The idea that a husband should financially support his ex-wife in the form of monthly alimony payments after a divorce has remained a tenet in divorce law throughout the United States and in California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009, men accounted for 97% of alimony. Alternatively, the idea that a dissolution order wherein both parties waive any right to past, present, or future alimony is FINAL has been perceived as an absolute in divorce law. Yet, both of these concepts are being challenged as the recession has given rise to greater numbers of unemployment and has depleted retirement and saving accounts. According to statistics gathered by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, there has been a “spike” in clients seeking modification of their alimony obligations and attempts to rewrite divorce agreements.
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The road toward getting your California divorce judgment probably felt long and rough at times. You worked hard to protect your family and financial interests during the divorce, and now you need to do the same after the divorce. While not quite “deadly sins,” it’s still essential that you avoid these post-divorce mistakes before any damage is done. You may want to ask yourself, are you guilty of any of the following? Continue Reading
Divorces in San Diego and throughout California can’t become final until at least six months after a spouse is served with divorce papers. Usually, a divorce will take longer than this minimum waiting period. Many steps need to be taken during the transition to protect your family, business, and finances.
For divorcing spouses who have kids, a Divorcesupport.com blog provides advice on how to best meet your children’s emotional needs during a divorce. It cautions that you shouldn’t be the only one providing your kids with emotional support. When family and friends aren’t enough, then look for counseling options. You’re also encouraged to get emotional support for yourself, such as through a local support group, family, and friends. Continue Reading
Here in San Diego, there’s no shortage of ways for a divorcing spouse to spend away all of the couple’s assets during a divorce, if he or she really wanted to. Thankfully for the other spouse or domestic partner, one important way that California deals with this concern is with “automatic temporary restraining orders.”
An automatic temporary restraining order (ATRO) sets out many ground rules that both spouses have to comply with during the divorce process, known as “dissolution of marriage” in California. For the spouse who begins the divorce, the ATROs are effective when the divorce papers are filed in court. For the spouse responding to the divorce, the order goes into effect once the divorce papers are served. Continue Reading
Adultery, insanity, collusion, cruelty, abandonment: In California, most of these circumstances relate more to the plot of a soap opera than to a divorce. While any one of these could have actually motivated the divorce, a California judgment of dissolution (divorce) will be based only on either irreconcilable differences or (less likely) incurable insanity. That’s because since 1970, California was the first state to implement the no-fault divorce. Since then, many other states have followed suit, while others allow both fault and no fault divorces. With a no fault divorce, the court can terminate the marriage without proving fault. Compare this to a fault based divorce, where the termination will be granted only if you give and prove grounds for divorce within those reasons allowed by state law, or defend against these claims if you’re responding to a spouse’s petition for the divorce. In a fault based divorce, the conduct of the spouse who’s found to be “at fault” may even be considered when deciding issues such as property division. As of now, New York is the last state in the nation that doesn’t have a no fault ground for divorce. Continue Reading
Whether it’s true or not that divorce rates rise when the economy falls, it’s no surprise that San Diego divorces are affected by the recession in one way or another. A Time article points out that for some persons who are seeking divorce, it makes financial sense to divide assets now while businesses and stocks are valued lower. Meanwhile, others find themselves living together after separation because they can’t afford to maintain separate households. Continue Reading
If you’re getting married, then you should think about how California’s community property rules will affect you, and whether there’s a better way for you to promote your financial goals. You may have heard that after seven years together, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart confirmed they’re getting married, and I can’t help but wonder-will there be a prenup? Thinking back to another famous Hollywood marriage, the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes prenuptial agreement reportedly provides Holmes from between $3 to $33 million per year, according to MSNBC. Continue Reading
If your California divorce decree says that you or your former spouse will give up the right to the other’s pension, is it ever possible for that spouse to be paid the benefits anyway? San Diego divorcées and soon to be ex-spouses alike should pay attention, because earlier this year the United States Supreme Court ruled on this question in Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings & Investment Plan. Continue Reading
