Estate Planning After Divorce, Statutory Protections Against The Ex-Spouse

After a termination of the marriage of a man and woman, the newly divorced man or woman often fails to consider reviewing and updating his or her estate planning documents a top priority. In the past, this sometimes resulted in unfortunate and unintended consequences. It is long-standing statutory law in the State of Ohio that if after executing a will, the individual executing the will is divorced, obtains a dissolution, has a marriage annulled or obtains a legal separation, any conveyance of property in the will to the former spouse or to a trust available to the former spouse or any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, or guardian is revoked, unless the will expressly provides otherwise. However, until recently, Ohio statutory law did not address the effect of the termination of a marriage on previously executed designations of the ex-spouse as power of attorney, trust beneficiary, death beneficiary or joint property owner. For example, until recently, an ex-spouse named as beneficiary on a life insurance policy would still receive the insurance benefits unless the owner of the policy had changed the beneficiary designation after the marriage ended.

Many of those unintended and unwanted consequences have been corrected … Read More... “Estate Planning After Divorce, Statutory Protections Against The Ex-Spouse”

Factors The Court Considers In Determining Whether To Award Spousal Support Pt. 1

When discussing whether or not a Court will award spousal support, formerly known as alimony, to one of the parties in a divorce proceeding, we must first define what spousal support is. Section 3105.18 of the Ohio Revised Code defines “spousal support” as being “any payment or payments to be made to a spouse or former spouse, or to a third party for the benefit of a spouse or former spouse, that is both for sustenance (maintenance or means of livelihood) and for support of the spouse or former spouse.”

Webster’s New World Dictionary does not define “spousal support” but defines “alimony” as “money a court orders paid to a person by that person’s legally separated or divorced spouse”. While the Ohio Revised Code utilizes the term “spousal support” in Chapter 31 relative to Divorce, Annulment, and Dissolution of Marriage, the Internal Revenue Code governing the payment of federal income taxes continues to use the term “alimony” in lieu of the term “spousal support”.

Further, Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.18(C)(1) reflects the following language: In determining whether spousal support is appropriate and reasonable, and in determining the nature, amount, and terms of payment, and duration of spousal support, which is … Read More... “Factors The Court Considers In Determining Whether To Award Spousal Support Pt. 1”

I Want to Keep the House, But Should I?

This is one of the questions I am asked all of the time. Of course, the correct answer is “It depends.” The home often accounts for a large percentage of the entire marital estate. Whether to retain the home after a divorce is often a very emotional issue, especially if there are children involved. It is natural that parents want to maintain as much stability for their kids as possible when going through a break up. One would assume that keeping the kids in the marital residence after the divorce is important. But interestingly, the psychological studies show that divorced children are not really affected by the retention of the marital home. The key factor is the stability of their parents, not what house they live in.

It is important to realize that unlike spousal and child support, property division terms cannot by law be changed after the divorce is completed. The first step in the analysis is to prepare an accurate anticipated budget and determine if it is feasible to pay the mortgage, taxes, and utilities. Don’t forget to consider necessary repairs and upkeep to the home. Hiring a housing inspector to evaluate these future costs often makes good … Read More... “I Want to Keep the House, But Should I?”

The Rise of the Use of Electronic Evidence in Divorce Cases

With the rise of the popularity of the internet, instant messaging, text messaging and the use of GPS systems, electronic evidence is being utilized more and more in litigation. Technology is having a huge impact on our lives and also the way many divorces are being litigated. Recently 88% of the members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) indicated that they have seen an increase in the number of cases using electronic data during the past five years. Emails were the most common form of electronic evidence offered in court according to AAML president, James Hennenhaefer. Electronic evidence is being used for many purposes including detecting hidden assets, financial misconduct and infidelity.

Antonia Love, a solicitor (attorney) from England recently warned the public that social networking sites are becoming the next tool lawyers will be using in divorce proceedings. She said, “People who use social networking websites to send flirtatious emails to people, who are not their partners, are often lulled into a false sense of security that they are doing nothing wrong because correspondence is electronic and therefore isn’t real life.” Snooping in another’s email account is not uncommon. A Google survey indicated that 27% of women … Read More... “The Rise of the Use of Electronic Evidence in Divorce Cases”

Statistics Regarding Military Divorces

Men and women serving in the armed forces of our country encounter many stresses within their marriages that men and women in the general public do not experience. Long separations from marriage partners and other family members and hardships experienced due to war conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq play havoc on many military marriages. So, it is somewhat surprising that the divorce rate among men and women serving in the military remained steady last year at 3.3 percent. From October 1, 2006, through October 1, 2007, there were 25,000 failed marriages out of approximately 755,000 married active duty troops. These statistics represent members of all military branches.

According to information provided by the Defense Department, members of the Army had a divorce rate of 3.2 percent, a rate which remains unchanged from the previous year. Of the 275,000 married Army soldiers, that amounts to approximately 8,750 divorces. Comparing all branches of the military, it is the Army which has the largest number of troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. More Army couples had to cope with longer separations as many tours of duty were extended from twelve (12) months to fifteen (15) months in duration. This past year was also … Read More... “Statistics Regarding Military Divorces”

Antenuptial Agreements, An Effective Estate Planning Tool

Antenuptial agreements, also often referred to as prenuptial agreements, are sometimes derided as taking the romance out of marriage and transforming the event and institution into a business arrangement. Some claim that the use of an antenuptial agreement is an acknowledgement that a marriage is likely to fail. However, an antenuptial agreement addresses not only the possibility of divorce, but also the distribution of premarital assets upon the death of one of the spouses. These agreements can be an excellent tool when there is a significant difference in the ages of the parties or in their respective wealth. In situations in which one or both of the parties has/have previously been married and want(s) to preserve assets for his or her children upon death, an antenuptial agreement may be an essential component of a sound estate plan.

There are several basic elements of a valid antenuptial agreement. The agreement must be entered into in writing and signed by both parties in contemplation of an upcoming marriage. Both participants must be competent and must freely and voluntarily enter into the agreement without coercion or duress by the other party or anyone else. Both parties must be fully aware of all the … Read More... “Antenuptial Agreements, An Effective Estate Planning Tool”

Domestic violence and some relevant statistics. What do they tell us?

Domestic Violence is defined as a pattern of behavior utilized to establish power and control over another person. It typically involves an escalating pattern of abuse where one party in an intimate relationship controls the other through intimidation, threats of violence or actual violence. The abusers frequently manage to virtually “brainwash” the victim into believing that it was his/her fault and the abuse or beating was deserved. According to the National Violence Against Women Survey, nearly twenty-five percent (25%) of American women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, co-habitating partner, or a date at some time in their lives. Forty percent (40%) of adult Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused in the past year by a male. In 2006, Ohio Law Enforcement Agencies responded to 71,946 domestic dispute calls (Ohio Attorney General’s Criminal Indemnification 2006 Statistics). Of those calls to the police, 34,021 were categorized as domestic violence incidents. Ohio’s statistics for the year of 2006, show that sixty-five percent (65%) of the alleged offenders were Caucasian; seventy-seven percent (77%) were men; and sixty-seven percent (67%) of the offenders were between the ages of 18 and 40. Sixty … Read More... “Domestic violence and some relevant statistics. What do they tell us?”

Page 25 of 26
1 … 23 24 25 26