In a divorce case, we have a rule about not using the “F’ word. No, it is not that word, but it is the word “Fair”. Everyone wants a fair divorce settlement, but exactly what’s “fair”? There are two major issues that must be resolved in any divorce–how to divide assets and what to do about the kids. The major financial issues are to determine what assets belong to the community estate and what assets are separate property, who will pay child support, the amount of child … [Read more...]
What is a Parenting Plan?
In 2005, the Texas Legislature revised child custody by requiring that the parties or a judge develop a parenting plan to allocate rights and duties. The elements of a parenting plan include who may exercise various parental rights and duties, who will pay child support and whether a parenting coordinator is needed to facilitate co-parenting post-divorce. Parents submit a proposed parenting plan to the court and if accepted, the court will issue a parenting order. Developing a parenting plan can … [Read more...]
Setting Child Support For Infants And Young Children
How much should a parent pay to support his/her children? According to the Texas Legislature, which established statutory guidelines for setting child support payments, the amount should be based primarily on the net income of the payer and the number of children before the court. However, parents will tell you it’s much more expensive to support a teenager than an infant. This is an important issue for most couples, because child support payments continue until the last child … [Read more...]
Child Support in a Collaborative Divorce (Part One)
This post is from Scott Clarke, a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst currently in private practice in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and a Collaborative Law Institute of Texas Board Member. He has been in the financial advising business since the early 1990s and has specialized in the divorce financial aspects for the past 6 years. In my experience, one of the areas in which clients are most creative in the collaborative process is in how they choose to structure … [Read more...]
