Divorce

  • What Happens If My Spouse Is Not Being Honest in Mediation?

    Hours Categories Divorce

    What Is Your Spouse Being Dishonest About? You and your spouse may have very different versions of what happened during your marriage. During Mediation, your spouse may say something about an argument or another event that you believe is not true. Before spending time and money trying to prove what happened, consider whether the disagreement will actually affect your settlement.

    If it will not affect decisions about property, finances, support, parenting, or another issue that needs to be resolved, proving who is right may not accomplish anything. Mediation is intended to help you resolve the issues necessary to reach an agreement.

    It is not a process for requiring your spouse to admit wrongdoing or apologize for something that happened during the marriage. Financial Dishonesty Is…

  • Can a Parenting Plan Address Cell Phones, Social Media, and Screen Time?

    Hours Categories Divorce

    Technology Has Become a Parenting Issue Cell phones, tablets, social media, gaming, and YouTube are part of everyday life for many children. After divorce, different household rules about when your child gets a phone, which apps are permitted, or how much screen time is acceptable, could become a source of disagreement.

    A parenting plan addresses many decisions concerning your children, but technology creates a unique issue. The more detailed the rules become, the harder they may be for a court to manage and enforce. Will a Judge Set Screen Time Rules? If you have a contested case, a judge is unlikely to create detailed instructions about how many hours your child spends online, or which social media platforms are acceptable. A court might address a…

  • Can We Settle Some Divorce Issues and Let the Judge Decide the Rest?

    Hours Categories Collaborative Divorce, Divorce

    You Do Not Have to Settle Everything at Once Divorce does not have to be an all or nothing process. If you and your spouse agree about certain issues, you can resolve those matters and ask the judge to decide only what is still disputed. You might settle nearly everything and have one issue left for a hearing.

    Depending on the issue, that hearing could take only a short amount of time instead of requiring one or more days in court. What Issues Might You Settle Separately? There are many ways to reach a partial settlement. You might agree on your parenting plan but disagree about child support.

    In another case, spouses might resolve parenting and support while leaving property division or maintenance for the…

  • What Financial Documents Do I Need to Gather Before I File for Divorce?

    Hours Categories Divorce

    Start Gathering Your Financial Records Before you file for divorce, you may wonder how many financial documents you need to collect. The answer is quite a few, but you do not need to panic if you cannot find everything. Start with one to three months of statements for every account you have.

    That includes checking, savings, investment, brokerage, retirement, and debt accounts. Gather Income and Tax Records You should also collect your current pay stubs, W-2s, 1099s, and complete copies of your tax returns. If you have access to these records now but think that access may change after you tell your spouse about the divorce, make copies or scan the documents and save them somewhere secure. You should also gather mortgage statements and statements…

  • Should Siblings Ever Have Different Parenting Schedules?

    Hours Categories Co-Parenting, Divorce

    Your Children May Have Different Needs When you create a parenting schedule after divorce, you may assume your children should all follow the exact same schedule. In some families, that works well, but your children may have different needs that make separate schedules a better choice.

    Consider a family with a 1-year-old and a 16-year-old. Their daily routines, activities, school schedules, and developmental needs are completely different. A schedule that works well for your teenager may not make sense for your toddler. Age and Activities Matter Your children’s ages will affect how you structure parenting time.

    An older child may have sports, school activities, jobs, or social commitments that make a traditional schedule difficult. Your child’s activities could also mean that a different schedule works…

  • Why Are There More Gray Divorces?

    Hours Categories Divorce

    Why More Older Couples Are Choosing to Divorce Gray divorce or an over 50 divorce is increasing because people are living longer than previous generations. A couple in their 60s or 70s may have decades ahead of them, which leads many to think carefully about how to spend those years and many are choosing to divorce.

    Divorce is much more socially accepted than it was several decades ago, so that deciding to leave an unhappy marriage is now viewed as a realistic option. Retirement Brings New Priorities Into Focus Retirement is a major life transition that can reveal differences that were easy to overlook while raising children or building careers. When daily routines change, you and your spouse may discover that you have very different…

  • I Just Want It Over! Why Rushing a Divorce is a Big Mistake

    Hours Categories Collaborative Divorce, Divorce

    Moving quickly through a divorce may seem appealing, but making major decisions without fully understanding the long-term consequences could cost you financially, affect the time you spend with your children, and create problems that do not become apparent until years later.

    Why People Want to Finish a Divorce Quickly When you are ready to move on with your life, it is natural to want the divorce process behind you. You may be emotionally exhausted, eager to end the conflict, and ready to focus on a new chapter in your life.

    While those feelings are understandable, making decisions based solely on speeding up the divorce process can lead to outcomes you will later regret. Your divorce agreement will affect your finances, property, parenting arrangements, and future,…

  • New Missouri Law Allows Divorce During Pregnancy

    Hours Categories Divorce

    A New Option Under Missouri Law For many years, Missouri courts waited until after a child was born before allowing the finalization of a divorce. Although you could begin the divorce process and negotiate property division and other issues during the pregnancy, the final judgment typically was not entered until after the child was born.

    The Missouri legislature has recently changed the law to allow a divorce to be finalized before the child is born. While that may sound like a quicker solution, it does not eliminate many child-related legal issues, including the presumption of paternity.

    Child Related Issues Still Have to Be Resolved Whether your divorce is finalized before or after the birth, important decisions involving the child still must be made. Depending on…

  • What About Health Insurance in a Missouri Divorce?  

    Hours Categories Divorce

    Health Insurance During a Pending Divorce Missouri law prohibits a spouse from canceling the other spouse’s health insurance coverage while a divorce case is pending. Many Missouri counties also have local rules that provide additional protection, particularly if you have children who rely on that coverage.

    If you remove your spouse or children from a health insurance plan without proper authorization, you could face serious consequences from the court. However, you and your spouse can agree to make insurance changes during the divorce, if both of you consent and the change complies with applicable rules.

    What Happens After the Divorce Is Final Once your divorce is finalized, your former spouse no longer qualifies for coverage under your employer sponsored health insurance plan. At that point,…

  • Why You Don’t Win in a Divorce That Goes to Court

    Hours Categories Divorce

    If your divorce ends in a courtroom battle, there is a very good chance that neither you nor your spouse will walk away satisfied. Choosing an out of court divorce process such as Mediation or Collaborative Divorce helps you focus on your long-term well-being, your children, and your future instead of continuing the conflict.

    Why There Are No Winners in Divorce Litigation Many people think that in a divorce one person will win and the other will lose. It is not that simple because divorce involves dozens of decisions about property, division of debts, child custody, parenting time, child support, and many other issues.

    A judge must make rulings on all those issues and it is highly unlikely that either spouse will receive everything they…