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Secret Divorce Planning
Planning for divorce is a good idea for many couples. If it is not a friendly divorce, doing your planning in secret is still a good idea. Frequently, secretly planning for divorce can save your financial well being after the marriage is over. Many times, husbands and wives are financially worse off after divorce than before. Unfortunately, frequently, wives tend to fare worse financially after divorce than husbands.
Planning to avoid this financial hit is possible if done correctly.
One big mistake that is often made is filing for bankruptcy after divorce. If this is done, the non-filing spouse may end up fully responsible for a debt that the filing spouse has been excused from paying in the bankruptcy. For this reason, if bankruptcy is going to be needed anyway, filing for bankruptcy prior to divorce is frequently a good idea.
This procedure must be handled carefully because when a bankruptcy is filed all other legal actions must stop, including divorce. It is necessary to go before the federal bankruptcy court and get permission to proceed with the state court divorce or wait until the bankruptcy is over to get a divorce. Proper planning is required.
Unknown to many people there are five types of property ownership in a marriage relationship. Firstly, all property of the marriage is presumed to be community property. With the proper evidence this presumption can be overcome. The other types of marital property are: separate property of the husband, separate property of the wife, sole management community property of the husband and sole management community property of the wife.
If property is correctly segregated or, even if not, if it can be traced, certain property is considered separate property. This would be property owned before marriage, property acquired after marriage by gift, inherited property, certain personal injury compensation, property the spouses agree is separate, and property the parties agree will be separate in a pre-nuptial agreement. A divorce court cannot divide separate property.
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