Table of Contents
Whenever there is any disturbance that comes in marriage life of a couple, it brings a choice to separate through a legal procedure in form of ‘Divorce’. After the decision, there are rights that should be taken into consideration especially the financial rights of a Women while having divorce.
The financial rights are still unknown to many women across the world who are non-workers and have no source of income to continue their life span, which makes their financial condition difficult.
Generally, in a ‘contested divorce’, both the husband and wife may not be in mutual agreement to get divorced. Sometimes one party files the petition to seek a divorce while the other party files a counter to oppose the allegations on the grounds of which the divorce was filed. This is quite common in marriages which are victims of domestic abuse and sexual assaults.
In a ‘mutual divorce’, the husband and wife file a divorce petition together after coming to a mutual conclusion and agreement that they cannot live together.There are various ways to attain financial rights while keeping in mind some of the things such as;-If you are heading towards having divorce, avoid rushing to announce it to the husband. This mistake can make it difficult to have financial independency and will make it difficult to access the documents that can guarantee a fair split.
It is suggested to not wait till the last moment as it can cause issues. It’s totally impossible to take into consideration about the family’s finances all at once. The woman should be informed of the income, cash flow, assets and investments through the complete course of her marriage, so that it is easier to deal with finances if she wants to separate.
Here are some of the Financial Rights of women in case of Divorce:
Hire a financial planner
If you are totally unaware about how to go about the process of divorce, then hire a good and proficient financial planner and a lawyer because the financial advantage that will come to you will be worth every rupee that one had spent on their fees. The lawyer will help you with the knowledge of the documents that is needed to strengthen the case, the planner will apprise you with the calculations to arrive at the optimum figure, which will help to obtain enough alimony and child support.
Collect information & documents
To move up with further procedure, there is a necessity to have access to all the documents and information required to move up with legal work. With the help of the lawyer and financial planner, make a list of all the documents that will be required to submit in the court which includes address proof, marriage certificate, salary statements, marriage photos, bank statements and tax returns, along with some other requirements.
Always keep Access to these documents and do make photocopies. Carry along your marriage certificates, wedding invites and wedding photographs while meeting the lawyer. When filing a contested divorce, WhatsApp conversations, email correspondences and child’s birth certificates, along with some others, will make for a stronger case.;
Make a list of all assets and liabilities
It is one of the necessary step that should be taken into consideration of collecting assets and liabilities. Try finding out the ownership details of the assets and make a note of market value of assets for future preference. After the market value of assets is determined and assessed, evaluate the individual shares of both the parties’ i.e, husband and wife.
The distribution will take place according to the the individual equity or as pre-determined decision between the parties, if it is a mutual consent divorce.While filing for property rights keep in mind that most conflicts knowingly and invariably take place over immovable property.
The wife has complete right over the property and is the sole owner or whether it is gifted, inherited or earned by her. However, she has got no right in the husband’s property if it is ancestral or self-acquired unless the wife has inherited it from the deceased/Ex-husband.
The wife can call to claim over the property in case, if a property is jointly owned by the husband and wife at the time of divorce. If the property is in name of the husband while the two were together and he holds the ownership, the wife can make a claim if she will be able to prove her equity in the property. If a property is purchased and bought by one person and the title is held by the other, the person with registered name in the property is will be considered its legal owner.
If the house has been bought jointly with the help of a loan, it can be sold and after that, the money divides as per the share of each spouse. If one spouse wants to keep the house, he or she will have to pay the share of the other and repay the loan. If, in case, the husband refuse to pay the EMI, the entire responsibility of repaying the loan will be shifted to the wife.
Get back your streedhan
This is one the important step since a women will definitely have a lot of assets as gifts which are presented before marriage, during marriage ceremonies, gatherings and on the birth of kids. A woman owns the ownership to streedhan even after separation, including all movable and immovable property, gifts, and money. The best choice for you is to preserve your things either with your parents or away at a safe place from your current residence.
Change nominee details in banks
It is quite obvious to have bank with nominee as your spouse. If the women who seeks to go for divorce have made investments or taken insurance in which one have listed the name of her husband as the nominee which needs to be changed, go to bank and change the details. The financials could include the Provident Fund, PPF, bank account, Demat account, mutual funds and life or any kind of insurance. Further, one can change the nominee to her other family member or else go for removing the nominee. This will avoid any kind of future benefits to your spouse.
Close all your joint accounts
Joint accounts are one of the major consideration when it comes to bank accounts. If you have not mutually decided to come to a conclusion of splitting the money, then go and close it. If you have a joint savings account, the spouse can easily withdraw money as the balance is equal to both, irrespective of who deposits it. Also, close all fixed deposits and other existing joint investments, which are shared equally between the partners.
Claim for Maintenance
There are many women who are not working or if even working, try to take maintenance from your spouse. If a women doesn’t have any source of income and if the relationship with the husband has been too soured to the extent that he refuses to give you any money, one can take help of the court to seek maintenance for the duration before the final divorce settlement.
Always keep in mind some suggestions
The Wife has only one chance to get alimony, so make the most of it by selecting the amount carefully. The decision of alimony should ideally be done in consultation with a financial planner taking into account inflation and all future expenses. The woman should get an amount in which she will be able to maintain her prevailing lifestyle, taking into consideration about her longer life span and earning capacity of future.
It is always better to go for a lump sum money settlement than a monthly payout as it is tax-free and is not subjected to erosion of value due to inflation. The woman should always go for as much liquid assets as possible, which will help her to start a new fresh life after divorce.
The court takes decision about the maintenance by considering the husband’s income, the needs of wife, the liabilities, and wife’s earning compass, among others. As per Supreme Court rules, 25% out of the husband’s money is considered as an amount to be given as maintenance.
In case of Muslim couples, Muslim wife is entitled to the dower or mehr settled at the time of marriage, and after divorce, she will be eligible to get maintenance till the iddat period. After the iddat period, she can ask for maintenance from her parents or District Waqf Board registered under Section 4 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Divorce) Act.
The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 look after the maintenance rights of Christian women, in that case the husband is considered as liable to pay maintenance till a woman’s lifetime. Under the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, the court can grant a maximum of one-fifth of the husband’s total income to a Parsi woman for her lifetime.
We hope this blog have helped you in knowing some Financial Rights of Women in case of Divorce. If you still have some query, click on the button below and book a consultation with a divorce lawyer associated with eSahayak.