Even if a Massachusetts couple has children, dividing their property will still be a major concern. Each party will want to begin his or her post-divorce life in the best financial place possible. For this reason, the parties will want to make sure they receive a fair and equitable share of the marital property. The less property each party must purchase after the divorce, the better off the situation may be.
Of course, it is about more than who gets the china, the furniture or even the house. A top concern of most people is having enough cash in the bank or retirement funds to start over after all is said and done. In order to obtain a settlement that each party will view as satisfactory, equitable and fair, preparations must be made before going into negotiations.
The parties may either separately or together create a list of all of the marital assets. Once the parties arrive at an agreeable list, they can begin assigning certain assets to each party. More than likely, this is the time when disputes will arise regarding whether a particular asset is the sole property of one of the parties or part of the marital estate. These types of disagreements may require court intervention to resolve but may also be resolved during medication or some other more structured negotiations.
In any case, each party will need to decide ahead of time what assets he or she wants. This provides each party with a starting point when it comes to sitting down to negotiate a divorce settlement. However, it is important that both parties fully understand the ramifications of retaining one asset over another. This is just one area in which a Massachusetts family law attorney could prove invaluable.
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