It’s not quite intended for couples to get married, have children and then get divorced. No one goes with the mindset of marrying someone, saying to themselves “I will divorce in 10 years.” So you can imagine that family law is an area of the law where people have little to no experience in.
Family law revolves around the separation and divorce of married couples. And this article will focus on the most important 4 things to understand about it, regardless if you’re in search of information or you’re going through a divorce.
Children Have the Rights, Parents Have the Responsibilities
It’s safe to point out that parents don’t have the rights to their children when it comes to divorces. In the eyes of the law, at least, children have the rights and parents have the responsibilities. When married couples go through a divorce, especially if they have children, it’s always best to think about the children first. No parent has the right to equal time with a child, regardless if they pay more child support. A court determines when and how much time with the children one of the parents has.
All Assets go Into the Shared Property Pool
A common misconception and a pretty unfair one to be precise is that you share the property that you acquire during the marriage. But this is not the case according to RIGHT Lawyers. During a divorce, all property gets shared in a 50-50 manner between both parents. The misconception is that what property you’ve owned before the marriage, you get to keep. But according to the law, if that property has had an increase in value, then that value must be accounted towards the shared property pool. How you choose to share the property in the shared pool is up to you and the person you are divorcing.
Property Should NOT be Divided 50-50
Adding on nicely from our previous point, many married couples do indeed think that everything you’ve owned together should be shared in a 50-50 manner. But this is not the case as there is a strict principle for how property should be shared.
Namely, the court looks at your age, your health, your ability to earn now and in the future, your responsibilities for caring for the children, and any disadvantages. If one of the parents is worse off than the other, then an adjustment should be made towards that individual to help balance it out.
Divorce and Financial Settlement are Two Different Things
Filing for divorce and legally finalizing your finances are two different things. To get a financial settlement (legally finalizing your finances) you have to consent order or you will need a financial agreement. To end a marriage you will need to file an application for divorce. To make things clear, you have up to 12 months since your divorce to settle all financial agreements. And people generally prefer to do this before actually applying for the divorce itself. To file for divorce, you and your partner need to be separated for 12 months. Since 12 months is a lot of time, couples prefer to do a financial settlement before the filing of divorce is possible.
