3 COMMON POST-DIVORCE SITUATION YOU MAY ENCOUNTER
On behalf of Law Office of Bradley R. Tengler, P.C. posted in Modifications on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
If you are getting ready to file for divorce after many long years of marriage, you may not realize how it can impact your life. Sure, you may look forward to finally being legally single and not having to leave or care for your partner, but decisions made in haste often become items on a list of regrets.
You may feel like you would agree to anything just to have this situation over. When it comes to divorce, you should consider the short and long-term effects of your actions to improve the outcome of your post-divorce life. Here are some post-divorce issues you should learn about so you can take actions to prevent them during the divorce process:
Violation of court order
If you have a problem with the decree, the one thing you should not do is ignore it. Failure to abide by it could cause you to end up in contempt of court, having your wages garnished and other adverse actions that may make it harder for you to live a normal and unentangled life.
You want to relocate with the kids
You may receive primary custody of your kids in the divorce. Sometime afterward, you may decide to move to another state hundreds of miles away from your kids’ other parent. You can relocate with your children. But, their other parent can file a dispute about it. Ideally, you should notify the other parent a few months in advance, so she or he has time to think and make arrangements to accommodate the parenting and child custody/parental responsibilities agreement. If he or she does not agree to the move, you will need to get the court’s permission.
You cannot honor the spousal or child support agreement
Once the courts issue an award for spousal and child support, you are bound to it for the entire duration specified in the decree. If your income or situation changes to the point where you cannot afford to pay the entire amount of what you owe each month, you should notify the courts so they can assess your situation and issue a divorce decree modification that may lower or suspend the orders for child and spousal support. If you do not and later decide to pay what you can when you want, you could end up on the wrong side of the law and in danger of going to jail, wage garnishment, driver’s license suspension and other penalties.
If you have issues with the decree, make sure you notify the courts. Life happens, and sometimes a divorce modification is necessary. Because not every situation or issue qualifies for a modification, you may want to talk to an attorney for guidance first.