How Does a Divorce Affect Your Finances, Property, Investments, Trusts and Wills?

If you are considering a divorce, and plan on seeing family law solicitors, it can be an overwhelming topic. You should understand the implications of family law on finances, property, investments trusts and wills before getting divorced. In this post, we will discuss some basic family law topics that could affect your finances and how to plan for them in advance.

What is family law? 

Family Law governs the family’s legal relationships with each other and third parties, including such matters as marriage, divorce, separation of property and others. It also deals with family-related public policy issues.

How does a divorce affect your finances?

Divorce can have an impact on one or both spouse’s retirement income and assets like savings accounts or retirement funds if they were not protected by any prenuptial agreements made before getting married. Some spouses might even want to know how it will affect their credit score because this number influences the interest rate lenders charge for loans – which has implications for what you could afford when buying a house or car in the future. The process can be long too – court hearings and family mediation can take time, which means you might need to spend money on a lawyer.

How does a divorce affect your property? 

When it comes to dividing the family’s assets, many hidden financial considerations could end up having long-term implications for both spouses – like how will you afford or maintain the family home when one of you moves out. This is why some couples opt for negotiating an agreement outside of court instead – this process avoids going through lengthy judicial proceedings with lawyers’ fees. If they cannot agree, then they may have to go through family mediation before heading into court where judges make decisions based on what’s in the best interest of all parties involved.

What about investments?

Divorce also has a significant impact on investments. For example, if one spouse manages the family’s investment portfolio that means they will need to divide it even though both spouses contributed equally by paying in cash or with stocks and bonds over time. In this case, joint ownership certificates for assets like mutual funds may be required before finalizing the divorce agreement.

What about trusts?

Another financial consideration during divorce is how your trust fund will be divided up – especially if you had children from another relationship who are also beneficiaries of those trusts. If there wasn’t an agreement made regarding the family home and property division when getting divorced then “equitable distribution” would apply which can affect whether some family members inherit what they were expecting because their relative gifted them money or property.

What about wills?

And finally, family law matters when it comes to wills and a will can also be affected if you are getting divorced because of the change in family circumstances (such as children from other relationships). Your spouse may not want your estate to pass down their family line so they would need to make provisions for this in your will by disinheriting them or including specific trust arrangements. A divorce lawyer should be consulted before drafting any new documents related to family law like a prenuptial agreement or will-if one was already drafted during the marriage.

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