A Divorce Lawyer in Tacoma WA knows that finances are often woven into the fabric of the end of a marriage. Couples have different reasons why financial issues have led to filing for divorce, but many of those reasons seemingly unique to one couple can be classified into broad, general categories.
Fighting About Money
Fighting over money is a common issue in marriage breakdowns. A Divorce Lawyer in Tacoma WA likely has represented at least one person who has decided to end the marriage because the spouse kept spending far more than was reasonable. When one person is financially responsible and the other runs several credit cards to the maximum allowed, arguments about money become frequent and volatile.
Sometimes, the reverse type of situation becomes a serious problem. One spouse may be so frugal that the other one feels continually frustrated. They can’t go out for dinner or go on vacation. They can’t go to a movie together because the tickets are $5 even on the discount night.
Gaining Financial Stability
Unfortunately, a couple struggling to make ends meet may come to the realization that splitting up will help them gain some financial advantages. An example would be a couple approaching retirement age and one could collect Social Security benefits from a previous spouse’s account. Those benefit payments may be substantially higher than his or her own expected payments if the other person earned significantly more money. If the two had been married at least 10 years, the ex-spouse will be eligible to collect, but only if this man or woman is now single.
There have been feature stories in newspapers about couples who have done exactly that, although this strategy will sound questionable to many people. A lawyer such as Kevin G. Byrd can provide legal counsel on this type of situation and others in which couples decide to split up because they would be better off financially. This is a matter of caution because doing this while continuing to live together may constitute fraud in some cases. There also are matters of ethics to consider. A licensed attorney can discuss these matters in detail with the prospective client.
