Things To Know When Ending A Short Marriage

Divorce is always difficult, even if you were only married for a few months, or a few years. Many people do not realize how the length of their marriage will impact their divorce case, but it will in several different ways. Below, our Brentwood divorce attorney outlines some of the main ways  a short marriage will affect your case.

Alimony

Spousal support, commonly called alimony, is intended to make sure that neither spouse is at a financial disadvantage during or after a divorce case. Typically, spouses are awarded support when they sacrificed their own career, education, or training so their spouse could further theirs. Additionally, if one spouse stayed home to raise the children and maintain the household, they may no longer have the skills to obtain gainful employment. In these cases, the stay-at-home spouse may receive support until they can acquire the skills or training to obtain employment.

Division of Property

In Tennessee, marital property is divided equally, which does not always mean fairly. Marital property includes any assets or liabilities that were acquired during the marriage. Property division becomes extremely complex after a long marriage because the couple has had more time to obtain assets and liabilities, and the property has been commingled for a longer period of time.

During a short marriage, the couple may have taken on lower amounts of debt, accumulated fewer properties, and had fewer opportunities to commingle assets. As such, the division of property is often much more straightforward when a couple has not been married for very long.

Child Custody

If you and your spouse had a child during the marriage, they may still be very young when you divorce. Many people think this will protect them from the stress of having divorced parents because the child will not have any memory of the actual divorce.

Unfortunately, this is not true. Even when a child cannot remember their parents’ actual divorce, they will still grow up in two homes and a visitation schedule will dictate when they spend time with each parent. It is important to communicate with them as they grow up and provide the same reassurance you would if the child was older during the divorce. Even when your marriage was short, you must still create a parenting plan that is in the child’s best interests and that reflects the rights of each parent. Parents can agree to custody and visitation arrangements, but the court will only grant its approval if these agreements are fair.

Call Our Divorce Attorneys in Brentwood Today for a Consultation

Even after a short marriage, the divorce process still has the potential to become very complex. At Beal, Nations & Crutcher, our Brentwood divorce attorneys can help you through the proceedings so your case is resolved as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Call us now at 615-861-2304 or reach out to us online to schedule a consultation with one of our skilled attorneys and to learn more about how we can help with your case.

Sources:

casetext.com/statute/tennessee-code/title-36-domestic-relations/chapter-4-divorce-and-annulment/section-36-4-101-grounds-for-divorce-from-bonds-of-matrimony

law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/2010/title-36/chapter-5/part-1/36-5-121/