When a couple with children divorces, they need to consider how college expenses will now be planned. Will their original thinking about paying for college look different? Yes. Here are questions they need to consider:
Are you willing to change your lifestyle --even more than a divorce normally alters lifestyle -- in order to continue with your original thinking on paying for college? This may mean less alimony/part-time job/smaller house so that money can continue to be put away for college.
In Virginia, property that is owned pre-marriage is known as “separate property”. Separate property may consist of:
tangible assets (e.g. automobiles, antiques, furniture),
liquid assets (e.g. bank accounts, mutual funds, stocks),
retirement assets (e.g., 401(k)s, TSPs, IRAs, pensions),
real estate, and
business interests
Under §20-107.3 of the Virginia Code, the spouse who came into the marriage with the separate property is permitted to keep that property as his or her own individual property.
For many years, the courts and bar have been trying to figure out the best way to equitably (i.e. “fairly”) divide and distribute the equity value of a divorcing couple’s residence (and other real estate) when there has been a commingling of marital and separate (non-marital) funds[1]. Once property has been “commingled”, it is usually looked upon, by Virginia Courts, as “hybrid property” (part separate, part marital property). Hybrid property questions, when it comes to the marital residence and real estate in general, often arise in the following situations:
If one party uses his or her pre-marital cash as the down payment on the marital residence, does he or she get that money back when there is divorce?
If the party making the down payment, out of premarital money, is to get that money back in a divorce, is there a fair calculation available to figure out how much that original down payment is worth today?
How is money earned during the marriage, which is used to pay the monthly mortgage bill (plus homeowner’s insurance and real estate taxes) accounted for when the equity value of the marital residence is divided and distributed in a divorce?
How are improvements to the marital residence accounted for?
What is the effect on the division and distribution of the equity in the marital residence, upon divorce, if one party uses his or her separate (non-marital) funds to pay for improvements to the residence?
What happens when one party owns a home prior to the divorce, which is then utilized by the parties as their marital residence and, while the parties are married, the mortgage, etc.
It is so easy to continue being angry or in a constant state of irritation with your ex-spouse . . . but, if you have a Shared Physical Custody Arrangement, that anger and irritation will eventually get in the way of successfully co-parenting your children.
Navigating any divorce can very quickly become complicated and tricky. For parents with an autistic child, this added complication can become particularly overwhelming. The courts are not well-equipped to deal with the specialized needs of children on the spectrum.
Ex-spouses are often entitled to receive social security in the amount of 50% of the value of their living ex-spouse’s benefits.
You can begin receiving 50% of the value ex-spouse’s Social Security benefits after divorce, depending on a few qualifications.
Parents often are confused about what their child support obligation is supposed to cover. Like many things that involve the legal system, there is no clear or definitive answer to this question. There is agreement, however, among divorce professionals, that child support should cover more than just the bare necessities.
Spending uninterrupted time with your child or children after a divorce can be the only thing that feels right in the aftermath of a divorce. Though divorce is not recommended, it often wakes parents up to the idea that time with their children is precious and that their children's youth is fleeting.
