What a Woman Should Ask for in a Divorce Settlement?

Here are the 9 important things that a woman should ask for in a divorce settlement:

What a Woman Should Ask for in a Divorce Settlement?
  1. Share in the marital home
  2. Distribution of other marital property
  3. Distribution of debts and liabilities
  4. Co-parenting arrangement
  5. Child support
  6. Child’s insurance
  7. Alimony
  8. Custody of documents
  9. Undisclosed transfers of property and post-divorce liabilities

A divorce settlement agreement is a legally binding contract that is entered into by the spouses in contested and uncontested divorces. It contains the terms of property and debt division, child support, alimony, child custody, visitation rights, etc. the agreement provides clarity on each spouse’s duties and responsibilities, and about who gets what asset or liability. As this agreement impacts the future of both spouses, it should be drafted by an experienced divorce attorney.

With that said, here is what a woman should include in such an agreement:

Share in the Marital Home

A home purchased by the couple while they were married is considered marital property. Unless specified otherwise in a prenuptial agreement, in most cases each spouse gets a 50% share in the marital home.

Before division, the spouses should consider getting the home valued by an appraiser if they do not agree on its valuation. The division, which comes next, depends on who gets the home.

If one spouse gets the home, he/she should pay the other spouse’s share in cash or in other property (marital or separate property belonging to the spouse who keeps the home).

If the spouses do not agree on the division, the home can be sold and the proceeds (after paying off any mortgage) can be shared.

The agreement should also state who will have exclusive possession of the home and which spouse is responsible for the maintenance, repairs, improvements, taxes, and insurance of the home in the future.

Distribution of Other Marital Property

Before dividing property, the spouses should make an itemized list of their separate properties. Separate property belongs to the original owner and will not be divided in divorce unless there are extraordinary circumstances. Separate property should be included in the divorce settlement agreement.

Next, both spouses should make a list of common marital property (furniture, cars, stocks, bonds, wedding rings, engagement rings, bank accounts, etc.) and agree on how these will be shared in the divorce settlement agreement.

Retirement accounts are also considered as marital property and are subject to equitable distribution. However, the funds that are deposited in the retirement account belong to the account-holding spouse. Therefore, their distribution must be specifically clarified in the settlement agreement.

Debts and Liabilities

Separate as well as common debts and liabilities too should be itemized, along with the mention of the spouse who is responsible for paying off the common debts or other liabilities.

Debt and liabilities include student loans (almost always separate debt), mortgage loans, credit card debt, income tax, personal loans, lawsuits by creditors, and bankruptcies.

Child Custody and Co-Parenting Arrangement

A woman should include the following terms after consulting with her family law attorney. The idea behind including these terms is to make your child’s life easier and happier.

  • Which parent gets the primary legal or physical custody, and whether such custody is sole or joint?
  • Duties and responsibilities of each spouse for the child’s extracurricular activities, meetings with relatives, celebrations, etc.
  • A calendar that specifies which parent will be with the child on weekdays, weekends, shared vacation time, and holidays. This part can also include a vacation schedule.
  • An arrangement for keeping the kids safe at each parent’s home (for example, locking away guns when the child is at home, not exposing the child to a new date, and more).
  • Other parent’s visitation schedule.

Child Support

  • Which parent will pay how much every month towards child support, and when does the payment of child support commence?
  • How is the child support money allocated among the children?
  • How is child support calculated? (It is typically calculated based on the parents’ incomes, parenting timeshare, and other circumstances of the case).
  • Who pays if child support is required beyond the age of 18? (For example, if the child has special needs).

Child Insurance

  • Which parent will pay medical and dental health insurance for each minor child and for how long? Or, in what proportion will each parent share this insurance premium?
  • Circumstances under which a parent may stop insurance payments.
  • Which parent will pay for any uncovered or uninsured healthcare expenses of the minor child? How will the paying parent be provided proof of such uncovered expenses?
  • In how many days will the parent have to make the insurance payments?

Alimony

  • Which spouse shall pay the alimony every month and by what date?
  • For how long will the alimony payment continue? (Typically alimony is paid until either spouse dies, or the spouse who receives the alimony remarries, or the spouse receiving alimony cohabits, or by court order, or any modification of the alimony clause in the divorce settlement agreement, whichever comes first.)

Custody of Documents

In a divorce settlement, it must also be asked specifically which parent gets to keep the child’s documents such as passport, social security cards, birth certificate, and other documents, in case the parents get joint custody of the child.

Undisclosed Transfers and Post-Divorce Liabilities

Both spouses should declare that they have not made any undisclosed transfers of money or gifts at less than their market value to anyone without informing the other spouse. If it is discovered that either spouse is lying, he/she should be made to pay to the other spouse 50% of the undisclosed transfer/gift, plus interest, after its market value is determined. This is just an example, and the percentage may be different depending on the facts in any given situation.

