Prenuptial agreements can be used for a variety of marital reasons, and one of those reasons is for debt protection. The average American has more than $38,000 of debt, and this does not even take into account home mortgages. Millions of Americans are so deep underwater on their mortgages and other loan payments that they are will likely end up being in debt until the day that they die.

Surprisingly, Americans are taking on more debt each and every year, despite knowing the consequences. Credit card debt is now tied with home mortgage debt, followed by student loans and car loans. The later comes as little surprise when the average new car price tag comes in at more than $37,000. The last thing that you want to do when you marry the love of your life is to begin worrying about your spouse’s high debt and financial troubles. After all, financial turmoil is one of the most common stress points in marriage.

Will a Prenuptial Agreement Protect Me from My Spouse’s Debt?

Debt acquired before marriage is not the legal burden of the other spouse. If your soon-to-be-spouse has a $40,000 in student loans, you will not suddenly be responsible for that debt when you marry. Similarly, if your spouse fails to make timely payments on that debt, your credit score will not suffer as a result. However, if you are a co-signer with your spouse onto a credit card or other type of loan, you will be held financially responsible for that debt, even if you end up not doing any of the spending.

Many of the laws surrounding divorce can seem complicated, unnecessary, poorly thought-out, or just plain wrong depending on your side of the argument. For example, disability benefits can be garnished to pay alimony or child support. For some, this may seem like an unfair demand or request. On the other hand, the receiving spouse may rely on that money to make rent or pay for their child’s healthcare expenses. An experienced Hinsdale divorce attorney can help explain how disability benefits can and cannot be divided during divorce.

Does Social Security Disability Income Get Split as a Marital Asset?

Over 10 million Americans rely on Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), with the vast majority of those people being disabled workers. If you are receiving SSDI benefits through your own work record and health condition, your disability benefits will not be altered during divorce in regards to division of marital assets. Similarly, if you were receiving SSDI benefits as a spouse to the person with a disability, your spousal SSDI benefits will not be affected unless you were married for fewer than 10 years.

How Do Child Support and Alimony Affect SSDI Benefits?

SSDI benefits can be garnished for child support or spousal support if those court-ordered payments are not being provided in a timely fashion to the receiving spouse. Whether you are the party with the condition or you are the party that is receiving SSDI benefits as a former spouse, your SSDI payments can be redirected to the other party to ensure that support orders are fulfilled.

Most divorces take a number of months to finalize—six months to a year is common. During this time, one of the spouses typically moves out of the house, as continuing to live together is too much strain on the couple as well as the children. During this time, temporary orders of custody and support can be provided by the court. One of the most important and useful court orders is temporary alimony, referred to as bridge the gap alimony. This money helps the lower-earning spouse pay bills and expenses during the divorce process.

Bridge the Gap Alimony Can Pay for Rent

If the lower-earning spouse moves out of the home, they either have to rely on family and friends to house them, or they will be forced to rent an apartment or house. The average Hinsdale apartment, which is just 1,100 square feet, comes with a price tag of $1,400 per month in rent. A larger apartment or house can easily double that cost. The median rental cost (including houses) in Hinsdale is $3,500. Bridge the gap spousal support can help the lower earning spouse afford to pay rent for a suitable house or apartment that matches the lifestyle that they have grown accustomed to during the marriage.

Similarly, bridge the gap alimony can be used to pay for the mortgage if the higher-earning spouse does not jointly own the property in which the lower-earning spouse is living. The wealth of each spouse weighs heavily on all alimony decisions. If the higher-earning spouse is much wealthier than the lower-earning spouse, a court may find it reasonable for the higher earning spouse to cover the mortgage during divorce with bridge the gap alimony.

Many couples end up dissolving their marriages on relatively good terms. In these cases, the divorce is often uncontested. An amicable divorce is one in which both spouses agree to the terms without contesting such matters as division of marital property, child support, child custody, visitation, and spousal support. There are many positives to an amicable divorce, including significant time savings. Amicable divorces are generally much less stressful than contested divorces. And, amicable divorces are usually much less expensive. After all, 40 percent of Americans do not have enough money in reserve to cover an unexpected $400 bill, and the average cost of divorce, per person, is $15,000. However appealing an amicable divorce sounds, it may not be a good idea to sign divorce papers without first talking to an attorney.

Why an Attorney Is Still Necessary

Shockingly, 40 percent of couples take a very large risk by not using a divorce attorney when they get divorced. Amicable divorces do not require an attorney to argue your case in front of a judge, but there may be reasons to work with an attorney regardless. It is true that you and your spouse can write up an agreement and submit it to the court for the court’s approval and a final divorce decree. Yet, some spouses end up regretting their decision to trust their partner with such openness. After all, the other spouse may have kept some aspects of their lives hidden from you. For example:

• They may have hidden assets that you do not know about;
• Some of the assets that ended up getting divided may not actually be marital property, such as inheritance or personal injury settlement money;
• Their future living situation, work schedule, and lifestyle may not be as ideal as they lead you to think regarding parenting time;
• The alimony decision that the two of you came up with may not be fair to one of the parties;
• The child support that the paying parent provides may not be adequate for the new living expenses that the custodial parent is now faced with; and
• Much more.

A Hinsdale Divorce Attorney Can Answer the Important Questions

Divorce should never be rushed because that is when mistakes are made that can haunt you for years to come. Let the experienced DuPage County divorce attorneys at the Law Offices of Martoccio & Martoccio thoroughly review your case before you take any further actions that could inadvertently harm your child or yourself. Call 630-920-8855 to schedule a free consultation today.

Surveys have shown that 10 to 15 percent of married women admit to cheating on their spouses, while men double that statistic, with 20 to 25 percent of married men admitting to cheating on their partners. How does infidelity affect divorce? After all, cheating is something that most married couples never get over and is one of the leading causes of divorce.

What Adultery Does Not Affect During Divorce

It is easier to first list the aspects of divorce that are not affected by adultery because adultery has no effect on most of the things that people typically assume that it does. For instance, adultery does not sway a court one way or the other when it comes to child custody unless it can be proven that the cheating spouse’s affair somehow put the child at physical or emotional harm, which is extremely rare. Similarly, adultery has no effect on child support or the parenting plan. Asset distribution almost always remains the same whether marriage end because of infidelity or some other unrelated reason. It may seem like a cheating spouse put less effort into the marriage or is setting a horrible example for his or her children, and therefore is less equipped to be a parent, but the courts generally treat a cheating spouse better than a spouse with a gambling addiction, for example. Only when the infidelity is proven to have directly affected the child in a negative way, such as exposing the child to a prostitute, will a court use infidelity to make a custody decision. The same goes for asset division. However, there is one exception to the later.

Dissipation

Illinois is an equitable distribution state, meaning that property is divided “fairly.” Under 750 ILCS 5/503, the court “shall divide the marital property without regard to marital misconduct in just proportions considering all relevant factors.” As such, adultery does not affect property distribution. However, the court does recognize the misuse of marital assets, called the “dissipation” of marital assets. One type of misuse is spending marital assets on another sexual partner. For example, the court may choose to reduce the property distributed to the husband if it can be proven that he spent money on hotel rooms, jewelry, and dinners for his mistress.