Archive for 'Divorce'
Online game causes divorce!
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
World of Warcraft is a best-selling online role-playing game. It boasts over ten million subscribers; however it has apparently also left an increasing number of real life casualties in its wake, including a woman named Jocelyn.
Though she is not a player, the 28-year-old California native has divorced her husband of six years due to his development of what she describes as a “crippling addiction” to the game.
She claimed that shortly after he would come home from work at 6:00 p.m., he would begin playing until 3:00 a.m. She said that he was even worse on the weekends, when he would play from the morning until the middle of the night.
“I ceased to exist in his life,” she said.
Jocelyn and her ex-husband Peter had been friends since age 13. However, nine months was all it took for the marriage to fall apart.
She said she purchased the game as a Christmas present for him in 2004, when it first came out. They had their first serious discussion about the direction of the marriage in May of 2005. She moved out of the house by September 2005.
She also said her ex-husband failed to perform his domestic duties as well. She says that he was no longer paying his bills, nor doing his part of the housework.
She doesn’t hesitate to say that the game was the main reason the divorce took place and is still emotional about the impact it had on the marriage. She was upset that her husband would ruin his life and his marriage for “a fantasy land.”
This story was originally told at Yahoo Games and can be found at this link. Though it only includes one side of the story, if true, it is sad that a video game could cause the break up of a marriage. It reminds me of the title of a good book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. Or, in this case Amusing Ourselves to Divorce.
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Protect your credit in the event of divorce
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
If you are facing divorce this, you need to take care to protect your credit.
Most people don’t know that court decrees assigning payment responsibilities for joint loans are not honored by lenders. This incorrect assumption of being off the hook for financial obligations can result in payments being missed and your credit score being tarnished for years. However, you can limit your exposure to this type of risk this if your credit is safeguarded before filing for divorce.
If you and your spouse have joint accounts, you should do your best to change them to individual accounts so that splitting up your financial responsibilities will be easier. This may or may not require your spouse’s cooperation. It will depend on how the debt is titled and on the requirements of the creditor. However, these steps can save years of credit woes in the future.
You should begin this process with your credit card accounts. Payments on credit card debt are the most often missed, as opposed to home and vehicle loans. Those loans are the second thing you should work on.
However, refinancing your mortgage and car loans will be more difficult, as banks or mortgage companies will likely require additional transaction costs to refinance the loan. Selling the car or house and splitting the money could be an easier method, which would guarantee a vengeful ex-spouse wouldn’t damage your credit.
Opting out of receiving pre-screened offers for credit or insurance is also advisable, as a former spouse could be tempted to apply for a loan in your name in order to ruin your credit.
Of course, this information is not specific legal advice for your own situation. Rather, it is general information. Before taking any action, you should discuss these issues with your lawyer.
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Divorce in the Military
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
According to a report from the Pentagon, the rate of divorce among members of the armed forces held steady in 2007, at 3.3 percent. Considering that marriages can be under considerable stress due to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this can be somewhat surprising.
Some veterans have questioned if the figures are accurate, but defense officials have cited recent efforts to support couples enduring long separations and hardships due to the wars.
According to the Associated Press, the divorce rate represents over 25,000 failed marriages among approximately 755,000 active duty troops throughout all branches of the military who are married from a period between October 1, 2006 and October 1, 2007.
According to the Defense Department’s data, the Army, which is the branch with the largest number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, had a 3.2 percent rate of divorce, which is unchanged from the previous year. That percentage represents 8,748 divorcees among approximately 275,000 married troops.
Army couples had to deal with extended separations due to tours of duty lasting 15 months instead of 12 months. Longer deployments and multiple tours have taken the blame for stresses on military couples.
The biggest exception to the data is the divorce rate among female troops. Over the past several years, women in the military have had twice as many marriages fail as men. The data did not provide firm numbers, but it appears that in 2007, eight percent of women in the service have divorced and 2.6 percent of men have divorced.
There is no system that can compare this rate to the rate among civilians. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the general population’s divorce rate was 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2005, which was the most recent statistics available and the lowest rate since 1970.
According to Todd Bowers of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, there is a crushing effect on military marriages from the war, producing a rising number of breakups. However, he says, these are not being tracked because they are among people who are no longer in the service.
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Illegal Wiretapping in Hollywood Divorces
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
I recently came across a story in the International Herald Tribune story which described how an ex-wife of health company mogul, Mark Hughes, testified that she hired Anthony Pellicano, a private investigator, during the couple’s divorce case, but did not authorize him to use a wiretap on the Herbalife co-founder.
Suzan Hughes said that she was played a tape of a phone call Pellicano illegally intercepted between Hughes and Bill Gillespie, the husband of her sister. After hearing the tape, was convinced Gillespie was not on her side in the divorce battle.
