Divorce I Do Never Mind

    




    
A divorce, or a decree of ?dissolution of marriage? is a court terminating an existing marriage. This is in contrast to an annulment, which states that a marriage never existed.
The main issues to settle are the division of property, child custody and visitation, and child or spousal support. You want to make sure and thoroughly research these areas so you protect yourself through the process.
The first thing I would recommend is using a divorce attorney. They have filed numerous divorces and have been through the process several times, so they will know tricks and strategies to use. You don?t want to defend yourself because although it will be cheaper, you may miss some things that could end up costing you more in the long run.
That being said, it is still important to do your research, because you don?t want to be completely at the mercy of your attorney either. You may be able to come up with additional ideas that he/she couldn?t come up with because of your research. You also want to question your attorney through the process ensuring that you get what you are due in the divorce.
There are many reasons to get a divorce, and different states have different laws pertaining to what constitutes a divorce. Some states allow you to just do it while others are stricter on the ?grounds? for the divorce. They claim you have to have proper ?grounds? for divorce. Again, check with your local state laws to find the applicable law for your state. If your state won?t allow the divorce stating that the ?grounds? aren?t serious enough, one idea is to change residency to a more liberal state and file for divorce there. A divorce decree in one state is honored in all states.
A divorce can be either a fault divorce or a no-fault divorce. A no-fault divorce is a divorce in which both sides agree on irreconcilable differences and no 1 person gets the blame for the divorce not working. A fault divorce cites one of the parties as the one responsible for the failure of the marriage.
A divorce can take anywhere from a month to years, depending on the complexity of the issues at hand. Battles over child custody can take several years to decide. Other factors that determine length are whether the divorce is a fault/no-fault divorce, the efficiency of the court, size of estate to be split up, how agreeable you and your soon to be ex spouse are, the extent of agreements you had before the marriage, and child custody/support issues.
Divorce is no joke, in some cases it?s the hardest thing one will go through in life. Having a smooth divorce process can make things easier on yourself, ex-spouse, children, other family, and also help you get on the right track to find your next spouse, assuming you haven?t decided you will never get married again.

About The Author

J Zuniga is a senior editor of http://www.newjerseylawyersdirectory.com an informative site about law and lawyers. For more specific information on divorce law, go to http://www.newjerseylawyersdirectory.com/divorce.html.

    

    

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Divorce Health Insurance

    




    



Recently, I had a question from someone who was going through a divorce and was concerned about lost health insurance coverage because she was covered under her husband's insurance. She was concerned not just for herself, but for her children as well. This question comes up a lot. See is this answer helps you better understand what to do. If you have additional questions on this topic, feel free to add to the blog, and I'll answer them.
Medical Insurance and Divorce
To answer your questions specifically, here are some ideas to consider.
1) You and your children are automatically covered under your husband's insurance as a dependent until you divorce.
2) When your divorce is final, you have the opportunity to continue your husband's insurance by triggering what is called "COBRA". (Note: there is another blog entry that defined COBRA.) This will continue your coverage for an additional 18 months; unfortunately, you will have to pay the full cost of the coverage (and the company can have you pay 102 - 105% of the coverage cost).
Your children, by law, will becovered under the parent's coverage whose birth date occurs first in the calender year.
3) One suggestion is that when you hire an Attorney to assist with your divorce, you might want to ask, in the settlement negotiations, to have the price of the COBRA payments included in your settlement. This would be particularly important if you happen to have the early-in-the year birthdate, and will be paying for the children's health insurance coverage. This cost should not have to come out of your child support, as it can be VERY EXPENSIVE.
4) Whatever you decided to do, keep all documents together. Whenever you talk to anyone, document to whom you talk, get the name and tele #, and what was said by all in the conversation as soon as possible after the conversation. In this way, you document what is said, and do not have to rely on memory. Also, when you send anything to anyone, keep a copy for yourself, and send it by registered mail, so that you have proof of receipt.

About The Author

Carolyn Magura
Disabilitykey.com (http://www.disabilitykey.com) is a website designed to assist each person in his/her own unique quest to navigate through the difficult and often conflicting and misleading information about coping with disabilities.
Carolyn Magura, noted disability / ADA expert, has written an e-Book documenting the process that allowed her to:
a) continue to work and receive her ?full salary? while on Long Term Disability; and
b) become the first person in her State to qualify for Social Security Disability the FIRST TIME, in UNDER 30 DAYS.
Click here (http://www.disabilitykey.com/products.htm) to receive Carolyn 's easy-to-read, easy-to-follow direct guide through this difficult, trying process. If you are disabled, don't let this disabiling process disable you. Read Carolyns Disability Key Blog (http://www.disabilitykey.com/disabilitykeyblog.shtml).


