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What Are You Entitled To In A Divorce Settlement?

What Are You Entitled To In A Divorce Settlement?
Written by divorcelap

What Are You Entitled To In A Divorce Settlement?

Well, You must be aware of your entitlements in a divorce settlement. You must be aware of your rights when filing for a divorce. Divorce settlements can be costly and full of stress. If you know exactly what to do while filing for a divorce, then this process will become a bit easy for you.

You can save a lot of money and the process will be stress-free if you know your rights. If you are thinking of filing for a divorce and you want to know your rights, then you must read the full article. Furthermore, we will discuss what are your rights and how you can demand your rights during a divorce settlement. 

ALso Check: If You File For Divorce Can You Stop It?

What are you entitled to in a divorce settlement?

The main issues arising during a divorce settlement are financial issues. We have been frequently asked a question: what am I entitled to if I divorce my husband?  Most of the people do not know how their financials will be distributed during a divorce settlement.

Your opponent can easily take advantage of you and use ways to achieve more financial support from you through the court. So it is very important to know your rights during a divorce settlement. 

Also Check: Why do couples divorce when they are empty nesters?

What assets am I entitled to in a divorce settlement?  

Usually the assets in a divorce settlement are categorized into three main divisions:

Division of marital assets

Different states might differ slightly in dividing the assets. Marital assets are those assets that you and your spouse built up during the time period of your marriage. Marital assets can be your family home, pensions, cash, real estate, vehicles, savings, furniture, businesses, stocks, bonds or mutual funds that you developed during your marriage period. 

First and easiest step of all is to decide with each other about who gets what. Yes, you can come to an agreement with your ex for the division of assets. You can come to an agreement by taking help through a mediator.

A mediator helps you and your spouse to come to an agreement without needing any lawyer to settle your financial disputes. Mediators are better options than lawyers as lawyers become expensive and involve a time taking process.

Your second option can be to ask your lawyer to demand a good amount if shared according to the alimony and child custody issues discussed ahead.

Child support

If you have kids, you should always prioritize your kids’ ease as they must not become victims of an economic crisis due to your divorce decree. This process of coming to an agreement on child support can be challenging in a number of ways.

You can calculate child support expenses online through online calculators. There are 3 models running differently in different states for child support issues. How will you know which model suits you best? 

The best way to distribute child support is to talk with your lawyer or come to an agreement through a mediator who can tell you what’s the best choice for you. 

If your spouse refuses to pay child custody, you can simply ask the court for enforced payment. In an enforced payment the court will order your spouse’s employer to automatically cut the child custody payment from their paycheck. 

Alimony

The question of your entitlement in a divorce settlement becomes a bit confusing while discussing the alimony share with your spouse. Alimony is an extra amount awarded by the court to your spouse depending on their financial condition. 

Largest number of disagreements occur while discussing alimony as 90% of the states do not have any formula to calculate the amount of alimony to be granted.

If you are the respondent then you have to ask your mediator to do the work, calculating the amount of money needed after divorce for a healthy living. Then he can advise the ways to demand an actual amount of alimony from the court. 

Also Check: My Wife Is Cheating On Me And Wants A Divorce

How much is a wife entitled to in a divorce?

What does the wife get in a divorce? All of it depends on the factors and situations of a divorce. Different ways and factors are discussed ahead and are the same for both parties. You must read the article above. 

Does the wife get half in a divorce? It usually depends on many factors. If the marriage is short term then the previous background of both parties will be put into consideration.

If a certain time period has passed then the asset will be divided 50/50 or according to other factors of need and background. The assets and shared things are usually divided between both of the parties according to the factors discussed ahead.

Also Check: My Wife Is Cheating On Me And Wants A Divorce

Who gets what in a divorce settlement?

There are no hard and fast rules on the division of assets between divorcing spouses as every divorce is different. Things are very unclear in this matter as two marriages can’t be the same, the two divorces can also not be the same.

It all depends on the circumstances and certain factors that determine how the division of assets will take place. Judges will take account of various factors on determining who gets what in a divorce settlement:

  • The capacity of both individuals is considered. This includes income and assets. Assets can be financial and property assets. 
  • The future requirements of finances for a better living are considered for both individuals. The assets are divided according to the future needs.
  • The standards of living at the time of marriage are also considered when dividing assets. 
  • Age and any type of physical and mental disabilities are also considered while granting a number of assets to the spouse. 
  • If any of the spouses has made extra contributions in the welfare of other spouse’s family welfare, then it is also considered as a factor when decisions are made on dividing assets.
  • If a spouse loses any kind of future benefits just because of divorce, then it will also be considered as a factor of determination. 
  • The behavior of spouses is also put into considerations.
  • If you are the one who will have the custody of children, then you’ll receive the ownership of the house. If the ownership of the house is more than enough for child care, then the house might be sold and split into the hands of both spouses. 
  • On the other hand, it can be kept unsold until the children reach the age of 18 and it will be passed on to them.

Just like a marriage home, the business is also divided into both spouses considering it as an asset. 

Also Check: How to stop a divorce after filing?

How much to ask for in a divorce settlement?

You should always ask for things that will benefit you in the future. Usually, to win the race of divorce, spouses ask for everything and they are not able to manage those things individually, due to which they face a financial crisis. Some of the things that you can demand at ease are:

Marital home

You can claim the marital home if the child custody and care relies on you. Mostly if you want to retain a marital home and are not awarded with your spouses equity in the home, then you have to pay for it. You should decide whether it’s a sound decision or not.

Educational payments

You must ask for the educational payments of your children. If they do not go to school or college for you, then you must clear it for the future by asking for the share of educational payments by your spouse. 

Parenting time

If you think there is no reason to keep your children away from your ex spouse, then you must ask for equal parenting time. Due to this children will develop a better bond with both of you. 

Life insurance

Life and health insurance purchased individually is expensive. If your spouse pays for your life insurance, then you must ask to continue the coverage with you and your children as a divorce settlement. 

Retirement funds

If you’ve been married for a long time and you’re near retirement, then you must ask for a fair share of retirement funds.

Also Check: Does legal aid help with divorce?

What is a reasonable divorce settlement UK?

The UK has been known in the world for awarding generous pay-outs. The financially weaker party gets more advantage at the time of divorce in the UK. The reason is that the awards in other jurisdictions are very limited. 

As the law of the UK is common law and it differs greatly from other states. The judges have more discretion in awarding a body upon a divorce settlement. If you are left with an inadequate amount of settlement in another state, then you must try filing a petition in the UK. 

Also Check: Divorce rate after death of a child

Takeaway

It is a huge misconception that the assets are divided 50/50 in a divorce settlement. The split can be 50/50 but all of it depends on the factors discussed during a divorce. 

How many shares you get in a divorce settlement depends on the type of arguments your lawyer makes in front of the court. For a fair and just share, you must be aware of what you are entitled to in a divorce settlement.

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