Mediation Blog » Divorce Settlement

More Wage Information

admin — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:00:25 +0000

If you are contemplating divorce and realize that you will not be able to maintain your current salary after the divorce, i.e., you cannot work 25 hours of overtime a week and still see your children, reducing your salary now without later reprisal from the court will take planning. You will need to prove that your salary reduction was not voluntary or spiteful. A legitimate way of reducing your salary might be to change careers with the blessing of your spouse. Another way is to reduce your overtime gradually, so that there’s not a sudden drop in income. You may want to ask for a transfer to a different department where overtime is not available or required, or where the salary is less (and perhaps the workload is less too). Asking your employer to delay or defer a raise, commission or bonus may reduce your salary but be careful about this, as you’re required to be honest about your assets and income. If you’re entitled to a bonus, and you don’t list it on your financial statement provided to the court, you may be found to have fraudulently misrepresented your income or assets–and the ramifications of such a finding by a judge will be much worse than the child support you would have paid! For excellent resources on co-parenting, click here.

Oftentimes foregoing a raise, promotion, or bonus punishes your as well as the recipient of the support monies. For example, in Connecticut in 2000, support for one child is around 21% of your net income. So for each $1 in your pocket, you keep 79 cents. And that money doesn’t just disappear, it is part of your parenting responsibilities to provide for your child’s welfare. That commitment was made when you decided to have children. Divorce can certainly put a different spin on the feelings associated with support; try and separate those feelings from your sense of obligation and powerful desire to care for your child. Click here for another great article on co-parenting.

Excerpted from Your Divorce Advisor: A Lawyer and a Psychologist Guide You Through the Legal and Emotional Landscape of Divorce (Simon & Schuster/Fireside 2001). For more information: http://www.yourdivorceadvisor.com/.

For more information contact Peace Talks www.peace-talks.com

How do I Prepare for the Financial Part of the Trial?

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:00:54 +0000

Once all of your documents are in order, the financial issues which are still in dispute should be fairly obvious. You can work with your attorney to organize the documents according to the issues which they represent. If you are not represented by an attorney, you will organize the documents yourself.

For example, if you are claiming your spouse hid money in an account, likely documents which would support that claim would be the bank or stock account records which reflect the money, deposit slips showing deposits into those accounts, pay stubs which show automatic deductions to that account, and perhaps loan documents which show that account as an asset. Those different documents together prove the same point.

Each of the points which you intend to cover should be organized in terms of importance. The most important points should be covered early in the trial. The presentation will also need to make sense chronologically. If you jump around too much in time, the court is likely to get confused.

Make an outline, or assist your attorney in making an outline, of the points that you intend to make in the trial. You will not be permitted to read directly from your outline during the trial, but the act of outlining what you plan to cover increases the likelihood that you will cover all of the crucial points. You may refer to your notes or documents during your testimony with permission of the court, but keep in mind that opposing counsel may also look at any document you use to refresh your memory during the trial. Click here for some terrific information on the financial aspect of divorce.

Also make an outline of what you anticipate your spouse’s case against you will cover. Be prepared to answer questions about those issues. For example, if your spouse has repeatedly accused you of over spending, assume that this will be one of his or her arguments in the case, and be prepared to justify your expenditures. Click here for an article on some of the caveats of mismanaging money within a marriage.

For more information contact Peace Talks www.peace-talks.com

Discovery: Depositions & Subpoenas

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:46 +0000

Discovery is a legal method for you and your lawyer to obtain information about your case from your spouse or other sources. Discovery mechanisms generally fall into four categories: releases, interrogatories, depositions, and subpoenas.

Depositions

Depositions are sworn testimony taken under oath in an informal setting, such as the lawyer’s office, in the presence of a court stenographer. The stenographer records the testimony word for word and prints a transcript of it. This transcript can be used subsequently at trial in the event that the witness, presumably your spouse in this case, gives a different answer at the trial, or for some reason becomes unavailable to testify at the trial. Like interrogatories, you can basically ask any question that you want which pertains to the marriage. That leaves the field wide open.

Depositions are wonderful tools for preparing cases and for trial. Imagine being able to ask your spouse in advance what arguments he or she intends to use, witnesses he or she intends to call, and what he or she is going to say about you on the stand. Depositions settle more cases than almost any other vehicle available to you and your attorney.

The drawback to depositions is that they are expensive and time consuming. You must decide upon which questions to ask your spouse, and your lawyer will also make a list of questions to ask your spouse. You and your lawyer will need to discuss these questions in advance and make sure you have all the bases covered; your lawyer is then present at the deposition. This adds up to a great deal of legal time.

You also must pay for the court reporter, which is frequently quite expensive. Ask your lawyer in advance to approximate how much the court reporter’s fees will be for a deposition so that you may budget accordingly.

Subpoenas

A subpoena is a legal document which may be issued by the court or your lawyer requesting that certain witnesses or documents be made available on a certain date. Subpoenas generally must be served by a sheriff in advance of the court hearing, deposition or other proceeding at which the witness’ presence is being requested.

Your lawyer will need a certain amount of time prior to the date of your next hearing, deposition, or other proceeding to issue subpoenas and have them delivered to the necessary parties, so you will want to let your lawyer know in plenty of time what information you need and from whom.

The most common use for a subpoena is for wage and pension records. If you believe your spouse has lied (or even has made an innocent mistake) about his or her wages, get a copy of the wage documents from the employer. The second most common use for a subpoena is to obtain bank records. If an account is solely in your spouse’s name, and is not provided as part of a voluntary exchange of documents, you can obtain the missing statements with a subpoena. You can also use a subpoena to double check records received from your spouse which look suspicious; for example, a dishonest but clever spouse with a container of white-out can misrepresent balances or withdrawals. For articles, plans and checklists see http://www.peace-talks.com/divorceinformation.php. Some terrific books are listed at http://www.peace-talks.com/books.php.

For more information contact Peace Talks www.peace-talks.com

Accepting an Unfair Settlement

admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:27:44 +0000

It is especially painful when you know that the offer on the table is unfair, and that the other person knows you will not fight much further because he or she is more willing than you to sacrifice your own sanity and your children’s interests. This is one of the most fraught situations for all involved, because the client gets angry at his or her attorney and the system for the inherent unfairness. The system can protect you from the extremes of abuse, but it cannot always protect you from a selfish and manipulative spouse. Nor can a lawyer deflect such behavior. In these situations, realize that you chose to marry and/or have children with the person who could act this way. No one can fix that for you. Get out of the relationship and rebuild your life the best you can. If you seek justice in family court, you will be dismayed. The outcome is usually as fair as both people involved.

In order to negotiate a settlement favorable for you, inform your lawyer of all relevant and pending issues, no matter how small the issues seem. A common example of this is the question of who will be permitted to claim certain tax exemptions once the divorce is finalized. You may see this as a small issue, but if it remains unresolved and problems erupt with tax returns it could be the source of great stress and strife later on. It’s better to deal with even the small issues, so that the agreement you negotiate is a total resolution of all the outstanding issues. If your lawyer thinks that an issue is too small to bother with, for example fighting over the stainless steel flatware, your lawyer will tell you.

If you are unable to settle your case after the court’s mandatory settlement conference, the Court will set a trial date.

Take this time to make sure you have done your research. See http://www.peace-talks.com/divorceinformation.php. Also be sure to visit the Peace Talks resource center at http://www.peace-talks.com/resources.php.

For more information contact Peace Talks www.peace-talks.com