Equal Overnight Time With Dad Benefits Children of Divorced Parents

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Father-Child Relationship is Strengthened by Equal Overnight Time.

Parents Have Better Relationships With Their Children Under Equal Overnight Time

Equal Overnight TimeCouples with children who end up divorcing know that parenting time is often a source of contention. Historically, mothers were often awarded more time with the children, especially when it came to overnights.

However, new research may make these types of arrangements a thing of the past.

A recent study published in the American Psychological Association Journal Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Vol 23(1), Feb 2017, 68-84.that young children who spend equal overnight time with both divorced parents have better relationships with them in the future. Click here to read the study.

William V. Fabricius and Go Woon Suh surveyed students whose parents divorced or separated before they were 2 years old.

The results showed that the more equal overnight time the child spent with the parent at a young age, the better their relationship was as they got older. Researchers also found that spending the night was especially critical when the child was a toddler, as no number of overnights later-on could compensate for the bond established … Read More... “Equal Overnight Time With Dad Benefits Children of Divorced Parents”

Divorce: Tips to Consider About Technology & Social Media

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Divorce, Social Media and Technology. A whole new world.

Siri Is Listening! Technology And Social Media Can Impact Your Divorce!

divorce technology social media

In the modern technological era where we are constantly surrounded by social media and 24/7 communication, it should come as no surprise that the technology at your fingertips could have a very real impact on your divorce case.  Our firm has some tips for you to consider if you are contemplating going through a divorce proceedings in this techy society.

Divorce And Technology. Some Important Social Media Tips To Consider

  • First, remember to change passwords to all financial accounts, email accounts, and any other personal accounts that your former spouse should no longer be able to access freely without your permission. Even in the most amicable of divorces one miscommunication can lead to a very ugly court battle. A divorce means a physical and emotional split, so be sure that the separation extends to your technology as well. Change those passwords even if your spouse never had access to them in the first place. Better to be safe than sorry. Keep the new passwords in a location
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FRAUD ALERT: Avoid Tax Return Scams!

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Fraudulent tax return preparers are back!

tax credit fraudulent

Tips On How To Avoid Fraudulent Tax Preparers

With this being tax season, the Federal Justice Department urges the public to look out for and avoid fraudulent tax preparers who illegally swindle both their clients and the federal treasury.  Below are some tips that may seem obvious and others that may not seem so obvious.

  1. Look for a PTIN.  The IRS requires that all paid tax preparers register with the IRS and obtain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN).
  2. Never allow your refund to be deposited directly into a tax preparer’s bank account.  Courts have barred such a practice.
  3. Never sign a blank return or a return without fully reading it from beginning to end first.
  4. Never allow your tax preparer to mischaracterize expenses.  By this, I mean that you should never allow personal purchases to be wrongly characterized as deductible expenses.
  5. Never allow your tax preparer to fabricate expenses or deductions.  Some common ones are the educational credit, the child care credit or the earned income tax credit.
  6. eFile.  The eFiling method is considered the safest and most reliable.
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Reflections About My Impending Retirement From The Practice of Law…

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FROM EVERYONE AT HOLZFASTER, CECIL, McKNIGHT & MUES: Anne, throughout your legal practice you have always exemplified the highest standard of competence, professional and civility in in your dealings with clients, staff, Courts and other lawyers. We will ALL miss you as will the entire domestic relations bar! Please stay in touch as you transition into retirement!

anne shale retirementTo become organized and prepared to write this Ohio Family Blog Article, I spent some time reflecting upon my entire life and determined it would be more clear to the reader if I described the four (4) stages of my life. They are as follows:

Stage 1 – Growing Up and Being a Student:  The first stage of my life encompassed the ages of birth through graduation from college in 1967. I was a student during most years of Stage 1. I was very fortunate to be raised by an intact family. My parents loved and adored one another and they loved and cherished the four (4) of us. As a practicing attorney who specializes in domestic relations law, I can appreciate the gift that I was given by … Read More... “Reflections About My Impending Retirement From The Practice of Law…”

Dissolution In Ohio: Can Parties Request Conciliation and Mediation Services?

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Dissolution In Ohio: The Conciliation Process in Warren and Montgomery County Explained. How A Dissolution Can End Up In Mediation

conciliation dissolution mediation ohioThis was a novel question that was recently asked me by a client a week or so before their scheduled final dissolution hearing. Conciliation proceedings are not all that common even in divorce actions.  I asked my paralegal, Robin Lovins, to investigate the answer for me.  That answer was interesting I thought. Always looking for a new blog article topic, I asked Robin to help incorporate that information into a blog article about dissolution. Here it is:

Section 3117.05 of the Ohio Revised Code states that “Prior to or during pendency of any action for divorce, annulment, or legal separation, one or both spouses may file in the court of common pleas a petition for conciliation…”. The question becomes: Does conciliation apply in dissolution cases? Although it is unusual for parties participating in a dissolution proceeding to request a conciliation through the courts, if a petition is filed, the courts will accept it.

A Dissolution Can End Up In Mediation. The Conciliation Process Differs in Both Warren

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Grandparents Active with Their Grandkids May Live Longer According to This New Study!

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Can Grandparents Live Longer Simply By Caring For Their Grandchildren? Study Says…

grandparents live longer studyGrandparents who help out with childcare or provide support to others in their community tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study from Berlin, Germany. While having full-time custody of grandchildren can have a negative effect on health, occasional helping can be beneficial for seniors.

An international research team has found that grandparents who care for their grandchildren on average live longer than grandparents who do not. The researchers conducted survival analyses of over 500 people aged between 70 and 103 years, drawing on data from the Berlin Aging Study collected between 1990 and 2009.

In contrast to most previous studies on the topic, these researchers deliberately did not include grandparents who were primary or custodial caregivers. Instead, they compared grandparents who provided occasional childcare with grandparents who did not, as well as with older adults who did not have children or grandchildren but who provided care for others in their social network.

International Study Reveals Grandparents Who Care For Their Grandchildren On Average Live Longer

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Estate Planning in Ohio ALERT: Is My Trust Still Appropriate?

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Estate Planning And The Revocable Living Trust

estate planning revocable living trustA perfect example of the benefits of reviewing your estate planning documents on, at least, an occasional level, can be seen with the marital revocable living trust, also sometimes known as an “A-B” trust.  Should you have such a document, and if it was prepared long ago and never updated, it is probably set up to accomplish exactly the OPPOSITE of what you want it to do.

There are many types of trusts.  There are many reasons to set up a trust.  With a married couple, the most common type of trust is a marital revocable living trust.  Historically, the main purpose of this type of trust was to avoid the probate process at death and to maximize estate tax savings.  Prior to the year 2000, all assets passing to a surviving spouse were exempt from estate taxes.  However, for assets not passing to a surviving spouse, the maximum estate tax exemption for Ohio estate taxes was $25,000 and the maximum estate tax exemption for federal taxes was $600,000.  It was not uncommon for those with a large … Read More... “Estate Planning in Ohio ALERT: Is My Trust Still Appropriate?”

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