Hi there, August is drawing to a close, the new school year is just around the corner, and one of the busiest times of year for divorce lawyers is about to begin. After school opens, after the Christmas holiday, the month of March and after the school year ends, seem to be the most popular times for folks to contact divorce lawyers. … Continue Reading
Category Archives: Steps in the Divorce Process
Subscribe to Steps in the Divorce Process RSS FeedStep 11: It’s Not Quite Over When It’s Over
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, I love summer and one of the reasons is I can ask my colleagues for help. Tiffany Howard, who does both divorce AND estate planning has some good reminders for all of you who are in the post divorce stage. Enjoy, Nancy Since its inception, this blog has devoted many posts to the… Continue Reading
How To Begin The Divorce Process
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, The new year is a time for change and I think it may be that concept that results in so many folks deciding this is an appropriate time to end their marriages. This week I have chosen to pull together a group of posts from some of my favorite bloggers that are useful if you are contemplating… Continue Reading
Compilation: Thinking About Divorce? 10 Topics to Consider
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessTopic 1: The Kids: If you have kids who aren’t grown up, then this can be the most difficult area to navigate. Topic 2: Child Support: In any support situation, it seems the support is always too much for the person paying, and never enough for the person receiving it. With child support in Massachusetts,… Continue Reading
Topic 10: Important for Everyone
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, In most divorce agreements there are a number of standard provisions (often called “boilerplate”). The most important of these provisions are: 1. The ability of the parties to have separate wills – this covers the right of both parties to exclude the other from their estate plans 2. Waiver of future claims –… Continue Reading
Topic 9: Debts and Liabilities
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, In this unhappy recession, many folks who are getting divorced are dealing primarily with how to divide debts, but even if you are solvent you need to consider the various family liabilities out there. You should consider who will pay the mortgages: the mortgage on the house, any equity loan or credit line,… Continue Reading
Topic 8: Intangible Personal Property
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Intangible Personal Property can be very technical to divide. Pensions, IRAs and other retirement assets, deferred compensation, and stock options all need to be carefully handled. Tax issues are of course apparent – there is only one right way to divide each type of retirement asset and if you do it wrong the… Continue Reading
Topic 7: Property Division – Real Estate
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, The 7th topic to consider is part of the property division. This is controlled by Massachusetts General Laws chapter 208, section 34. Volumes have been written about this and frankly it is an area where cases that may go to trial as valuation issues, particularly with businesses, can be intractable. Below is an general… Continue Reading
Topic 6: Tax time and more
Posted in Divorce and Taxes, Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, April 15th is coming up fast. If you are divorcing, or if you are divorced, your taxes will be different and you will have a number of new items to consider. I just came across a good article by Carley Mealey at the Brisbane Consulting Group. Taxgirl, my favorite tax site, has had a number… Continue Reading
Topic 5: Health and Life Insurance
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there In today’s political climate the next item, health insurance, is somewhat challenging to consider. There should be provisions in all agreements, for both health insurance coverage and for how you will handle the uninsured medical expenses for both yourselves and your children. Generally this is first an economic and a health consideration; Who… Continue Reading
Topic 4: Alimony
Posted in Alimony, Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Fourth in our topics to discuss is alimony. In addition to everything else you need to think of, another important consideration when getting divorced is alimony. You first need to decide if your case is an alimony case. You can do that by answering these questions: Does one of you earn substantially more than… Continue Reading
Child Support: The Additional Expenses You Should Be Aware Of
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Third in our outline of topics to consider when getting divorced are additional, child related expenses. The child support monies are intended to cover food, shelter and clothing; but as anyone who has raised a child knows, that is only the beginning. Some of these expenses should be shared with the other parent…. Continue Reading
Child Support in Massachusetts: Take 2
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there; In any support situation, it seems the support is always too much for the person paying, and never enough for the person receiving it. With child support in Massachusetts, the payments are formulaic. The Child Support Guidelines were revised a year ago, and here is an update on the revisions. In most cases… Continue Reading
First and foremost, if you have them: The Kids
Posted in Child Custody, Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Here is the first topic in the series: Top 10 Topics to Consider When Getting Divorced. If you have kids who aren’t grown up, then this can be the most difficult area to navigate. You will want to consider all of the topics in A and B below, and you may need to… Continue Reading
Thinking About Divorce? 10 Topics to Consider
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, I hope you all had wonderful holidays! A few weeks ago, a client who was going through a mediated divorce asked about a list of topics to consider in crafting his agreement with his wife and their mediator. This seemed like a useful tool for anyone considering divorce, and as I thought more… Continue Reading
The Divorce Process In 10 Not So Easy Steps: A Compilation
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi There, Below is a compilation of the divorce process in 10 steps. I’ve done a comprehensive post on each step, but decided to put them all together in one place. Clicking on each title will bring you to the separate posts. Step #1: The Complaint for Divorce, An Aptly Named Document For most divorcing… Continue Reading
Step 10: Trial – Avoid it if you can
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi There, If you are one of the approximately 95% of couples whose divorce will settle by agreement, be grateful; for the remaining 5%, this post is the barest of bare-bones descriptions of the process. Trials are very artificial creatures and the preparation immediately leading up to them is easily as long and costly as… Continue Reading
Step 9: The Uncontested Divorce Hearing or “Is That All There Is?!”
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHello there, The uncontested divorce hearing is often a culture shock to the participants. While there is a great deal of ceremony around the actual act of marriage, divorce itself has all the charm of a trip to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Everyone needs to attend the hearing. When the case name is called… Continue Reading
Step 8: The pretrial conference; for many the last step
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Done well, by both counsel and the judge, the pretrial conference is a great opportunity to settle a divorce case. That is if you have not already settled it at the four way meeting, in which case you probably will get divorced on the day of the pretrial conference. If you haven’t settled,… Continue Reading
Step 7: The Four Way Meeting
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, This sounds vaguely improper but it is the term used to describe the Court mandated meeting between the parties and their lawyers that must take place prior to the pretrial conference. This requirement is set forth in each Judges’ pretrial order. It is important that before this occurs substantially all of the discovery… Continue Reading
Step 6: What is a GAL?
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Lawyers like to use arcane language, or at least language that only we use. GAL is shorthand for a guardian ad litem, which is Latin for a guardian for the litigation, which is an arcane term for a person appointed by the judge in a divorce case generally to perform certain investigatory services… Continue Reading
Step 5: Depositions – Dos and Don’ts
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Absent a trial (and at least 95% of all divorce cases settle without one) a deposition is often the only time the parties to a divorce testify under oath. It is one of the most effective tools the lawyers have, both to find out what has really gone on and to discover what kind of… Continue Reading
Step 4: Discovery; which is just that
Posted in Steps in the Divorce ProcessHi there, Discovery is the point in the process where the attorneys, using various legal tools, are able to quantify just what is going on financially, as well as with other concerns, such as custody or parenting issues. The first financial discovery tools are the Rule 410 production and the financial statement, both of which… Continue Reading
Step 3: Temporary Orders; the Road Map for the Future
Posted in Alimony, Mediation, Steps in the Divorce ProcessAfter the defendant has been served or has entered an appearance, one or both parties usually file a motion asking the court for temporary orders. These deal with important issues such as: • Who has to move out • Who has physical custody of the kids (where they live) • Who has legal custody of… Continue Reading