Divorce In The Time Of Sky-High Prices

Many couples take a marriage vow to love each other for richer or for poorer, but financial stress can be the true test of a couple’s commitment to each other and to their marriage.  Now that the price of groceries and just about everything else is skyrocketing, even households with six-figure incomes are living from paycheck to paycheck.  If you have decided that your spouse is a major contributor to your chronic stress, then filing for divorce may bring a feeling of relief, but it will not improve your financial circumstances, at least not in the short term.  If you enjoyed a lavish lifestyle with your spouse, both of you will need to scale back after your divorce, but if you are already operating on a shoestring budget, then equitable distribution means that everyone loses.  Besides the obvious issues such as distribution of marital debts, getting a divorce during tough economic times can give rise to some other potentially contentious matters.  If your marriage tanked at the same time as your financial situation did, a Boca Raton divorce lawyer can help you emerge from your divorce in the best possible position to rebuild your finances.

Dealing With Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

A little more than a year ago, Americans were optimistic (some might even use terms like foolhardy and slap-happy) about buying real estate, and in this unbridled optimism, some took out adjustable-rate mortgages, assuming that circumstances would keep getting better.  Adjustable-rate mortgages and divorce are a losing combination in any economic climate; the spouse who keeps the marital home will be left alone with the mortgage debt, and that includes weathering the vicissitudes of an adjustable-rate mortgage.  Refinancing the mortgage is a condition of keeping the marital home in many divorce cases, but with today’s increasing interest rates, you might not be able to get a refinance with an affordable monthly payment.  Therefore, you might have no choice but to sell the marital home, and you might not be able to get as much money for it as you had hoped.  This can lead to resentment on the part of both spouses.

Is There Such a Thing as Adjustable-Rate Alimony?

Alimony is a sore subject in many divorce cases, especially when both parties are already feeling the pinch financially.  With inflation, you are going to be able to buy less and less with your alimony check as prices continue to increase.  Some alimony orders mandate that the alimony amount will change over time according to the consumer price index.  Even if your alimony agreement does not include this provision, permanent alimony is always a modifiable amount.  No matter what type of alimony you have been ordered to pay, you can ask the court to reduce the amount if, for reasons beyond your control, your financial situation was worse than it was when the court issued the alimony order.

Contact Schwartz | White About Dealing With Financial Stress Related to Divorce

A South Florida family law attorney can help you deal with the points of contention in your divorce even if you are also dealing with the skyrocketing prices of consumer goods.  Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.

Source:

newsweek.com/marriage-divorce-more-expensive-lawyer-1753844