Let's Talk About Easy Divorces
So you are ready to divorce...what is the process?
War of the Rosas
How much will I receive in spousal maintenance?
What is spousal maintenance and how is it determined in Arizona?
The Appeals Court recently entered a judgment in the case of S.S. v. S.S holding that it was error for the trial judge to have deviated from the presumptive durational limit of alimony. The parties were married in 2009....more
One of the universal themes in divorce matters is that the court is supposed to try to maintain the status quo while the case is pending. In many cases where there is barely enough money to go around to support an intact...more
Whether it is from TV shows, movies, or stories from friends, people who are unacquainted with the divorce and custody process often come to initial consultations with attorneys with certain expectations that are, well, based...more
Illicit sexual relationships can have a significant impact on a spouse’s rights and obligations in the context of separation and divorce, specifically regarding spousal support. How is Illicit Sexual Behavior Defined?...more
While it is standard practice that an asset will be valued and divided in a divorce, what happens when the same asset that was divided between spouses is also used to generate income for support? In such divorce cases, a...more
While many of us were struggling to keep recent New Year’s resolutions going, new laws went into effect on January 26, 2024 that altered the landscape of divorce in the District of Columbia....more
Since not many of us live in the private aircraft world we will keep this blog mercifully short. The Wall Street Journal on Friday April 12 reported on an audit of Boeing’s deployment of their fleet of executive aircraft....more
April Fools brought us a panel decision in Smedley v. Smedley (312 EDA 2023) which takes on the issue of whether home sales or other “one time” transactions are a basis to seek modification of child support or alimony awards....more
Since the 2014 amendments to the alimony statute were enacted, we have seen this clutching at pearls and gnashing of teeth about what to do in long term (over 20 years) marriages when the payor is in her/his 60s. The...more
It has long been disputed whether alimony paid from one spouse to another should allow the recipient to save for a rainy day. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts weighed in on that issue for the first time on March 7,...more
Family law practitioners everywhere have lauded the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision last year in Cardali v. Cardali for providing a ‘Big Win for Clarity’ on cohabitation cases and the burden that must be met before a...more
Now that Valentine’s Day is past and Spring is almost upon us, many couples are starting to plan or are in the midst of preparation for their upcoming nuptials. While the focus is usually on the event itself, couples often...more
My colleague Jessica Kitain wrote last month (2/14) about the basics of what goes into a premarital/prenuptial agreement. Today we fielded an inquiry about some of the stickier questions that often go unnoticed yet merit some...more
Over the years, I have blogged several times on the Appellate Division rejecting a trial court’s use of a formula to calculate alimony as opposed to a fulsome consideration of the statutory alimony factors. I blogged about...more
People appeal their case because they want a better outcome then what they received at trial. Maybe that means that the appealing party lost a jury verdict, or felt that they didn’t “win” enough at trial. Perhaps someone in...more
Marriages may be dissolved by either party when the parties have continuously lived separately and apart for at least one year. However, you are not actually divorced until the District Court enters a Judgment for...more
For many divorce attorneys, the busy season starts after the first of the year. Since practically the inception of this blog, I have posted on the phenomenon of the New Year’s Resolution Divorce. For whatever reason, this...more
A prenuptial agreement, or “prenup”, is a contract or agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation and advance of marriage. A common misconception is that prenups are only needed if you are a celebrity or have...more
In the State of New Jersey, a dependent spouse who primarily relied upon the other spouse’s income to maintain the marital standard of living may be entitled to alimony as a part of an overall resolution of their divorce...more
In Iowa, child and spousal support (alimony) amounts are mainly determined by each party’s income. But income is not the whole story. Parties may deduct certain qualified expenses, resulting in a lower income amount used in...more
The New Jersey Supreme Court’s recent decision in Cardali v. Cardali is a clear win for divorce litigants seeking to terminate or suspend alimony payments. The decision provides significant clarity on what is needed to obtain...more
Under Iowa law, alimony, also known as spousal support, refers to the financial help provided by one spouse to the other following a divorce or separation. It addresses the economic disparity that can arise when one spouse...more
Despite the Appellate Division decision in the Temple case in 2021 that seemingly made it easier to show a prima facie case of cohabitation necessary to get discovery and perhaps terminate or suspend alimony, as I blogged on...more
We have recently encountered an issue where one former spouse is pursuing a reduction in alimony based upon a significant reduction in commissioned income. In exploring this issue, there is not a great deal of appellate...more
On June 30, 2023, Governor DeSantis signed landmark legislation, which made sweeping changes to Florida’s alimony laws. Similar attempts have failed in prior years, including a veto by DeSantis of the bill’s predecessor in...more