Q: I am thinking about divorce. Should I pay off my $14,000 car loan to reduce the amount of money that will be split?
I live in New Jersey, a equatable distribution state. Married for 5 years. We don't have children or own a house. Our finance were separate for the most part but I do pay most of our bills including rent, utilities and meals, because my spouse works only part time and do not make enough. I know i will end up paying alimony. I do have about $30k savings in the bank, which my spouse made 0 contribution to.
We each have our own car but my car is fairly new and have drastically higher value comparing to my spouse's. I am making monthly loan payments for my car. I did some research and found that generally we get to keep our own cars in divorce in NJ. So the question is, in order to protect myself financially, should I pay off the car loan so there is lower amount of savings that need to be split with my spouse? Or will this cause my car to be subject to split based on value of it?
A: Thank you for your question. It is difficult to give you a definitive answer without obtaining additional facts. There are many factors to the equitable distribution statute and without having full financial disclosure, a firm answer is not possible. It would be best to contact an experienced family law attorney to help determine the best financial outcome in your particular circumstances.
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