Tips to Get Divorced As A Doctor In Minnesota
Lucky for most doctors, the statistics show that divorce is rather low in the profession. In fact, only 24.3% of doctors end up divorced. This may be surprising to you since most doctors work long hours (and spend time on call). While many have worked hard to have a balance between their home and work life, others haven’t found a way to do this.
That being said, doctors and other professionals who have a high-income can have drawn out and messy divorces.
Here are some tips to get through a divorce as a doctor.
Know what you want out of the marriage. It is important to be prepared for a fight. Your spouse knows what you make, and many will fight you for every penny. He or she may want to keep the house, the kids, and even all of the furniture. He or she may also want alimony so that he or she can continue to live the same way.
Because of this, you need to know what you want to keep and what you don’t mind parting with. Do you really want the house? Are you in the position to keep the children full-time? Do you mind paying child support so your children can continue to live the same way?
Hire a lawyer. No divorce should occur without a professional to help you through it. Even if you don’t want anything out of the divorce because you just want to walk away, it is important to divide everything up correctly. Plus, many people forget about their retirement funds and other accounts that will need to be divided up.
Trying to save money by not hiring a lawyer can be a costly mistake. No matter how fast you want out, if you skip going through a law firm, you are simply going to draw the divorce proceedings out.
Protect your business. If you have your own practice, you are going to need to protect it. If you opened your business or grew it while you were married, your spouse may have some say in it. He or she may not if you started it before you got married. Because this is so complicated, it is important that you talk to your lawyer about how you can protect your business and keep it going, even after the divorce.
Know the costs associated with divorce. No divorce is cheap, no matter how easy you try to make the whole process. You are going to need to pay for your lawyer, which can get costly if your spouse wants to fight you on every little thing. You may be required to pay child support or even spousal support every month for several years. All of these costs add up quickly, especially when they are calculated due to your income.
For professionals like doctors who make a lot of money, divorce can be quite costly. Not only are you going to spend money on lawyers (which can add up if the divorce draws out), you may also be required to pay spousal or child support every month for several years.
However, before you start to worry about that, you need to figure out what you really need out of the divorce and what you don’t mind compromising on. The more that you are willing to compromise, the easier your divorce will be. That being said, if you want to keep the house, you should fight for you. You also want to protect your business. You worked hard over the years to build it up to where it is now that you shouldn’t have to give it up!
Contact us for all of your legal needs. We will be glad to help you through this difficult time.