Both spouses should also declare that post-divorce they will not take on any liabilities that can be enforced on any asset belonging to the other spouse after the divorce.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
About the Author: Marco Brown
6d8a23cf114c43e68fc064216eff550b?s=72&d=mm&r=g
Marco C. Brown was named Utah’s Outstanding Family Law Lawyer of the Year in 2015. He graduated with distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2007 and is currently the managing partner of Brown Family Law, LLC.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY AND WHY

Check out what some of our real life clients had to say about working with Brown Family Law

Brown Family Law
Excellent
4.8
Based on 836 reviews
Dani is great to work with! She responds quickly and is reliable. She knows her stuff!
Response from the owner: Linzi, thank you for your kind words about Dani. Glad she was able to help you with your case.
They are very efficient and Ray was exceptionally efficient, helpful and caring. I definitely recommend them.
Response from the owner: John, we're glad Ray served you so well. Thank you for your kind words.
Sophie was an amazing person to work with. She helped walk me through many of my concerns I had in a clear and concise manner. She regularly followed and reached out with me, making me feel like not just another number.
Response from the owner: Thank you, and so glad Sophie communicated so well with you.
Ray did an outstanding job. Would highly recommend.
Response from the owner: Michael, glad Ray did such a good job for you.
Had an hour consultation. Answered all the questions I had, explained everything in an understandable way and followed up.
Response from the owner: Glad we were able to help, Ariel.
Carren and Jason were very helpful and quick to respond to my questions and concerns as we worked through my divorce, I would recommend them to anyone.
Response from the owner: Thank you, Bill.
I cannot say enough good things about Brown Family Law. Amy was my attorney and she was great! She always listened and responded quickly. Thanks to her, my case was resolved quickly. Thank you, Amy.
Response from the owner: Glad Amy communicated so well with you, James.
Fast and kept me involved. Very professional team.
Response from the owner: Jace, thank you.
Best attorney ever. They were so helpful and responsive
Response from the owner: Thank you, Shaun.
When I started my case with Brown Family Law, they had 650 positive reviews. Now, about a year later, they have 820. Not sure how much else you need to convince you, but do yourself a favor and stop looking. You're in the right place.We worked with Nathaniel for nearly a year on our case, and trusting someone with something so vulnerable and close to you as a custody case is difficult, but he made it easy. His knowledge of law and experience with the court system allowed us to make educated decisions quicker. He helped me feel confident in very unfamiliar territory, and having someone like Nate on my team allowed me to make the best decisions possible for our family. He thought of many things I didn't, and gave us the roadmap to success for navigating a complicated and stressful situation. I found myself constantly bragging about our lawyer to family and expressing how impressed I was in his skill and his fearless nature of getting sh** done. Nate got that dawg in him, yanno what I mean?I like the way Brown Family Law works with their clients; it's different than other law firms, and I can see the benefits of those differences. It's always easy to contact someone at the office, and I get a response very quickly. They are extremely communicative, fast, and thorough. They run a tight ship, and it's obvious the quality differences from other law firms.This is a big and heavy decision, but Brown Family Law will take a lot of that weight off your shoulders. Ask for Nate--you won't be led astray.
Response from the owner: Christie, thank you. So glad Nathaniel was able to help you and that we were able to communicate with you so quickly.
This firm is awesome but special shoutout to Dani, she is an outstanding paralegal. She is very knowledgeable
Response from the owner: Thank you very much for your kind words about Dani.
I can't say enough about Russell Yauney at Brown Family Law! He has helped me on multiple cases over the years and has always exceeded my expectations. Russell is one of the good guys who isn't afraid to tell you how it is and isn't afraid to stand up and fight for what is right. I'm glad that I have Russell and his team in my corner!
Response from the owner: Karl, glad Russell served you well.
very helpful to fathers who have been broke by the system and targeted for vaporization(1984). Thank you brown family law.
Response from the owner: You're welcome, Ryan. And thank you for the kind words.
Nathaniel was my attorney and I couldn't ask for someone more attentive and level-headed than he is. They made my divorce process so much easier and were very patient with me as I navigated the entire process. Thank you Brown Family Law for all of your help!
Response from the owner: Samantha, thank you and so glad Nathaniel did such a good job for you.
Used Nathaniel Garrabrandt for a child custody case. He is very good, very professional and available. Having been through this a few times that communication is very important. The only warning, and this isnt just Nate per se, but very very costly.
Response from the owner: Danny, thank you for recommendation. Glad Nathaniel has been able to help you.
I've witnessed firsthand how Brown Family Law works hard to care for their clients. They train their staff and attorneys on more than just the law, but how to serve clients with care and integrity.
Response from the owner: Thank you, Amber.
Amber McFee Super hard working , determined, while always fight for what is right
Response from the owner: Glad we could help.
