Posts Tagged ‘Working with Your Lawyer’

Property: Equitable Division of States

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Forty-one of the fifty states are Equitable Division states (i.e., every state except Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin). That means that the court has the ability to order that any property belonging to either you or your spouse may be subject to division by the court. The division is based on what the court determines to be fair, hence the name “equitable division.” All  property acquired during the marriage is subject to division, as well as property which was acquired prior to the marriage by either of you individually, gifts from one family, inheritances, personal injury lawsuit settlements, bonuses, pensions, stock options and other assets which you have value to you.

 

Typically, most courts will focus on dividing the assets which accumulated during the marriage rather than those which accumulated prior to it. Pre-marital assets may be subject to division, however, depending upon the individual circumstances of your case.

 

For example, if you and your spouse have $150,000 in assets which accumulated during the marriage, both of you are in good health and have decent jobs, and your children are healthy and don’t require any special care, then the court will focus first on dividing those assets. Assets which each of you accumulated prior to the marriage will be considered, but if dividing the marital assets will provide each of you with a reasonable settlement, then several thousand dollars of pre-marital savings or property is probably “safe” from the court’s orders.

 

If, on the other hand, one of you has $100,000 in premarital savings, and together the two of you accumulated no assets, but $20,000 in credit card debt, it is likely that a court will order a portion of that $100,000 to go to the other spouse, and to pay the credit card debts. For information about finances and divorce, see http://www.peace-talks.com/finformation.php. You may also find it helpful to work with a divorce financial analyst, see https://www.institutedfa.com/ReferralSearchPage.aspx.

  

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 

(C) 2008  Peace Talks Mediation Services, Inc.

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What is Annulment?

Monday, May 4th, 2009

There are two types of annulments: religious and legal. A religious annulment is handled through your religious institution, and is usually unrelated to the legal process by which your marriage is dissolved. Therefore, it’s possible to be legally divorced, yet eligible for a religious annulment. Check with your religious institution about the requirements to have your marriage annulled.

 

Eligibility for a legal annulment is very rare. Each state has its own criteria. Being married only for a short period of time is usually not sufficient to qualify. If you think you qualify for an annulment, you will need to find out the exact circumstances under which your state permits this procedure. Examples of circumstances which may warrant an annulment:  you or your spouse were not legally divorced from a prior spouse (irrespective of whether you were aware of this problem) and you remarry; your spouse fraudulently induced you to marry promising children, and you find out that he or she is incapable of having children; or, you are married to a close blood relative. Simply finding out that your spouse is gay or a drug addict does not qualify for an annulment in most states. Thus, annulments are available only for specific, rare circumstances. For some basics about annulment law, see http://www.expertlaw.com/library/family_law/annulment.html.

 

If an annulment is granted, your marriage is considered legally to never have happened. It’s as if the court travels back in time and prevents the marriage from happening. Although the court may make orders concerning alimony, child support, and asset division similar to a regular divorce case, with an annulment you may represent yourself as “never married” because you haven’t been legally married. If annulment is not an option for you and you are headed toward divorce, feel free to visit our resource center at  http://www.peace-talks.com/divorceinformation.php.

 

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 

(C) 2008  Peace Talks Mediation Services, Inc.

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What is Legal Separation

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Some states still provide for legal separation, which is a legal decree that falls someplace between getting divorced and staying married. The court will make orders about alimony, support, and asset division, but you are not divorced at the end of the process. You are therefore not free to remarry. This is a potential solution for those people who cannot stay married, but for religious, healthcare, or other reasons do not consider divorce an option. It’s often enables spouses to stay on each other’s health insurance. Under certain circumstances, you may also be able to inherit from one another’s estates, should one of you die while you are legally separated.

 

Typically, legal separation orders may be converted to a divorce at the request of either spouse, or revoked at the joint request of both spouses. They can be used to formalize a separation period while you make up your minds about whether to get divorced.

 

Many people ask if a legal separation is necessary before a divorce can be finalized. In most states, the answer is “no”, but a notable exception is New York, which requires that parties live apart for at least a year before a divorce can be granted. Most other states have a waiting period requirement (3 months to a year), but not a physical separation requirement.

 

You may separate without filing in court for a legal separation, and you do not need the blessing of the court to do so. You may wish to establish temporary orders for child support, alimony, and use of assets during a separation if you and your spouse are unable to negotiate these things yourselves. To do so, you must file papers in the court requesting these orders. This is typically done in either a divorce or legal separation, but court help is also available in informal separation situations. If you are conflicted about whether to stay in your marriage and want some terrific advice, see author and family therapist Mira Kirshenbaum’s blog at http://www.chestnuthillinstitute.com/index.php.

 

A physical separation is not the same as a “legal separation”. A legal separation is a specific court order which is made after filing papers with the court. A physical separation may be done informally, by one spouse simply moving out. In a legal separation, the court has the right to oversee your case, to make and enforce orders about how the separation will work. For a host of information on every aspect of separation and divorce, be sure to see our resource page at http://www.peace-talks.com/divorceinformation.php.

 

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 

(C) 2008  Peace Talks Mediation Services, Inc.

 

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