bay Area.

First, it is critical that individuals who are getting divorced understand their finances. For instance, they should ideally understand their cash flow as far as their income and expenses are concerned. This can be helpful for reviewing, categorizing and prioritizing expenses before determining how one's finances will look in various settlement situations.

Restarting planning for retirement is a wise move after divorce

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Child Support on Wednesday, January 15, 2020.

One of the most challenging parts of the dissolution of a marriage is dealing with the financial aftermath of it. Specifically, figuring out how to tackle retirement planning post divorce can seem overwhelming. Here are some pointers for taking a fresh approach to retirement planning following the divorce process in the Bay Area.

First off, individuals who are getting divorced would be wise to closely examine their monthly spending habits compared with their earnings. Then, they can start to prioritize their needs and consider shedding some of their wants. Doing this may help them to more easily save for their golden years and thus avoid missing a beat when it comes to having enough money for retirement.

January ranks high for getting a divorce

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Thursday, January 2, 2020.

The beginning of 2020 may signify the ending of a marital union for many couples in the Bay Area. The reason for this is that research shows that January happens to be the most common month for getting a divorce. Here are a couple of reasons why January is such a popular divorce month.

First, as people start the new year, they may be interested in experiencing fresh starts on a romantic level, which means ending their marriages and embracing new romantic relationships. Getting divorced is a sure way for people to change their lives if they are not happy with their current circumstances. Fortunately, if both parties are on board with getting divorced, this may make the process even faster and more amicable.

Couples going through divorce may benefit from counseling

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Thursday, December 5, 2019.

Once two individuals in the Bay Area choose to end their marriage, it may behoove them to consider taking part in counseling. This is because divorce counseling may help them to cope with the emotional challenges that come with a marital breakup. Let's take a peek at what divorce counseling entails.

For starters, participants in divorce counseling will have a chance to talk about their feelings regarding the divorce. Of course, this may be challenging, as they may highlight issues and hang-ups that are difficult to discuss. Also, maybe one of the parties does not necessarily want to get divorced, even though the other person does. Fortunately, a counselor can walk them through how to handle and cope with these types of complicated issues.

Steps taken prior to divorce may make process easier

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Thursday, November 21, 2019.

Getting divorced in the Bay Area may be necessary if two spouses simply cannot reconcile their differences. Unfortunately, the divorce process is sometimes complicated and can quickly become overwhelming. Fortunately, certain tips might help individuals who are going through divorce to be as prepared as possible for the proceedings.

For example, it would behoove divorcing individuals to take a close look at their financial situations. California is one of nine states that follow community property principles. As a result, Californians who are getting divorced must divide their assets in an equal manner, or 50/50. This is somewhat different from what happens in most states -- equitable distribution states, where assets are split in a manner that are considered fair, though not necessarily equal.

Late-in-life divorce may involve asset division, spousal support

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Thursday, November 7, 2019.

The dissolution of marriage after age 55 is becoming more and more common. Unfortunately, going through divorce later in life can be tricky, as those getting divorced may have more assets to divide and less time to recoup their divorce-related financial losses before the retirement years arrive. Here are a couple of tips designed to help people navigating late-in-life divorces in the Bay Area.

First, any assets that the two individuals earned while married must be split 50/50, as California is a community property state. Any item earned before the marriage date, however, is deemed separate property and thus is not subject to property division. In addition, any retirement asset can be split tax-free with a court order.

Divorce and your 401k

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Tuesday, October 29, 2019.

One topic that you may not have been prepared to address during your divorce proceedings in Livermore is your 401k. These retirement funds are the result of your own individual effort in your job; why would your soon-to-be ex-spouse be entitled to them? Many come to us here at the Family Law Group LLP have this same question. Like you, they have put a lot of effort into planning their retirement, and are now concerned that those plans now could be financially impacted by their divorces.

The contributions made to your 401k during your marriage come from money considered to be marital income. Thus, those contributions are also deemed to be marital assets. The entire value of your 401k account may not be subject to division; rather, only those contributions are.

Remember your estate plan in a divorce

On behalf of Family Law Group, LLP posted in Divorce on Wednesday, October 9, 2019.

If you are one of the many people who live in California and are embarking on the process of getting divorce, you will very quickly realize that ending your marriage is something that touches every aspect of your life. From daily realities like where you will live to things you don't often think about, there will be a seemingly unending list of items to address. One of these items should be your estate plan.

As explained by Forbes, there will be some parts of your estate plan that you may not be able to amend until your divorce is completely finalized. This is because you do not know what assets you will or will not retain until that time. Some divorce decrees even stipulate that a former spouse should remain the beneficiary on a person's life insurance policy.