Divorce

Important Immigration Clause Raises Questions About Immigrant Divorces :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: August 13, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What happens when a person’s income is not guaranteed and fluctuates from year to year?”

A recent divorce case in Texas has highlighted a little-known aspect of immigration law that might impact the divorces of recently immigrated individuals across the country in ways they never imagined.

The case, discussed in a Fox News article, concerns Steve Summers, an American citizen, who brought his Mexican-born bride to the U.S. on a fiancé visa. Summers decided to do what millions of other Americans do in similar situations and signed an affidavit that said he would support his wife so that she would not become a “public charge.” Public charge affidavits refer to someone who relies on government assistance to pay for food and meet their basic needs.

Everything was fine while the couple was married, but eventually trouble in the marriage led to divorce. Now Summers says the affidavit he signed is being used against him by his ex-wife who is pushing for alimony. His ex, Evangelina Zapata, is now suing Summers in federal court claiming that he broke his contract to support her at least 125 percent of the federal poverty level.

The case highlights the I-864 affidavit, a common part of immigration procedure that is rarely ever brought up in divorce cases. Experts on immigration law say that many people sign the affidavits without a second thought, usually because they contracts are rarely if ever enforced. However, this rarity does not mean they affidavits are not serious and the fact remains that they contain strict obligations for American citizens who sign them.

Rupert Murdoch’s Wife Appears Ready For A Fight After Hiring New Attorney :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: August 1, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “When do you get alimony?”

Things appear to be heating up in the Rupert and Wendi Murdoch divorce case. Mr. Murdoch surprised his wife of 14 years with divorce papers only a month ago and already Mrs. Murdoch appears to be changing her tactics in the split.

Murdoch initially hired a New York attorney, Pamela Sloan, to represent her in the divorce. Ms. Sloan had worked with Mrs. Murdoch several times in the past; including the first time Mrs. Murdoch signed a prenuptial agreement and again when a second and third postnuptial document was created after the births of their children. Friends close to Mrs. Murdoch say they believe Sloan was too close to Rupert and that Wendi wanted a fresh set of eyes on the case.

Mrs. Murdoch has now hired William Zabel, a well-known lawyer to the stars in Manhattan who represented Jack Welch’s wife in her divorce and handles the estate planning affairs of billionaire George Soros. Experts believe choosing Zabel is a clear sign on Mrs. Murdoch’s part that she does not intend to slip away quietly and will instead fight to receive as large of a piece of Mr. Murdoch’s wealth as possible.

Though it’s true that Mrs. Murdoch signed several agreements with Rupert (one prenuptial agreement and two postnuptial agreements), experts say there are several areas that remain up for negotiation that Wendi intends to take full advantage of. One clear example of such an unsettled issue involves the children, two girls, 11 and 9 years old. In many cases, issues involving child custody arrangements and child support are left out of prenuptial agreements because courts do not view them as binding. As a result, issues involving children are often used in such high profile cases by the less-moneyed spouse as a tool for extracting money that they may have already signed away in previous agreements.

Simon Cowell Named In Friend’s Divorce Filing :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: July 30, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Does adultery affect who gets custody?”

Simon Cowell has been in the news a lot the past few weeks, though most of the stories have not been about his show, “The X Factor.” Instead, the topic of conversation is Cowell’s affair with his married friend’s wife, Lauren Silverman. The episode is a nasty one and resulted in Lauren’s husband, Andrew Silverman, filing for divorce.

Though New York is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that no one party needs to be found to have caused the marital trouble to justify a divorce, Andrew has decided to file for divorce based on his wife’s extramarital affair. In fact, Andrew took the very unusual step of publicly naming Cowell in the divorce filings. Specifically, Cowell is listed as a co-respondent in the divorce papers.

Because Andrew filed for divorce based on his wife’s adultery, Cowell is now at risk of being hauled onto the witness stand to discuss the exact nature of his relationship with Lauren Silverman. This is something Cowell is likely eager to avoid given that news reports indicate Lauren is currently several months pregnant with Cowell’s child.

Family law experts in New York say that the decision to name Cowell directly in the divorce papers is a surprising one and likely meant to lead to a quick settlement. Many believe that Cowell and Lauren will be eager to avoid continued publicity of their affair and resulting pregnancy and that they will now be more likely to agree to a quick settlement.

North Carolina similarly allows for no-fault divorces, something which can make the divorce process easier and much less hostile. Rather than having to assign blame to one party for the dissolution of the marriage, couples can agree that no one was individually to blame for the marital trouble and the divorce can move along more peacefully. In North Carolina, couples only have to say that they have lived separate and apart for one year

Nashville Woman Wants Divorce Set Aside After Husband Sells Company For $100 Million :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: July 23, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can I get the judge to order my spouse to pay my attorney’s fees in a property division case?”

