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is it and shouldn't it be a net worth upon marriage vs a net worth upon filing for divorce? The yearly earnings of the breadwinner shouldn't matter, they both

by honopu 16y ago

is it and shouldn't it be a net worth upon marriage vs a net worth upon filing for divorce? The yearly earnings of the breadwinner shouldn't matter, they both squandered that while married, right?, if they didn't well let's split it then, as that is fair?

cageface 16y ago
You also split debts. I had a friend that split up with his wife but got saddled with half of the debts she ran up running her own business that he had nothing to do with. This is why it's very important to document the date of separation because that's what's used to decide who gets what.
- honopu 16y ago
  thank you. Fortunately I am not that well educated on the subject :)
btilly 16y ago
is it and shouldn't it be a net worth upon marriage vs a net worth upon filing for divorce? Depending on how you define said net worth, possibly. But you have to define it very carefully. So that's probably not a good way to look at things. The yearly earnings of the breadwinner shouldn't matter, they both squandered that while married, right?, if they didn't well let's split it then, as that is fair? The problem is that the yearly earnings of the breadwinner are often affected by the support of the partner. If a woman puts her husband through med school, his expected future income is an asset that she had some role in providing him. Does she deserve to be compensated for that? If so, then how much? Going the other way, suppose that she compromised her career for him. Sure, she can go back in the working world, but initial differences in income levels tend to permanently affect your future income. Does she deserve compensation for her likely permanent reduction in potential earnings? Speaking of which, how can you try to quantify that? And then the million dollar question. Suppose that she is left with a permanent economic liability, aka kids. (When men contest custody, they get the kids 70% of time, but men seldom contest custody.) How do you fairly divide the cost of raising said kids? Nothing is simple about the economics of what constitutes a fair divorce. And there are enough vague, open-ended questions there for both parties to come out feeling legitimately hard done by.
- cageface 16y ago
  If a woman puts her husband through med school, his expected future income is an asset that she had some role in providing him. Does she deserve to be compensated for that? If so, then how much? Or, if a husband supports his wife and pays for her schooling while he's the only one working, is she still entitled to half of everything he earned in that period, including 401k and stock options? In CA the answer is yes.

by honopu 16y ago

cageface 16y ago

You also split debts. I had a friend that split up with his wife but got saddled with half of the debts she ran up running her own business that he had nothing to do with. This is why it's very important to document the date of separation because that's what's used to decide who gets what.

honopu 16y ago
thank you. Fortunately I am not that well educated on the subject :)

btilly 16y ago

is it and shouldn't it be a net worth upon marriage vs a net worth upon filing for divorce? Depending on how you define said net worth, possibly. But you have to define it very carefully. So that's probably not a good way to look at things. The yearly earnings of the breadwinner shouldn't matter, they both squandered that while married, right?, if they didn't well let's split it then, as that is fair? The problem is that the yearly earnings of the breadwinner are often affected by the support of the partner. If a woman puts her husband through med school, his expected future income is an asset that she had some role in providing him. Does she deserve to be compensated for that? If so, then how much? Going the other way, suppose that she compromised her career for him. Sure, she can go back in the working world, but initial differences in income levels tend to permanently affect your future income. Does she deserve compensation for her likely permanent reduction in potential earnings? Speaking of which, how can you try to quantify that? And then the million dollar question. Suppose that she is left with a permanent economic liability, aka kids. (When men contest custody, they get the kids 70% of time, but men seldom contest custody.) How do you fairly divide the cost of raising said kids? Nothing is simple about the economics of what constitutes a fair divorce. And there are enough vague, open-ended questions there for both parties to come out feeling legitimately hard done by.

cageface 16y ago
If a woman puts her husband through med school, his expected future income is an asset that she had some role in providing him. Does she deserve to be compensated for that? If so, then how much? Or, if a husband supports his wife and pays for her schooling while he's the only one working, is she still entitled to half of everything he earned in that period, including 401k and stock options? In CA the answer is yes.