Hi, I recently posted a thread titled "CA Separation Laws Questions" and it included some questions that can be be answered by those outside of California. Since I've only received one reply to that thread because the title is so limited, I thought I'd post my questions in a new thread that was labelled more clearly for the topic.
Background - I'm 53, married 28 years, 2 grown daughters. Youngest daughter completes college in June 2016, and we are supporting her until then. I have not worked in 25 years, but do make a few hundred a month (ave.) from a hobby. Husband makes good money as an executive.
I am looking into a separation instead of a divorce because I need to maintain health insurance coverage. I have had a short free consultation with an attorney who explained the amount of money I would get in a separation and how much it would decrease in a divorce. He explained that if my husband and I agree on finances and property distribution ourselves, the court will approve it, so long as an attorney looked at our agreement.
Neither of us are happy and I think it's possible we can handle dividing things amicably and fairly between ourselves. I fear that things turn uglier faster once lawyers are involved.
My questions now are:
1. We may be purchasing a new vehicle prior to separating. How would a car payment affect our finances? It would be our only debt aside from our mortgage.
2. I have heard about "preparing for separation", but what exactly should I do besides setting aside money for the first couple months? And, of course, being sure this is what I want.
3. How do you find out if an attorney is "good", "a pit bull", "is best for representing me in my situation".
4. Can I stay on his health insurance if we are legally separated? We are covered by one of the major national insurance providers.
From my reading, here are answers to questions you might aske me:
No cheating, abuse, gambling or drinking involved
Husband declined going to MC (fears being ganged up on and told he's wrong on anything)
Expect to have to wait a year until daughter graduates due to finances
Thank you for your help.
Put the internet to work for you.
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