Divorce is an intense emotional and financial process that is best guided by an experienced divorce lawyer. A key part involves calculating what an individual’s living expenses are, how children can affect this amount, and advice on how to transition to the new single lifestyle. Questions such as whether you can keep the children in private school, what you are able to afford for a house payment and what assets are needed for the long term can be complex without an experienced attorney to give you the knowledge and confidence for the next steps ahead.
A good divorce lawyer will help a client examine and evaluate the marriage settlement agreement (MSA) and make sure they understand the transfer of monies, assets and property. Sometimes even asset and income tracing are needed to ensure that a spouse is not hiding crucial assets from the other spouse. An experienced attorney will oftentimes have contacts with certified public accountants and financial counselors that can help individuals with managing their cash flow, financial crises and goals they want to accomplish. These key individuals will make up a solid team of experts to help a client through the divorce and get on more solid financial footing for the future. Their financial background will help calculate each spouse’s net worth and establish figures that the courts will agree with.
“Ask your lawyer to help you identify which decisions absolutely need to be made now, and which can wait until your emotions are under control,” said Stacy Francis of the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts. “Big decisions made in an emotionally unstable state of mind usually turn out to be expensive and non-sustainable ones.”
From budgets, assistance with retirement planning, taxes, and estate matters, a skilled divorce attorney can point their client in the right direction to ensure the MSA and any child support or spousal support will be adequate for the long term. Their team of experts will go over the consequences of keeping one asset over another. Typically, one of the biggest challenges is to determine if it is better to keep the marital home or negotiate for the pension or retirement plan.
“A house requires income to pay for repairs, maintenance, improvements, property taxes, and assessments; a pension, however, produces income without costing income,” said Garrick G. Zielinski, president of Divorce Financial Solutions. “You cannot sell a windowpane to put food on your table during your retirement years. It’s not how many assets you have – it’s what you can do with the value of those assets that matters most.”
In Orange County, Irvine divorce attorney Gerald Maggio helps clients focus on the important financial and parenting matters during their divorce proceedings. The Maggio Law Firm is known for their personalized attention and assisting clients with all the documents, details, and financial questions. They are a valuable advocate that upholds their client’s rights as they push toward a fair and expeditious divorce settlement.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
