In addition to fighting over the children, fighting over shared assets is a common occurrence during the marital breakup process in Pennsylvania, no matter what a couple’s net worth may be. Unfortunately, if a divorcing spouse makes unwise decisions when tackling shared assets, this may come to haunt him or her long term. Two decisions in particular can have ill effects that last years following a person’s divorce.
The first of these decisions is not closing joint accounts. Perhaps a woman decides to take on the payments for a certain debt. The woman’s future ex-husband may still be held responsible for it if his name happens to be on the debt account. This is the case because the contract that the couple entered into with the creditor predates the couple’s divorce, which means the creditor has no obligation to abide by their divorce contract. In light of this, it may behoove the couple to transfer the debt to an account featuring the wife’s name only and then shut down the joint account.
The second decision that can have negative consequences is going into divorce with a warrior mentality. The reality is that just because two people have decided to get a divorce does not mean they have to battle each other. Instead, they can keep their marital breakup process as amicable as possible by going through divorce mediation or negotiations.
Of course, resolving financial matters, such as property distribution, outside of court requires both spouses to be open minded. If one party is not cooperative, going to divorce trial is unavoidable. Fortunately, an attorney can ensure that the best interests and rights of an individual are protected in either one of these situations in Pennsylvania.
