Roseville Family Law Blog

An impending divorce can create great amounts of stress, anger, sadness and grief. Many people in Sacramento who are facing the disruption of ending a marriage often wonder whether they need a lawyer to help them. Such doubts are especially common for younger people with short-duration marriages and little or no marital property. Nevertheless, the presence of minor children or joint involvement in running a family business, for example, can complicate any divorce.

The first step in a divorce is to visit an attorney and explain your circumstances. No two divorces are exactly alike, and a lawyer will need to know and understand your unique circumstances. If a divorce appears to be a complex case, a lawyer may be able to provide an understandable explanation of the issues that must be resolved.

Getting a divorce is stressful on its own, and paying taxes is its own difficult experience, too. When you put the two together, you may find it hard to cope. Divorcing brings a whole new set of tax issues that you must consider.

With so many things to worry and think about, it can feel impossible to understand how divorce will impact your taxes. Here is a list of four of the main ways your divorce may change the way you pay taxes: 

Many couples in Sacramento who are pondering a divorce are concerned about the emotional strain and expense of an extended court trial. These concerns are increased if the marriage involves young children or if the couple has acquired significant assets to split during the divorce. The California court system provides two alternatives to a full-blown trial: mediation and collaborative divorce. The two processes can be very similar, but a knowledge of the differences may help a couple choose the process that works better for them.

Mediation involves the services of a person who is trained to work with divorcing couples to face their differences and to assist them in finding solutions. Most mediators will collect the facts of the case from each of the parties through court disclosures or information provided by the parties or their attorneys. After collecting the information, the mediator will meet with both parties and their attorneys. Mediators do not take sides, and they have no power to make binding decisions. Instead, a mediator helps each party understand the attitude of the other party and to see what issues divide them. Rather than choose one side over the other, a mediator will help the parties find common ground that will resolve their dispute and obviate the need for a trial. Mediators generally charge an hourly fee that is paid by the participating parties.

One of the biggest concerns for any Sacramento resident who is considering a divorce is the subject of alimony, or "spousal support," to use the preferred California term. Generally speaking, California courts will order one spouse to pay support to the other spouse to alleviate unfair economic burdens that will arise out of the divorce. The spouse with the lower income will usually receive an award of spousal support from the other spouse, but a mere comparison of income levels does not settle the question.

California law specifies five factors that must be considered by the court in deciding whether to award alimony. The age, physical condition and financial condition of each spouse must be reviewed. The court must also evaluate each spouse's future earning abilities. The standard of living enjoyed by the couple during their marriage will also bear on the court's decision. The amount of alimony generally reflects whether the couple enjoyed a relatively high standard of living or a lower standard. The length of the marriage will also affect the amount of alimony - the longer the marriage, the greater the amount of alimony that is ordered. Finally, the court will look at the ability of each spouse to be self-supporting.