Posted on August 19, 2019 in Divorce

When a marriage ends, there are often significant concerns regarding what the financial future will look like. The terms of the final order will affect a Virginia reader for years to come, and a person’s income structure will play a significant role in this. How and how much a person is paid will impact how he or she fares in the divorce. 

If a person makes a normally structured salary, such as receiving paychecks every two weeks, this will not be complicated to address during a divorce. However, there are pay structures that can be quite complex, such as those that may offer bonuses, commission pay and more. The lesser-earning spouse may be entitled to spousal support, and the amount of this support depends on the pay of the other spouse.

There are certain types and forms of compensation that could impact negotiations in a divorce. This includes paychecks, but also things like prepaid bonuses, bonuses with a clawback terms, commissions, compensation from new employment and more. Another factor is the perks that may come with the job of one spouse. For example, a company car used by the whole family may factor into divorce negotiations, as well as other things that affect the lifestyle of the other spouse. 

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 Posted on August 06, 2019 in Divorce

The choice to end a marriage is not always an easy one to make. For some Virginia couples, divorce only becomes inevitable after months of separation, discussion and consideration. There are many common issues that can lead to this decision, and understanding why it happens can help a person move forward with his or her divorce.

Most people get married for love, and a lack of love is one of the most common reasons for divorce. Feelings can change over time, and things can happen that can alter spouses’ feelings for one another. Even if spouses are friends, a loss of romantic feelings is detrimental to a marriage, as is a loss of trust, mutual respect and sympathy. These are all things that serve as the foundation for many marriages.

Another very common reason for many divorces is the lack of communication. When spouses stop talking about important things and sharing things with each other, for any reason, it can eventually lead to growing apart. Over time, two spouses may feel like they are simply occupying the same space but not really functioning as a healthy married couple. This may lead to a desire to separate and move in different directions.

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 Posted on July 22, 2019 in Wills

Planning for the future is not an easy process, especially for a Virginia couple that just got married. It’s difficult to know what kinds of legal protections are necessary and important for two people who may be young with lower incomes and little savings. Drafting wills, trusts and other estate planning steps can be a smart course of action for a couple of any age and financial status.

One smart step for a couple starting out with the estate planning process is to simply take inventory of their assets and their debts. This can help someone understand where he or she is and what protections can be helpful for their current status. In addition to inventorying property and assets, it is also smart to go ahead and identify beneficiaries. This is prudent even for couples who do not have kids yet.

After taking these two steps, it can then be helpful to draft a will. Having a will is a smart way to ensure that a person has the ability to decide what will happen to his or her assets after his or her death. This allows a person to outline distribution of assets, name beneficiaries and make choices that will benefit loved ones left behind.

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 Posted on July 11, 2019 in Child Custody

Divorce is hard and divorce is sad; both of these are magnified when children are involved. In Virginia and across the country, child custody is often a difficult issue to resolve as both parents typically want what is best for their child, but may have different ideas of what that may entail. There are different types of child custody and different factors to be considered in determining the best interests of the child.

The different types of custody include joint custody, legal custody, physical custody and sole custody. Joint custody typically involves a child spending part of his or her time with each parent. This can be the best option if the parents live in relatively close proximity to each other to allow the child to attend the same school and activities and maintain friendships. Legal custody gives a parent the right to make decisions on behalf of the child regarding such things as medical care, schooling and activities. Sole custody grants legal and physical custody to one parent but the other may have visitation rights.

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 Posted on June 27, 2019 in Divorce

Filing for divorce can quickly cause a lot of stress and complicated emotions in your life. Even though you may have planned on ending your marriage for some time, taking the steps necessary to begin the process can be harder than people anticipate.

Underestimating the emotional difficulty of divorce can leave people vulnerable to overlooking critical considerations. Severing your legal ties to your former spouse can take a lot of time and planning. The longer you were married, the more intertwined your finances, careers and social lives have become.

With so many issues on the table, it is quite easy for someone to overlook important details. One of the easiest to overlook is the need to revisit your estate plan or last will. The terms that you set within the document likely reflect your marital situation at the time. Single or divorced people have different planning needs than married people.

