Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Divorce Lawyer Joanne Kleiner

property division

Feb 05

What You Need to Be Concerned About in a Property Settlement

Protecting Yourself When Dividing Marital Debts and Assets

Property settlementIn the aftermath of a divorce, one of the most challenging tasks can be the equitable distribution of the debts and assets of the marriage. Some assets may be easily divided, such as bank accounts. Other property items may more appropriately belong to one party or the other—personal items such as jewelry, books and clothes. Often, parties will hide assets or intentionally waste or dissipate assets for a variety of reasons.

Pennsylvania is an equitable property distribution state for purposes of dividing a marital estate. You can come to an agreement with respect to how property will be divided, although the court may review and reject that agreement if there is evidence of domestic abuse, or of intimidation, duress or undue influence. If you can’t come to an agreement, the court will order the distribution of property, based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

  • The length of your marriage
  • The age, health, station in life and potential sources of income of both parties
  • Whether either party was previously married
  • Any wrongful conduct by either party, including efforts to dissipate or hide marital assets

    • When considering the division of marital property, you want to be concerned about:

    • The determination of an accurate fair market value for all property
    • Your ability to obtain an accurate accounting of all marital debts and assets
    • Whether you want property that may be a financial burden, such as the marital home, or whether it will be in your best interests to sell it
    • Your potential interest in your ex-spouse’s retirement plan, even if your ex is not retired or of retirement age

    Contact Our Office

    At the law office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates, we have protected the rights of men and women in and around Philadelphia for more than 25 years. Let us help you successfully resolve your family law problems. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Nov 21

How to Tell If Your Ex-Spouse is Hiding Assets

How to Know When Your Spouse is Hiding Assets

Nest EggOne of the most difficult issues to address in a divorce is the division of assets. Unfortunately, before and during the divorce process, parties may engage in activities designed to unfairly improve their portion of the marital property settlement. There are many ways a marital partner can try to cheat a spouse out of the equitable distribution of property. Here are some of some of the common red flags indicating that your spouse may be hiding assets or attempting to get more than his or her fair share.

  • Your spouse creates a separate account—Your spouse may set up bank, investment and other accounts in his or her name only, in the name of a business, or in a trust. You may even be aware of those accounts, and have separate accounts of your own. Once a divorce is filed, though, you need your ex to produce official records for all accounts into which any funds have been deposited.
  • Defer bonuses, raises or other compensation—If your spouse owns his or her own business, the easiest way to hide assets is to leave money in the business—take no salary until the divorce is final. If your spouse is friendly with his or her boss, he/she may ask for a deferral of any raise or bonus until the divorce is finalized. If your ex works on a commission basis, he or she can agree to accrue commissions until the divorce is over.
  • Transfer assets to a third party—This can be done with the agreement that everything will be returned when the divorce is over.
  • Delay invoicing—If your spouse owns a business, he or she can do work, but decline to send invoices out until the divorce is final.
  • Make major business purchases—One of the ways a business owner can diminish assets available for division is to spend them. Beware if your ex has remodeled a facility, moved into a new building, purchased new machines or upgraded technology.
  • Fabricated expenses—Your ex may simply make up personal or business expenses. Your attorney will want to scrutinize all business and personal expenses before and during the divorce.

    • Contact Us

    Let us put our commitment, experience and dedication to work for you. To arrange a confidential meeting with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Feb 21, 2014

Should I Stay In Or Leave the Marital Home?

In the past, it was often the husband who left the marital home, handing it to his wife and kids. This is not the case anymore. There is no automatic who gets the home these days. One thing, though, is certain: if you leave the marital home, you may never get back into that house.

Don’t leave your home unless you have a clear understanding of the potential impact of such a move, both on your today and in your future. Discussing your situation with an attorney experienced in handling divorce can be quite prudent.

When people are strapped financially and the house is underwater, one or the other soon to be ex-spouse may not be able to afford to keep up with the mortgage alone and the house cannot be sold for a reasonable price. In a situation like this, the two divorcing parties may decide to try a nesting arrangement. This means that both people will still live in the house and continue to share mortgage and housing costs, because neither can afford to buy the other out or pay the mortgage on his or her own. However, if you seriously do not get along this can be an extremely difficult situation to put yourself in, especially if you want to truly start over and put the past behind you.

Out of House – Restraining Order Easier to Obtain

It will be harder for a spouse to obtain a restraining order that puts you out of the house if you are living in the house. However, if you have left the house, it can be a lot easier for your spouse to change the locks and then to slap a restraining order on you, preventing you from even approaching your home.

Issues Arising If You Leave the Home But Your Name’s on the Mortgage

If you do leave the marital home, and your home is underwater and your name is on the mortgage, you could be held accountable for the mortgage or any problems connected to a short sale gone wrong.

Situations like this have occurred: the couple is divorcing and the house is underwater. One party wants to have a short sale. The other party refuses. Let’s say Angie moves out but Darren continues to live there, without paying the mortgage. Angie, because her name is also on the mortgage, arranges a short sale, but when the sale is meant to go through, Darren refuses to leave.

