Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

September 27, 2019August 13, 2020
by Angie

If you’re a stay-at-home mom who’s facing divorce, you probably have a lot of questions. While most of them can be solved during a consultation with a Stockton divorce attorney, here’s a quick peek at a little divorce advice for stay-at-home moms.

Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

Being a stay-at-home mom is wonderful – but it can be incredibly scary when you choose to (or when your spouse files for) divorce. When you don’t have your own source of income, or when you’re not sure what the job market holds for you, it can all seem overwhelming. However, you can follow these five tips to help make things easier on yourself:

Gather financial documents.
Find out what your assets are worth.
Get familiar with your credit score.
Plan to return to work.
Think about asking for alimony.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these so you can be as prepared as possible.

#1. Gather financial documents.

Pull together all the financial documents you have. One of the best pieces of divorce advice for stay-at-home moms is to keep records of everything – including things like:

Pay stubs
Loan and mortgage documents
Insurance policies
Bank statements
Investment account statements
W2s from previous years
Tax returns from previous years

When you have as many financial documents as you can get, keep them all organized in a folder. Later, if you choose to ask the court for alimony, you may need to provide proof of your family’s income – and your spouse may not be as truthful as you will.

#2. Find out what your assets are worth.

Maybe you want to continue living in your marital home after the divorce. That’s fine, but no matter what you intend to do, you need to find out how much it’s worth. That’s because divorce is financially tough on many couples – and you may not be able to keep it. It’s often a good idea to get the house appraised before your divorce so you know how much it’ll be worth if you have to sell it, and so you can prepare to divide the cash or come up with the remainder of what you owe.

If you have other assets, you should also find out what they’re worth.

#3. Get familiar with your credit score.

Use a site like CreditKarma to keep up with your credit score. You may need to apply for credit during or after your divorce, and the better your score is, the more likely you are to get favorable rates and terms. If there are things you need to fix on your credit report, now is the time to do it.

#4. Plan to return to work.

Another great piece of divorce advice for stay-at-home moms is to start planning to return to work. While a judge may award you alimony (commonly called spousal support), it’s not likely to last forever – and even if it would last forever, it may not be enough to support yourself in the lifestyle you want. A lot of stay-at-home moms end up going back to work during or after divorce, and you may be one of them. Brush up your resume and start looking at jobs that are available – and remember, even if they’re outside your field, they’re still worth considering when you really need to work.

#5. Think about asking for alimony.

You don’t have to ask the court for alimony, but your Stockton divorce attorney might suggest that you do. If the judge sees that you’ve been out of the workforce for a significant amount of time, and that you’re unlikely to be able to return to work right away because you need to get current on your skills, he or she may order your spouse to pay alimony. There are never any guarantees on how a judge will rule, but if you can show a need, the judge in your case may agree that you need – and deserve – spousal support.

Are You a Stay-at-Home Mom Considering Divorce?

If you’re thinking about divorce, or if your spouse has already filed, we may be able to help you. We’ll give you more specific divorce advice for stay-at-home moms, plus case-specific advice that helps you in your unique situation.

Call us right away at (209) 546-6870 or get in touch with a Stockton divorce attorney online to schedule a consultation today.

Divorce

California Divorce: Who Gets the House?

November 6, 2018November 12, 2019
by Angie

In a California divorce, who gets the house?

This is one of the biggest questions many people have about splitting up, but the answer isn’t as simple as you may hope.

California Divorce: Who Gets the House?

Your marital home – what the court calls your house when you’re divorcing – might be one of the toughest issues in your divorce. For some people, it’s right up there with child custody. In most cases, it’s the family’s most valuable asset, and everyone’s emotionally attached to it. When you have children, there’s even more to consider.

For the most part, who gets the house is up to you and your soon-to-be ex. However, there’s one exception: When the house is separate property.

What Happens When the House is Separate Property in a California Divorce?

If the house is separate property, which occurs when one party owned it prior to the marriage, the spouse who owns it is entitled to it. This can get pretty confusing, though, because if the house wasn’t paid off when the two parties married, or when one party contributed money to mortgage payments or pitched in for improvements during the marriage. In a situation like this, it’s best to check with your Stockton divorce lawyer to find out whether the courts will consider the house separate property or community property.

What Happens When the House is Community Property in a California Divorce?

If your home is community property, you have several options, including:

A buyout
Deferred sale
Sale

A Buyout During Divorce

You and your spouse may agree to a buyout. A buyout occurs when one spouse takes full ownership of the house – and takes on the mortgage payments, if there are any – while paying the other spouse his or her share. Typically, that means the buying spouse needs to refinance so that the other spouse isn’t on the new mortgage.

In some cases, the court might order that the selling spouse make the mortgage payments as a form of spousal support. If that’s something you’re interested in learning more about, talk to your divorce lawyer so she can give you guidance.

There are always tax implications when you’re dealing with a buyout of a home during divorce, which your lawyer will also talk to you about. In some cases, a buyout isn’t the best option.

Deferred Sale of the House in a California Divorce

Sometimes courts make orders that temporarily delay the sale of a home because it’s in the children’s best interests. (It’s technically called a deferred sale of home order.) If this happens in your case, both you and your ex will stay on the title of the home; you’ll own it jointly, but only the custodial parent gets exclusive use and possession of the home. These orders are fixed for a set period of time, and in making this big decision, the court will consider:

How long the kids have lived in the home
How old the kids are
How close the home is to school, child care and other amenities the kids need or use
Whether the home has been modified to accommodate the custodial parent’s or a child’s physical disability
What kind of emotional impact moving would have on the kids
How the location of the home helps the custodial parent maintain employment
Whether each spouse can obtain suitable housing
Tax consequences for each party
Whether a delayed sale will have a negative financial impact on one parent

Selling a Home During Divorce

In a lot of cases, both spouses agree to sell the house and split the profits from the sale. This usually happens when neither spouse can financially handle owning the home on their own.

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About Who Gets the House in Your California Divorce?

Call us and schedule your consultation with a Stockton custody lawyer today – we may be able to help you. While you’re here, you can also explore our articles on:

Call us at (209) 989-4425 or get in touch with us online to talk to a lawyer who can help today. We’ll help you with every aspect of your divorce, from child custody and child support to alimony and property division.

Tag: <span>House</span>

Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

#1. Gather financial documents.

#2. Find out what your assets are worth.

#3. Get familiar with your credit score.

#4. Plan to return to work.

#5. Think about asking for alimony.

Are You a Stay-at-Home Mom Considering Divorce?

California Divorce: Who Gets the House?

California Divorce: Who Gets the House?

What Happens When the House is Separate Property in a California Divorce?

What Happens When the House is Community Property in a California Divorce?

A Buyout During Divorce

Deferred Sale of the House in a California Divorce

Selling a Home During Divorce

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About Who Gets the House in Your California Divorce?

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