In a divorce settlement, you may be entitled to retain ownership of a Florida home or other assets that were acquired during a marriage. You may also be entitled to custody or visitation rights to a child regardless of your gender assuming that granting them would be in the child’s best interest.
Stay calm
You may feel compelled to move out of the marital home or post demeaning comments about your spouse online after divorce proceedings begin. However, this may undermine your ability to negotiate a favorable settlement. Although moving out of your home may not impact your negotiating position, it may mean that you’re responsible for a mortgage and a rent payment. The added expense may make it harder to pay legal fees or otherwise engage in settlement talks from a position of strength. Online content may be used by your spouse during a custody hearing as a reason why you shouldn’t be given full custody or unlimited visitation rights.
Be transparent
One of the worst things that you can do during a divorce proceeding is to hide assets. You will also want to make sure that you don’t take actions that might be interpreted as depleting marital assets. At a minimum, you may be required to repay any funds that were used inappropriately or cede valuable assets to make your spouse whole. Depending on the severity of your actions, you could be held in contempt of court.
Your gender alone is unlikely to play a role as it relates to how a divorce settlement is structured. This is because the courts are more interested in ensuring that assets are divided properly and that your child’s physical, emotional and financial needs are met.