Many people want to protect their assets from a possible divorce. One option is to make and sign a prenuptial agreement that would help instruct how assets are divided in a divorce.
Prenups are very useful legal documents. However, many people make prenups because they believe that this legal document ensures the marriage will fail. This myth and many others give the wrong impression of divorce. Here are three more divorce myths that you may need to be aware of:
Myth 1: Mothers have more custody rights than fathers
Truth: It was once believed that mothers had more responsibility to care for their children after divorce, so custody would primarily go to them. This belief often causes many fathers to not divorce so they can continue to raise and support their children. However, being a mother or father has no effect on whether one parent would have more parenting time than the other these days. The modern courts have a much more egalitarian approach.
Myth 2: Child custody can’t be changed
Truth: Child custody determines what rights and responsibilities each parent has to care for their children and how much visitation each parent is allotted. Parents can make changes to their child custody and parenting plans, but they may have to give the court a good reason. For example, many parents modify their child custody after their work schedule changes or because a child has new health developments.
Myth 3: You have to sell everything in a divorce
In a divorce, people often have to divide assets. Some people believe that the only way this can be done is if they sell off their assets. For example, someone may believe that selling their home would be the only way to divide it fairly. However, asset division is often a negotiation process. In other words, one spouse could decide to take other assets if the other spouse would get the house.
There’s a lot to know about divorce. It often benefits people to review their legal rights before and during divorce.
