Broome County Family Law Blog

During your marriage, you and your ex-spouse chose to split responsibilities. While your husband went to work to support the family financially, you stayed home to raise good kids. Following your divorce, though, you likely must fulfill both obligations. 

About 25% of recent marriages end in divorce. While you are not alone in choosing to end your marriage, as a stay-at-home mom, you may face some unique challenges in your post-divorce life. While focusing on yourself and your family likely makes sense, you also probably need to begin to build the foundations of your new life. Here are some tips: 

For many people in New York dealing with insurmountable debt, a lawsuit from a debt collector may be a very serious concern. Of course, legal action is only one of the pressure tools used by collection agencies. People may deal with phone calls, letters and other attempts to collect a debt. Over 70 million people across the country have dealt with collectors at some point or another, and one-quarter of those felt threatened during those encounters. In order to handle a legal threat or a lawsuit over an unpaid debt, it is important for people to understand their rights.

First, if a lawsuit is filed in court, it is important to respond. Many borrowers fail to respond because they do not see a way out of the situation and are also unable to pay the bill in question. However, this could lead to a default judgment being entered against the person and even more difficulties with credit and debt. A lawsuit requires that an answer be officially filed with the court clerk rather than responding directly to the plaintiff that filed the case. It is important to make sure that the answer is filed correctly prior to the deadline specified.

Young people in New York and across the country are facing a growing debt burden. While millennials were once known as a generation averse to borrowing, especially after they came of age during the financial crisis of 2008, an increasing number of young Americans now owe a significant amount to credit card issuers. Of greater concern is the indication that more of them are also having trouble paying their bills. Americans aged 18 to 29 now have a greater amount of debt overdue by at least 90 days than at any time in the past eight years.

Indeed, 8% of all credit card debt held by people in this age group is at least 90 days overdue, which points to serious concerns about delinquency. There are many reasons why people fall behind on their credit card payments. Many individuals open a new card after their financial situation improves and they begin working at a more highly paid professional job. They feel certain that they will be able to repay any debt. However, changing circumstances can confound these plans. People dealing with job loss, medical problems or other issues may be more likely to fall behind on payments. In addition, unpaid credit card debt continues to grow due to relatively high interest rates.

During the divorce process, an individual will want to have access to as much information as possible. A person could use a New York state tax return to gather data about his or her household's net worth. A federal tax return may also yield clues about how much a household is worth and whether a spouse may be hiding or obscuring assets. In most cases, returns from the past three years will be most relevant in a divorce proceeding.

Anything gleaned from a tax return can be used to create a statement of net worth. This will include the value of any assets a person holds directly, and it can also include the value of assets of which an individual may have an interest. For instance, an individual may be entitled to a portion of a retirement account held in his or her spouse's name only.