For every personal decision that leads to divorce, there are perhaps just as many reasons that some people avoid the process even when a marriage is no longer viable. While these reasons vary, many people in California have serious financial concerns about ending a marriage. A significant financial concern can be even more worrying during a high asset divorce, and property division and other processes can either ease or add to those worries.
It can be understandably difficult to part from certain assets — such as a home — during a divorce. These types of properties and assets can hold a tremendous amount of personal meaning, but they can also impose a hefty financial burden. While emotional wellness is certainly one outcome that most people strive for, coming out of a divorce financially better off often means being willing to separate from emotional items that impose unrealistic financial obligations.
For example, take the instance of one couple who divorced and had drastically different financial outcomes. While the wife wanted to sell off the home, the husband insisted that he keep it, pushing the pair out of mediation and towards court. Ultimately, he did win the right to keep the house on the condition that he refinance the mortgage within three years. If not, he would have to sell. On top of keeping the house, he was also ordered to be responsible for approximately 75 percent of the couple’s debt, which might have been due in part to his noted gambling addiction.
Maintaining financial stability after a high asset divorce requires considerable time and attention during the property division process. There is often an emotional impulse to want to keep ownership of significant assets, but this is often misguided. Instead, looking forward to post-divorce financial needs can help divorcing couples in California keep things in perspective.
Source: Forbes, “How One Woman Successfully Bounced Back Financially From Divorce“, Michael Smith