There are often questions or concerns related to paying bills while a divorce is pending. Many people want to know when you separate, who pays the bills.
What Does the Law Say About Paying Bills While Divorce is Pending?
The expectation is that the parties will continue to maintain the status quo, while the divorce is pending. This often includes maintenance of the rent or mortgage, the credit cards, shared car payments, or any other marital monthly expense during a divorce. There can be complications and disagreements over who pays the bills while divorce is pending but until the matter is finalized, both parties are expected to maintain the expenses and primarily to ensure that marital assets and debts are maintained.
In some cases, a husband will not consent to paying bills during divorce, and there can be fears during a divorce that a husband will shut off utilities during a divorce. The court system and your divorce attorney will address these issues on your behalf if your husband is not paying bills during divorce.
You will need to seek immediate support for paying bills while a divorce is pending, if your spouse is threatening to stop paying for expenses. In cases where there will be alimony granted to a spouse, this support might be the only income that one party will have access to after the divorce. You cannot be compelled to pay for things that you do not have the income to afford simply because you and your former spouse are now separated.
Can I Get Access to Temporary Support?
In the state of New Jersey, you can seek temporary support, known as pendente lite support for paying bills while divorce is pending. The court will look at your recent tax returns, your household expenses, and other factors like care for children before determining what kind of support you will need during your divorce. This is the most common way to attend to a situation where a spouse is not paying bills during a divorce, which on occasion occurs due to the acrimony of the divorce or other factors such as loss of income, increased expenses or other issues related to the divorce or separation.
When a spouse fails to make payments in accordance with the court order in place during the divorce, the two attorneys involved in the case will usually attempt to work together to reach a fair resolution. Non-payment of monthly bills is not an acceptable means of striking back at a spouse that you are divorcing, and the court will not look favorably on this behavior. Seeking judicial intervention is necessary when these situations arise.
If there is a prenup in place that outlines the division of the assets that a couple shares, this document will be used to guide some of the decisions about expenses and responsibility for assets. When no prenup is in place, the divorce proceedings will determine the asset distribution and the responsibilities of each party, if the parties are unable to reach a settlement.
Secure the Assistance of a Skilled Divorce Lawyer
When you are involved in a divorce and need help managing paying bills while a divorce is pending, you might need to seek support to help you. Maintaining two households on the same income that sustained one household during the divorce can be difficult to navigate. Making sure that you obtain guidance before you run into real financial difficulties is imperative.
Contact DeTorres & DeGeorge today to ensure that you obtain the legal advice that you need during your divorce. You should never have to worry about keeping a roof over your head or having your bills paid while a divorce is being finalized. The legal experts at DeTorres & DeGeorge will make sure that you are protected while your divorce is pending.