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Property Division in Divorce: Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements refer to agreements made between the spouses before and after marriage, respectively. Among other things, these contracts enable the spouses to define their respective property rights, which can be very helpful in cases of divorce or legal separation.

Impact of Domestic Relations Issues in Divorce Cases

Divorce or the dissolution of a marriage is a very delicate process, and it totally recasts the parties' domestic relations for practical purposes. Divorce involves more than the spouses, and their children, properties, financial commitments and liabilities, and the emotions of everyone by the divorce should be considered. Divorce and domestic relations issues are deeply personal matters, and the family issues that lead to divorce are numerous. Domestic disputes that cause a divorce often reverberate throughout the divorce process and beyond, potentially for years if the spouses have children. Particularly when there has been abuse in the marital relationship, the physical, emotional, and psychological impact on the parties can last far beyond the entry of the final divorce decree.

Alimony: Periodic Spousal Support

Alimony, also called "spousal support," is common in many states. It is monetary support given to a dependent ex-spouse to maintain that ex-spouse's standard of living, as it existed during the marriage. Alimony also is given, regardless of the receiving spouse's sex, to compensate for faithful service provided as a homemaker, loss of employment opportunities and the foregone acquisition of skills for the sake of family, and sacrifices made during the marriage.

Permanent Counsel Fees

A divorce decree can facilitate an enforcement order, establish rights for both the parties, award custody and enable visitation rights, grant alimony, and distribute property between the parties. Considering the nature of divorce cases and the work involved in obtaining divorce, legal fees often differ from case to case. The fees can differ from city to city, state to state, and law firm to law firm. Preliminary meetings with counsel usually do not involve laborious effort, and usually amount to sorting the factual details. Courts take consideration of the parties' ability to pay counsel fees before awarding fees. Despite the diversity in statutes, courts apply general principles and carefully analyze the parties' financial status before awarding costs.

Valuation of Closely Held Businesses in Divorce Proceedings

Generally, divorce cases involving thorny property issues can be complicated to resolve. This especially is true when the marital estate includes a closely-held business. A closely-held business usually presents one of two scenarios in the divorce context. The business may be tied to one spouse who is responsible for the business's success. Distribution of the business to one spouse often creates asset allocation and business valuation issues. It presents the problem of valuing the business and structuring the parties' assets and liabilities in order to provide the other spouse with a comparably valued property distribution. If the business depends on the operating spouse's good will and management, which many closely-held businesses do, then the true value can suffer under the emotional stress common in divorce even if the business is distributed to the key-person spouse. A business having one value when operated by the key-person spouse can have a far different value when distributed to the non-operating spouse.