A recent divorce case in suburban Nashville, TN has left one woman feeling duped and is set to reopen an emotional split for still more fighting. The case involves an interior designer named Jamie Beckwith who is seeking to undo a divorce settlement that she signed with her former husband, a multimillionaire commodities trader who she claims lied to her to avoid giving her tens of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit, which was just filed in a Williamson County court, claims that her husband, Larry Beckwith, chose his wife’s attorney and then paid the attorney a $50,000 bonus so that the divorce could be hurried along before he was set to sell his ethanol company for a whopping $100 million. The lawsuit claims fraud, breach of contract and various other illegal actions conspired to defraud Jamie out of her share in the massive sale of her former husband’s lucrative company.

At the time of the divorce Larry owned a majority share in a Nashville biofuel company that had been doing $3 billion a year in sales. Jamie claims to have not had nearly the financial sophistication of her financier husband and agreed to only $6.8 million for her share of the company, payments that were spread out over several years. This represented half of what Larry had claimed was his $15 million stake in the operation.

Larry had made clear that the divorce had to be finalized by the end of 2011, not sharing with Jamie that the reason was his share in the company was about to become much more valuable given the impending sale and a change to laws regarding ethanol exports. Following the change, Larry sold his 80 percent stake in the company for $100 million.

How To Divorce A Bully :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: July 18, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “Can any attorney help me with my family law needs in North Carolina?”

A recent article in USA Today discussed the difficulties that can arise when someone tries to divorce a bully. The author of the piece focused on scenarios where one spouse is high-powered and the other often feels powerless, often financially. The author said that to even what can sometimes be an unfair playing field it’s important that the spouse who feels victimized take steps to protect themselves.

The first thing mentioned by the author, Elizabeth MacBride, is that if the bullying ever becomes physical you must extricate yourself from the situation immediately. Even if you aren’t yet financially ready, you have to do what’s best to protect yourself and your children and get yourself out of a potentially dangerous situation.

If you are physically secure and the bullying is more financial or emotional, the following are some tips to getting away from a bullying or overly controlling spouse. One tip proposed by MacBride is to put aside money. Even if you do not have an income stream of your own you can start taking spending money and putting it aside in your own account. Having access to your own funds, enough to fight a spouse over what can sometimes be a lengthy divorce battle, is crucial to ensure you get a fair share.

Another bit of advice when splitting from a bully is to make sure to get your own copies of everything important. You want to be sure you have your own financial records to give your attorney and not have to trust that your spouse is turning over everything you need. You can begin gathering these documents before filing for divorce, calling your banks or other financial institutions and asking for recent statements.

Two Studies Discuss Happiness Post-Divorce :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: July 9, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “How long does getting a divorce take?”

Everyone knows that divorce is an emotionally grueling process. Most everyone experiences moments of deep sadness, frustration, anger and hurt given the demise of their marriage. Despite the bad times, ending an unhappy relationship can often be the best choice for couples who are simply not a good match. Once the short-term pain is done, plenty of people end up looking back on the decision as the right choice.

According to researchers in England, gender might play a role in how satisfied with the divorce a person is. Scientists say that women tend to be happier with their lives after divorce than men. The study, conducted by researchers at London’s Kingston University surveyed 100,000 divorced individuals over a period of 20 years checking in about their happiness and general satisfaction with life.

The findings, which were recently compiled into an article for the journal, Economica, showed that while men were somewhat happier, women were substantially more content with their post-divorce lives.

Study authors say they took into account that divorce can sometimes cause a negative financial impact on women. Given this financial pinch often felt by women, researchers say they expected to see more negative reactions from women but were surprised to find they still end up more content following a difficult split.

In another survey conducted by Professor Richard Lucas at Michigan State University, data shows that it can take a very long time for this satisfaction to occur. Lucas’ research shows that the level of satisfaction with life does not fully recover to pre-divorce levels for most people until six years after the divorce.

Are Couples Really Fighting Over Frequent Flyer Miles? Absolutely :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: June 20, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

A recent article in Forbes Magazine discussed how common it is for couples to have disputes when dividing marital assets. Everyone understands that there might be disagreements over mutual funds or retirement accounts, maybe fights over the value of the house or who gets what portion of the checking account. However, the author of the Forbes article pointed out that it’s not at all uncommon for couples to get into a dispute over who gets frequent flyer miles.

Though the idea might sound ridiculous, the author says the matter can be quite serious as the value of the “asset” can be substantial. Couples who have amassed tens or hundreds of thousands of miles or reward points over the course of their marriage realize that these things do have value and are often unwilling to simply hand them over to the other party. Serious reward users know that even points can lead to some fabulous first class trips and are worth a little bit of back and forth.

