Three Simple Steps to Your Property Divorce Settlement

At the end of most divorce proceedings, each ex-spouse nurses some bitterness, anger, and resentment towards the other party because of the way their property settlement in divorce may have been divided. Certainly, their respective divorce lawyers likely aimed at getting for their client an optimal net worth from the division of real estate, private investments and total sales of the remaining properties. However, your property settlement divorce negotiations don't have to end on a sour note. Spend your closed-door meetings being less combative with one another and finishing up the following three steps to property divorce settlement on more amicable terms. Make an inventory of all that you and your spouse now own and have owned since the beginning of your relationship. Calculate the current market value (in Australian dollars) of each asset from cash and bonds to real estate and personal property, of every liability including variable expenses and fixed costs, of either the long-term or short-term equities, and of any private fund investments. Be specific and thorough when listing down each spouse's contributions. Contributions don't have to be in the form of money, object, or any tangible object. A wife's efforts in housekeeping, washing the laundry and drying, ironing, and cooking also contributed to adding value to a couple's home. These items must be given a certain weight or value expressed in percentage. The list below briefly exemplifies this important step: Wife - cooking (20%)rnHusband - laundry and drying (25%)rnWife - ironing (10%)rnHusband - garbage, mowing, snow scraping (5%)rnWife - vacuum, wipe dust and grime, clean ceiling (5%)rnHusband - repairs and installations at home (5%) The remaining twenty percent is split evenly between the two for their time spent in parenting their two children. Therefore, the husband gets 50% while the wife also owns the 50% remaining. Figure out all possible future needs of each spouse, assign some weight to each item based on its importance, and expressed this value as a percentage of the assets. When deciding what future needs you and your spouse might require, you start with the basics, such as monthly groceries for food and the utility bills for water, gas and electricity. Also include your monthly expenses for medical supplies and prescription drugs, such as Insulin for a diabetic or Salbutamol for an asthmatic, plus the costs for physical therapy or psychotherapy, if you or your spouse needs it. When you're the parent who has sole custody of your child or the kids, you'll likely get double the grocery money to buy infant formulas, baby food, and diapers. Additional budgets for the children should cover their tuition fees, books, school supplies, daily lunch and snack at school, dental and medical checkups, health supplements, and other important items that kids need. Finally, prioritize meeting all your fixed rate dues for mortgage, cable TV, mobile phones, and broadband connection before moving on to leisure and recreation. A gym membership or a weekly visit to your favorite hair salon and spa isn't as important as those mentioned before. The spouse with the highest annual income will most likely carry the burden of providing Spousal Maintenance to the one who's been unemployed for several months or works part-time only.