Family Law Blog

When you're getting divorced, odds are you put a lot of time into thinking about your assets. You need to split them with your spouse -- soon to be your ex -- and you don't want to lose out. You don't want to make a mistake that costs you thousands of dollars. You know how easy it is.

If you're already thinking about this, that's a good sign. People often make divorce mistakes that they don't comprehend until later. They regret it, but it's too late. Instead, you want to make yourself aware of these mistakes in advance so that you can avoid them up front.

It can be tempting for some North Carolina parents to try to block child visitation with an ex-spouse. However, if a court has granted a non-custodial parent visitation with a child, refusing visitation can lead to fines, jail time, and even loss of custody of the child. Here are a few illegitimate reasons some parents try to block visitation.

A parent may be concerned that a child does not have his or her own bedroom in the house of the ex-spouse. However, this does not provide grounds for refusing visitation. In other cases, parent may feel that if the ex-spouse is behind on child support payments, they do not deserve to see the children. However, being behind on payments does not mean that a parent does not have a right to see their child.

When North Carolina couples are going through a divorce, they may have investment accounts they need to divide. This can be a complex process, and they may want to work with legal and financial professionals, such as attorneys and financial planners.

A person who was not involved in the financial side of the marriage can be at a disadvantage during the divorce. If this is the case, that person should make sure to get information on all assets and how to access them. When deciding whether to sell assets and split the proceeds, people should keep in mind that this could incur taxes or penalties with some investments. For example, there could be penalties for leaving an annuity early and capital gains taxes on the sale of securities. In some cases, keeping an investment and dividing the shares may be the better solution.

Some couples in North Carolina might still love one another, but divorce can still hold an appeal. For these couples, the financial implications of divorce can be one of the appeals of ending a marriage, rather than the downside that they usually pose. Political discussions have focused on taxes on the wealthy, and if taxes do rise on wealthy families, some people may find that they pay more taxes as a married couple than they would if they were divorced. For taxpayers in the highest bracket in the U.S. - sitting at 37% - they may pay around $900 more each year under current tax laws than they would if each partner filed singly.

However, couples with millions of dollars in assets are unlikely to divorce in order to save under $1000. There are reasons that can compel people of different financial means to separate even when their emotional ties remain strong. With the cost of college attendance continuing to rise, parents might consider that their joint income could harm their child's opportunity for more generous financial aid. In the case of divorce, only the custodial parent's income is considered in financial aid calculations.