Pellicano, 64, has been accused of running a criminal enterprise which has taken actions such as tapping phones and bribing police in order to gather dirt on celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and Gary Shandling in order to aid his clients in gaining an advantage in legal and other disputes.
Pellicano and four co-defendants pled not guilty to various charges.
According to the prosecution, between September 1997 and March 1998, Pellicano listened to the telephone calls of Hughes.
During her testimony Suzan Hughes also said that during her divorce proceedings in the late 1990s, she had hired Pellicano in order to investigate Hughes and Darcy LaPier, his mistress at the time. LaPier, ex-wife of actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, later married Hughes.
In May of 2000, Hughes passed away due to an overdose of alcohol and anti-depressant medication. Last year, his estate filed a civil suit against Suzan Hughes, Pellicano, and others in connection with the wiretapping. That case is still pending.
On Friday, actor Keith Carradine also testified. Sandra Will Carradine, his former wife hired Pellicano in order to investigate him during a bitter court proceeding. She pled guilty to two perjury counts and is expected to be called as a witness for the prosecution next week.
Those of you facing divorce should be careful about illegally recording phone calls between your spouse and another party. Talk to your divorce lawyer about when it is or is not legal to record phone calls.
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Women, Money & Divorce
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
I recently came across an article in the internet by Samantha Change, the Executive Editor of theimproper.com. The article discussed the financial hardship that women in particular have as a result of divorce. One of the things that Samantha emphasizes is the importance of women being involved with and informed about the financial affairs of the family. In representing women in Mobile and Baldwin County Alabama where I practice, I too have noticed that often the wives do not know a lot about the financial situation of the family. This is not always the case. But, I do see it quite a bit in my divorce practice.
The main thrust of Samantha’s article is for women to be involved and educated about the money and financial issues in the marriage. Some of the other points she makes are summarized below. Here is a link to the entire article.
According to recent statistics, U.S. divorce rates have decreased in recent years after a peak in the 1970s, but still remain fairly high. In addition to being an emotional breakup, divorce can bring about serious financial issues that can have long-term consequences on the economic stability of a woman.
According to recent studies, a woman’s standard of living decreases at least 30 percent after divorce, which means getting a grip on finances both during and after divorce is crucial for surviving intact.
Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand
All women-especially divorcées-need to overcome their aversion to money issues, educate themselves and set financial goals. Part of the reason why divorce hits women so hard financially is due to most of them being reliant on their husbands to take care of household financials while married and then becoming shell-shocked having to manage their own situation on their own.
Self-sufficiency is crucial, and these tips can help.
Study Your Finances
According to investment advisor Lisa Fox, women often have no idea what they have financially. She says that during an after a divorce, they should be aware of all investments and read each financial statement, investigating anything they are unsure of. Fox also suggests keeping track of finances by copying all important documents.
Knowing what you have puts you in a better position for negotiation during divorce.
Create a Budget
Draw up a post-divorce budget while in negotiations in order to provide yourself with a snapshot of the type of settlement you’ll need, keeping in mind that downsizing may be required for your lifestyle after divorce.
Money: Not Just a Man’s Issue
Because women tend to live longer, earn less money during their lifetimes, and not be prone to investing, they have different financial needs than men. This makes getting a handle on financial issues is important, and should be done so sooner than later.
Divorce is never easy, but through common sense and financial responsibility, making the transition can be made easier.
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Compulsive Shopping & Divorce
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
Compulsive shopping is a serious affliction that has an effect upon thousands and can lead to serious problems including divorce. Someone recently brought an article to my attention on this subject that can be found at a NBC affiliates’ website. The article states the following interesting facts:
“According to a study in 2006, approximately six percent of the population of the U.S. can be classified as “compulsive” shoppers.
According to research, compulsive shoppers average around $9,000 worth of credit card debt.
According to psychologist Dr. April Benson, who specializes in treatment of compulsive shoppers, many people who spend a great deal of time shopping and making compulsive purchases typically feel “really hollow inside.”
Benson says that compulsive buyers will generally attempt to fill the “hollowness” with material things, which can result in severe consequences.
According to studies, women are not the only ones who can become impulsive shoppers, men are just as likely to succumb to uncontrolled spending.”
I recently helped a client in a divorce in Mobile, Alabama where the husband has incurred an incredible about of debt going gambling at the casino boats. That situation is very similar to what they are describing in this article – compulsive, addictive behavior that escalates over time to the point that it interferes with one’s relationship with their spouse and eventually ends in divorce. In either case, it is a sad conclusion for a behavior that may have started out innocently enough.
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Dating after your divorce
Posted on 06. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
I came across this story today in which men and women who had gone through a divorce reveal some of the lessons they have learned about dating after divorce. I thought some of the readers of my Alabama Family Law blog might benefit from their insight.
Here is the women’s views on the subject.
And, here are the men’s views.