Though there may be value to the miles, the trick comes in dividing them, after all, it’s not a retirement account that can simply be split in two. The first step in dividing miles is to check terms and conditions of your reward programs. This can be incredibly tedious so brace yourself. One good example of the problems involved in dividing reward points is Marriott’s program which specifically says that points will not be transferred in the event of a divorce. Rather than try and force Marriott to divide your points, it’s best to just award them to one party and offset the award either with other points or by assigning value to them and paying your spouse.

Four Behaviors That Destroy Marriages :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: June 18, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “How long does getting a divorce take?”

A recent article discussed how studies have shown that there are four behaviors that experts agree are most often responsible for the destruction of a marriage. In fact, the results show that by watching just 15 minutes of interaction, an expert can predict with a 90 percent accuracy whether a couple will still be together in five years.

The ability to predict a split is not due to fortune telling, but instead because researchers have found a list of four behaviors that are clearly linked to destructive relationships. The first one is accusation. Researchers refer to this as the kiss of death for most marriages and it happens when one or both spouses have a tendency to assign blame towards their partner, especially without knowing the full story. Experts say to avoid the problem and have a happy marriage, it’s important to try and give your spouse the benefit of the doubt. Assume the best, rather than the worst. Also, work on rephrasing accusations as questions, which are much less confrontational.

Next is escalation and this happens when one or both partners attempt to deflect blame by escalating arguments. Rather than respond to a complaint with another complaint, try and stay calm. Remember that it’s better to be in love than it is to be right. Try and be understanding and move towards resolution of a problem rather than fight to get one over on your spouse.

The third destructive relationship behavior is invalidation. When one person invalidates their partner it means they discredit or weaken them in some way, either by constantly belittling them or focusing on negative aspects of their personality rather than recognizing all the positives. This problem is very similar to bullying and happens when one or both parties feel the need to put the other in their place, constantly highlighting flaws or mistakes. Though this might work for a short time in getting your way, eventually the bullied spouse will tire of the treatment and call it quits, often shocking the other spouse who did not see the split coming.

Oil Billionaire Braces For Potentially Record-Setting Divorce Settlement :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: June 13, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What does uncontested divorce mean?”

The divorce of oil tycoon Harold Hamm has already been a dramatic affair. First there were the allegations of infidelity, then came news of secret audiotapes. Now that the case appears to be winding down, the issue that has everyone talking is the amount of the final settlement, forecasted to be among the largest in history.

Hamm, worth at least $11 billion, is preparing to divorce his wife of 25 years, Sue Ann. Though efforts have been made to keep the financial information quiet, experts have discovered that the two never signed a prenuptial agreement at the time of their marriage, meaning Sue Ann stands to profit handsomely from the arrangement.

Given that Hamm owns more oil than any other American, the fight for the money will be intense. The case has been a complex one, with one report of 50,000 pages of corporate information being turned over. The only issue that has been settled is that the case will move forward as “no-fault”, meaning the accusations of cheating will stay out of the remainder of the case.

Another issue that some experts believe has been resolved, and one that could prove critical to the size of the eventual settlement, is the date of separation. Though the issue may sound insignificant, in this case it could add several zeros to the end of any financial settlement between the parties. Harold Hamm previously argued in court filings that the date of separation was 2003, when the two parties filed for divorce on an earlier occasion and began sleeping in separate bedrooms. Sue Ann Hamm claims the date of separation was in May of 2012.

So You’re Divorced And You Want To Buy A House… :: Separation and Divorce Lawyers in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: June 6, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “I’m not getting along with my husband. We’ve been married two weeks and it was a mistake. Can’t I just get an annulment?”

These days it seems like getting a mortgage under the best of circumstances is already hard enough. After all, the banks have tightened requirements and now demand detailed explanations of income, proof of the source of money and lengthy explanations of debt. You might think that given the financial havoc divorce can cause that the chances of getting a house are slim to none. Thankfully that isn’t true so long as you follow a plan.

According to a recent Yahoo Finance article, the trick to getting a mortgage after a divorce is to provide the most complete and honest picture of your financial health. Help the bank understand your financial situation by showing them your divorce decree, any child support obligations and any spousal support payments that go in or out of your accounts. All these things can play a role in whether you will be approved for a loan and it’s best to hand them all over to your banker right away.

The good news if you receive money in the form of child support or alimony is that you can count this income towards what you need to qualify for the mortgage. So long as the income is set to continue for three years then the bank will consider that income stream as part of your application. However, if you are the one making child support or alimony payments, the bank will reduce your borrowing ability as this income cannot be counted towards what you could contribute to your mortgage.

If you were divorced a long time ago you might not realize that the mortgage company will still want to see your divorce decree. Though it may seem surprising given the time that has passed, there’s no statute of limitations on mortgage underwriting and the bank will want to make sure you are not financially on the hook for anything even decades after a split.