Austin Texas Family Law Blog

The often hectic summer months can quickly take a toll on an already struggling marriage. In light of this, unhappy spouses in Texas and elsewhere may decide to finally pursue divorce during the month of July. Some tips may help them to be prepared for the process starting from day one.

Before commencing with divorce, spouses may first want to find out where they are financially. They can do this by gathering details about the funds in their checking and savings accounts. In addition, they may benefit from finding out how many credit cards are in their possession and what their balances are. The more they know about their finances, the more fairly and effectively they can complete the process of asset and debt division.

The process of getting divorced can be difficult to figure out for those with large amounts of debt. When it comes to student loan debt in particular, people who are going through divorce may wonder if they will have to cover the debt themselves or if their future exes will be responsible for it as well. Here is a look at how student loan debt is handled during divorce.

In Texas, any debt acquired prior to the marriage will be treated as separate property during the property division process. In other words, it will not be divided between the two parties. Therefore, if a spouse accumulates $50,000 in college loans before walking down the aisle, this debt will remain his or hers after the divorce.

The process of getting divorced can be difficult for any person in Texas. However, divorce can be particularly challenging for spouses who are not comfortable with managing investments and other financial assets. Here are a couple of steps that divorcing spouses who are in this situation can take to help themselves.

First, it is wise for divorcing individuals to gather their three previous tax returns as soon as possible. These documents are filled with helpful data regarding financial assets, which can come in handy during the property division process. Second, producing a net-worth statement is a wise. This is possible by tallying all of one's liabilities and assets, which must go on a financial affidavit filed with the court during the divorce process.

The end of a marriage in Texas is a complicated process due to the various financial, emotional and practical implications it has for both parties involved. For this reason, overlooking a basic item like insurance coverage can be easy during divorce proceedings. Still, it is important to examine how one's insurance coverages might change following the divorce and what needs to be done to prepare for this.

First, a law called COBRA is in place in part to help divorced individuals who are not earning income to remain under the employer health insurance plans of their ex-spouses for as many as three years following their divorce proceedings. This can be convenient for divorced individuals, though it is often not cost-effective. Fortunately, more practical insurance options for health care may be available and thus worth looking into, particularly since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in late 2017.