What Factors to Consider when Negotiating Alimony with Your Spouse

Fighting a court battle in a divorce can be most stressful especially when it comes to finances and when kids are involved. Negotiating alimony with your spouse is the ideal way to avoid a long drawn out court battle. Instead of going to court to argue about alimony, it is far better to arrive at an agreement with your spouse, and much less expensive as well.

However, before you begin negotiating alimony with your spouse it is important to be aware of factors that judges usually consider, since a judge could be a vital assistant during these negotiations.

In addition, it is prudent to have a divorce lawyer help determine the appropriate support based on your lifestyle and current financial situation. In case you go ahead with a contested divorce, your lawyer can determine a sum to ask for, considering what a judge is likely to grant.

Entitled too? 

You may believe you are entitled to a certain amount but unless you have the right legal help and your lawyers explains your situation to the judge in an appropriate manner, you may not end up with that much at all. This is where https://usattorneys.com/ comes in the picture and this is where you can find that legal representative that could literally and financially save your life.

What you are entitled too and what you receive may not be the same number. 

Assessing Your Spouse’s Assets and Resources

Whether you are the one who is to pay or to receive support, you ought to be armed with all the possible information about your finances in order to negotiate efficiently. This will help determine a reasonable sum you could agree with to meet your needs or ability to pay. Divorce attorneys can help explain this to you and walk you down this road.

If you are the one who handles the financial affairs of your family or you trust what your spouse says about his/her financial matters completely there ought not to be any problem. If not, ensure that the following factors are added to the paperwork that both spouses are required to complete.

Separate assets for a spouse: You have a right to know the value of the separate assets your spouse may possess. In some cases, the judge may consider these assets in order to determine the appropriate amount of alimony.

Income & expense information: You need a detailed report on the income and expense for every month, so that you know where his/her money is going.

Other sources of income such as overtime and bonuses: Income such as overtime and bonuses are not entirely predictable. If your spouse is in receipt of such payments make an average of the amount, during the past few years, and add that as well. Divorce lawyers suggest that you check for any item that has measurable value such as stock options, sick pay, unused vacation pay, health insurance benefits and company-paid vehicles, and include them in your alimony negotiations.

https://usattorneys.com/ - this is not just another website. This may be one of the most useful and substantial websites on the web. There are dozens of websites where you can buy some shoes but only one easy to use website where you can find a divorce lawyer and/or the legal talent you need. 

Assess Your Needs

You will be required to disclose your monthly income and expenses anyway, so use it to assess just how much support you require. As there is no standard formula to determine this, the only thing you can do is to decide on what you need and ask for it. This will get the negotiation process rolling.

In addition, in case you are the one who is going to receive that much needed support, you can add a provision to enhance the amount every year by citing COLA or cost of living adjustment. You can then tie the increase to COLA or presume a yearly increase of a definite percentage. Since this could be a daunting task to achieve on your own, make sure to consult a marvelous and detail oriented divorce lawyer right away.