Divorce

Family Law Attorneys and Indefinite Separation

Published on: August 27, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent New York Times article, more couples facing marital strife are now choosing to stay separated indefinitely rather than file for divorce. Many spouses who choose to live apart and carry on separate lives are still connected by the bonds of marriage: they file joint tax returns, carry joint insurance policies, and even occasionally visit one another. However, even long-estranged couples are bound by contractual issues like taxes, pensions, Social Security, and healthcare coverage.

target=”_blank”Charlotte divorce lawyers and marriage therapists report that the motivation for most couples to remain married is financial. Under federal law, an ex-spouse qualifies for a share of a spouse’s Social Security payment if the marriage lasts a decade. Occasionally, if a divorce is proceeding amicably, financial advisors and lawyers may urge a couple who have been married for nearly ten years to wait until the dependent spouse qualifies. For some couples, a separation agreement may be negotiated between the parties so that one spouse can keep the other’s insurance until he or she qualifies for Medicare. Thus, in the current economic recession, there is an incentive for couples to separate indefinitely: to avoid the real estate lows and the high care expense highs.

One family law attorney quoted by the New York Times reported that the biggest surprise to her was her clients’ primary consideration behind indefinite separation. She reports that the clients consider practical and financial, rather than familial, ramifications. The effect of these separations on the couple’s children rarely seems to be a priority. Furthermore, indefinite separations can leave a mess for survivors, as a spouse will still have legal rights to a predeceased spouse’s estate, even if separated.

In-Laws, Divorce and Lawyers

Published on: August 24, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

This month, Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, announced her engagement to her son’s father, Levi Johnston. However, Johnston is facing a long road ahead with his future in-laws after making accusations about them over the past year and engaging in some questionable public behavior.

Johnston is not the only future son-in-law who needs to work to smooth over in-law relations, according to studies conducted by the National Marriage Project. Researchers report that married couples with more support from their in-laws tend to encounter less conflict in their marriages. Disagreements between spouses and in-laws usually arise when parents have difficulty letting go of their grown children. Unrealistic expectations from in-laws can also fuel arguments, particularly between wives and mothers-in-law.

For those suffering from in-law induced distress, there are dozens of online venting forums and Facebook groups available for spouses to complain and seek solace among fellow sons and daughters in-law. However, most marriage experts suggest that a spouse who dislikes his or her in-laws should address any problems with them directly.

Marriage, Divorce and A.D.H.D. in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: August 14, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Mental health experts recently reported that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or A.D.H.D., may be unknowingly taking a toll on many adult relationships. Studies suggested that at least 4 percent of adults now have A.D.H.D. and that as many as half of all children diagnosed with A.D.H.D. do not fully outgrow it and continue to struggle with the symptoms in adulthood. In a marriage, the common symptoms of the disorder, such as distraction, disorganization, and forgetfulness, can easily be misinterpreted as laziness, selfishness, and a lack of love and concern.

Adults with A.D.H.D. often learn coping skills to help them stay organized and focused at work, but continue to struggle at home, where they have a tendency to become distracted from household tasks. Some research suggests that adults with A.D.H.D. are twice as likely to be divorced, where another study found high levels of distress in 60 percent of marriages in which one spouse had A.D.H.D.

In these marriages, one spouse can be left with 100 percent of the family responsibility when the other spouse forgets to attend to certain tasks, leaving the responsible spouse frustrated and the spouse with the disorder confused by their partner’s anger. Long to-do lists or messy homes feel overwhelming to a brain with A.D.H.D., causing the spouse to retreat to a friendly distraction, such as a computer or video game. If the other spouse does not know that distraction is the issue, he or she may start to think that the spouse simply does not care about the problem at hand.

Is Divorce Contagious in Charlotte, North Carolina?

Published on: July 30, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent study conducted by a trio of researchers from Brown, Harvard, and the University of California – San Diego, divorce can be contagious and can spread between friends, siblings, and coworkers. The research relies on data from the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, which studied the lives of more than 12,000 Americans living in Framingham since 1948.

The study indicates that if a close friend’s marriage is on the rocks, your chance of divorce increases by 75 percent. If the friend follows through with the divorce, your chance of divorce increases by another 33.3 percent. Whether or not a friend’s divorce has an adverse effect on your marriage depends largely on your perception of how the divorced couple handled it. The study also found that the more friends a husband and wife have together, the lower their chances of divorce. The odds are also lowered for couples who have had children, as couples with more children have a lower susceptibility of being influenced by divorced peers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 data, nearly 50 percent of marriages end in divorce within the first 15 years.

View and Print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Summer 2010

Published on: July 27, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In this issue of our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter, we take a look at how difficult it can be to divide property in equitable distribution. We also take a look at the legal impact of signing a legally binding document without reading and understanding it. Finally, we take a look at relocation issues in child custody cases.

