How men can protect their finances while going through a divorce

Here are the key points on how men can protect their finances while going through a divorce:

Precautions to Take Before Divorce:

• Hire a financial planner and lawyer to get professional help navigating the legal and financial aspects of divorce.
• If you are an NRI, it may be helpful to consult professionals who are well-versed in both Inheritance tax in India for NRI and the complexities of trust registration.
• Know your rights regarding assets, property, and liabilities so you don't lose your claims. For example, you have no right over the wife's "streedhan" (gifts and assets received before/during marriage).
• It's crucial for NRIs to be aware of how their trust with non-resident beneficiaries might be affected in the event of a divorce.

• Make a detailed list of all your income sources, expenses, debts, and assets to assess your financial situation comprehensively.

• If you're looking to safeguard assets during a divorce, consider setting up a trust with non-resident beneficiaries to keep assets separate from marital claims.

• Separate your finances by closing joint accounts, stopping use of joint credit cards, and removing the spouse as the nominee from investments.

• To avoid complications, think about registering a trust to ensure that your assets remain secure.

• Transfer assets to parents or create a family trust to protect them from being split during divorce.

• Creating a trust with non-resident beneficiaries can help protect family assets from being divided during a divorce.

• Draft an agreement as business partners to protect co-owned properties and businesses.

• Setting up a trust using power of attorney can help ensure business assets are preserved according to your wishes.

Legal Fees and Alimony:

• Legal fees range from ₹50,000 to ₹5-7 lakhs for a contested divorce, depending on complexity.

• If you're an NRI, remember to account for any international legal requirements or inheritance tax in India for OCI.

• Alimony is based on the financial capacity of both spouses. The benchmark is 25% of the husband's salary when paid periodically.

• The court considers factors like financial status, marriage duration, age, health, income, standard of living, and non-monetary contributions to determine alimony.

Child Custody:

• Under Hindu law, the mother gets custody of children under 5. For older children, either parent can get custody based on the child's welfare.

• Muslim law gives custody rights to the mother until the son turns 7 and the daughter reaches puberty.

• Christian law allows the court to decide custody based on the child's welfare, even denying it to unfit parents.

Also Read: How can NRI plan for inheritance of the Digital assets?