Who Pays the Bills During a Divorce in Florida?
Divorce is complicated. If you are in the middle of a divorce or are about to file for divorce, there are many different things that and your spouse will need to address. Notably, this includes your finances. One of the questions that our Orlando divorce lawyer gets frequently is: Who is responsible for the household bills while a divorce is still pending?
This is a complex and important question. The simple fact is that in many cases, a divorce can take a considerable amount of time to be fully resolved. Of course, during that time, the household bills will keep piling up. As such, you and your partner need to have a plan for how your financial issues will be handled.
Three Things You Need to Know About Your Bills and Your Divorce
- Only a Court Order Can Set Things in Stone
If you and your spouse have bills and are in the process splitting up, you are still both jointly responsible for taking care of those financial commitments. Joint financial responsibility will not change (or go away) unless you have obtained a court order or have signed a binding legal agreement. An informal understanding that you are each responsible for taking care of certain bills might not be enforceable. While it can work for some divorcing couples, you cannot rely on an informal understanding or an informal agreement for true financial security.
- Collaborative Solutions are Ideal
While your divorce is pending, you may want to sit down and work out an agreement with your partner for how to take care of your bills. Often, the best thing you can do to protect your legal rights and financial interests is to get your Orlando divorce attorney by your side so that they can help negotiate a short-term agreement with your spouse. In many cases, a mutual agreement can be reached to deal with this issue. This can be highly beneficial for both parties, as it provides clarity and financial security, and takes one more issue in your marriage off the table.
- You May Be Entitled to Temporary Alimony (Pendente Lite)
Under Florida law, a financially disadvantaged spouse may be able obtain temporary alimony to support them while their divorce case is still pending. Also known as ‘pendente lite’, this type of spousal support is awarded on a case-by-case basis, when merited by the circumstances at hand. If awarded, temporary alimony automatically ends when the divorce is finalized. At that point, a different form of spousal support may still be awarded, or spousal support may be cut off entirely.
Contact Our Central Florida Divorce Lawyer Today
At the Law Offices of Steve W. Marsee, P.A., we are committed to providing high quality legal services to our family law clients. If you are getting divorced in Central Florida, and you have any questions about your finances, please call us today for immediate legal assistance. Our law firm is located in Orlando, and we serve communities throughout Orange County, Florida.
Resource:
leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.071.html