    

    

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Divorce and Hidden Assets

    




    

Not surprisingly, assets are often hidden in a divorce situation. Why - well simply greed, or the feelings of betrayal or anger at the need to divide assets in the divorce, or the fear of not having enough after the divorce all motivate the behavior of hiding assets.
In divorce, the parties assets are divided. Under the divorce laws of some states they are divided equally and under the divorce laws of other states, they are divided "equitably" or fairly. Equitably often means equally to overworked divorce judges.
There is no way to know in advance if your spouse has or will hide assets in a divorce. You know your spouse better than your divorce attorney will and you will need to alert your attorney to the possibility of your psouse hiding assets. Before you get to that point, however, there are some easy steps to take to prevent your spouse from being able to hide assets. Those steps include finding out everything you can about your assets before divorce.
Before you alert your spouse that you are considering divorce, you need to complile and/or stockpile documentation about all of your assets. If you do not have knowledge of your marital assets, it is time to find out what is there. If bank and other statements come to the house, open them and write down account numbers and balances.
If you have access to the cancelled checks, copy those as well. It is not unusual for a spouse who is planning a divorce to transfer money to friends or relatives with the plan being that they will give that money back after a divorce is finalized. So, you should review those records and carefully scrutinize all large or suspicious transfers that take place in the two or three years prior to or just after the filing of a divorce action.
Make sure that you know where the copies of your income tax statements are. If your spouse has a business, make sure you have a copy of several years of tax returns for that business. All of these documents can be copied and hidden safely somewhere outsided of the house in the event that you need them. Taking these simple pre-emptive steps can mean the difference in obtaining a fair settlement in divorce. It will also be incredibly helpful to your divorce attorney to have this information in advance .
If banking and other statements and financial records are not kept at or mailed to your house, you will need to obtain those records in other ways. You can contact the IRS to obtain copies of any tax returns that you signed. Request copies of those returns and have them mailed to a different address - either a friend or relative or your divorce atttorney. If there are returns that you have not signed, such as business tax records, you will not be able to obtain copies of those returns from the IRS. If you have access to your spouse's place of business, you may be able to find those tax returns there. If you are worried about your spouse hiding assets in a divorce, you really do need to find those returns and make copies of them - for as many years as possible.
If you have valuables, antiques, jewelry, art or other collectibles in your home, catalog all of them and if you have appraisals, make copies. It is not unusual for those items to disappear or even to be pawned by a spouse in need of more funds.
If you suspect that your spouse has engaged in some divorce planning and is hiding assets, let your divorce attorney know. Ask your divorce attorney to subpoena records from any other idividual or entity who could be involved in assisting your spouse in hiding those assets. If need be, your attorney can use the services of an investigator to help to obtain financial records that have been withheld.

About The Author

Jean Mahserjian is an attorney and the author of numerous websites and books devoted to helping consumers through the process of divorce. To download free excerpts from her divorce and custody books, visit: http://www.millenniumdivorce.com.
jmm@millenniumdivorce.com

    

    

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Divorce and Alimony Formula

    




    


