Woman fingers with pen writing reminder Quit Job in calendar. Close-up.
1. Don’t quit your job!
You should not quit your job to avoid paying alimony, maintenance or spousal support (all terms for the same thing—support of a spouse).
You should not quit your job so you can be paid alimony, maintenance or spousal support or to avoid paying child support.
Here’s why:
Changing your employment status prior to divorcing or separating places you under suspicion for trying to mislead the other party and the court. Courts often refer to loss of employment prior to or during a divorce action as “divorce-itis”, as in, a sudden “illness” that strikes only upon divorce. A court can impute your prior income to you and fashion an order for spousal support based on an income you no longer have if you quit your job. Imputing income can also result in your being imputed the income from the job you just quit and thereby disallowing you to qualify for spousal support.
Who qualifies for spousal support?
Spousal support is based upon both parties incomes and earning capacity, the length of the marriage (the shorter the marriage the less the duration of spousal support), and a series of other factors delineated by each state in its domestic relations laws. It is gender neutral. Spousal support can be temporary or permanent depending on the state. Most of the time it is meant to be rehabilitative, for the purpose of assisting a spouse until they find employment or increase their earnings. It can also be paid as a lump sum payment rather than a monthly amount.
While all American states have laws regarding spousal support, each state differs in requirements and types of spousal support (temporary, permanent).
Maintaining the Status Quo
One of the purposes of spousal support is to maintain the “status quo” so that both parties have sufficient income to meet their expenses or their pre-divorce standard of living.
2. Don’t leave the children with your spouse or take the children away from the spouse!
Here’s why:
If you leave the marital home and the children with the other parent, you are making a legal presumption by your action, that they are a fit parent to care for the children fulltime as a custodial parent without having preserved any rights of parenting time or visitation with the children for yourself, essentially leaving it up to the parent who now has “de facto custody” (custody in fact). Alternatively, if you leave with the children without consent or agreement in writing, except in a situation of domestic violence or child abuse, you have removed the children unilaterally from the home they know and the other parent depriving them of access which can be used against you in court.
What are the different custody arrangements?
There are various custody arrangements that can be made even temporarily when separating or divorcing. Each state has its own custody laws. In general, there is legal custody (shared decision making) which can be joint or sole; and physical custody which can be joint or sole. Custody is determined by the “best interests” of the child, but each state may have different factors as to what determines “best interests.”
Not every state considers a child’s wishes in making a custody determination.
Parents often begin a separation by using a custody arrangement called “nesting” in which the children remain in the marital home and the parents leave and come back requiring them to have another residence during their non-parenting time.
3. Don’t liquidate joint bank accounts or transfer money to a third party!
Here’s why:
There are two legal concepts for the division of a marital assets. You should find out whether you live in an equitable distribution state or a community property state.
Community property means that marital property is divided “equally” between each spouse.
Equitable distribution means that marital property is divided “equitably” between each spouse.
If money is held jointly in a joint account, the rights to the money in a divorce will need to be determined by an agreement between the parties or a court. If one spouse removes or transfers the money to a third party (usually a family member) they have made a unilateral determination as to the division of the property which will be looked down upon and held against them in the ultimate determination as to the rights to the marital property. Doing so may result in additional and costly litigation which can be imposed upon the party who made the withdrawals or transfers.
4. Don’t sell or transfer real property!
Here’s why:
Most marital “real property” (land and any improvements thereto) is jointly titled and therefore cannot be transferred or sold without the other spouse’s consent. In certain cases, usually for financial reasons, only one spouse might be titled to the property. This does not mean that the other spouse does not have an entitlement to the property. It depends on which state you live in.
If you are in a community property state or an equitable distribution state, depending on how that state treats non-title, the property could be marital property to which the other non-titled spouse has an entitlement.
5. Don’t remove your spouse from the health insurance plan!
Here’s Why:
Depriving a spouse of their health insurance can result it a huge medical bills attributed to you if your spouse is suddenly injured or becomes ill.
According to Divorce Net, a for profit online site, in most states, courts issue temporary orders or injunctions prohibiting your spouse from removing you from the health insurance plans. Once divorced, the divorce is considered a “qualifying event” allowing the employee spouse to unenroll the non-employee spouse, who may then seek COBRA coverage or enroll in another plan.
6. What should you do?
Divorcing or separating is a complicated matter governed by individual state law. Divorcing or separating involves all aspects of your life, from your future support or income, to time spent with your children, how the children’s expenses will be paid for, where you will live, division of property accumulated during the marriage and how attorneys will be paid.
As divorce attorneys, we see the mistakes people make that are extremely costly and affect all aspects of their future single lives. Before you do anything unilaterally, before starting a divorce action, seek legal advice from an experienced lawyer.
