As more and more women have careers outside of the household, more women are finding themselves with child support and alimony obligations. According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 56 percent of lawyers surveyed in the U.S. said they have seen a rise in the number of mothers paying child support. About 47 percent said more women are paying spousal support.
]]> The shift shows that family law courts are reflecting societal changes. Women in the U.S. have made great leaps in the workplace in the past several decades. In fact, just about as many women as men receive medical degrees, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. Additionally, within the last 30 years the number of women receiving law degrees has almost doubled.Throughout these changes, the U.S. divorce rate has remained relatively consistent, with about one in two marriages ending in divorce for the past several decades.
As more households have a woman as the primary income earner, the woman is often responsible for child and spousal support if the household breaks apart.
Women, like men, often are not excited about these financial obligations. Courts consider several factors when ordering spousal or child support, and it is important to work with legal counsel in order to ensure that a divorce settlement meets your needs and those of your children to the best extent possible.
Source: Reuters, "Divorce courts mirror society as more women pay alimony," Patricia Reaney, May 10, 2012
]]>One issue for parents with special needs children is financial support. While child support is an issue for any divorcing couples, parents with special needs children may have to consider how to support an adult child for an undetermined period of time. Deciding who should pay for tutoring, private education, medical care and therapy, testing and assessments, assisted living or supplemental income are all considerations, whether the child is ADD or suffering from a severe physical disability. Some states have enacted legislation that permits court orders for continued support, however there is no uniform law governing child support in this area.
]]> Custody and care arrangements can also be more complicated. The schedule should adapt to the best needs of the child, but it also requires additional flexibility between parents. For children with disabilities, a joint custody situation may be too difficult, especially if they are dependent on a routine. Parents with children of disabilities will often have to tailor a custody arrangement as the child develops over time.Making a family transition after a divorce will help if parties can collaborate. In many cases, seeking out a neutral third party could help you and your spouse resolve issues and come to an agreement regarding the care of a special needs child. In the end, parents will have to be more communicative, working together to protect a child and achieve an optimal arrangement into adulthood. While a third party coordinator can help to reduce conflict, ultimately parents do have to work together to keep the best interests of the child a priority.
Source: The Huffington Post, "Listen to Our Children in Need: Special Needs Children and Divorce," Sherri Donovan, May 4, 2012.
]]>Under the couple's divorce decree, the children lived with their father but had regular visitation with their mother. In addition, the father was allowed to take the children overseas as long as he had their mother's permission. However, the Palestinian man fooled his ex-wife into signing their passport applications to relocate in Gaza permanently. Originally he said he was bringing the children just for his sister's wedding and they were supposed to return to the U.S. last March.
The father insists his ex-wife knew he was taking the children there to live forever, but she has provided evidence that he booked return flights to the U.S. The mother is extremely concerned for her children's safety in that country's current political climate. The children speak to their mother regularly on the phone and are enrolled in an American school.
]]> When fighting international child custody battles, it's essential that U.S. authorities and attorneys have the cooperation of international treaties. In Washington State, if you plan to relocate with your child you must provide a legal notice to the other parent at least 30 days in advance. If you do not, you may face court sanctions and contempt. Contempt leads to jail and fines.If you are given notice that your former spouse intends to move from the state with your children, you must file a formal, written legal objection within 30 days explaining how relocating the child will negatively affect them. A letter to your former spouse or a judge will not meet the relocation objection requirements.
Source: seattlepi.com, "US claims father illegally moved kids to Gaza," Roxana Hegeman, May 2, 2012
]]>However, there are a number of things that people can do in order to secure their financial stability during and after divorce. It is important to discuss these matters with your family law attorney as he or she can provide specific advice about your situation. Nonetheless there are a few tips that apply to everyone.
]]> One of the first things someone should do is research his or her financial options as well as local attorneys. Divorce is a difficult time both financially and emotionally. The financial health of a divorcee is largely influenced by whether he or she understands his or her options. Options may include some type of borrowing until the divorce settlement is finalized. It is important to research whether a personal loan from a bank, borrowing from a friend or using a divorce lender is the best financial option for you.Another way to save is to hire a suitable family law attorney. Divorce attorneys have various specializations and skill sets and you will see the best results in the case if you hire an attorney who is suited to your needs. Additionally, you can avoid the costs of switching attorneys midway through the process. A qualified attorney will also help you minimize legal fees by encouraging you to skip insignificant and unproductive legal arguments which can sometimes crop up due to negative feelings.
It is very important that a divorcee makes sure he or she will be able to afford rent or mortgage payments as well as not resort to living off of credit cards during the divorce process. These things of course can have very negative consequences. If you cannot afford basic expenses during the proceedings, you may be able to receive interim spousal or child support among other options.