Angie, then, is about to get sued. However, her ex, Darren, finally agrees to leave if she pays him several thousand dollars. Not fair, not right, but situations like these happen all the time.

Get Answers About Whether to Stay or Leave the Marital Home While Divorcing. Skilled Jenkintown Child Support and Family Law Attorney

If you going through a separation and divorce and uncertain whether to stay in your marital home or leave it, discussing your situation with an experienced divorce lawyer can help you understand your options and chart a path through divorce that will help you get started post divorce on sound footing.

Find out more about pros and cons relating to divorce and staying or leaving the marital home. To schedule a completely confidential consultation with a knowledgeable and caring family law attorney at Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates, in Jenkintown, PA, please call 215-886-1266 or you can fill out our intake form and we will contact you.

Keeping you focused on the big picture and the issues that matter most… Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates. We serve clients throughout Montgomery, Bucks, Philadelphia counties, and the surrounding areas in matters involving Social Services, Child Protection, child custody, support, divorce, and other family law matters.

Mar 04, 2013

Divorce and Business Owners

Jenkintown Closely Held Business Divorce Attorneys

Pennsylvania is an “equitable division” state when it comes to the division of marital property during divorce. Speaking generally, this means the court must decide what constitutes an “equitable division“ of a couple’s assets, retirement funds, and property given the length of a marriage, the earning potential of each spouse, the work history of each spouse, and a number of other considerations. As such, “equitable division” does not mean a 50-50 split down the middle. Consequently, if one or both spouses own a business, the court must determine what constitutes and equitable division of its assets and worth.

Determining the Value of a Closely Held Business

In cases where one spouse owned a business prior to marriage, if marital assets were used to support, maintain, or expand the business in question the court will treat it like marital property. Unless a prenuptial agreement was signed to the contrary, the fact that one spouse started a business and operated it prior to marriage does not exempt it from consideration as marital property. Once marital funds are co-mingled in its operation, it will be considered as marital property.

As a result, a business valuation must be undertaken as part of the division of marital assets. Regardless of whether you’re the business owner or not, you and your divorce attorney will want to have the business valued by an expert in order to protect your interest. Since business valuations can differ, it’s important to have your own expert conduct a thorough review to ensure an estimate isn’t too high or too low. Additionally, depending on the complexity of a business and its operations, it may be necessary to work with a forensic economist to uncover hidden assets associated with a closely held business.

Contact Jenkintown Pennsylvania Divorce Attorneys

If you or your spouse owns a business and your facing divorce, contact Jenkintown divorce attorneys at Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates today. We have worked with countless clients in regard to divorce, property division, and closely held businesses. We understand the financial issues involved and have the resources needed to ensure your interests and protected.

Feb 07, 2013

Dividing Debt in a Divorce

Jenkintown Debt Division Divorce Attorney

The division of marital debt is, in many ways, as important as the division of marital assets. While most people facing divorce are quick to ask their divorce lawyer how their 401k, IRA accounts, savings, and real and personal property will likely be divided, too often scant attention is paid to the division of marital debt. Here, it’s important to remember you’re contractually responsible for any credit card, loan, or line of credit your name is on, regardless of whether or not you use a particular account. Consequently, if you co-signed on your spouse’s car loan or have a joint credit card with him or her, you’re responsible for any outstanding debt on it.

Marital Debt and Your Divorce Agreement

Confusion arises when people mistakenly think their divorce agreement takes precedence over or nullifies their financial obligations in regard to joint credit cards, unsecured loans, medical bills, or joint lines of credit. What cannot be emphasized enough is the fact that your divorce agreement has nothing to do with your financial obligations in regard to lines of credit your name is on. When you take out a joint credit card, loan, or line of credit you are contractually bound to adhere to the terms of the line of credit in question.

Consequently, even if your spouse had exclusive use of a credit card or loan, if your name is on the account you can be held financially responsible for it should he or she fail to pay off it off. Thus, even if your divorce agreement indicates your spouse is responsible for it, creditors can still (and will!) initiate collection actions against you if your ex-spouse fails to pay off the debt. Telling a creditor or collection agency that your spouse is responsible for the account under the terms of your divorce agreement will not relieve you of your contractual obligations if your ex-spouse fails to discharge the debt.

Dividing Marital Debt – How to Protect Yourself

What steps can you take, then, to protect yourself? If possible, the best way to discharge marital debt is accounting for it in the division of marital assets. For example, suppose you and your spouse owe $5,000 on a joint credit card. When assets or savings are divided, include in your divorce agreement provisions that indicate which spouse will pay the credit card off and apportion $5,000 to him or her for that explicit purpose. If he or she fails to discharge the debt, you can then initiate a contempt of court order against them in order to collect any money you end up paying as a result. While it may take some time, the court has the power to garnish wages and use other means to ensure you are compensated accordingly.

Don’t Ruin Your Credit – Divide Your Marital Debt and Protect Yourself

Failure to properly divide or discharge marital debt can harm your credit report should accounts go delinquent. That’s why it’s important to take steps to protect yourself in your divorce agreement. To learn how we can help you, contact Jenkintown marital debt division attorneys at Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates today.