December is here, bringing in the end-of-the-year festivities and the holiday season. You may be thinking that you should continue to put off filing for divorce and wait until the new year. However, Georgia attorney Sharon Jackson does not recommend waiting until January to carry out your divorce plans. Here are ten reasons why December is a good month to file for divorce.
Your last W-2 and Tax Return will need to be evaluated when you are going through a divorce. Divorces usually go hand in hand with child and spousal support, typically based on your income. If you make significantly different income in 2022 v 2023, that could impact your support payments.
Most people assume that you are busier in December than in January. However, for a lot of people, this ends up not being the case. Some people’s work schedules and home lives start to become less busy toward the end of the year, and many individuals have a lot of downtime. Once the new year approaches, everything starts back very quickly. This may cause you to continue putting off filing for your divorce until the spring.
One of the steps of divorce is looking at the assets you and your spouse have together. Your marital assets may have a lower or higher current value, which could benefit whoever will be keeping the assets. Some of the assets that will be examined are real estate, financial assets, furniture, and vehicles.
Most people only choose to delay their divorces until the new year to get through the holidays with their children and spend the last few weeks together as a family. However, if your children are older or you do not have children, it may be very beneficial to your mental health to move on as quickly as possible. If you have both decided a divorce is best, you should file the paperwork and start fresh before the new year.
Many people stay together during December for their children. Still, it is important to remember that staying together through the holidays may only cause tension and unnecessary bickering. Children and other family members may be better off if they do not have to go through the negative actions of you and your spouse during this time. Pretending to be together for a few weeks is not worth the hassle or misery.
It is a known fact that people usually wait until January to file for divorce. Therefore, once the new calendar year begins and the children return to school, others may rush to file for their divorces. As a result, many divorce lawyers, accountants, and other financial experts may be very busy. Court calendars will also be filled, causing divorces to take longer after December.
Depending on how long you have been living separately from your spouse or if your divorce is granted quickly, you may be able to file your taxes separately when tax filing season arrives. However, if you wait for divorce in January, you will likely need to still file your taxes with your spouse, as you are still considered married under the law.
Filing for divorce in December means you can start the new year off with a fresh start. No longer do you have to worry about when to pull the trigger with your spouse to start the process. Now, you can just live your life as a newly-single person.
If you own a business with your now former spouse, or any other family members, you can resolve ownership of the business. Going into January with the business still co-owned by you and your former spouse can be the cause of a lot of undue stress.
You might be able to take advantage of various tax breaks. If you aren’t sure what tax breaks are available to you, be sure to speak with Sharon Jackson as well as your personal accountant.
Divorce is never easy, whatever the season. If you are considering filing for a divorce at the end of the year, Georgia attorney Sharon Jackson can gladly assist you with this process. We take great pride in ensuring that our clients’ divorces go as easily and smoothly as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact Attorney Sharon Jackson with your divorce and family law questions. Call us at (678) 436-3636 to set up a free case evaluation today.
Attorney Sharon Jackson LLC
175 Langley Drive, Suite A1
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
Phone: (678) 909-4100
