People in New Jersey who are ending their marriage may be overwhelmed by the process and wait until after the divorce to try to get their finances in order, but this can be a mistake. By then, the damage may have been done by poor decisions related to the divorce settlement. By working with a financial adviser in the early stages, people can get a better understanding of their finances and make better decisions.
Stay-at-home spouses might be particularly vulnerable if they have not participated much in managing the family finances. They will need to educate themselves about these matters. One common error might be underestimating how much home upkeep costs.
If a stay-at-home spouse gets custody of the children as well as the family home while the other spouse takes the liquid assets, that person might feel they got the best deal. However, the person with liquid assets may receive dividends and see a more rapid increase in value while the person with the house must content with the costs of maintenance and insurance.
Once people understand their family finances as well as how their situation will change after the divorce, they might be in a better position to enter mediation or negotiation with their estranged spouse. These approaches might leave plenty of room for two people with irreconcilable differences to negotiate an approach to property division that suits them both. In addition to property division, there are a variety of other divorce legal issues that may come into play, which is why having the assistance of a divorce attorney may also be advisable. As is the case with financial advisers, each party should have separate legal representation.