Divorce means you likely need to remove your ex from most documents

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 Posted on June 25, 2019 in Child Custody

A child typically does best in a family where two parents are involved and available. This does not have to apply to only married parents in Virginia. Divorce is hard but it is possible for two people to successfully parent their children when they are no longer married. A recent study points out four areas involving child custody matters that are considered vital to maintaining the child’s health and sense of well-being.

Perhaps the most important finding was that a father’s time is more valuable than the money he may be able to contribute. Working 80 hours a week to provide financial support does not enable a father to bond with his child. It has been shown that fathers of premature babies who visit them in the hospital experience similar physiological changes to what mothers experience. Changes in the male brain are evident in the increase of oxytocin and a decrease in testosterone.

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 Posted on June 11, 2019 in Divorce

When a couples chooses to end their marriage, it affects more than just those two individuals. The choices they make will have an impact on the youngest members of the family, and sometimes, these effects are not always positive. Studies have shown that children who lived through their parents’ divorce are more more likely to eventually go through a divorce themselves. 

Virginia parents cannot control the choices their children make when they become adults. However, they can be cognizant of the ways their decisions have impacted the mental and emotional well-being of their children. During a divorce, they may strive to provide as much stability and security as possible for the kids. Through practical and fair custody and visitation plans, parents are able to help their kids adjust to post-divorce life.

Experts believe that one reason why kids of divorce are more likely to get divorced later is because they tend to repeat the same behaviors they saw from their parents. This includes fighting, lack of conflict resolution skills and more. When parents demonstrate mutual cooperation and respect, even when divorcing, it can help their kids lay the foundation for a more stable future for themselves.

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 Posted on May 27, 2019 in Trusts

A single parent is solely responsible for the physical, emotional and financial well-being of a child. This is an immense responsibility, and it’s easy to see how some Virginia parents may get caught up in day-to-day life and overlook plans for the future. Estate planning is critical for single parents, and they may benefit from using trusts as a way to accomplish their goals.

A trust is a way to set aside and protect assets for a specific use in the future. In the event that the parent passes away, a trust will accept funds from his or her estate, IRA accounts, insurance settlements, retirement accounts and more. This money would be protected and used solely for the benefit of the child. A parent can also name a trustee, which is a trusted individual named to oversee how the funds in the trust are used. 

It is also possible that a trust can help a parent accomplish other types of estate planning goals. He or she can name a guardian for the child, outline who can care for the child, who can have visitation with the child and even which family members can take the child on vacation. For single parents, a trust can allow him or her to ensure the security and safety of the children for years to come. 

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 Posted on May 14, 2019 in Divorce

When people initiate the process of ending their marriage, one of the main concerns they have is about their financial futures. It’s normal to have serious misgivings about what the future will look like on one income, and it may take some adjustments to various areas of a Virginia reader’s life. Smart money management during the divorce process will lead to a smoother transition to post-divorce financial circumstances.

One helpful money management tip is to plan a budget. By knowing what’s coming in and going out, a person can better monitor spending. Divorce can be an expensive and financially uncertain time, and it’s smart to be cautious with spending. A person may also want to start making adjustments in lifestyle now. Even in high-income divorces, each party may have to get used to new financial circumstances, and having a spending plan now can pay off in the future. 

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 Posted on May 01, 2019 in Divorce

Not every divorce is acrimonious. Marriages end for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes, you and your spouse just grow apart over time. You may find that you have less in common with each other and that you both want the opportunity to find a more fulfilling relationship.

Regardless of why you want to end your marriage, you’re probably worried about the difficulty involved in the process of divorcing. Almost everyone has heard a horror story from a friend or family member that went through an expensive divorce that resulted financial havoc.

You may want to avoid that outcome at any cost. For some couples, filing an uncontested divorce could be a way to keep the expensive divorce more reasonable. However, saving money shouldn’t be the only motivator in how you approach divorce, or you could wind up making mistakes that cost you for years to come.

Do you think you can set terms with your ex for the divorce?

The biggest and most important consideration about whether an uncontested divorce is possible relates to your ability to communicate and compromise with your ex. Whether you sit down and set terms together or work with a mediator, you will need to agree to file for uncontested divorce.

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