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While many do financial planning for retirement, insurance needs, estate issues and investment returns, few consider divorce in their future. Yet the odds of having a divorce are greater than becoming disabled, dying prematurely or losing half of your retirement savings in a market decline. Yes, you can probably count on about half (or more) of your asset base being awarded to a spouse in the traditional divorce (marriage over ten years with children). Advance planning and leveraging of technology could mitigate some of the pain. This is not to suggest fraudulent asset manipulation or other methodology to game the system. But it may be time to consider alternatives to the traditional, expensive, agonizingly slow, divorce process. First, the use of post-marital nuptial agreements should be routine. Similar to prenuptial agreements, a stipulation at varying stages of the marriage (young children, middle age, etc.), concerning the division of assets, income, etc in case of divorce, could prevent the need for large legal bills or undue influence by a judicial system about to implode. It may also mitigate much of the emotional damage divorce inflicts on everyone involved. These agreements are easily created with personal legal software packages, such as Quicken Family Lawyer (valid in all 50 states). Better yet, individuals may opt for not getting a divorce, but living apart when all else fails.Unless having children is part of a couple’s future, remarriage might be viewed as a luxury. Separation agreements can be reduced to writing, without the legality of divorce, allowing for a new lifestyle. For most, one legal marriage is probably enough; Warren Buffet saw it this way. Separated from his wife decades ago, both parties went on to live in different cities, never bothering to obtain a formal divorce. There are times when only an attorney
will suffice. But whatever the ultimate methodology for handling
an unpleasant marriage, there are numerous sophisticated web
sites, along with stand alone software, that can aid a couple
in all the steps leading to divorce or separation, thus lessening
the time with legal help or questionable decisions by the judicial
system. This site has all sorts of neat help. Divorce calculators for dividing pensions (an intricate calculation that often can require the services of an actuary), checking out the credentials of a professional (lawyer, accountant, forensic specialist, psychologist), interesting cases, links to other relevant divorce sites, software and free downloads, child-support guidelines, and almost anything else you may need to start, facilitate or implement a separation. And all for fewer dollars than the traditional approach will cost. The best way to get to know the site is to spend about half an hour with the "tour"--it covers all areas, so you’ll know where to go for focused help. And there are lots of additional sites you can peruse. Here are a few--certainly, one or more of these will answer most of your questions, including how to find a divorce lawyer when all other options result in a dead-end:
While not a pleasant topic, some forethought as to how the divorce process will be handled, "when and if," could result in more net assets for the couple in distress (less for the "experts") and less time lost from productive activities. Technological opportunities, as well as a more practical approach to the need for divorce and remarriage, may do more to relieve the backlog in domestic court disputes than any productivity improvements the courts and legal system might make, including an increase in the number of court houses and judges to try cases. |
| Robert Preston is a pension actuary and CPA with retirement/pension practice; considerable expert witness work in the divorce area in the past decade. He can be reached at rpreston@prodigy.net. |
A little-discussed area in personal finance
deserves more attention and possibly a novel approach, aided
by technology. Over 50% of first marriages end in divorce and
60% of remarriages; and it’s a financially (as well as emotionally)
devastating experience. And the divorce process is one of the
more inefficient, labor intensive, messy transactions in society.
It’s ripe for conceptual and technological attack.