Tags: title
Loose ends in a divorce
Usually when people divorce their focus is on dividing the assets and debts, child support and visitation. There are incidental documents that usually need to be created besides the decree. These documents tie up the loose ends and finish things. Typically these documents include (but are not limited to):
Title Transfer Documents to cars, boats and the like
Title Transfer Documents to Real Estate
Name change forms to Social Security
Wage Withholding Orders
Orders regarding retirement funds
Diverse License changes
Address changes
School Registration information
Some of these documents are very self explanatory. Others require some technical knowledge. In matters of real estate, the type of title document is very important. Some deeds offer more protection than others, you should have advice as to what type of deed you need before the decree is signed. Withholding Orders have to meet the court's standards. If retirement funds are divided in the divorce, you will likely need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO, pronounced kwa-dro). The QDRO must be drafted to meet the requirements of the court and the fund that has to follow the order.
Many times people are just relieved to get out of the marriage and fail to finish these documents. Each serves a purpose and should be taken care of promptly. Waiting only makes the issues more complicated to resolve. If you are working with an attorney on your divorce, then the attorney should be able to advise you as to what types of documents you need. If you are doing a divorce without counsel, it can be difficult to find the forms you need, or advice as to how the form should be filled out. These final touches to a divorce are among the things that concern me most when I hear that people are doing a divorce themselves. They may have saved money in getting the divorce decree, but they still have a lot of work to do before they have tied up all the loose ends.
