Many divorced parents wonder what they should do when their child doesn’t want to visit the other parent. Should they encourage their child to go on the visitation or let him or her decide? That depends on the child’s age–teens are old enough to make their own decisions, but younger children are not. Before you decide on a strategy, it’s a good idea to find out why your child is resistant to going on the visit. Ask your child why he or she doesn’t want to visit their … [Read more...]
Divorcing With A Special-Needs Child
Getting a divorce is hard on any family, but it’s especially difficult when a special-needs child is involved, because the burden of care and planning for the child falls mostly on the custodial parent. When a special-needs child is involved in a divorce, the issues of custody, visitation, child support, and division of community assets become more complex and require special attention. Standard child support and custody guidelines don’t address the extra costs and unique … [Read more...]
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ Divorce – Smart People Prove That There Is A Better Way
One of the richest and smartest people in the world is Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. He built the world’s largest retailer from scratch. There were lurid details about the end of his 25 year marriage to MacKenzie Bezos prior to their filing for divorce in January. The estate was worth an estimated thirty-seven billion dollars and there were those that expected a costly, drawn-out proceeding costing millions of dollars. Instead, after just four months, Jeff and MacKenzie announced … [Read more...]
Effect of Parental Conflict and Divorce on Children
Parental conflict can have significant negative effects on children, whether the parents stay married or divorce. In either case, intense parental conflict is associated with mental health problems among their children, while divorce alone does not seem to have a significant negative effect on children’s development. However, children who are young when their parents divorce have some difficulty forming intimate adult relationships, are often unhappy with their marriages, and have … [Read more...]
Gray Divorce Meets Estate Planning
The overall divorce rate is falling in America, but the divorce rate among older Americans is growing. More than a quarter of divorces involve couples over 50. Older Americans used to enjoy lower divorce rates, but now Baby Boomers are divorcing at the same rate as the general population. More than half of all gray divorces happen after 20 years of marriage. What’s causing this rapid increase? Women’s Expectations Many experts believe women’s expectations about … [Read more...]
Most Marriages Only Last 25 Years
More and more fifty-year-old Americans are divorcing even though it’s difficult to pinpoint a reason. All marriages ebb and flow over the years, with good times and bad, but more and more couples find that after the kids leave home, their marriage begins to dissolve and they eventually divorce. Call it the quarter-century-itch or the empty-nest-syndrome, something important is happening at that time in many couple’s lives. After staying together for over two decades because of the … [Read more...]
Eight Factors Judges Use When Deciding Who Makes Decisions About The Children After A Divorce
During a litigated divorce, judges must decide who will have the right to make non-emergency decisions about children’s living arrangement, where they will attend school, their medical care, and their religious training. Courts may award sole custody to one parent or give both parents the joint right to make decisions about their children. Having sole custody means one parent need not consult with the other parent when making decisions about the children. On the other hand, … [Read more...]
What To Expect In A Texas Divorce
Both parties are frustrated during a divorce, because the spouse who wants the divorce feels the process is too slow, and the spouse who wants to save the marriage wants to slow things down. Ultimately, the outcome of your divorce will depend on whether you choose a collaborative or an adversarial divorce. A collaborative divorce offers many benefits, including privacy, lower cost, transparency, client control, convenience, preserving family relationships, protecting children, … [Read more...]
Five Types Of Married Couples
Based on numerous studies of how married couples interact, John Gottman has sorted couples into five types: Validating, Volatile, Conflict-Avoiding, Hostile, and Hostile--Detached. Validating, Volatile, and Conflict-Avoiding couples are generally happy in their marriages, Hostile couples are unhappy, but none of these types are likely to divorce. On the other hand, Hostile-Detached couples are unhappy and may be heading toward divorce. Each type is different, but you can know … [Read more...]
Who Inherits my Texas Property if I Don’t Have a Will?
If you live in Texas and don’t have a valid Texas will when you pass away (called intestate succession), who inherits your Texas property gets complicated because the beneficiaries are determined by the Texas Estate Code. Who takes your property when don’t have a valid will depends on whether you are married, whether the property is community or separate, whether the property is real estate or other assets, whether you are single or widowed, whether you have surviving children, and whether … [Read more...]
