Your Dependable Family Law Advocate In Otsego And Wright County, MN

First and foremost, do not attempt to hide assets you brought into the marriage during a divorce proceeding. If discovered later by the Court, it’s a form of fraud that will have negative consequences and penalties for you.

Instead, speak candidly with your attorney about your finances. With their help, they can help you protect assets. Your family lawyer can explain how assets from the marriage are categorized and treated.

Under Minnesota law:

• Your pre-marital assets, those you came into the marriage with, are considered non-marital assets and, in most cases, are protected
• Your marital assets are those acquired during the marriage and are considered joint assets

• It is the marital or joint assets that are subject to “equitable” division following a divorce

An equitable division of assets or property does not necessarily mean an equal split down the middle for you and your ex-spouse. It’s more complicated than that.

The determination for equitable division weighs the financial contribution of each spouse during the marriage and their earning potential. It may mean, for instance, that a stay-at-home spouse’s lesser earning potential entitles them to a more significant portion of the assets than their spouse, who earns and will earn more.

Debt accrued during your marriage is also subject to division. Marital debt is the debt you accrued to serve the purpose of the marriage - for example, home or childcare expenses. This kind of debt is divided between the parties in most cases.

You may be protected from debt your spouse incurred during the marriage for their purposes. This outcome can occur if:

• Your spouse, by choice, takes full responsibility for the debt
• You and your spouse stipulate by agreement the debt belongs to your spouse
• A court order determines that the debt is your spouse’s responsibility

You can agree with your ex-spouse that neither party will take or split the other’s assets or debt from the marriage. Know, however, that such an agreement, once made, is final and irreversible.

Other unforeseen issues may impact your financial stability in divorce. You’ll want to discuss with a skilled family lawyer the effects of these complications:

• The potential doubling of expenses for living arrangements, transportation and parenting responsibilities caused by splitting one home into two
• How to split the assets from a business you started and built with your spouse
• Were you the subject of financial abuse during the marriage?

Whether through discovery, summons, subpoenas, or court orders, an experienced family lawyer has tools and remedies to protect your financial stake in all of these situations.

Are you ready to proactively address your divorce issues and have your questions answered?

Protecting yourself, your children and your rights in a divorce can be a minefield of complex choices. Every decision you make will seriously affect your and your children’s futures. The stress and emotional pain of divorce are inescapable, but you can lessen the impact by getting competent legal help from a widely recognized family law firm.

Kathleen Gomez has helped clients like you deal with all aspects of family law: divorce proceedings, child custody and support, domestic abuse, and paternity. While divorce will never be painless, an experienced, proven advocate can make tough decisions and unavoidable disputes easier to endure.

Call Kathleen Gomez today at (763) 284-5552 for a consultation.