Divorce, put-simply
What is Divorce? |
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Divorce, also known as
dissolution, is the separation of spouses before death. It is the legal
ending of a marriage, although certain aspects of marriage such as
spousal support, child support, and distribution of property may
withstand.
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A divorce is completed by the court of
law, where a judge has the ability to determine the terms of the divorce.
When separating spouses fail to agree on the terms of divorce, a lawsuit or
litigation can be filed, leading to more court action.
After a divorce, one spouse may be given
full custody of the children if the other spouse is found incompetent to
handle the act of raising children. In other cases, joint custody
arrangements are filed. There are multiple grounds of divorce including
adultery, conviction of a crime, impotence, habitual drunkenness, and cruel
and inhumane treatment. Family strains and addiction are also leading causes
of divorce in the United States.
What are the financial impacts of divorce?
Divorce can put a strain on one’s financial stability. For one, divorce
attorneys may charge very significant prices to help during a time of
divorce. Yet, after the divorce there are many other financial impacts.
Women usually suffer the greatest when getting full custody of children.
Many times during a divorce, the primary income maker is taken out of the
family, leaving just the mother and children. This prevents the mother from
having the ability to work a full time job, for she must also take care of
her children.
On top of this, women have a lower earning
potential in many countries, causing a great financial strain. Though many
times a welfare system gives money to single mothers, it is usually not
enough to properly raise children. In these cases, men are required to pay
child support to aide the mother in having the financial ability to raise
the children alone. This also puts a financial strain on the men’s side of
divorce. The requirement to pay child support payments may take a large
chunk out of a man’s paycheck, leaving him with less money than he is
supposed to earn. This makes it hard for a man to remarry after divorce, for
his child support payments must come before financially stabilizing his new
family. A prenuptial agreement or a contract agreed on by both parties,
helps limit the financial strains on a family after a divorce.
What is a community property state?
There are very few community property states, but each of them has a
different set of laws. In these states, unless there is a prenuptial
agreement, the property is split 50/50 regardless of who makes the greater
income or who pressed charges to cause the divorce. This puts the person who
makes the higher income at a disadvantage.
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