Archive for 'Divorce'
Divorce is bad for your health
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
According to a new study from Duke and the University Of Chicago that looked at the long-term health consequences of people who are married, divorced, widowed, remarried, and single.
Researchers found that people who had a disruption of marriage, like divorce or death, were in worse health than those who remained married.
Here is a link to the story.
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Beat the Stress of Divorce
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
In our last post, we mentioned the recent study that found the negative health consequences of divorce. Here is an article that has some practical tips to help you reduce the stress of a divorce. It is found at www.divorcemagazine.com, which contains a wealth of articles for people going through divorce.
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Hidden Assets in Divorce
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
It is not unusual for spouses to attempt to hide or undervalue assets during the divorce process. Here is a list of areas to look for potentially hidden and undervalued assets. It is from Kansas family law blogger Grant Griffiths. If you think your spouse may be participating in this type of unethical conduct, be sure to bring it up with your lawyer so the two of you can work together to uncover such practices, if possible. Also, remember that the best time to gather relavent financial information and documents is before the divorce is filed. It is amazing how often such documents “disappear” after the divorce is filed.
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10 Steps to a Money Smart Divorce
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
Here is a link to an article at MSN Money entitled 10 Steps to a Money Smart Divorce. The article generally contains good advice. Several of these steps are things that I routinely advise my clients to do (particularly the one about getting a copy of your credit report).
One word of warning though – one of the suggested steps is to close joint accounts. This can often be a good idea, but many jurisdictions in Alabama enter a standard Pre-trial Order of Court in every divorce case which expressly prohibits either party from closing joint accounts. So, before you do so, make sure you consult with your lawyer and that you understand any outstanding court orders that may prevent you from taking the proposed action.
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Protection in the Event of Divorce
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
I came across two articles on the web regarding steps to take in order to protect yourself financially in the event of divorce. CNN Money has this article on how to Protect Your Wallet in a Divorce, while MSNBC explains how to Protect Your Business in a Divorce.
Thanks to fellow divorce law blogger, Stephen Knight for the tip.
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Divorce’s Lasting Effects
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
The Washington Times posts an interesting article here on the effects of divorce on children.
The brief article addresses two different views of divorce held by researchers on the effects of divorce on children. Elizabeth Marquardt takes the position that parents should fight harder to save their marriages because of the effects that it has on children. On the other hand, Vicki Lansky emphasizes that what is important is the way the parents’ divorce unfolds, not the fact that the divorce itself occurs. Both have authored books on divorce.
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Traps to avoid when things get ugly
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
MSNBC has posted an article on traps to avoid if things get ugly. It is called Covering Your Assets in a Divorce. It generally contains good advice, but here’s my favorite quote: If you want to be smart about divorce, do your homework and keep your emotions out of it. Splitting is rough enough without the anger.
More smart, less emotion. I know it is easy to say and hard to do, but it is the key to reducing the pain and expense of divorce.
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Financial Implications of Divorce
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
I came across this article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It is has some very good advice about the financial implications of divorce. I especially echo the advice regarding both spouses having a complete understanding of household finances. Not only is it helpful in the case of a divorce as this article points out, but it also seems to me to be a foundational communication issue in a good marriage. But, I continue to talk to clients who do not know their household financial picture because their spouse has kept them “out of the loop” regarding income, expenses, assets, and debts. That can be a costly mistake for a number of reasons. Don’t you make it.
I also found this nugget of statistical information that I had not heard before: Average length of a first marriage that ends in divorce: 8.2 years for men, 7.9 years for women, according to the Census Bureau. The eight year itch, I guess.
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Top 10 Mistakes Made in Divorce
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
The Indy Star has this article posted today. It focuses on the top 10 mistakes that men in divorce make and the top 10 mistakes that women in divorce make.
The article does contain some nuggets of wisdom so I offer it for your consideration. But, also consider these two caveats: (1) some of the advice is specific to Indiana law (for example the tip that says “fault” does not play a part in the property settlement – it does in Alabama), and (2) some of the tips are brushed with too broad a stroke – which is a nice way of saying I don’t agree with them. Specifically, one of the tips states that Guardians Ad Litem (lawyers appointed to represent the children in custody cases) typically side with the mother in custody actions. It is my experience that in Alabama, most GALs look at what is in the best interests of the child, and do not enter cases with an automatic bias based on sex.
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Divorce spikes in January
Posted on 24. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
The commonly held opinion among many divorce professionals is that the month of January sees an inordinate amount of people filing for divorce. This article at Market Watch gives some possible reasons why that is so and discusses the first steps divorcing couple should take.
The article is worth a read. Among my favorite of their tips: immediately get a credit repor where I described how to obtain a free copy online), pick your battles wisely, and try to shield the children from any ugliness that emerges.