July 12, 2016
11 Reasons Divorce Is Better Than Staying In A Bad Marriage – When you’re considering divorce ― or reeling from your ex’s decision to end the marriage ― it’s easy to focus on the negatives: How will I possibly get by living on my own again? How will the kids be impacted by this? Am I doomed to be alone for the rest of my life?
Bankruptcy Legislation for Big Banks Gains Steam – Changes to bankruptcy code included in financial services budget bill in House
Despite Improvement, Debt Shadow Still Looms Over Many in U.S. – Young people, African-Americans and those without a high school degree are most likely to stress about debt and finances.
July 6, 2016
Mortgage rates plummet: July 5 – Mortgage rates are mixed today, but the average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages plummeted. Meanwhile, the average rate on 15-year mortgages remained unchanged and the average rate on 5/1 ARMs rose.
How to keep a breakup from causing a foreclosure – Usually lenders won’t come after a borrower under your circumstances. From a practical point of view, the lender wants its loan to be paid on time over its term. The loan documents give the lender the right to call the loan, which means the lender can require the loan to be repaid in full upon the sale or transfer of the property.
Forget energy, financials are pegged as next ‘fallen angels’ in debt markets – There’s a quiet storm brewing among global financial institutions: a commodity-price slump and sluggish economic growth are finally spilling over to banks’ balance sheets.
Heidi S. Risser
Considerations for Alimony Agreements
Parties who do not initially agree on alimony matters may disagree about the parameters surrounding the payment of spousal support. Some considerations when negotiating an alimony agreement include:
Purpose of Alimony
The parties may be at odds as to whether alimony should be paid at all. Alimony is meant to provide financial support to a lower earning spouse, often in recognition of that spouse’s contribution to the marriage that may have negatively impacted his or her earning potential. A spouse who receives alimony can work on becoming financially independent while having enough funds to remain solvent after a divorce.
Length of Alimony
Another point of contention between spouses is how long alimony should last. The appropriate amount of time for how long support should remain in effect depends on the particular circumstances. For example, if alimony is paid so that the spouse can receive additional training or education to be able to work in a new career with greater earning potential, alimony may only be necessary until such education or training is obtained. Spouses may be able to work together on coming up with an agreement regarding this provision and others in order to make their divorce less contentious.
Amount of Alimony
Another source of friction may be the amount of alimony that one spouse should be required to pay. In some cases, a creative property distribution or use of other resources can help minimize the amount of alimony that will be necessary for support.
Modification of Alimony
The spouses may wish to reach an agreement regarding when the alimony plan may need to be revised, such as if the paying spouse has a change of income or develops a serious illness. Mediation can help the parties consider when an event is considered substantial enough to warrant a change in the agreement.
June 20, 2016
Don’t Wait Until Your Debt Starts Hurting to Begin Tackling It – If you have the choice between paying down a small amount of debt, or dealing with a more immediate bill, most of us would choose the latter. That’s how small debts become large debts, though.
Mortgage rates for Monday, June 20 – Mortgage rates fell today. The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages inched down, as did the average rate on 15-year mortgages and the average rate on 5/1 ARMs.
10 States With Foreclosure Problems That Just Won’t Quit – A huge financial and emotional nightmare continues to threaten tens of thousands of American homeowners, with more than 100,000 U.S. residential properties in some state of foreclosure in May. That figure remained nearly unchanged from April, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac, but it’s better than last year — last month, foreclosure activity was down 20.52% from May 2015.
David A. Sharp
