It is no secret that divorce can be extremely expensive for all parties involved. Attorneys often require hefty retainer fees and high hourly rates. If there are many disputes in your divorce that cause extended periods of litigation, attorney’s fees for both parties are likely to skyrocket, often well beyond what you can afford while still paying for your own … read more
Signs that Your Spouse May Be Hiding Assets
In some divorces, particularly where there are significant marital assets, spouses sometimes resort to hiding assets in order to avoid losing all or a portion of them during their divorces. Although it is certainly devious of a spouse to try and hid assets during divorce proceedings, it is much more common than you might expect. As a result, you should … read more
Professions with the Highest Divorce Rate
According to a new study of U.S. Census data, certain occupations have a greater risk of divorce by the age of 30 than others. The job with the highest risk of divorce is first-line enlisted military supervisors, with a divorce rate of 30%. The jobs with the next highest risk of divorce include logisticians, automotive service technicians, and mechanics, … read more
What Are Beneficiary Designations and How Do They Relate to My Divorce?
When you are completing paperwork in order to purchase a life insurance policy or contribute to a 401(k) plan, you must designate a primary and secondary beneficiary. Your primary beneficiary is the person whom you have chosen to receive the proceeds of your life insurance policy or 401(k) plan if you pass away. A secondary beneficiary is a person who … read more
Does My Ex Have to Help Pay for Child Care?
Many parents assume that their child support obligation should cover all of his or her responsibility for the child’s expenses. They think that the custodial parent should use the child support payments in order to pay for all other child-related expenses, including the costs of child care. However, this is simply not the case. California child support laws provide that … read more
Can I Keep Getting Spousal Support After I Remarry? What if I Just Live with My New Partner?
As a general rule, spousal support terminates when the party receiving the support remarries. Most divorce decrees with a spousal support order specifically provide for the termination of spousal support upon the remarriage or death of the party receiving the spousal support. However, parties in a divorce are free to agree that spousal support does NOT terminate upon the remarriage … read more
When You and Your Ex Don’t Agree on Religion
Decisions about religious upbringing and education can be very significant in the lives of some families. When a marriage deteriorates to the point of divorce, religion for the parties’ children can be a real point of contention, particularly if the parents come from different religious backgrounds. While parents may have been able to reach a compromise about their religious beliefs … read more
Ways to Deal with the Family Home in Your Divorce
There are a number of different ways that you can deal with the family home in the context of your divorce. The first decision is whether either you or your spouse wishes to remain living in the marital home and can afford to do so. In many cases, the marital home is the parties’ biggest community asset, but it also … read more
What is a Bifurcated Divorce?
The term “bifurcate” means to split or divide. When a divorce is bifurcated, the issues are split up or divided in some manner. In most cases, this means that the parties can get legally divorced even though they still are in disagreement about certain issues related to the divorce. In other words, you will no longer be legally married while … read more
How to Communicate with Your Ex About Your Child
When a couple goes through a contentious divorce, it is common for each parent to have feelings of mistrust and disdain for each other, perhaps even months after the divorce becomes final. When you and your ex don’t have children, you essentially can remove your ex from your life, because there is no reason to have further contact with him … read more