Source: Huffington Post, "Top 5 Ways to Ensure Financial Security During Your Divorce," Brendan Lyle, April 23, 2012
]]>Of course, the noncustodial parent then struggles to continue to be involved in his or her child's life. To combat this common problem, many states are passing what are known as virtual visitation laws.
]]> These laws allow for virtual visitation rights to be included as part of a parenting plan. Parenting plans are usually designed during the divorce process, but they can also be updated later. Virtual visitation schedules can include anything from e-mail to texting to Facebook interactions. It may also include video chatting programs.As the current job market can certainly force unwilling parents to relocate to another state, virtual visitation options may help some children to maintain bonds with parents who are not physically present in their lives. However, virtual visitation of course cannot substitute for in-person contact, but it does provide an avenue for children to interact with their noncustodial parents regularly.
Virtual visitation is something that parents may want to keep in mind when developing their parenting plans. It may even be a good option for a parent who has limited physical visitation with his or her children and wants to stay in touch as much as possible between visits.
Source: The Washington Times, "Virtual visitation: a sensible child custody option," Myra Fleisher, April 15, 2012
]]>As a wedding expo is somewhere a person can meet with bakers, photographers and florists, a divorce expo is a place to sit in on seminars about coping with infidelity and panels about parenting after divorce. The New York expo also allowed attendees to meet financial planners, attorneys and dating coaches.
]]> "Start Over Smart: A Modern Divorce Expo" was not about promoting divorce, according to organizers, but rather about finding information and building community. The organizers, a mother and daughter pair, recently observed a similar event in Paris and thought it would be a good thing to bring back to the states.The two said in a news report that they hoped their expo helped lessen the social stigma that is sometimes placed on divorce and rather showed that while going through divorce is a very difficult time, there are a number of resources to help people through it.
According to a news article, both advocates and critics have emerged discussing the divorce expo's role. Critics say the expo simply promotes divorce to couples who may be able to reconcile. Advocates counter that it is an informative event and a way to network with people who are going through a similar situation.
Source: Wall Street Journal, "Divorce Enters Expo Age," Sumathi Reddy, March 28, 2012
]]>In Washington state, child custody cases hinge on the best interests of the child. Currently, Washington state courts are allowed to consider military deployments against a parent when reviewing the child's best interests. Many people do not think this is a fair burden to place on U.S. service members, and a bill has now been introduced in the House of Representatives to do away with this practice.
]]> The bill applies specifically to deployments for which military orders ban family members from going with the military member, such as combat missions. The deployment must also be between 60 days and 18 months in duration.Additionally, the bill would return a custody arrangement to the pre-deployment status after the military parent returns. This means that while the parent was deployed, the child would obviously be in the care of another adult temporarily until the military parent returned.
Bills similar to this have passed in the House several times, but the Senate has never approved such a measure. It remains to be seen whether lawmakers will see this bill as expanding the scope of custody rights for service men and women, or as infringing upon the traditional methods of deciding custody cases.
Source: The Washington Post, "Proposal would protect custody rights during deployments," Timothy R. Smith, March 19, 2012
]]>It is generally best to discuss divorce and taxes with your family law attorney or accountant, as these can be highly personal matters. However, there are a few issues that most divorced parents encounter at tax time. One of the main issues is which parent will be allowed to claim the child or children as a dependent(s).
]]> There are several tax benefits linked to claiming a child as a dependent. For 2011, they include about a $3,700 dependency exemption deduction; a $1,000 child tax credit for each eligible child; higher education tax credits; student loan interest deductions and tuition deductions.In general, the custodial parent--the parent who had custody of the child for the larger part of the year--is the only one who may claim the child or children as dependent(s). However, sometimes the custodial parent gives the noncustodial parent this right as a part of the divorce settlement. This is only allowed under tax law in certain cases and the proper legal documentation must be signed by the custodial parent.
Even if the noncustodial parent is allowed to claim the dependent children, he or she is not allowed to claim several breaks that a custodial parent may. These often are: head of household status, earned income tax credit and tax-free childcare assistance.
Both parents may claim itemized deductions for the child's medical expenses, as well as tax-free employer-provided health care benefits and tax-free health savings account money that has been distributed for the child.
Source: SmartMoney, "Child-Related Tax Breaks After Divorce," Bill Bischoff, March 28, 2012
]]>The issue is rooted in a decision by the treasury to pay all benefits electronically beginning in 2013. Currently, states are only allowed to garnish 65 percent of paper federal benefit checks, but states also have the power to freeze the accounts of people who owe child support while collecting federal benefits. The combination of these two things will allow states to collect 100 percent of federal benefits from parents who owe back child support.
