The financial implications of filing for divorce can be scary and confusing. If your spouse has threatened to stop supporting you, or you do not have access to funds to pay your household bills on your own, you may be deterred from even starting a divorce action. There are ways for you to protect your family’s assets and to gain access to financial resources during your Connecticut divorce.
Automatic Orders
The State of Connecticut has Automatic Orders that are immediately implemented in each divorce case. These Automatic Orders are intended to keep financial circumstances status quo until the parties agree otherwise, or until there is a different court order. For example, the Automatic Orders do not allow a party to transfer, sell or encumber assets outside of the ordinary course of business. The Automatic Orders also require that certain insurance policies (homeowners, life insurance and medical insurance for example) continue to be maintained with the same benefits and beneficiaries as were in effect prior to filing.
The Automatic Orders will help protect your assets, and provide for certain expenses to be paid, but what happens to the family’s income and how are the other bills paid during the divorce?
Orders for Temporary Support
If you can, it is usually best, and often most cost effective, for you and your spouse to agree on where income will be deposited, how it will be divided and how the bills will be paid. It is very likely that with the assistance of counsel, you and your spouse can come to an agreement on these issues. If an Agreement is signed, it is submitted to the court for approval and then made a Court Order.
In situations where an Agreement cannot be reached, your attorney can file a Motion for Temporary Support, which asks the Court to issue financial orders regarding alimony, child support or contribution to household expenses.
Motions for Temporary Support can be filed immediately upon the commencement of your divorce action. These types of Motions are typically heard by the Court anywhere from a few weeks to a few months from when they are filed. At the Hearing, you and your spouse will each have the opportunity to present evidence about your family’s income, expenses, assets and financial priorities. The Judge will make the ultimate decision about how to resolve these issues.
Emergency or Ex Parte Motions
Occasionally, if the circumstances are extremely dire, your attorney may suggest filing a Motion with the Court on an emergency basis. It is possible, under certain limited circumstances, to get a temporary immediate Order from the court without a Hearing. Depending on the facts of your case, your counsel may do this “ex parte” which means without notice to your spouse. Your case will then be scheduled for a Hearing within a very short timeframe (typically two weeks or sooner) to decide if the emergency Orders should continue.
If you are contemplating filing for divorce, but you are concerned about being “cut off” from financial resources, we can help you. At Broder Orland Murray & DeMattie LLC, we can work with you to create a plan for securing support, negotiate and draft a temporary support Agreement, and if necessary, proceed with a Motion for financial support.
