After the Divorce

Review your estate planning documents. You probably do not want your ex-spouse to inherit your property, or manage the money you leave for your children as their guardian. You should change your will, power of attorney, health care directive, and trust.

Make sure all retirement and employee benefit accounts have been divided by an appropriate Qualified Domestic Relations Order. An Order must be executed by the parties, entered by the Court, and submitted to the Plan Administrator. If you are the non-employee spouse, the Plan Administrator should contact you with information after they have received a court-endorsed Domestic Relations Order to effect any division.

Review all insurance, banking and investment deposit accounts, retirement accounts, or any other asset with a beneficiary designation, and change your beneficiary to someone other than your ex-spouse.

Make certain title to all vehicles and real estate have been changed, remove your ex-spouse from any banking accounts, separate all credit accounts, and follow up with all insurance policies to make certain they are separated. Remember, if you were on your ex-spouse's health insurance policy, you have a limited time to obtain a COBRA policy.

Difficult times require experience & compassion

Divorce is an emotionally-charged and highly stressful process that can change nearly every aspect of a person’s life. The strain and upset of a major breakup leaves spouses psychologically and physically vulnerable. Divorce or legal separation can change where a person lives, with whom they live, their standard of living, their emotional happiness, their assets and liabilities, and time spent with children.

In times of conflict when emotions are high, it is often not easy to keep your perspective and think clearly. People are driven by anger and fear. These are times when you need help. Decisions made during a divorce can have long term consequences for you,your children, and your finances. Hiring a divorce lawyer is not cheap, but you may not be able to afford not to. What you don't know might cost you more. It could be the best investment you make to protect you and your children.

Important decisions must be made for child custody and visitation...

Child support, spousal support, and division of assets and debts. If the parties are unable to agree on a parenting plan for minor children, the court must make a determination as to what is in their best interests. Numerous and complex factors are involved in determining the appropriate amount of child support and spousal support. Complex rules govern the division of community property, determination of separate property, rights of reimbursement, charges against the community estate, and offsets between community and separate assets. Proper division of retirement and employee benefit accounts can make the difference between retiring comfortably and working into your twilight years.

At the Law Office of James H. Bayse, we work hard to protect our clients, reduce conflict, explain options, and achieve the best results possible. Whether through cooperation and negotiated settlement, or aggressive litigation when the opposing party is unable to be reasonable, our objective is to obtain all the law allows our clients.

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I will meet with you personally to discuss your options, the issues you are faced with, the legal procedure, and the potential costs for legal representation. Please also review the divorce overview contained in this web site on various family law issues and helpful resources for the self-motivated. Let us know what you think, and if you find this information helpful tell your friends where you got it.