I understand that the author doesn’t believe in alimony. It’s a nice concept to end all financial entanglements with the divorce. But what do you do about the spouse, who gave up career and stayed home to care for the kids? Does that person not deserve some alimony as a result of his or her earning capacity being reduced while the other spouse pursued a career?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Kate and William have no prenup! I don’t know how things work in Britain, but according to California law, any assets currently owned by William or later to be inherited would be his separate property and not subject to division in the event of a divorce anyway. Perhaps William simply doesn’t need it. Of course, alimony is a whole other story.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
My friend and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, Justin Reckers, recently did a great post on alimony and taxation. It’s worth a read. Pacific Divorce Management : Alimony Taxation – Part 7.
By Shawn Weber, Attorney and Mediator
Ok… so I have been writing all of these serious posts on my blog about important things like child support, custody, division of pensions, blah, blah, blah. . . .
This post is an attempt at a little levity in what is otherwise a fairly depressing industry. I have learned over the years as a divorce attorney that it helps to be armed with a fairly robust sense of humor when tackling my daily diet of other people’s misery. My mother always taught me, “You might as well laugh as cry.”
I also find it healthy to listen to how artists have dealt with the “D” word through the divorce song. Some of the songs are deeply emotional and some are downright funny. In any case, music can make a person forget their own struggles… or maybe just wallow in them… I’m not sure.
So, here is my divorce song list in no particular order:
I’m sure I didn’t even come close to scratching the surface. Please comment and tell me your favorite divorce song. Maybe I can compile a huge playlist to put on our music on hold. Well—maybe not.
In a divorce case, there can be a real temptation to let the Divorce Court know just exactly how terrible you think the other party is. That can backfire, however, if you are not careful. For instance, I had a trial once in divorce court where my client testified to the judge about just how nutty and insane he thought his wife was. He told the court all about her suicide attempts, depression and drug use. What happened is the judge then began to develop a narrative in his own analysis of the case that the wife was incapable of working, which would have severely increased my client’s alimony obligation. Luckily, some quick thinking diverted the court away from this narrative and my client did ok. But, it was a very close call.
What is the moral to the story? Be careful what you allege in divorce court. Sometimes facts that you think will help can actually be counterproductive and harmful to your case. A good rule of thumb is that you only share what is going to tell your story as you (and your lawyer) want the judge to hear it. If in doubt (especially when alleging negative aspects about the other person’s character) run it by your attorney. Don’t drop an unexpected bomb in divorce court.
Shawn Weber, Attorney and Mediator