Divorce is always a challenging time for parents and children alike. There are so many factors to consider such as custody schedules, selling or keeping the family home, splitting assets, etc. As the divorcing parents negotiate the terms of the divorce, they hopefully have the best interest of the children involved. One of the most contentious areas in divorce is finances. Many of the financial matters do not pertain to the children, but there are several that are directly related and managing … [Read more...]
Six Reasons To Choose A Child-Centered Collaborative Divorce
The best way to protect your children during a divorce is to stop fighting and don’t put them in the middle of your disputes. Don’t use the children to hurt each other–make your divorce about protecting them. A high-conflict divorce is harmful to children’s social, personal, and intellectual development–so avoid fighting. A child-centered collaborative divorce can minimize damage to children. Rather that litigate your divorce and postpone healing until after the trial, … [Read more...]
Should Spouses Continue To Live Together During the Divorce?
Living together while going through a divorce can be challenging. Sometimes spouses choose to continue to live together to reduce the expenses of having separate households. However, there are some concerns that continuing to live together is going to result in increased conflict, or anxiety, or stress for the children. Coming up with a pros and cons list and weighing each of the pros and cons can be a way to address this question. Pros and Cons of Continuing to Live … [Read more...]
Collaborative Divorce Is The Right Tool For the Job
The collaborative divorce process can help you achieve your divorce goals. The following article, originally featured in Park Cities People, explains why collaborative divorce is the right tool for the job. If you are contemplating or facing divorce, do you have any of the following goals: Staying in your house;Keeping your children in their current private school or desirable public school district;Making sure college tuition and expenses will be paid;Maintaining a good post-divorce … [Read more...]
Five Things To Know About Taxes And Divorce
Divorce has significant effects on your taxes. For example, if your divorce is final by December 31 of a tax year, the IRS will consider you unmarried for that entire year, so you must file individual rather than joint tax returns. Moreover, due to new tax legislation, alimony is no longer deductible for the person paying and it not taxable to the recipient. It’s possible to go back and change a prior decree to make alimony no longer tax deductible, but changing a divorce … [Read more...]
Top 3 MORE Overlooked Financial Issues During Divorce (Part 2)
Divorce is commonly seen as one of the most stressful experiences one will ever go through. Along with all of that stress, you are also making financial decisions that will most likely affect the rest of your life and perhaps the lives of your children as well. For that reason, it’s always a good idea to get the advice of a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™ or some other financial professional during your divorce process. Having another set of eyes on your situation is … [Read more...]
The Rise in After Retirement Divorce
My family law practice handles a sizeable number of “grey divorces.” “Grey divorce” clients have been married to their respective spouses for decades. Over the years, through season after season, their relationships have evolved and changed. At some point, these changes have meant an end to the vows of staying together until “death do us part.” Statistics indicate that there has been a rise of divorces amongst people over the age of 50 years old. As the life … [Read more...]
Why Are Older People Getting Divorced?
For years, married couples have been known to stay together for the “sake of the children.” When the children are grown and moved away, more older people are divorcing than ever before. There are several reasons for this: The couple may have problems with being empty nesters. Now that the kids are out of the house, one or both will finally say, “I don’t want to be married any longer and I just want to try something new.”One or both parties may have built up resentments about their … [Read more...]
Understanding Alimony in Texas
Contrary to what many people think, Texas does have “alimony,” and the Texas Family Code calls it spousal maintenance. However, the Texas Family Code narrowly defines when spousal maintenance can be ordered by the court. When clients want or need spousal maintenance, I suggest using the Collaborative Divorce process. Collaborative Divorce provides a transparent process that enables clients, their lawyers, and a neutral financial professional to openly evaluate the needs of the spouses … [Read more...]
Dealing With Trusts In A Divorce
Characterizing property owned by a couple is an important part of any divorce and the existence of a trust can complicate the process, especially if it’s an irrevocable trust established during the marriage. On the other hand, an irrevocable trust established prior to a marriage will help a spouse prove that funds in the irrevocable trust are separate property. However, an irrevocable trust established during the marriage often complicates the characterization and division of the … [Read more...]
