Life After Divorce
Divorce is often devastating, and can impact your whole family emotionally, financially, and psychologically. It is possible, however, to regain control of your life and put the divorce behind you. Millions of others have done it and so can you, if you plan carefully, find expert legal counsel, and maintain a positive attitude. Let go of any hesitation you may feel about finding support through this life transition, whether from a nearby divorce lawyer, a financial support agency, or a family counselor for you and your children.
It's not uncommon for the newly divorced to experience a combination of relief and sadness when the process is final, but it is important to realize that your own road may not end when the papers are signed and filed. Divorce decrees often create lifelong obligations, especially if there are children involved who have not yet turned eighteen.
Enforcement of Your Decree
When the final decree of your divorce case is filed, the court does not surrender its jurisdiction over your case, because some orders in a divorce case are subject to modification or enforcement. So if one party wishes to change the terms of the decree or fails to fulfill his or her obligations, the case may need to be revisited. Most often, the issue in question involves either child support or visitation rights.
For instance, a parent who neglects or refuses to pay the level of child support specified in the divorce decree can be brought back to divorce court, and may even be held in contempt. In these cases, the court may garnish the offending party's wages, require reimbursement of the other parent's attorneys fees, or order jail time for failing to pay child support. Similar sanctions may also be ordered for a parent who fails to cooperate with court-ordered visitation.
Though child-centered issues are the most common areas in which divorce courts must move to enforce existing decrees, either party may also go back to court to issue a complaint about any aspect of the divorce decree. This could include issues like the enforcement of property division or the payment of debts, alimony or maintenance.
Modification
Various aspects of your divorce decree could change if certain circumstances arise. Although divorce decrees are legally considered final orders, certain state laws allow for changes to some parts of the decree.
Just as with enforcement, child support and/or visitation orders are most often the focus of modification requests, although most states do restrict how often and for what reasons that child support orders may be changed. Most of the time, changes are requested due to changes in income, whether from the loss of a job or a significant increase in pay. So, if a non-custodial parent is laid off, he or she may petition the court to reduce or temporarily suspend the child support obligation. Or if the parent paying child support receives an increase in income, the other parent may petition the court for a similar raise in the level of child support.
Parents may also petition for a change in visitation schedules if one parent moves, though some petitions of this nature may be based on small changes in the child's schedule, such as starting a new activity that conflicts with the existing schedule.
Some states also allow changes in other aspects of the divorce decree. For example, alimony and maintenance payments may be modified if there is a substantial change in the payer's income or if the payee remarries.
Remarriage after Divorce
If you're divorced and thinking about remarrying, make sure to thoroughly investigate the divorce laws in the state where you filed your divorce decree and the state where you plan to be remarried. Different states require different waiting periods after a divorce is finalized, so even if the state where you were divorced allows for remarriage after 60 days, you may not be in the clear. If you travel out of state to get married, make sure to comply with the waiting period of that state, which could easily be six months or longer.
Whatever the length of the waiting period, make sure you start counting from the day your final decree was entered. This is often a different day than your final hearing or the day you submitted an agreement to the court, so check the date carefully.
Finally, speak with your divorce lawyer about the repercussions that remarriage could have on financial considerations like alimony or spousal maintenance payments.
It's vital to keep yourself fully informed about the details of your divorce decree-and your rights under that decree-even if your divorce has been finalized. Don't forget to ask your divorce attorney about any of these issues that could impact your situation. Learn your rights and options and the potential implications of any decisions you might make in the future.
