Posts belonging to Category Divorce

CAN BOTH PARTIES GET A DIVORCE ON FAULT GROUNDS? WHAT IF BOTH HAVE GROUNDS?

The question often arises, “Who will get the divorce if both parties are guilty of adultery?” Or, “I might have been guilty of adultery, but she was guilty of cruelty, so that’s why I committed adultery; who will get the divorce?”  The answer is that a court cannot grant a divorce to both parties.  The [...]

HOW THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IMPACTS DIVORCE, CHILD SUPPORT, ALIMONY, EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY AND DEBT

        The main obligation of the Courts and for attorneys is to obtain a fair result.  As the economic downturn continues, the Courts are having to make rulings to accommodate job losses, losses of assets, such as stocks, bonds, IRAs, and other financial instruments as well as the devaluation of the marital home and increase [...]

DIVORCE IS NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL

                  A divorce can be both scary and a relief from marital problems which cannot be otherwise corrected.  The divorce means a loss of a relationship, a loss of time with children, and possibly a loss of money or property.  It can also be a step towards independence and self-preservation if one is getting away [...]

ATTORNEYS AND PARTIES BEWARE: AGREEMENTS FOR DIVORCE ON IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES ARE SUBJECT TO COURT APPROVAL

It is fairly well known that an Agreement for divorce on Irreconcilable Differences is always subject to review by the Court for reasonableness, particularly in relation to children and child support.  Thus, even though parties might agree to something, a court could disapprove of it and not allow the divorce to go through.  This obligation [...]

WHAT ARE CUSTODY RIGHTS BEFORE THERE’S AN ORDER?

Before a court has entered some form of order, each parent has equal rights to custody. Unfortunately, if parents choose to, they can play a vicious and destructive game of “keep away.” Sometimes a “keep away” strategy is necessary, but in such cases, court assistance should be sought as soon as possible. Until there is [...]

WILL A SPOUSE BE GIVEN CREDIT FOR SEPARATE FUNDS INVESTED IN A HOUSE?

There are many situations where one party contributes separate funds to the acquisition of a home.  Once separate funds are contribute to joint property which is used in the marriage, the separate funds are deemed “commingled” in the marital estate, thus making them subject to award in divorce.  An examination of the decisions on this [...]

ABUSE CAN BE VERY SUBTLE BUT JUST AS DESTRUCTIVE AS A PUNCH IN THE NOSE

As a family lawyer, I often deal with abuse that is difficult, if not impossible to prove.  The divorce lawyer faces many obstacles in dealing with this. First, many people don’t fully appreciate the abuse they are suffering because it is so subtle.  Second, the abused person often feels either responsible or so embarrassed that [...]

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM HAVING LANGUAGE INTERPRETED AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU ARE THE DRAFTER

All attorneys know there are “rules of construction” in the interpretation of contracts and agreements.  These rules call for the Court to first see if the language is clear without further testimony.  If the language is not clear, the Court might hear testimony as to the intent of the parties.  If the intent is still [...]

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR NAME IN YOUR DIVORCE

All too often, a female client will think about changing her name after we have entered the divorce.  She wants to know how to do it.  This is a shame, because it is easy to incorporate the name change in the Order of the divorce with one sentence and it is done!  One consideration for [...]

IF IT AIN’T WRITTEN DOWN, IT WON’T HAPPEN

Divorce negotiation is a tricky thing.  It is much more complicated than a business negotiation because of the emotions involved.  It is also made difficult by the fact that few married people can negotiate at what we call “arms length.”  Each party has emotional leverage on the other.  Most often, one party has superior emotional [...]

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