You have a date the divorce is finalized, which is when you are granted your divorce by the judge at court. But there is a divorce process that precedes this date. One of the very important decisions you and your spouse will make during this divorce process is the date you will use to divide your assets and your debt. What is the value of the retirement accounts, credit card debt, investment accounts, etc. on this date? And how do you decide what date to use? If you have been separated for several years and you want to use the date you separated you will have to do some digging into your files to see what the amounts were in the accounts back when you split.
Another date decision that has to be made is when are you separating not just your big picture assets but your day to day finances. Who is paying what bills and what accounts are staying open or closed? Are you closing the joint checking account or is one person keeping it and removing the other’s name and access to this account? On what date is this happening? When do you no longer have access to the joint credit card? When are your getting separate car insurance and are no longer eligible for the multi-car discount?
At Westfield Mediation, LLC, we help couples come up with a realistic plan to address all of these issues. While it is up to the couple to execute the divorce plan (the mediator does not accompany you to the bank to close out the accounts), the mediator helps both of the parties develop a practical plan about dividing up the marital assets and debt and when to do this. When going through divorce mediation you have the flexibility to decide on a date that makes sense for your situation. Some couples have never thought about it before and choose the date that it is discussed in divorce mediation. More specific dates could be the date of separation, the date of filing the divorce complaint, the date the divorce is finalized or anything in between. One time a couple picked their anniversary so they could say they made it to twenty years before splitting everything up.
For more information on divorce and divorce mediation, please contact Randi M. Albert, JD, or Michelle Weinberg, M. Ed., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, at Westfield Mediation, LLC at 908.913.0373. View our website at www.westfieldnjmediation.com or email us at info@westfieldnjmediation.com.
Another date decision that has to be made is when are you separating not just your big picture assets but your day to day finances. Who is paying what bills and what accounts are staying open or closed? Are you closing the joint checking account or is one person keeping it and removing the other’s name and access to this account? On what date is this happening? When do you no longer have access to the joint credit card? When are your getting separate car insurance and are no longer eligible for the multi-car discount?
At Westfield Mediation, LLC, we help couples come up with a realistic plan to address all of these issues. While it is up to the couple to execute the divorce plan (the mediator does not accompany you to the bank to close out the accounts), the mediator helps both of the parties develop a practical plan about dividing up the marital assets and debt and when to do this. When going through divorce mediation you have the flexibility to decide on a date that makes sense for your situation. Some couples have never thought about it before and choose the date that it is discussed in divorce mediation. More specific dates could be the date of separation, the date of filing the divorce complaint, the date the divorce is finalized or anything in between. One time a couple picked their anniversary so they could say they made it to twenty years before splitting everything up.
For more information on divorce and divorce mediation, please contact Randi M. Albert, JD, or Michelle Weinberg, M. Ed., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, at Westfield Mediation, LLC at 908.913.0373. View our website at www.westfieldnjmediation.com or email us at info@westfieldnjmediation.com.
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