]]> For many elderly and disabled Americans, these federal benefits are their sole source of income. Critics of these changes estimate that the collection of child support debt via the seizure of Social Security, disability and veteran's benefits could leave 275,000 men destitute.While many states do have collection efforts aimed at honing in on "deadbeat parents," the Department of Health and Human Services has maintained that states should not take away the only income of poor people.
Another problem is that much of the child support debt is decades old, involving children that are now grown up. Because of this, money seized will go to the states rather than the children. The states are allowed to collect child support money as repayment for welfare that may have been distributed to these children.
The Department of Health and Human Services is attempting to develop guidelines for states in order to make sure that automatic child support collections do not impoverish Americans when this goes into effect next spring.
Source: Associated Press, "Poor who owe child support could lose federal benefits," Feb. 26, 2012
]]>Under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act, the military pension may be treated as marital property by the state courts. This means that generally speaking, a former spouse may be entitled to one-half of the amount of the pension that accrued during the marriage.
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For example, if an officer with 20 years of service has a pension worth $400,000, but he was only married for 10 of those years that he was in the service, his ex-wife could be entitled to half of what was accrued in those 10 years--$100,000. If the two had been married for the duration of the 20 years of service, she could be entitled to half of his pension--or $200,000.
Nonetheless, it will not necessarily be divided this way in the marital settlement. And, it can be difficult for ex-spouses to collect military pension benefits after they have been awarded by the court. This is because of both federal and state laws govern military pensions somewhat.
If the marriage took place for 10 years or more during the military service, the government will send the pension benefit directly to the ex-spouse. However, it the marriage did not overlap with the service time for at least 10 years, the government will not do this. So, if the military ex-spouse does not voluntarily send the pension, the ex-spouse may have to go to court in the state where the military spouse resides.
Because of this risk, some former spouses of military members choose to give up the pension benefit and negotiate for something of equal value-such as alimony.
The division of assets is quite complex in military divorces, especially if the two parties reside in different states. It is best to work with an attorney who is familiar with military divorce because of the various laws that apply in these cases.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Divorce: Splitting Up a Rich Military Pension," Ellen Schultz, March 9, 2012 ]]>While tax liability depends greatly on a variety of personal financial facts, there are several general issues that everyone who is newly divorced or in the midst of divorce will encounter.
]]> • Filing status: Your federal income tax filing status for 2011 is determined by your marital status on Dec. 31, 2011. If you were divorce on this date you must file as head of household or single. If you were married, you may choose to file singly or jointly. If you were legally separated, there are many issues that determine whether the IRS will consider you married or single. It will be important to consult with your family law attorney.• Joint return warning: If you are going to sign a joint return, which many tax professionals do not recommend, it is important to have your attorney and tax advisor review them first as well as help you obtain an indemnification agreement.
• Who claims the children: The custodial parent has the right to the exemption for any children. This can be traded using IRS form 8332. Childcare credits can be taken only by the custodial parent.
• Child support: Child support payments are tax neutral. They do not count as income and they are not deductible.
• Alimony: Alimony is deductible for the payer and it counts as income for the recipient. However, the IRS has several guidelines for what is and is not recognized as alimony for tax purposes.
• Transferred assets: The beneficiary does not owe taxes for assets transferred to them in a divorce settlement. If the property is sold later, there will be capital gains tax considerations.
• Divorce tax: Some fees and expenses related to a divorce are deductible.
Federal and Washington state tax laws are very complex. It is important to work with your family law counsel and/or accountant to ensure such issues are handled properly.
Source: Forbes, "Tax Tips for Women Going Through Divorce," Jeff Landers, March 7, 2012
]]>In fact, under Washington state law, pets are considered property in a divorce and nothing more. As such, their fate should technically be divided during the property division negotiations or court proceedings. But, many divorcing couples are not content to just allow Sally to keep the dining room set while Dick keeps Spot. Instead, many people prefer to deal with pets the same way that children are dealt with--arranging things like custody, visitation and parenting plans.
]]> Because pets are viewed as property under the law, judges have no special guidelines in determining pet ownership. Nonetheless, when children are involved, a judge will typically attempt to keep the pets with the child. Those who would like to work out pet custody agreements are usually better served doing this on their own with the assistance of their attorneys.A pet custody agreement can include custody and visitation specifications, as well as guidelines for veterinary care, grooming, end-of-life care and details about who will be responsible to pay for all of this.
While some might think they would not need to go to such lengths, pet custody cases have increased notably across the country in recent years. In many cases, domestic partners or married couples did not have children and almost view the pets as their children, necessitating a shared-custody arrangement upon the split.
