TexasDad2002
recently joined
Reged: 10/24/11
Posts: 11
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I'm a bit ignorant on the whole divorce process, and could really use some education on a few things.
My STBX filed for divorce on October 12. In Texas I understand that the divorce could be final in as few as 61 days from that time, but I have a feeling that she will try to drag it out.
She worked during the first 12 years of marriage, but she has not worked the last 3 1/2 years. We have two wonderful kids. She is degreed and holds a CPA license.
She ran the household budget during the marriage, and our "run rate" of expenses was around $12,000 per month. I moved out a few weeks before she filed and have agreed to pay her $10,000 a month for temp Spousal Support + Child Support. Between this and my expenses, we are running a negative each month and are depleting the value of community property accounts.
My understanding is that the final property settlement will be based on the value / balance as of a date close to when the divorce is final. She will probably end up with around 60 - 65% of all assets and I'll pay child support at the maximum amount per Texas state guidelines ($1,875 a month for two kids).
I also have some unvested equity that will be included in the CP estate. I will probably pay her $3,000 - $4,000 a month for 2 years in lieu of her rights to these equity vestings (any more than that and I'll just switch jobs post divorce and reset unvested equity at my new job). In other words, she won't need spousal support post-divorce.
My questions are:
1. Do I really need to care about the amount of temporary SS? My thinking is that it just depletes the community property balance (of which she will get more than half in the end), and it would be hard for her to argue that my spending (which also depletes the CP balance) is unreasonable if I am spending significantly less after adjusting for mortgage, etc. Am I thinking about this correctly?
2. Is there anything I can do to force the process if she decides to drag it out? It really irritates me that she filed for the divorce and yet she continues to be rewarded with 60 - 65% of everything I make while she fails to respond to any requests from my side.
3. She has acknowledged that we will need to sell the house, but is also dragging her feet on that front. Is there anything I can do to force this along? I have agreed to co-sign a mortgage for a new house that she wants to have built, and to front money from the CP estate for a down payment, but she is still dragging her feet on all aspects of the divorce (and did I mention that she is the one who filed for the divorce?).
4. How worried do I need to be about my spending / what type of expenses are "necessary"? I make a good income, and I can afford to go out of town for the weekend, etc. I'm guessing that a judge may not define these as "necessary" expenses, however. I can live with spending constraints for a short time period, but do I need to live significantly below my income level while she drags out an extended divorce proceeding?
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buckwheat
journeyman
Reged: 10/09/11
Posts: 86
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Get a lawyer and dont agree to anything else til you get some serious legal advice, dont pay any attention to what folks say on here.
If you have the money to agree to give her 10,000 a month, you can afford some legal help.
Good Luck
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Renny
addict
Reged: 09/24/11
Posts: 479
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"If you have the money to agree to give her 10,000 a month, you can afford some legal help."
Agreed.
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DedicatedDad
veteran
Reged: 09/05/04
Posts: 1318
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"Do I really need to care about the amount of temporary SS?"
Yes. You want it as low as possible. Temporary often becomes permanent. The court may view that you can afford $10K/month.
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TexasDad2002
recently joined
Reged: 10/24/11
Posts: 11
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Thanks all.
I have a lawyer, I'm just having a hard time getting her to respond to my questions. I'll schedule a formal meeting with her to work this out.
I can't afford $10K per month. As I mentioned in my OP, this is resulting in a deficit, and reduction to our community property savings accounts of about $5K per month. Between this and the lawyers, the liquid CP balance has gone down by $50K in the last 2 months, and is now about $60K. At this rate, we won't have anything left to divide up (and I'll gladly agree to give her 90% of zero).
I have not yet formally agreed to any support amounts. My STBX keeps trying to add unrelated things into the temp orders, so they are still open at this point. I just told both her and my attorney that we should probably let a judge decide the temp orders instead of trying to reach an agreement.
I am so sick of this entire process. I just want this DONE.
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