Anoka Divorce Law Blog

Higher education costs have risen sharply in Minnesota and around the country in recent years, and student loan debt in the United States has climbed to an all-time high of $1.48 trillion as a result. Figures from the U.S. Federal reserve reveal that students who graduated from college in 2017 will have to repay an average of $39,400, and this debt can have a profound impact on their lives and relationships. When researchers from the debt management website Student Loan hero polled 808 divorced American adults, more than a third said that student loans and other financial problems had contributed to the breakdown of their marriages.

More than one in 10 of the respondents said that student loan debt was the primary reason they divorced. Experts expect this trend to continue unabated in the years ahead as the average outstanding student loan balance has increased by a sobering 62 percent in just 10 years. Equally concerning is that college costs have been rising faster than the rate of inflation since the early 1980s.

Going through divorce can certainly be challenging for adults, but it can be just as unsettling for any children involved. After all, just as you may feel that your world is spinning out of control during a divorce, your child may feel powerless and apprehensive about his or her future.

However, many cases involving child custody during a marital breakup can be resolved outside of court. Here is a look at the valuable role that a parenting agreement can play in your divorce proceeding in Minnesota.

Ending a marriage usually involves making a number of financial adjustments. A recent study from the online marketplace Worthy suggests that many divorced women in Minnesota and around the country are not prepared to meet these challenges. Worthy polled 1,785 women who were either considering a divorce or had already taken steps to end their marriages, and almost half of them said that they had encountered one or more unexpected financial setbacks.

Experts say that women are sometimes unprepared for life after divorce because they allowed their husbands to make financial decisions during the marriage. In the survey, almost a quarter of the women aged between 18 and 54 said that they abdicated control of their financial affairs to their husbands. However, this figure dropped to 18 percent among women 55 years of age or older.

After going through a significant life event, a Minnesota resident should review the details of their estate plan. A divorce qualifies as a significant life event, and there are many items that may need to be revised in its aftermath. For instance, an individual will want to change their power of attorney to ensure that a former spouse doesn't have the ability to access key documents.

Individuals who are going through a divorce may also want to change their health care proxy. This prevents a former spouse from making health care decisions after a critical accident or other medical emergency. It is important to understand that beneficiary designations may be frozen as soon as a person files for divorce. This means that the soon-to-be ex could still be the beneficiary of a 401(k) or other asset if something were to happen during the divorce process.