Posts belonging to Category Do-It-Yourself Divorce

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING A DISABILITY INSURANCE PROVISION IN YOUR DIVORCE AGREEMENT?

It is quite common for parties to negotiate life insurance coverage for divorce agreements, but it seems quite uncommon to provide for disability insurance.  Of course, this insurance is not as common as life insurance and may prove too expensive for many couples, but insurance agents tell us disability is much more probable than we [...]

HOW TO NEGOTIATE WITHOUT CAUSING TROUBLE, PARTICULARLY WITH A DOMINANT SPOUSE

A lot of my clients talk with their spouses directly about settlement of divorce disputes.  Many times my clients want to know what to say.  I have developed a simple script for them to follow.  The simplicity is important, because they need to be able to remember the script under pressure. Here it is: Give only [...]

START THINKING ABOUT 2012 IN YOUR DOCUMENTS

I have already had several documents that I have either sent or received which mistakenly had 2011 instead of 2012.  Start thinking about the year change now.  When you draft proposed agreements or pleadings, or notary signatures, leave the year blank, such as “201_” instead of anticipating the year the document will actually be signed.   [...]

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 [...]

THE POWER OF QUICKEN

Every divorce case is a financial planning negotiation and requires the development of detailed budget, asset and liability information.  Assets and liabilities are relatively easy to pin down with documents and appraisals.  Accurate budget information is another thing altogether. Clients are usually told to sit down with their checks and credit cards and average the [...]

The Pitfalls of Self-Help Law

A case out of Newmarket family court has highlighted the pitfalls of taking the law into your own hands, commonly known as “self-help.” In Abankwa-Harris v. Harris, even though the husband and wife separated in December 2007 they continued to reside in their Richmond Hill home with their three children until the end of June [...]

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes