Family Law Attorney
Before you and your sweetheart decide to tie the knot, it’s critical to ensure that you both have the same expectations going into your marriage, as a family law attorney in Fairfax, VA from a law firm like May Law, LLP, can explain.
It is imperative that couples clearly communicate your wants, needs, and expectations. When this happens, it means that they are far less likely to have a major dispute about big life decisions that could lead to divorce. Even if specific topics do not seem relevant to you now, they are almost certain to become so later on down the road.
If a couple has different opinions on major issues, including the desire to have kids, they might not be able to reconcile their differences. For this reason, here are some questions every engaged couple should ask one another to avoid filing for divorce.
How Will We Both Handle Finances After We Wed?
After you get hitched, you and your new spouse will share in all things, including finances. Before you get into an argument about how to handle paying bills or savings accounts, you both need to thoroughly discuss how finances will be dealt with and both of your intentions for the future. Ask questions such as:
o How do each of you feel about money?
o How important is it?
o Will you decide to combine your accounts?
o How much savings and/or debt does each person have?
o Who will manage the household finances?
Do You Want Kids?
Choosing to have children or not is a major life decision. If you and your spouse don’t see eye to eye on this issue, it could mean trouble. Before you say your vows, you should be discussing your plans for a family, whether you want to adopt or have kids naturally, or have none at all. If you both want to have children, talk openly about when you both want to have them and how big of a family you’d like to have.
What’s Your Parenting Style?
If both of you want to have kids, it’s critical to discuss how you would like to raise them, including how you will share parenting responsibilities, your thoughts on education, and more. Will both partners return to the workforce after having children or will one of you stay home to tend to them? Going through every last detail on this matter will prevent arguments and make each of your expectations clear to the other one.
How Will You Handle Huge Challenges?
Life is not always smooth, and obstacles will come your way. While some big challenges cannot always be anticipated, you can thoroughly discuss how you and your partner will handle problems when you are faced with them. These could include obstacles such as the death of a parent, a job loss, addiction, and more.
Communication is key for a great marriage. However, if you are thinking about filing for divorce, family law attorneys in Virginia can help.