Many people going through a divorce want to try to avoid a courtroom battle. Even though you and your former partner do not want to be together, it does not mean you want to fight tooth and nail for every piece of silverware.
One alternative to court is mediation. A mediator is a neutral third party that meets with you and your former partner to encourage discussion and compromise. The mediator helps you talk through issues and ultimately reach an agreement concerning your divorce.
Most people have some memories from the first day of school. Excitement, nervousness and anxiety all tangle up in a big ball of emotions. A new school year brings about new friends, new teachers and a new schedule. It’s a lot to take in. Children are especially vulnerable during this time. They are hitting growth spurts, learning life lessons and dealing with unique challenges.
There has been a great deal of news coverage in recent months on one particular provision of the tax law changes passed by Congress and signed into law at the end of last year. It's the one on how spousal support payments and income will be taxed by the IRS starting next year.
The change
It’s unfortunate, but marriages that once seemed promising can find themselves in places where they can’t go on. Divorce is a difficult subject to grapple with. People associate it with pain, anger, failure and other bad feelings. Divorce never comes without a reason, though.
If you are concerned that things are becoming rocky in your relationship, consider a few of these common reasons people find themselves ending their marriages.
Since June of 2015, love has been the law of the land in all 50 states.
Now, more than 10.7 million LGBTQ adults in the U.S. are among the first generation truly able to decide whether or not they want to become same-sex parents. The resulting growth in the number of beautiful new families formed in loving households across the U.S. is truly inspirational.
Everyone knows that divorce and separation can have a serious financial and emotional toll on everyone involved. But what a lot of people entering into divorce don’t realize is that divorce can also have a tremendously negative health impact, as well.
It is important for people facing divorce to understand the risks and take steps to avoid the health consequences associated with divorce.
Everyone knows to do some basic security after a breakup. It is important to change locks and any shared bank account details, etc. That would be the basic approach any number of years ago, but in today’s technological world, these basic “analog” efforts won’t come close to protecting your privacy and security after a breakup.
Most people don’t have a full understanding of how many different technological security gaps exist in their day-to-day lives, gaps that could leave them vulnerable to a host of infringements from a vengeful ex.
Most people, if asked, would prefer to have more independence and autonomy with the way they spend their money. Being able to buy the things you want for yourself and manage your own finances would seem to be the best approach for finances in marriage, especially in marriages with both spouses working and earning an income.
The problem with this approach, however, is that it doesn’t usually work. In many cases, this very financial independence that spouses desire ends up being the root cause of many problems down the road. Often, this autonomy results in miscommunication and disagreements about money – the kind of disagreements that can lead to divorce.
A parenting plan is a part of almost every divorce. Most parenting plans will outline many of the key factors of how two separated parents will take care of their children, including schedules for which parent gets the child when, details about time and place for exchange, some holiday scheduling considerations and other factors involved in parenting.
One thing that can get lost in a parenting plan, though, is parenting style. Everyone has a slightly different approach to parenting, even within a marriage. Married parents will generally meet somewhere in the middle in terms of their various styles of parenting. In the context of parenting plans, with the heavy focus on scheduling and administrative details, there is often not much spent on how you will parent your child.
A divorce is plenty stressful all on its own. With the emotional turmoil of ending a relationship and the practical matters of custody, support, division of assets and other divorce-related concerns, you are facing a serious challenge as you begin the divorce process.
But divorce will impact many other areas of your life, as well. In addition to all the changes that could happen with your children and your immediate finances, there are numerous peripheral concerns to deal with, as well.
