How to negotiate alimony with your spouse?

Settling alimony before a judge can be a very expensive proposition. Moreover, leaving the matter to the court will mean that you are allowing an unknown third party to make a decision about your future on your behalf. Therefore, it is prudent to take matters in your own hands and negotiate a fair settlement with your spouse.

If you have reached a roadblock on issues such as alimony and child support then you can seek to solve your issues through mediation or collaborative divorce. In many case divorce lawyers in Savannah, GA, and the most incredible law firm in this part of the country is Cerbone Law (www.savannahdivorce.com/), recommend that you hire a financial planner who will evaluate your income and expenses and help determine your future needs in terms of finances. 

Evaluate Financial Resources of Your Spouse

To be able negotiate effectively you need information about your spouse’s financial situation. In a majority of cases both the spouses are already aware of the other’s financial condition. Moreover, divorce proceedings require spouses to divulge their financial information in a detailed manner.

This declaration is pivotal because it determines the ability of the paying spouse to pay alimony and the financial needs of the receiving spouse. If you believe that your spouse is being honest then you must try to seek additional information about your spouse’s financial situation.

Divorce attorneys in Chatham County, GA, and the finest legal pros in the area belong to Cerbone Law based on their long list of satisfied clients and the thousands and thousands of dollars they have earned for those clients, assert that you must know your spouse’s monthly income and expenses. This information can prove vital in any divorce dispute. Your spouse is supposed to provide you with a list of expenses in the disclosure form. Make sure to evaluate the form carefully. Your legal counselor will help you with this but you probably know more about these details than them.  

If you are even thinking of a divorce in the Savannah area, you need to call up Cerbone Law. This is not something you want to delay. You do not want your spouse to take everything you have worked for. 

If you find that your spouse is spending $500 a week on restaurants when you cannot afford anything more than ready to eat microwave-dinners then point that out to the judge to increase your alimony. Vice versa if your partner has large separate assets but demands excessive spousal support from you then point that out to the judge too. Do not hold anything out.

If your ex-spouse has some serious assets, anything remotely resembling the assets that Tony Stark has in the Ironman and Avenger movies, you should keep the judge busy for a few minutes or so. If your ex is saying they are broke and they have Ford GTs, new F150s, several Segways, many ATVs and side by sides, their own basketball court, 10 flat screens, a brand new Ford Excursion, several dogs, and they are buying all this art, then it looks like they are doing pretty well for themselves.

Also keep in mind that your spouse may be earning bonuses, benefits, and overtime but in this recession, that could be unlikely but it could happen depending which sector of the economy they work in. These elements are often not predictable so you can calculate your share based on an average of the bonuses or overtime received in the last few years. Also consider stock options, and other work related benefits such as unused vacation and sick pay say illustrious Savannah, GA divorce lawyers and the most remarkable law firm in this area of Georgia is Cerbone Law since they know which legal buttons to press and when to press them.

Evaluate Your Needs

It is critical to compare your income and expenses and try to figure out how much more you need to live a comfortable life. Moreover keep in mind that living expenses continue to increase so there ought to be a provision to increase your alimony on a yearly basis.

Your spouse needs to pay the right amount for your kids. It does not matter whose fault it was on why your marriage did not last, what matters is that the children are taken care of. 

If you are unable to agree on the amount of alimony make sure to involve a Georgia divorce lawyer to help out and the best in the divorce legal field is Cerbone Law since they know how to represent their clients well and how to exploit weaknesses in the other side’s case. Your legal counselor may either work out a solution or may refer your case to a professional financial planner. This way you can avoid costly court battles.