Le Knapp: Avoiding Financial Conflict During a Marriage

When marriages turn sour, one of the primary causes of conflict is finances. Therefore, all marriages can benefit from open communication regarding financial matters.

The following are some tips to make sure that you can avoid financial conflicts during your marriage:

Be honest. You and your spouse should always make sure that you have revealed your complete financial situations. This means sharing banking account information even if you keep separate accounts, sharing the full amount of debt that you have, and sharing the amount of money that you have in savings.
Budget. You should prepare a budget (and do so together) so that you have a clear picture of how much you can spend and what you can spend money on. Track fixed costs and set limits for personal spending each month.
Plan. Discuss your long-term financial goals and how you’d like to save for retirement, children’s college education and big vacations. You can’t necessarily predict everything when it comes to your finances, but it’s good to have an eye on the future and a general idea of how you want your financial planning to go.
Have safeguards in place. Always be prepared for the worst, whether it’s an accident, a home disaster or otherwise. Have all of the proper insurance policies, set up powers of attorney and prepare emergency funds. All of this can only help you should a worst-case scenario pop up. Finally, make sure that you have an estate plan in place.

Parental Alienation

Divorce often leaves ex-spouses bitter and angry at each other. But if there are dependents under 18, divorce also leaves ex-spouses in a position where they must coparent their children.

This spirit of cooperation is especially critical when parents must share custody or respect the visitation rights of the other parent. But sometimes one parent cannot control his or her negative feelings towards the ex-spouse. If these bad feelings poison the relationship of the children with their other parent, we call this parental alienation syndrome.

Courts frown upon this behavior, because destroying the parent-child relationship is definitely not in the best interests of the child. Parents who withhold visitation by the other parent could lose custody of their children. Parental alienation can take a variety of forms, including the following:

A derogatory comment or name-calling
Denying the other parent information about the health and education of the child
Shutting the other parent out of special events or activities in the life of the child
Making false allegations of neglect or abuse by the other parent

Preserving a Father’s Role

In decades past, a divorced man left behind his home, the better part of his paycheck, and the biggest part of his heart—his children. Times have changed somewhat. Increasing numbers of men today are interested in maintaining a stake in the life of their children after divorce.

Despite parenting resources that encourage parents to work together, children of divorce suffer when parents cannot make an agreement that supports parenting roles for both mom and dad. Children need their fathers to play a substantial role in their lives just as they did before divorce.

Children who experience divorce may see their father leave and not return. Or divorce may suddenly reduce access to dad, leaving children vulnerable to feeling abandoned and blaming themselves for the loss. For both genders, the fear and fault associated with losing either parent to divorce can cause a lifetime of emotional struggle.

Fathers provide a bridge to the world for their sons and daughters. While many courts still routinely award custody to mothers, times are changing. Do not give up. Hire attorneys with the experience and legal muscle to do the job right – and help you continue to play a key role in the lives of your children.

Free Consultation with Divorce Lawyer in Utah

If you have a question about divorce law or if you need to start or defend against a divorce case in Utah call Ascent Law at (801) 676-5506. We will fight for you.