In divorce, a common question is, "what is the alimony formula". Well, there really is no set alimony formula for divorce. This is in complete contrast to child support, which is decided based upon a specific formula in each state. Alimony is based on factors and those factors are decided through divorce negotiation or by a divorce judge. But, there is no alimony formula available to your divorce attorney or you to determine in advance what alimon y will be paid in your case.
What does a divorce court look at to determine alimony? Those issues do vary by state. But, there are also many alimony factors that are common from state to state. So, although there is no specific alimony formula for you to rely on, there are alimony factors that you can look at to help you determine what the alimony might be in your case.
In divorce, some of the alimony factors that a judge might look at include the following. First is the length of your marriage. If the parties have been married for one year, the court's attitude towards a request for alimony will be very different than if the parties have been married for twenty years. Because the length of marriage varies so much in all divorces, it is not possible to plug this factor into an alimony forumla to determine the alimony amount.
Another factor affecting the award of alimony is employment status. Obviously, if the spouse seeking alimony has been unemployed or underemployed for a number of years to care for young children, the home, or the spouse, that is a factor that will militate in that spouse's favor if he or she is seeking alimony. On the other hand, if that spouse has the ability to obtain employment that will more than adequately meet his or her needs, the court might think a little differently about awarding alimony to that party. Other factors that are considered closely with this factor include level of education, job experience, the age of children in the household, and work history.
A major factor that can affect an award of alimony is the amount of property to be retained or divided by the parties. If the spouse seeking alimony has been a stay at home parent, but will have signifcant assets after divorce or has separate assets, like a trust fund, the court's attitude towards the award of alimony will be affected. The court will certainly view a request for alimony under these circumstances much different than a request made by an individual who is receiving no assets in the divo rce or who does not have any separate property.
The health of the party seeking alimony is a major factor that can impact a court's decision in awarding alimony. If the spouse seeking alimony has a debilitating physical condition that impacts whether or how much they can work, the court will not want to impoverish that party after divorce and the court will be more likely to use alimony to address at least basic living needs.
One other factor that should be considered by the divorce court and by the parties, is the taxability of the alimony payments. In most instances, if there is no specific provision to the contrary, spousal support payments are taxable to the recipient and tax deductible to the payor. The tax benefit obtained by spreading out economic wealth in this fashion can be significant and should be discussed in depth with your divorce attorney.
One issue that is not always considered by the court, but should be discussed with your divorce attorney, is that alimony payments are, in general, not dischargeable in bankruptcy. If there is any possibility that the party who is to pay alimony will be filing for bankruptcy, the divorce attorneys will negotiate very hard on both sides to maximize the final benefit to their client in divorce.
It should thus be apparent that in divorce, there can be no easy alimony forumla, no matter what state you live in. It is impossible to plug these and other factors into a mathematical equation to arrive at a "correct" alimony formula. It is necessary that the divorce court, or the divorce attorneys review how these varied and different factors affect both parties in the divorce and then arrive at a solution that encompasses all of the divorce issues, including property settlement and alimony. They c annot simply set up an alimony formula that would work for all parties.

About The Author

Jean Mahserjian is an attorney and the author of numerous websites and books devoted to helping consumers through the process of divorce. To download free excerpts from her divorce and alimony books, visit: http://www.millenniumdivorce.com.
jmm@millenniumdivorce.com
    

    

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Dissolution by Affidavit Personal Appearance Not Required

    




    


DISSOLUTION BY AFFIDAVIT

Personal Appearance for Hearing Not Required in Missouri
The elimination of the requirement of personal appearance for hearing in Missouri dissolution of marriage actions arose out of, what may be termed in its broadest sense, a prisoner?s civil rights action.
In State ex rel. Kittrell v. Carr, 878 S.W.2d 859 (Mo. App. 1994), the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, addressed the issue of whether a personal appearance for hearing is necessary to obtain a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. The appellant in that case was an inmate in custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections whose petition for Dissolution of Marriage was dismissed for his failure to appear for a hearing after his wife?s default.
The inmate?s spouse had been served, but failed to file any responsive pleading, and was in default. There were no children and the petitioner had waived his rights to any property that could be considered marital property. The inmate moved for a default judgment which was denied. The case was set for hearing and dismissed by the court when the petitioner failed to appear, the court having previously denied the inmate?s petition for writ of habeus corpus to testify.
The inmate filed thereafter filed a petitioner for a writ of mandamus with the court of appeals to require the circuit court to enter a judgment of dissolution in his case. His petition alleged that the circuit court had denied him meaningful access to the courts by dismissing his petition. After a brief discussion regarding prisoners? rights to meaningful access to the courts and the judicial system, the concluded that a personal appearance at a default hearing is unnecessary. The court reasoned that, by failing to file any response or defend the action after being duly served, wife had admitted the traversable allegations of the petition.
The court held that procedures for obtaining a default judgment in civil actions under Rules 74.04 (Summary Judgment) and 74.05 (Default Judgment) of the Missouri Supreme Court Rules are equally available for use in actions for dissolution of marriage. Although Rule 74.05 would not, standing alone, permit default judgments in cases involving division of property due to the necessity of proving value, and would never be appropriate to determine child custody or support, the court held that there would be no impediment to judgment where neither property, nor child custody or support are at issue.
Despite the protest of the lower court, the appellate court stated ?Although a personal appearance and live witnesses may at one time have been a prerequisite to issuance of a dissolution decree, we find no such absolute requirement in the dissolution statutes as they are presently constituted.? Id. at 863.
Accordingly, although requirements may vary, between counties and individual judges. Dissolution of Marriage is available in many cases without either party ever appearing in court.

About The Author

Lloyd M. Nolan
Attorney at Law
225 S. Meramec, Suite 512
Clayton, MO 63105
Born: August 2, 1958, Alton, Illinois
Education: B.S. Govt. 1981 - Southern Illinois University
J.D. 1984 Southern Illinois University, School of Law
Memberships: Missouri Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Christian Attorneys of St. Louis
lloydnolan@lloydnolan.com

    

    

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