Lei was something special. She was very understanding of our situation and her advice and listening ear made our decision and path forward clear. Thank you!
Response from the owner: Adam, you're welcome, and thank you.
Andrew did a great on my case. Communication was consistent, to the point and he kept me well informed. I also had the pleasure working with Clay. Top notch firm, very confident, and I would highly recommend them if you want to win. Thanks again team ~D
Response from the owner: Dan, thank you, and glad Andrew helped you so well.
Lei the office manager helped tremendously with all hiccups that we ran into and was very responsive and knowledgeable! She is a Rockstar and makes Brown Family Law worthy of 5 stars
Response from the owner: Thank you.
Sierra was so helpful right from the moment she answered our call. She gave all her support and resources and made sure to ask if we needed anything else before moving forward. Thank you so much!
Response from the owner: Thank you, Mel. Glad Sierra was able to help.
I would hands down suggest Brown Family Law. Nathaniel helped me with my divorce, and he was very knowlegeable and knows his stuff. He helped me file a motion, get somethings changed in the original decree, helped me understand the terms they use, helped me understand how child support is calculated along is all the financial aspects associated with divorce case. He also is very responsive to phone calls and emails which was very helpful whenever I had small questions. Thank you Nathaniel!
Response from the owner: Andrew, thank you for your kind words.
I can’t say enough good things about Brown Family Law, but more specifically, my lawyer David Handy and his paralegal Dani. They are kind and honest and always available to me when I’ve needed them! This is such an exhausting time and they alleviated all of my stress by taking control. I could trust the process knowing I was in great hands!!! The entire law firm works as a team to take care of you! I can’t recommend them enough! Thank you!!!
Response from the owner: Ryan, so glad David and Dani served you so well and alleviated your stress.
They handled my case with the highest degree of professionalism and integrity and made every effort to be efficient and transparent with me throughout the whole process. I was told that they were the best as far as family law is concerned and I believe that praise was fully justified.
Response from the owner: Ben, thank you.
Amber McFee is always professional and great to work with. Being opposing counsel by nature is adversarial, but Amber is professional in approach while effectively advocating for her clients. She will treat you right!
Response from the owner: Thank you, Jonathan.
Overall from start to finish the best experience to have dealing with a time that is difficult.Andrew Christensen is very professional and out going to make this situation the best it could be and worked hard to make sure the divorce was fair for me.Over all, this firm really cares and treats you as a family or friend and just not a client, down to Marco Brown taking time to see how I was doing and offer to help in any way possible during my divorce while I was there for my first initial meeting.I would highly recommend anyone that has to go through a divorce to really reach out to the Brown Family Law firm and see for your self the experience I was able to receive from a top notch law firm.
Response from the owner: Devin, thank you for the kind words. Andrew appreciated the opportunity to help you with your situation.
Sophie was very helpful and explains the process and fees. Thank you!
Response from the owner: Corey, thank you for the kind words. Glad we could help.
Dani always kept me updated and has great communication skills.
Response from the owner: Thank you, Sofia.
Dani was extremely helpful and always responsive.
Response from the owner: Glad Dani did well for you.
My experience with Brown Family Law is a positive one. I highly recommend them. This firm has very good communication with their clients. Attorney Paul Waldron represents me and I’m very happy with the experience. My questions and concerns are always answered quickly and respectfully. I’m grateful to have Mr. Waldron and Brown Family Law in my corner during this difficult time for my family.
Response from the owner: Jodie, glad we were able to communicate with you so effectively and quickly. Thank you for your kind words.
Dani excelled as a paralegal, providing crucial support with exceptional skills!
Response from the owner: Glad Dani did such a good job for you.
Thank you So much
Response from the owner: You're welcome. Thank you for choosing us to help you.
I highly recommend Nathaniel and his team. They listened to me, navigated me, educated me, and always called when they said they would. Going through a divorce was very hard but they helped me get through it and showed compassion the whole time.
Response from the owner: Amy, thank you for your recommendation, and glad we could help you through your divorce.
They were helpful with clarifying some issues regarding my divorce decree while navigating the modification to another state
Response from the owner: Glad we could help.
I consulted with Nathaniel regarding a legal issue from Utah that had implications in another state. He was very quick to respond. I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful regarding the issues. Would highly recommend him for anyone looking for a Utah based attorney.
Response from the owner: Thank you, Trey.
js_loader

Schedule a Consultation


What Makes Us Different

At Welty Law Office, we know that when we make children’s well-being a priority, their parents do better, too.
At Welty Law Office, we know that when we make children’s well-being a priority, their parents do better, too.
At Welty Law Office, we know that when we make children’s well-being a priority, their parents do better, too.
At Welty Law Office, we know that when we make children’s well-being a priority, their parents do better, too.