All posts tagged divorce

5 Reasons to Speak to a Lawyer If You are Considering a Divorce

5 Reasons to Speak to a Lawyer If You are Considering a Divorce

By Full Editorial on

Divorce proceedings are often highly contentious, and they are so costly because they can take such a long time to complete. If both parties hire an attorney, they reduce the likelihood that they will be in a situation where the divorce never ends. You may even have circumstances where you need to hire an attorney even more than other people, and these situations include the following:

1. Your Spouse Is Not Telling the Truth

When you are in a court of law, you must swear to tell the truth. After doing so, the judge declares that you are “under oath.” If your spouse lied in court documents or under oath, you must provide evidence of this, and your attorney can help you present this proof to the judge. Once you prove that your spouse lied, the judge may turn the matter over to law enforcement authorities. The crime would be “perjury,” and it could lead to a contempt of court charge and a fine or a jail sentence.

2. Your Spouse Hired His or Her Own Attorney

Sometimes, one spouse will state that they only need to hire one attorney. In this case, it would be your spouse’s attorney and not necessarily your attorney. You must hire your own attorney because your attorney will only work in your best interests. It may not be possible to share an attorney because many states have laws against attorneys representing people with conflicting interests. So, plan to hire your own attorney even though you and your spouse are in an amicable divorce.

3. The Two of You Share Children

It is important to hire an attorney if you and your spouse are in disagreement about custody, child support, or anything having to do with the children. If you disagree in court, the judge may make the decisions for you, but it would benefit you to have your attorney who will represent your interests. An attorney is necessary if you are fighting for custody, you are asking for child support, your child’s other parent has a lawyer, or the case is especially complicated.

4. The Financial Issues Are Complicated

If you and your spouse have considerable assets to divide, you must make sure that you have your own divorce attorney. The main reason this is true is that spouses can go to great lengths to hide assets, but if you have an experienced attorney on your side, you will have someone who knows how to find these assets.

Sometimes, one spouse offers gifts to friends or family members, but they have an agreement that states that the recipient will return these gifts after the divorce is over. An experienced attorney knows how to uncover this type of sneaky tactic, so hiring your own attorney can only benefit you in these situations.

5. Your Attorney Makes Sure That You Have the Appropriate Documentation

After one spouse files for divorce, the other spouse must file a response. Then, your attorneys must exchange documents. In the legal world, this process is known as “discovery.”

You may be required to offer bank statements, tax returns or life insurance policies among many other things. An attorney helps you put these documents together and ensures that you are not leaving anything out. If you were to do that, your spouse may accuse you of hiding assets.

Ways to Reconnect With Your Child After Divorce

Ways to Reconnect With Your Child After Divorce

By Jason Geradi on

By its very definition, a divorce will bring huge changes to your family dynamic. You and your spouse, obviously, won’t be as close, and in some cases, the relationship with your children will hit a stumbling block as well. 

There’s a chance that custody decisions won’t work out in your favor, says OK divorce attorneys Strange Law Firm. In such cases, it’s possible that you’ll become something of a secondary parent, and the connection you once had with your children may fade, particularly during and directly after your divorce.

Thankfully, though, there are some ways to stay in your childrens’ lives and rekindle your parental relationship down the line. Here are a few things to keep in mind about reconnecting with your children, even though you are no longer married to your ex.

Start By Making an Effort

In some cases where the connection between parent and child is lost, it’s because that parent didn’t make enough of a push to keep said connection alive. To avoid this, you should do everything that you can to stay active and engaged in your child’s life.

Ask about how they are doing in school, get to know their favorite shows and music, find out what activities they like to participate in for enjoyment, and learn about what else is going on in their everyday life that you can support them in — as a good parent should.

Beyond that, though, you should make an effort to learn about any emotional stress that your divorce may have wrought upon your child. It’s easy for an event like that to cause some trauma, so you’ll want to find out about any potential stress and do what you can to alleviate it by talking and explaining things.

Connect Through Hobbies

Sometimes, the simple things are the best things to bond over. Your child has hobbies, naturally, and you can use some of these hobbies as a chance to grow closer. 

Certainly, there are some hobbies that your child will want to indulge in alone, but through conversation you can suggest some “team” activities you can try, and schedule some time that the both of you can agree upon.

Remember to Exercise Kindness

Your divorce may have been a traumatizing experience for you as well, and there’s a good chance you might still have bitter feelings toward your ex. For the sake of your relationship with your child, though, it’s best not to act out negatively because of those feelings. Be forgiving, and stay cordial in your interactions with your ex for the good of your child.

The 5 Biggest Celebrity Divorces and Their Outcomes

The 5 Biggest Celebrity Divorces and Their Outcomes

By Jason Geradi on

It’s natural to want to follow the ups and downs of celebrity couples. When they’re on the upswing, it makes for some truly romantic tales, and when they’re on the downswing, the lows can make for some rather interesting drama. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the latter, and covering some legendary celebrity splits that would give pause to even the most seasoned divorce attorney.

Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise

Dawson’s Creek star Katie Holmes began dating Tom Cruise back in 2005, and eventually married the legendary actor in 2006. While they were together, from 2006 to 2012, they had one daughter, Suri, and when Holmes filed for divorce in June of that final year, things got quite tumultuous in the press.

In the fallout, Holmes received primary custody of her daughter, with Cruise only being granted visitation rights. One odd detail of the divorce, though — the agreement stipulated that Holmes not date anyone else publicly for 5 years following the split.

Jeff Bezos & Mackenzie Bezos

Do you think Mackenzie Bezos had to contact a lawyer about when to consider spousal support following her split with Jeff Bezos in 2019? We’re thinking not, as she walked away from the marriage of 25 years with $36 billion, give or take.

You see, Mr. Bezos was the world’s richest man at the time, and she was entitled to half since Washington, the state where they lived, is a community property state. Guess that makes Mackenzie one of the world’s richest women now, huh?

Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore

For a time, these two successful actors were quite the pair, and while the 15-year age gap may have seemed strange to some, the fact that their relationship lasted for six years led most to believe everything was fine and dandy between the two.

Alas, not all was as it seemed, as Kutcher reportedly cheated on Moore on the weekend of their sixth anniversary. The pair announced the split the following month, and it was finalized in 2013 with Kutcher having to pay up. He has since gone on to marry 70s Show co-star Mila Kunis.

Russell Brand & Katy Perry

Comedian Russell Brand and musician Katy Perry met in 2009, and wed in 2010. The relationship was short lived, however, with Brand filing for divorce in 2011, only two years after their engagement. Though he was entitled to half of the $44 million Perry had earned over their marriage, Brand did not accept the money, and the two went their separate ways.

Michael Jordan & Juanita Jordan

Perhaps the greatest professional basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan was married to wife Juanita for 17 years. Though it wasn’t the first time they had considered divorce (Juanita had filed once before in 2002), the 2006 split was finalized, with MJ paying Juanita $168 million.