Relationships and Money

5 Tips for Cutting Costs During Your Divorce Trial

If you’re one of the 43% of Tennessee residents going through a divorce, you may need a prominent lawyer to help you through this situation. Unfortunately, these cases are most likely to cost you a lot of money and might make your life more difficult. That’s why it is important to take a few simple steps that can help decrease your costs and give you a better overall result that improves your divorce and minimizes cash loss.

1. Do Your Research

Understanding what you’re likely to pay is critical to avoiding serious financial issues. For example, you may need to pay a retainer fee, cover lawyer costs, pay for judge’s appearances, and much more. Try to research these costs and do what you can to cut down on them during your case.

While searching, make sure that you pay attention to your data use, as this may impact your costs. For example, data usage jumped from 12 GB to 16.6 GB in just one year, which could increase your overall cost if you get pinged for extra data usage on your internet server or phone.

2. Consider Settling When Possible

Most high-priced divorce cases occur in a trial because lawyers will get paid a lot of cash, and you may end up losing out when the divorce is completed. Work with your lawyers and your partner to settle your case, including handling child rights issues quickly and effectively.

That’s because battles over custody extend divorce trials beyond all reasonable bounds and end up costing a lot of cash. Trying to create a balanced settlement is key here, as it can eliminate much of the agitation or frustration that some might feel.

3. Split Home Improvement Costs

Some divorce costs may be separate from your trial entirely. For instance, improve your house before you sell it and split the profits. Instead of paying for this process alone, you can work with your partner one last time and split these prices to boost your dual profits.

For instance, you may install aluminum blinds in your home as the longest-lasting, low-maintenance window option in all sizes and split the costs with your partner. Doing so can not only help you save cash during your trial but help you both make more cash when you sell the house later.

4. Handle Some of Your Paperwork

Did you know you don’t have to have your lawyer do all of your legal paperwork for you? They might claim you do or try to do it for you, but you can do some of it yourself. That said, you should only do the paperwork that you fully understand to save yourself some money.

For example, basic paperwork like your initial filing form and other simple items can be filled out at home to save yourself the cash. If you feel uncomfortable with this paperwork, either have your lawyer do it for you or check out free online sites that help walk you through this process.

5. Minimize Lawyer Communication

Last, it is important to only contact your lawyer when absolutely necessary. Even phone calls may be billable hours by many lawyers during a divorce, so make sure that you limit your contact and only work with them when you have no other choice but to contact them.

When you do work with them, bite the bullet and create a detailed list of things that you have to discuss and resolve. Don’t let them take control of your meetings but move through each bullet point and discuss solutions. Doing so can help streamline your approach.

As you can see, it is possible to save money during a divorce if you’re intelligent and take the time to handle this process. Make sure that you consider these points when budgeting during your divorce and talk with your lawyer about any other steps you may take here.

Our Greatest Financial Challenges in Our First Year of Marriage

Financial Challenges of Marriage

 

Deciding to get married is just the first of many important decisions you make as a couple. However, many people forget that there are other considerations besides how you feel about each other. For example, how to combine your finances and plan for your future together. Many of us know that financial strain can create tension in relationships, and serious money troubles often lead to divorce. That’s why it was so important to my husband and me to evaluate our financial compatibility and address these issues from the very beginning. However, even the strongest marriages face obstacles. Here are some of the greatest financial challenges we have faced in our first year of marriage.

The First Financial Challenge of Marriage

The first challenge many couples face is planning the wedding. And, with an average cost of $28,000, it’s easy to understand why this is such a hurdle. That’s a lot of money to spend on a ceremony, especially if you already have debts or want to save for a down payment on a home.

However, our situation is a little different. I never wanted to have a huge ceremony and have already started to budget for a smaller wedding for about half the average cost. Unfortunately, two wrenches were thrown into this plan. First, my husband’s job awarded him a contract that will take him out of state for at least six months. In addition to the costs of maintaining our current household, he’ll also have to rent an apartment there. Second, we received news that my dad’s health was starting to rapidly decline.

Both of these factors affected our timeline. Speeding it would have been stressful and crazy expensive with limited venues available at the last minute. However, it was really important to me that my dad was part of it. So, we decided to have a small civil ceremony at the courthouse and postpone our bigger plans. Choosing to do a courthouse wedding now allowed my dad to be present. And, it gave us more time to plan the ceremony we had originally wanted. As an added bonus, there is less pressure and paperwork to take care of later as well.

The Greatest Financial Challenges

Without a doubt, the greatest challenge has been figuring out how to file our taxes. Although nobody looks forward to tax season – besides the IRS of course – our finances are especially complicated. In addition to my husband’s primary job, we both run small businesses. Furthermore, I lived overseas previously and have international accounts which make it even more difficult.

