Archive for 'Divorce'
How Does One Stop The Obligation To Pay Child Support In Alabama
Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
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A Parent who has been previously ordered to pay child support is obligated to pay until the child’s 19th birthday. Unless there is a specific date in the divorce decree or subsequent order which states that the support can be terminated on that day, a person is technically obligated to pay support until the Judge issues an order terminating the support requirement. A person can be ordered to pay support past the child’s nineteenth birthday if the child is going to college and the parent has the financial ability to pay or if the child is a “special needs” child and is mentally or physically unable to provide for themselves once they reach the age of 19. Any action intended to get one parent to pay college support MUST be filed prior to the day of that particular child’s nineteenth birthday. If not filed by then, the court forever loses jurisdiction to order college support.
If there are multiple children who are receiving support pursuant to your current order and one has turned 19, that is a sufficient basis to modify the payor’s support. The new order will be recalculated based on the parties’ gross monthly incomes and other A.R.J.A. 32 factors existing at that time but will not include support for the child that recently turned 19.
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Divorce Attorneys Finding GPS Useful
Posted on 27. May, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
The UPI ran this article entitled, Divorce Lawyers find GPS Useful. In it they describe how many divorce lawyers are increasingly using data from global positioning satellites to track vehicle movements and location in order to prove adultery. I have found this occurring more frequnelty in my Alabama divorce cases as well. The article correctly points out that one of the advantages of using a GPS instead of hiring a private investigator is the cost savings. You can hire a p.i. for several hours at a time over several different days and you may or may not time it correctly to gather evidence. On the other hand, the GPS data will be there all of the time and isn’t charging you by the hour.
The article also states that an advantage to the GPS is that an owner of the vehicle can conceal it on the car. My only word of caution about that is that the laws vary from state to state and are constantly changing. So, before you go put a GPS on your vehicle that your spouse doesn’t know about, you should run it by your divorce lawyer first.
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7 Steps to Survive Divorce
Posted on 20. May, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
I came across this excellent article entitled, 7 Steps to Help You Get Through Divorce. It doesn’t appear that the author is an attorney, but his advice is right on the money. If you are facing a divorce in Alabama (or anywhere, for that matter), the article is worth a read.
I appreciate the fact that his first step is to hire a divorce lawyer. In his words, “a lawyer will be your best friend for how ever long you divorce is active.” I would only add, that the right divorce lawyer will be your friend for how ever long your divorce case is active.
Some of his other steps were included in my own series on Alabama Divorce Preparation.
Finally, I like the fact that he concludes with the important reminder for parents to never use the child as leverage in a divorce. I see that too often, with devastating consequences.
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Collaborative Divorce: A Kinder, Gentler Approach?
Posted on 18. May, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
Working Together to Resolve Divorce
The Orlando Sentinel posted an article today on Collaborative Divorce. Collaborative divorce is an alternative way to resolve a divorce case without resorting to litigation. I was actually trained as a collaborative lawyer in 2001. However, it has been slow to pick up steam in Alabama. In fact, many divorce attorneys in Alabama that I have spoken to have expressed their reluctance to hanlde cases collaboratively. I think that will change. As it becomes more common and more people find out about it, there will be a market demand for it.
The only real down side to collaborative divorce can be the expense. But, it is far less costly than a traditional adversarial divorce.
I have been working on something called the No Nonsense Divorce that I think will provide another viable option for families in Alabama trying to cope with divorce. It is a way for divorcing couples to streamline the divorce process and to resolve their case for a fixed fee that is far less than would be incurred in litigation. I’ll be posting more about No Nonsense Divorce here as soon as we have all of the parts in place.
Until then, I encourage you to read the article linked above on Collaborative Divorce. It captures some of the same themes that I urge my clients to consider in the way we handle their divorce case.
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How to Stop Your Divorce
Posted on 15. May, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
I read a lot of articles on divorce. I am always tracking what is going on in my field and trying to pass on good information to the readers of my Alabama Family Law Blog. Recently, I have noticed a lot of articles with the headline: How to Stop Your Divorce! I’ve noticed that most of these lead to sites that are selling some product to people facing divorce. Perhaps, some of these products are worthwhile. But, I can’t help but think some of these are simply an attempt to play on the emotions of someone going through one of the worst times of their lives.
The fact is, under Alabama divorce laws, if one of the spouses insists on a divorce, they are going to get it. There is nothing you can do to stop. You can make it take longer, and you can make it cost more money (but why would you want to?), but you can’t stop it. I tell my divorce clients all of the time, “It takes two people to decide to get married, it only takes one to decide to get a divorce.”
Can you try to convince your spouse to reconcile? Of course. Can you try to convince a spouse considering a divorce to not file and give it another chance. Sure. I always encourage reconciliation. And, if you are struggling in your marriage, a good book to take a look at is, The Divorce Lawyer’s Guide to Staying Married. The author is a divorce lawyer and in it, she interviews other divorce lawyers around the country. Because we see so many marriages that end in divorce, divorce attorneys have a unique perspective on the issue.
But, as far as these websites that promise to stop your divorce case, I would just be careful. A few sessions with a qualified marriage counselor or pastor will have a much better chance of being effective than an e-book slapped together by someone trying to capitalize on your desire to avoid divorce.
photo credit: raulsantosdelacamara