Getting a divorce is emotionally stressful, especially for older individuals who are nearing retirement (called gray divorces). Because of the emotional overload associated with a divorce, it’s easy to forget about assets you own that need to be divided. Everyone remembers big assets such as the house, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, and vehicles. However, forgotten items may be valuable or emotionally meaningful, and if … [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...]
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...]
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...]
Discovering Hidden Assets During A Collaborative Divorce
Dividing community property is an important divorce issue, especially if the divorce has been planned for a long time because that gives one spouse time to conceal funds. How can you be certain your spouse has disclosed all marital assets during a divorce? The answer depends on how you divorce. In a litigated divorce, there is no duty to disclose, while in a collaborative divorce spouses agree to voluntarily produce all relevant information. A complex divorce generates … [Read more...]
What To Do When Your Child Refuses To Visit Your Ex
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...]
