Unfortunately,
domestic violence is all too common in today’s society. Research shows that one out
of every four woman in a relationship has been abused at some point by
either a husband or a boyfriend on a yearly basis. With these numbers
so high, the safety of woman in these sorts of relationships is a national
concern, and being able to break free from their abusive situations is
an even greater concern. Not only is the act of the abuse frightening
and potentially life threatening, but many women feel hopeless and helpless,
thinking that they are stuck into heir horrible relationship forever.
One of these reasons many of these domestic violence victims feel as though
they are helpless is because financially the idea of leaving their spouse
would potentially leave them with nothing, if they ran they would have
little or no money to live.
Financial stress can be a huge concern when it comes to leaving an abusive
spouse, because it is not uncommon that a spouse who is violent is likely
hiding financial matters from the other, making it impossible to save
up extra money on the side and leave. Jeff Landers, a writer for Forbes,
just released a new book called
Divorce: Think Financially, Not Emotionally and it discusses many aspects of relationships and divorces and their
financial matters, but it also gives woman advice on how to be wise with
finances when considering a
divorce. He claims that the tips given in his book would be particularly useful
for women who are in abusive relationships and the stress of finances
is overwhelming.
As with anything in life, knowledge is key and learning more on personal
finances will help any divorcee, domestically abused or not, to be prepared
to go out into the world again as a single person. One of his main points
in this book is that a divorce in of itself is going to be a hard situation
to go through for any person, and for those who are coming from a violent
situation it is going to be even harder. Because of this, learning to
think financially rather than emotionally about the divorce is going to
be very beneficial, in order to get them started on the right path for
post-divorce life.
One of the most important aspects of any divorce, especially in the event
of domestic violence, is the necessity for a strong legal team helping
you every step of the way. As stated, a divorce is going to be a trying
season to go through, and by hiring an experienced divorcee and family
law attorney they will make sure that there are no areas overlooked in
your divorce and also help you understand what the legal details mean
for you and your family.
One way to prepare for this process is to find and copy all of your financial
documents, this would include W2’s, taxes, bank statements, pay
stubs, etc. You will also want to find documents on your pension plans,
401K, and any other accounts you and your spouse may have. For some situations
this process may be difficult to accomplish, discuss these matters with
your attorney if you are at all concerned with safety in retrieving documents.
Choosing to file for a divorce is a big step for any individual to take,
and for those that are in abusive relationships it takes a lot of strength
and courage to get to this place where you are ready to fight back. If
you are located in the Jacksonville, Florida area and are considering
filing for a divorce,
contact Hutchinson Law today to discuss your case. We believe in walking alongside individuals
through this time, and we want to help you. Call us today to get started!