We both have personal CPAs who have helped manage our accounts and taxes for the last several years. Therefore, my initial response was to file separately until my finances are all domestically based.

However, I have never filed jointly before. So, I didn’t realize how much of an advantage this offers couples. While it is going to be tedious tracking and itemizing all our expenses and deductions, it makes sense financially. But, the next question was deciding who we should choose to continue handling our tax returns in the future.

The deciding factor here came down to which CPA was more familiar with our situation. Although I had worked with mine for a few years, my husband’s CPA has handled his and his parent’s taxes for nearly 20 years. And with him holding more assets, it made sense for me to switch.

Despite the financial challenges in our first year of marriage, it has also been an invaluable learning experience. Not only am I more familiar with tax laws, but it has also made me more diligent with my accounting and bookkeeping. It goes to show that not all challenges have to be obstacles.

My Personal Financial Challenges of Marriage

Even though we have been very transparent, there were personal financial challenges of marriage that I had not anticipated. While we had a clear plan and shared financial goals, I had mixed emotions about losing complete independence and the disparity in our incomes.

My husband has a good job and makes considerably more than I do. However, I have been self-sufficient and paid all my own expenses since I was 18. I got used to living on a budget and prefer to maintain a minimalist lifestyle and my own bank accounts. Part of this was from necessity, and part was due to my struggles in accepting financial help, even from my partner.

On the other hand, my husband wants to enjoy the money he works so hard far. While I agree that he deserves to splurge on himself, I still find it difficult to spend anything on myself. Every extra dollar goes straight into my retirement or investment accounts or our joint savings account.

His approach in helping me deal with my own issues and perspective on money is how I know we are building a relationship that will last. He utilizes my strengths to keep us on track to reach our financial goals. However, he also is very supportive and helps me to let go and live a little. Rather than continuing to live in survival mode, he has shown me why it’s important to spend money on things you enjoy as well. In my eyes, the balance we bring to our finances also translates into other aspects of our marriage.

Overcoming the Obstacles

By no means am I claiming to be a relationship or financial expert. However, I feel we have tackled difficult financial issues that cause many relationships to fail. After our first year of marriage, I believe my husband and I have built a strong foundation. And, if we continue to communicate and work through these challenges together, it will only get stronger. At the end of the day, I know I have a partner who trusts me and supports me. And that is more valuable and important than any financial problem we will face.

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Parents of Millennials Likely Help Pay For These 6 Things

parents of millennials

The parents of millennials help their adult children pay for many different things. They foot the bill for everything from rent to vacations. In most cases, parents of millennials just offer some support. However, sometimes they pay the full cost of their adult children’s lives. Here are the six most common things that parents of millennials help pay for, according to a CNBC report.

1. Cell Phone

It’s no surprise that parents of millennials often help them pay their phone bills. Most likely, this is due to the ease, availability, and affordability of family cell phone plans. Kids are often already on the family plan when they enter adulthood, leave for college, or move out of the house. Parents may find it easy enough just to keep the kids on that plan. They’re used to paying that bill so it doesn’t feel like an added expense.

2. Rent/ Mortgage

13% of millennials report that their parents pay the full cost of their rent or mortgage bill each month. Many other parents help pay a portion of that housing cost. This is a big chunk of money. It’s certainly helpful to the adult kids not to have to pay the bill themselves. However, it can put a big strain on their parents.

3. Groceries

A large percentage of these parents pay for their adult children’s food including all of their groceries. Some of these kids might still live at home, in which case the parents are used to paying for all of the household food. In other instances, parents might pick up some groceries for their kids whenever they do their own shopping. But in other cases millennials buy their groceries on credit cards and their parents pay that bill when it arrives.

4. Automobile Costs

Millennials often get help from their parents when it comes to their cars. Parents might pay for some or all of the car loan. Alternatively, they may help out with car repairs when their kids can’t cover those emergency costs. Sometimes parents buy themselves a new car and pass the old one on to their adult children.

5. Vacations

It might be surprising that parents help their adult children pay for travel, but it’s a very common practice. In fact, it’s the third most common expense that parents pay a portion of behind groceries and the cell phone bill. In many cases, parents of millennials pay their vacation costs in order to spend time together as a family. Adult kids that have moved away may not be able to afford to travel back home without their parents’ help. The family might vacation together elsewhere each year. Whatever the reason, when millennials can’t afford a trip, they are generally comfortable asking their parents for financial help.

6. School and Student Loans

Many parents of millennials consider it their responsibility to pay for some or all of their children’s education. They pay the costs of tuition. They also help pay for books and other necessary supplies. Additionally, parents of millennials who have already graduated often help them pay back their student loans.

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