What Are You Entitled to In Your Divorce?

Women want to know what they're going to get in their divorce settlements. Of course, every divorce is different and the specifics of the laws vary from state to state. So how this turns out for you could be different from how it turns out for your girlfriend or neighbor.

But let's talk in general...

Angry husbands like to say things like "you'll never get a penny from me!" They tell you that they're going to take the house away from you, you won't get any of the home's equity, you can't touch his pension, the retirement account is all his, and all sorts of other threats.

It's not true.

If you signed a prenuptial agreement (a "prenup") before you got married, some of this may be true. The outcome of your divorce will depend on what you agreed to get (or not get) in that prenup.

But if you didn't sign one, then you're going to be entitled to money. The money earned by either of you during the marriage is "marital" money. That means it belongs to both of you. The assets purchased with that marital money belong to both of you. The money saved in a bank account or investment account or retirement account belongs to both of you. The part of the pension earned during the marriage belongs to both of you.

Of course, there could be things you're not entitled to have. For example, if your husband inherits some money and puts it in a separate account, you likely won't be able to get any of that. You also might not get a part of "separate" property that your husband owned prior to the marriage.

You also should remember that debts are divided in the divorce too. So if there are auto loans, a home loan, or credit cards, you should be prepared to take on part of that debt. You're probably already wondering what happens if your husband used the credit cards for an affair or other foolish things. You can get the divorce court judge to make him responsible to pay those kinds of debts, but you have to be able to prove it first. This will involve going through your statements and finding those transactions, and Tracy shows you exactly how to do that in the Divorce Money Guide.