As a divorcing parent, knowing how far to go in your quest for financial success during property division is challenging. Scoring what others would see as a financial win could come at a massive cost to your children’s well-being and that of yourself and your soon-to-be ex. You need to strike a fine balance between getting enough without causing too much disruption.
Here are a few things to consider:
Will pushing for more prolong or embitter the divorce?
The sooner you can wrap up the divorce, the better. It will reduce the cost and allow you to focus on your children and the future sooner rather than continuing to argue about the past. It’s why many couples are turning toward negotiation and collaboration rather than litigation when ending their marriages.
Leaving the other parent poor will leave your children poor
Most courts will seek to maintain both parents as active participants in their children’s lives. If you take your spouse to the cleaners, and they end up living in poverty, that will affect your children whenever they spend time with that parent.
There are several ways to structure divorce finances
Let’s say you’ve accepted that your children will live with your spouse. You want to give them the best upbringing possible but cannot bear the thought of handing over large sums of money to your spouse. You might not have to if you can formulate a plan where you pay for certain things like schooling and health care directly. It’s something to consider if you don’t trust your spouse to spend the money appropriately.
There’s legal help available to examine the different financial options when divorcing with kids.