It is more expensive to pay for two households instead of one. In a divorce, people go from having both spouses living in one residence to each spouse having their own residence. There are other expenses that will no longer be shared. Child support or alimony may be paid from one spouse to the other. Assets that can’t be shared may have to be replaced such as furniture, televisions, computers, pots, pans, plates, linens and many other household items.
If you want to make an educated guess of finances after divorce I suggest that you take the following steps:
1. If there are children decide what the likely custody arrangement will be. If you think that the custody will be contested then run different scenarios based on the possible child custody arrangements.
2. Decide where you are likely to live after separation. If you will obtain a new residence look at the rental market and calculate your new housing costs.
3. Calculate the cost of purchasing household goods for the new apartment or to replace the ones that your spouse will take to establish their new residence.
4. Use the Probate and Family Court financial statement to calculate your probable weekly expenses. I recommend this form because it lists most likely weekly expenses. If you don’t know who will stay in the existing residence you can run two different projections.
5. If there are children you can run the child support guidelines. Using the child support guidelines you can run different scenarios for custody arrangements.
6. If there is a significant difference in income you can calculate potential alimony payments. Alimony is more complicated than child support and you should not assume alimony will be paid. You should consult a family law attorney for advice on this issue.
7. While property and debt division will vary depending on the facts of your case you can make projections based on a 50/50 division of all assets and liabilities that are owned by both spouses. An even distribution does not happen in every divorce but this is the most practical way of making projections without consulting a lawyer. You should include all assets and liabilities owned by both spouses because Judges are able to transfer assets from one spouse to the other regardless of the title on the asset.
8. You should look at likely income after divorce. A non-working or underemployed spouse may have to obtain a job or change jobs. Depending on your age, you may need to look at retirement and social security income.
A divorce will make significant changes in your financial situation. You should consult a family law attorney to determine likely decisions that a judge may make in your case.
