Post-divorce: has there been a financial change in circumstances?

April 7, 2011

Your former spouse has a new job, or has remarried.  Perhaps you have lost your job.  Knowing that a financial change in circumstances can trigger a change in support, you think that the amount of child support or spousal support that you are paying (or receiving) should change.  But, how do you find out whether [...]

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Tips to Help Children Adjust to Divorce and Having Two Homes

April 4, 2011

Tips from a licensed psychotherapist on how to help children transition to having two homes: The younger the child, they more they need frequent contact with each parent. A teenager can go 4-5 days without seeing the other parent, while a two year old flourishes with more frequent, even daily visits. They can be short, [...]

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10 Tax Tips for Divorce

March 31, 2011

April 15, the income tax filing deadline will soon be upon us.   I found a great post talking about the interplay between tax law and divorce.  Here are tips that it presented: Spousal support paid in accordance with a properly drafted divorce agreement or court order is deductible to the person paying it and [...]

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The Evolving Definition of Family

March 28, 2011

USA Today reports on the shifting societal view of what constitutes a family: How “family” is defined is a crucial question on many levels. Beyond the debate over same-sex marriage, it affects income tax filings, adoption and foster care practices, employee benefits, inheritance rights and countless other matters. Between 2003 and 2010, three surveys conducted [...]

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What to Do if Your Spouse Files for Divorce

March 24, 2011

At this time of year, once the holidays are over and school-age children are back in their routines, many people decide to begin the process of divorce. As a counter-part to the recent post about how to start a divorce, this post will cover how to respond to papers if your spouse files for divorce. [...]

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Cohabitation: Does it Increase or Decrease the Chances for Divorce?

March 21, 2011

A recent article in the Huffington Post discusses cohabitation and its effect (if any) on the divorce rate: The most significant change in family living over the past 50 years has been the rise in the number of couples who are living together without being  married. In the 1970s, only about 10% of couples reported [...]

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Dispelling the Top 10 Myths About Divorce, Part II

March 17, 2011

Continuing from last week’s post, covering the top 5 myths surrounding divorce, here are the last 5: 6. After divorce everyone gets along better. If you do not share children, and all of the issues were handled in the divorce, you may not have any reason to contact your former spouse.  But, if you share [...]

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Non-payment of Child Support Could Result in Denial of a Passport

March 14, 2011

Most people don’t realize that if you owe more than $2,500 back child support a that you are NOT eligible for either a renewal or the issuance of a U.S. passport.  In fact, even if your arrearage balance is below $2,500, you may not be allowed to obtain a passport because you are still in [...]

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Dispelling the Top 10 Myths About Divorce, Part I

March 10, 2011

Divorce is full of myths and stories. There are myths  regarding statistics of divorce and how others see people who are divorced. Many of the myths and stories surrounding divorce are feelings that many divorced people  have about themselves. Dispelling the myths of divorce is not easy, but can make the process and its aftermath [...]

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How to Start a Divorce

March 7, 2011

Many clients contact me when they are thinking about filing for divorce, so I thought that  it would be helpful to have a brief review of what someone can do to prepare to file for divorce.  Here’s what can be done: 1. Start by determining what you what to end up with. What are your [...]

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