Your Family Law Advocate Blog

While we as attorneys may have personal relationships with our clients, we generally advise them in a professional capacity and maintain our focus on business. When a client is getting divorced, business and personal concerns inevitably collide as courts are called upon to make determinations about a couple’s income, liabilities, and assets, which may include a closely held, private business.

During the divorce process, questions regarding finances will inevitably come up: How will our finances work while we’re getting divorced? Who is going to pay the mortgage, credit card, daycare, school tuition? Can I pay my attorney out of a joint account? Can I still take the kids on spring break? It’s only natural when thinking about a huge life change to worry about finances. This is true even for individuals earning significant incomes and high net-worth couples. This article provides a short explanation of two tools that courts use to assist couples to help manage their finances during divorce proceedings – status quo and attorney fee contribution orders.

For many couples, a spouse’s bonus is both a sign of an employer’s appreciation for the employee-spouse’s hard work and a significant portion of his or her total annual compensation. Because bonuses are often not paid out until months or years after entry of a divorce judgment, divorcing couples often ask the question – Whose bonus is it? Is a bonus part of the marital estate, divisible at settlement, or separate property, payable solely to the spouse who earned it through hard work?