Arguing over money is complicated, stressful, and at times saddening. However, family financial disputes do happen whether or not it is under your control. With that being said, it is important to not let financial disagreements strain relationships, especially with the ones you love. Below, we discuss the top reasons families may have a dispute over finances and when an attorney’s assistance or intervention is necessary.
Divorce & Spousal Support
When a couple divorces, one of the top concerns is how their assets will be divided and if spousal support will be awarded. It is possible that divorce proceedings will be prolonged due to parties arguing about what he/ she brought into the marriage financially and what is communal property. It can also turn into a major dispute if the parties disagree on the spousal support payment amount and what standard of living they maintained during the marriage. For more information on spousal support from A.L. Harvey Law, click here.
Child Support
If you’re a parent, you’re legally obligated to support your child financially, whether you’re married, separated or divorced from the child’s other parent. The custodial parent is required to pay for the child’s needs directly, and the noncustodial parent is required to make child support payments. Even though it this is the law, this does not stop some individuals in disputing child support payments. If a couple is unable to agree on a fair child support payment outside of court, then a family law attorney’s assistance is necessary, whether just for mediation or to the extreme of family court.
Death in the Family & Inheritances
When there is a death in the family, it is an emotionally tolling time, but it is also an opportunity for a family financial dispute to arise if there were no financial, life-planning decisions made prior to the death. If one dies without a will or trust, money and property will be distributed according to California law. This is why we recommend that all individuals create a very detailed will, a document that designates who will receive your assets upon your death, so there can be no dispute between family members, such as who will inherit the assets or how they will be divided. It has been known that fights over estates will occur from sibling rivalry, economic disparity among beneficiaries, co-trustees, beneficiary dependency, estrangement or disinheritance and advanced benefit to one heir and not the other(s). If any of the those occur, attorney intervention may be necessary. Click here for our estate planning services and to learn about the benefits of a will.
Incapacitated Family Member
When a family member is unable to make financial decisions for himself/ herself due to being incapacitated, financial disputes among other family members can easily arise. We recommend estate planning, specifically creating a Power of Attorney document to provide an authorized individual with the power to manage your financial affairs if you are incapacitated and can’t do it yourself. This leaves little room for family financial disputes to arise given sickness, injury or disability.
A.L. Harvey Law is proud to help assist or intervene with financial family disputes. Our compassionate attorneys are trained specifically in family law and estate planning legalities. Contact us today for more information.
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