Tavares Family Law Blog

The financial impact of ending your marriage

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in divorce on Saturday, January 19, 2019.

Divorce can be tough for so many reasons, from living without a person who has been in your life for decades to dealing with stressful legal matters involving your children, such as custody. However, the financial side of divorce cannot be overlooked and it is pivotal to prepare. There are many different financial stressors that may arise during and after the divorce process, and these factors could wreak havoc on your finances if you are not ready. From alimony and child support to property division and even your career, the divorce process may affect your financial life in all sorts of ways.

For starters, you should do everything in your power to prepare. This includes reviewing the ins and outs of relevant laws in your state, looking over the details of your circumstances and possibly talking to your ex about some of the concerns you have. It is also important to plan ahead with respect to your finances, since you may find yourself in a difficult position due to your divorce. By carefully preparing, you may be able to lessen the toll of divorce on your finances, which can be beneficial in other ways (stress reduction and so on).

Health problems and alimony payments

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in alimony on Saturday, January 5, 2019.

In a recent post on our blog, we looked into some of the challenges that people face after losing their job with respect to alimony. However, there are many other reasons why someone may have a hard time making alimony payments. For example, someone may suffer from a health problem that creates financial hardships for a number of reasons. If you are currently experiencing a health crisis or anticipate a serious medical problem in the near future and you are required to pay alimony, it is very important to take these payments into consideration and understand your options.

Health crises can interfere with alimony payments in various ways. First of all, people may be hit with hefty medical bills that leave them penniless. Moreover, someone may lose the ability to work because of a health problem, which could lead to lost wages and a series of financial hardships that snowball out of control. There are many different reasons why health problems can interfere with one's finances and this can also affect their ability to pay alimony.

Informal negotiations might help to simplify divorce process

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. on Friday, January 4, 2019.

You have finally decided that it is time to get a divorce, and you feel good about your decision. Still, you are not looking forward to going to battle with your soon-to-be ex during a divorce trial.

Fortunately, just because you are getting a divorce does not mean that the process has to be a hostile one. Instead of going to trial, you and the other party can engage in informal negotiations to address divorce issues, like alimony or property division. Here is a look at what divorce negotiation entails in Florida.

Can children affect how marital property is divided?

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in property division on Monday, December 24, 2018.

With respect to family law cases, there are many different factors that can affect how things play out in court. For example, many different issues could impact a custody decision and this is also true when it comes to the distribution of marital assets. It is important to approach this issue with an understanding of how the laws in Florida affect families since there is variance between states. In this post, we will at some of the ways in which children could affect a property division case.

According to the Florida Legislature, there are many factors that can play a role in how marital assets are split up. In fact, children can even affect court decisions with these cases in different ways. For example, if one parent has contributed to a child's education and set aside a significant amount of time to raise the child, this could affect how assets are split up. Moreover, if it is in a child's best interests to remain in the family home with one of his or her parents, this could affect which party is able to continue living in the residence.

Managing custody during the holidays

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in child custody on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.

One of the hallmarks of the holiday season is the chance to spend extra time with family. For those in Tavares that are going through a divorce, that tradition will no doubt change in the future. Divorcing parents might tremble at the thought of having to fight for time with their kids during the holidays. Yet state family courts discourage such discord. Rather than imposing a holiday custody schedule on parents that will no doubt lead to contention, couples are instructed to come up with their own standards for special custodial situations in their parenting plans.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that as of 2013, as many as 22.1 million children lived apart from a biological parent. That represents the potential for a lot of holiday tension. Yet holiday visitation need not be a zero sum game; just as the court recognizes it to be in a child's best interest for both of their parents to be involved in their lives, so too is seen to be beneficial that they spend time with both around the holidays.

Drifting apart from your spouse and divorce

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in divorce on Friday, November 23, 2018.

Sometimes divorce is the result of a partner’s infidelity or abuse, but some marriages come to an end because a couple has simply drifted apart over the years. This is quite common and there are a number of factors you should consider if you see this happening in your life. For example, some couples are able to reconcile their differences and work together through counseling to save their marriage, but this certainly does not work for everyone. Sometimes, a couple (or even one spouse) decides that divorce is necessary, in which case you need to be prepared.

Couples may drift apart because they no longer enjoy certain activities that used to result in bonding, or they might disagree on key issues (from political matters to raising children). Some people are simply incompatible and no longer enjoy their spouse’s company. Whether you are committed to ending a marriage you no longer want to be a part of or your spouse has filed for a divorce even though you do not want the marriage to end, you should be aware of the different legal matters you may face in the near future.

Which factors can affect property distribution?

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in property division on Friday, November 9, 2018.

Divorce can bring on many different challenges and some people may have an especially hard time working through the end of a marriage, such as those with children. Moreover, people who have a high net worth or significant assets may worry about how their divorce will impact their finances. Even people with a moderate amount of assets may worry about property division for various reasons and it is important to prepare for how your marital property may be split up. For example, you might benefit from going over some factors that courts consider when making decisions regarding property distribution.

According to the Florida Legislature, there are all sorts of factors which courts will consider when deciding how to distribute marital property. For example, if a spouse purposely destroys marital assets shortly before a divorce, or wants to keep certain types of property and the other party has no problem with this, the court may use these factors when making a decision. Each person's financial state and contributions during the marriage can also influence how marital property is divided. In fact, the amount of time that a couple was married can even affect how marital property is split up.

A number of child custody options are available

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. on Thursday, November 8, 2018.

Figuring out how to divide years' or even decades' worth of assets can certainly make the divorce process tricky. However, if you and your future ex have young children, trying to decide how you will handle child custody can be just as difficult, if not more so.

In many divorce cases involving child custody, the problem is that both parents lack an understanding of what their legal rights and options are when it comes to who cares for the children. Here is a look at what child custody involves following a divorce proceeding in Florida.

The basics of child support payments

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in child support on Friday, November 2, 2018.

When Florida parents get divorced, one of them is likely going to pay child support. Many parents may have questions about how much these payments might be, so it is important to understand the factors a court typically considers.

Sometimes child custody affects child support. According to FindLaw, if parents have joint custody of their child, child support payments typically depend on the amount of time a child spends with each parent. Additionally, a court may consider a person's total earning ability. This means that if one parent has recently decided to go back to school, a court may determine child support payments based on the salary a person received before leaving the job.

Dealing with gossip during divorce

On behalf of Cauthen, Oldham & Associates, P.A. posted in divorce on Friday, October 12, 2018.

Ending your marriage may be a challenge for numerous reasons, whether they are financial in nature (alimony, property distribution, and so on) or involve your kids. However, you may also face a hard time during and after the divorce process as a result of other people gossiping about your circumstances. If you are a community leader or celebrity, you may even find that a number of people who you do not even know discuss your personal affairs and cast judgment on your decisions. Our law office understands how difficult this can be from an emotional point of view and it is important to prevent these feelings from affecting your divorce case.

In the digital era, you may read about your divorce on the social media profiles of other people. For example, your ex-spouse’s family may comment on your divorce and gossip about you, or you may read about your divorce while scrolling through one of your friend’s feed or your parent’s posts. This can be unnerving and may make you angry, stressed out or hopeless. However, you should not let these negative emotions interfere with your ability to pursue a positive outcome in the courtroom, especially when it comes to matters such as child custody.

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