Click here to view and print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Summer 2010:

CHARLOTTE DIVORCE LAWYER BLOG FAMILY LAW NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2010

No Fault Divorce in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: July 5, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Divorce comes in many varieties, including “no fault.” Including North Carolina, almost every state in the nation permits no-fault divorce. California was the first state in the country to pass no-fault divorce laws in 1969, and many states followed suit quickly. Only one state is still currently an exception: New York, which forces one side to prove that the other was at fault before the couple may obtain a divorce. However, New York’s state senate recently approved a bill that would permit no-fault divorce in the state and would allow couples to cite irreconcilable differences as grounds for the termination of a marriage. The state assembly should vote on the change within the next few weeks.

No-fault divorce is a divorce in which neither party must prove wrongdoing by the other in order to obtain a divorce decree. States that allow no-fault divorce permit a judge to grant a divorce by the petition of either party. In North Carolina, a husband and wife must be separated for at least one year before they may obtain a Judgment of Absolute Divorce.

Because New York is the only state without no-fault divorce laws currently, many lawyers note that couples in failing marriages are often forced to essentially lie to a judge in order to prove the other was at fault by one of three standards: adultery, abandonment, or cruel and inhuman treatment. Under New York law, only if both parties notarize a separation agreement and live separately for one year, can a judge grant a divorce. The proposed change could be most significant for the state’s many wealthy residents, who would be able to focus on the division of their assets rather than manufacturing reasons for their own divorce.

To Avoid Divorce, Charlotte’s Young Adults Delaying Marriage

Published on: July 1, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent article by USA Today, today’s couples are delaying tying the knot longer than ever. In the post-World War II era, most couples married in their early 20s. Now, the average age for a first marriage is 28 for men and 26 for women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, this delay is being viewed as very positive by marriage experts, who report that the combination of a certain maturity level and the ability to work out problems before committing may help new couples avoid the marital mistakes of their parents’ generation.

There are many reasons why experts say today’s young adults are waiting to make their relationships more official. They are gaining more education, which delays financial independence and increases money and stability concerns. Two-thirds of young couples are also living together before marriage, making sex before marriage much more widespread. Additionally, today’s young adults are more worried about divorce, as they have watched the national divorce rate skyrocket in their lifetimes.

Regardless, most young people do still expect to get married and believe that they will not face divorce. A survey of 2,300 high school seniors conducted by the University of Michigan in 2008 revealed that 80% of students say they will marry and believe they will stayed married to the same person for life. Only 4% of students believed they would not marry, and the final 16% said they were not sure.

Marriage, Divorce and Immigration

Published on: June 18, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In Manhattan, the home of federal immigration headquarters, the future of many couples depends upon whether they can prove to the government that they did not marry solely to acquire a green card for one spouse. If a couple can successfully pass their interviews with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the foreign spouse will become eligible for a green card; however, the actual receipt of a green card requires a separate application and security clearance.

According to an agency worksheet, red flags for immigration interviewers include: unusual cultural differences, a large age discrepancy between spouses, an unusual number of children, and a U.S. citizen spouse with little means. Interviewers also seek evidence of a legitimate marriage, such as the commingling of assets and other joint documentation, and a mental and emotional connection as the result of shared life experiences.

The actual number of green card petitions denied on the basis of fraud is quite small: only 506 of the 241,154 petitions filed by citizens last year were denied. The criminal penalties for perpetrating a marriage fraud are up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Divorce Attorneys Becoming Facebook Sleuths

Published on: June 11, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Before the age of the internet, divorce attorneys used subpoenas and private investigators to glean the truth from opposing parties. Now, with the advent of social networking sites, the first place many attorneys can find incriminating evidence is on Facebook. Social networking discovery skills have become critical for many divorce attorneys who seek to support certain aspects of their cases. Incriminating information gleaned from social networking sites can sway the outcome of alimony disputes and child custody battles, particularly if the information discredits the party in the eyes of the presiding judge.

Eighty percent of attorneys surveyed by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers reported a rise in the number of cases litigated that relied on social media over the past five years. Because Facebook boasts over 400 million users, most parties to litigation are bound to have created social networking accounts at some point in time. However, last week Facebook announced a tightening of users’ privacy settings in response to many user complaints.

National Digital Forensics, Inc., a North Carolina company that mines online media sites for information, reports that requests for social media searches from divorce lawyers have surged recently. The company’s senior investigator estimates that about half the social media cases they investigate expose some form of adultery.

Divorce Predictor #14: You are a female serial cohabitator.

Published on: May 31, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Women who have lived with more than one partner before their first marriage are 40 percent more likely to get divorced than women who have never cohabitated prior to marriage. Although cohabitation seems like good practice for married life, it can tend to make living together during marriage seem less permanent. According to the Brown University Population and Training Center, a marriage preceded by cohabitation has a better chance of success when the couple became officially engaged prior to moving in together.