Why you need us after your divorce is final and why our attorneys are the logical and best choice for you. There things you need to think about once your divorce is final.
1. If family health insurance is obtained through employment, coverage for the non-employee spouse automatically terminates when a divorce decree is issued. However, under a federal law known as COBRA, the non-employee spouse is entitled to continue the same coverage for up to 3 years. There are strict deadlines for COBRA rights, and the non-employee will have to pay both the employer and employee shares of the premium. If you or your former spouse have health insurance through employment, you must notify the employer promptly that a divorce has been granted and provide the date when the decree was issued.
2. If your name has been changed, you will need to send proper change of name notices to (a) governmental agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Department of Revenue, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, (b) creditors and companies with whom you do business, and (c) family and friends.
3. If you should choose to remarry in the future, you may wish to have a premarital agreement to govern your rights and obligations with your new spouse. Prenuptial agreements are especially important in cases where (1) any party has children from a previous marriage, (2) any party brings substantial assets into the marriage, or (3) any party owns a business or professional practice. If you are ever interested in a prenuptial agreement, please contact our firm and we can discuss your needs.
4. If you have any existing wills or trusts, they are probably affected by your divorce and need to be rewritten. Our firm is uniquely positioned to handle to these comprehensive services and prepare any wills or trusts that you will need, please contact our attorneys to update any wills and/or trusts.
5. If your spouse is a beneficiary on any life insurance, you may wish to change that.
6. If the Agreement indicates that you are entitled to a portion of your spouses annuities, pension plans and profit-sharing plans and they can only be transferred by means of a Domestic Relations Order, our attorneys are well versed in the nuances that are required in the preparation of a Domestic Relations Order that will satisfy the requirements of the pension administrator.
7. You may need to change the title on vehicles.
8. If you have joint credit cards with your former spouse, you should remove your spouse from those accounts. In most cases, you will need to close the existing account and open a new one in your name only.
9. Contact your tax preparer and financial advisor to determine your tax filing status and how best to invest any money that you received as part of any property settlement.
10. If you have been awarded the marital residence, then you will have to prepare the deed transfer papers. Our attorneys have extensive experience in real estate matters.