Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about your individual situation it is best to seek the advice of an experienced legal professional.
If you were married for under 5 years and you are getting a divorce in California you could be facing unique issues that could affect how you choose to proceed with your divorce.
What Makes Divorce After a Short Marriage Different?
If you have been married only a short time you could be facing several issues that make your divorce distinct from divorcing after a longer period of time. These issues could include:
- You and your spouse could have been independent high earners who have substantial separate property from before your marriage.
- You might have been married previously and have kids from another relationship or marriage.
- You may have young children and need to find a way to work together to co-parent those children and plan for their future.
- You are not quite so attached to your family home. You may be happy to sell it and move on.
- If you had a short marriage, there may be issues surrounding costly engagement rings, wedding rings, gifts of family jewelry, wedding expenses, etc. These may revolve around who should bear the costs of an expensive wedding or deciding what to do about gifts you have exchanged as part of getting married.
Why is Divorce Mediation the Best Way to Get a Divorce for Those Who Have Been Married 5 Years or Less?
People who have been married for 5 years or less may be more enthusiastic to get the divorce over with and move on with their lives. While you may have loved and cared for your ex spouse, your lives are not too enmeshed and you want your divorce process to reflect this. Recent celebrity breakups, such as the divorce of Britney Spears and Sam Asghari after 14 months, and Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner after 4 years together, reflect the reality that a short marriage can end amicably. Divorce mediation is a good choice for people who weren’t married for a long time and want a divorce without fuss, Here are a few reasons why:
- If you both are independent high earners, spousal support may keep you tied together after marriage. Divorce mediation allows you to make a conscious and respectful agreement to waive spousal support and move on with your lives. Divorce mediation can thus facilitate fair and respectful property division, where one spouse receives property instead of spousal support. This is particularly effective if one party has less financial means than the other, and the divorcing couple want to support each other after the marriage without remaining tied together.
- Divorce mediation can be a one stop shop that includes other aspects of financial planning like estate planning, which could benefit your kids, especially if you have any minor children together. Divorce mediation is focused on financial wellness and long-term security. Updating your estate plan or setting up a trust for your children can be part of the process.
- Divorce mediation is a non-adversarial process that treats complex property division like a mutually beneficial business deal. The financial intricacies of marital and non-marital property, businesses and family trusts can be resolved in an efficient way that minimizes the impact of the dissolution. If you received family jewelry as a gift from your spouse or had an expensive wedding and an expensive engagement ring, these issues can be surprisingly complex both legally and emotionally. Divorce mediation is a thorough process that can resolve all matters related to your divorce in a way that avoids conflict.
- Divorce mediation is a process that acknowledges the strong emotions involved in divorce and helps you to find a way through them. This can be helpful if you are working out how to co-parent young children together.
After a short marriage you may be eager to move on and achieve life goals. You might want to meet a new partner and have children. An adversarial divorce filled with conflict affects your future options by dragging out the process. You may also want to exit a business relationship with your spouse respectfully, preserving the value of your business and your good name.
At Divorce Options San Diego, we are a full service divorce mediation firm who offer a streamlined process that reduces the stress and wasted energy that can result from traditional adversarial divorce. In addition to empowering our clients with tools to help them reduce conflict and move through their divorce, we offer a complete transition management package that covers everything from divorce documentation to financial planning, divorce coaching and career coaching. If you want your divorce to be as efficient, fair and respectful as possible we will work with you to help you get through the divorce with minimum fuss. We have offices in San Diego, CA, Silicon Valley and Berkeley, CA. Please contact us to learn more about our West Coast divorce mediation services.
