Q: My wife and I agree on a divorce and are curious as to how the process will work in PA.
I have worked in the same career during our entire marriage which started at around 45K (10 years ago) working my way up the corporate ladder to over 100K. We have 2 children. My wife has a few certifications for professions, but has never kept a job. She always has a reason she leaves after a few weeks and then goes back to staying at home expecting me to pay for everything. I need to travel 25% of the time for work. If we agree on splitting assets and custody, do we still need to hire lawyers and go to court? What will I have to pay her for alimony if she is capable of working and refuses to? What if she says she can't work due to my schedule? I am worried that we can agree on divorce, but due to the need to travel, I may have to leave my career field.
A:
You really do need to sit down with an experienced family law attorney to address your questions. You would do well to hire an attorney to draft all the necessary procedural paperwork -- but most definitely to craft a comprehensive property settlement agreement to address how assets/liabilities will be distributed/allocated, what (if any) alimony is to be paid and for how long, etc. The answers to all such questions depend on a thorough review of all marital assets and liabilities, her work history and certifications, etc., and unfortunately can't be done with a few simple questions and answers on a site like this. And I imagine this is no surprise to you.
Feel free to contact me offsite and I'd be happy to assist you. Best of luck to you.
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