Generally, no one gets married while also planning to break up and get divorced, but at times things we never foresaw happen, and life together becomes contentious or unbearable for one or maybe even both partners. Divorce dissolves marriage, allowing the spouses to once again be single or to remarry.

After years of marriage, there are a lot of 'ties that bind' so splitting up is not easy to do. You have a house, a car or two, the kids, not to mention all the stuff piled up in the garage, in the attic, in the backyard shed, in the storage space, an so on. Some of it is good stuff, like money and valuables, while some of it is bad stuff, like debt and bills.

How a divorce lawyer can help before divorce.

Prior to marriage, getting sound planning advice can be valuable in the event of a divorce. If a couple has a prenuptial agreement, the thorny issues of property division and child care are set down and decided in better times. If there is no prenup, property division and child custody must be tackled during the divorce, when both spouses are feeling resentful or betrayed.

Tennessee is an equitable distribution state, so property acquired during the marriage is not necessarily divided evenly. Courts consider how to split up the following kinds of assets:

• Real estate
• Cars and furniture
• Cash values in insurance policies and bank accounts
• Pension plans and retirement accounts
• Gifts and inheritances
• Business profits, inventory, and accounts receivables
• Jewelry and other valuables

Alternatives to courtroom drama and expense.

If the spouses cannot agree on one or several issues, their divorce is contested and must be fought in court.

If the parties are close to agreement on each and every issue of the divorce, a settlement can likely be reached outside the courtroom. In such a situation couples are good candidates for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods, including the following:

• Mediation: A neutral, third party mediator helps the couples resolve all issues in the divorce, and a judge finalizes the dissolution of the marriage.
• Arbitration: A neutral, third party arbitrator acts as a judge and listens to the both sides of the argument, and renders a binding decision.

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