While some people may be able to work out such arrangements amicably on their own, it is still an important issue to bring up with your family law attorney. You may be able to decide on pet custody without legal documentation, but formalizing things can be beneficial in contested dissolutions.
Source: Huffington Post, "Pet Custody Cases Increasing, Divorce Lawyers Say," Sue Manning, Feb. 28, 2012
]]>In fact, the phenomenon is known as the "Oscar Love Curse," and it has been evidenced in recent years by the post-Oscar break-ups of Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Hilary Swank and Gwynth Paltrow. Winners of the Best Actor award do not seem to fall prey to the 'curse.'
]]> Research has indicated that it is not only Hollywood women who are prone to finding themselves in the midst of divorce proceedings shortly after a great personal success.Many believe that a woman's success, whether winning an Academy Award or earning more money than her husband, can have a negative effect on her marriage due to the reversal of traditional gender roles. Some couples do not cope well with the woman being the breadwinner, and this can lead to unhappiness, resentment and infidelity. In fact, research shows that men who make less money than their spouses or girlfriends are more likely to be unfaithful.
However, there are many couples in Washington state to whom traditional gender roles are not important.
Nonetheless, the statistics may prompt successful or high-asset Seattle women to think about creating prenuptial agreements before marriage, or even postnuptial agreements for those who are already married. Such documentation, providing it is well-drafted and will hold up in court, can protect your financial interests in a divorce.
Source: Forbes, "Why Do Successful Women Fall Victim to the Oscar Love Curse," Jeff Landers, Feb. 1, 2012
]]>After becoming engaged, there is a cause for celebration as well as a cause to get down to work. In the midst of crafting wedding to-do lists, many agree that it is also important to talk about the less romantic, but important, topic of finances. Financial disagreements are a very common reason for marital problems, and it is important to review personal priorities before walking down the aisle. For some, this means discussing whether to merge bank accounts after the big day, and for others, it means discussing the possibility of prenuptial agreements.
]]> Prenuptial agreements have become more popular in recent years. Seventy-three percent of divorce attorneys reported an increase in prenuptial agreements being signed from 2005 to 2010, according to a poll by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Additionally, more women are pushing for prenuptial agreements than ever before, according to the poll.Many Washington state residents share the misconception that prenuptial agreements are only for the very rich, and only when one partner has many more assets than the other. However, this is not the case. The following people are among those who may want to consider a prenuptial agreement.
You may need a prenuptial agreement if:
• You are marrying later in life, after you have built wealth as an individual.
• You are not marrying later in life, but one or both parties has a fairly developed career and assets.
• It not your first wedding, or your partner's first wedding.
• There are children involved from a previous relationship.
• One partner may receive a large inheritance or a stake in a family business.
• There is a wide age gap.
• One partner is bringing significantly more assets into the marriage.
Prenuptial agreements most often cover details of how real estate, estate plans, alimony and bank accounts should be divided in the case of divorce. Prenuptial agreements have to meet a certain legal threshold in order to be upheld in Washington state court, and it is thus important that any prenuptial agreement you draft and sign is done so with the guidance of a competent family law attorney.
Source: Reuters, "When Valentines and prenups go together," Kathleen Kingsbury, Feb. 15, 2012
]]>Often, a blog entry, or something posted onto a Facebook status, or even photos can be scrutinized during family law cases. Sometimes the other party may attempt to use these things as evidence in alimony, child support or custody battles.
]]> A survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers taken in 2010 revealed that 81 percent of the nation's divorce attorneys have culled evidence from social networking sites for use during divorce proceedings. The sources of this evidence included Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and other social media websites.Judges typically determine admissibility of social media evidence on a case-by-case basis, but in general, be warned that most of what you post onto a social media website may be public information. This is why it is wise to be careful about who you allow to be your friends on the sites, and what information you share. Remember to be aware that a social media site is a public forum, in a way, and you may be wise to choose to represent yourself on these sites in only your best light.
There have also been some cases where someone creates a false Facebook account to glean information about the other party, or to make the other party look bad to a judge.
A case took place in California in November after a father started a Facebook account under an alias in order to gather evidence against his ex-wife. The woman sent him explicit videos through the account, which their 8-year-old daughter had filmed. The man thought that this evidence would work in his favor at a custody proceeding, but contrarily, child welfare services were appalled that the man deceived the woman and that he continued this action even when he knew his daughter was involved, and the children were removed from both parents.
While this case is very unusual, it is best to discuss how to handle social media with your family law attorney, as issues vary in each case.
Source: Forbes, "How Not To Use Facebook To Get Custody Of Your Kids," Kashmir Hill, Nov. 18, 2011
Source: MainStreet.com, "Why Divorce Lawyers Love Facebook," July 5, 2010
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