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Family Law

5 Reasons Your Client Should Have a Premarital Agreement

Matthew Skarin December 6, 2016

In recent past, the words premarital agreement or “prenup” admittedly held a negative connotation, implying the parties are contemplating their relationship’s inevitable end before they’ve entered the sacred bond of marriage. In this modern age, premarital agreements aren’t so much about planning for divorce, as they are a way of establishing the parties’ expectations during their marriage. For this reason,

Family Law Practice in a Values-Based Culture

Mitchell Reichman October 23, 2016

Once most non-family law attorneys find out my specialty, they say “I would never do what you do!” Given that they’re on the outside looking in, it is easy to understand why so many lawyers feel that way. For those of us who have found our calling in helping people achieve sufficiently successful outcomes to thrive after the end of

Recent Grandparent Visitation Decision Signals Changing Perception of Family Unit

Lucy Vartanian October 19, 2016

As you may recall from your constitutional law class in law school, the history of grandparent visitation rights is convoluted and deeply seeded in what is “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests … the interest of parents in the care, custody and control of their children.” Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000). Due to the seminal holding

Sentimental Value and Division of Marital Property

Catherine Pavur October 11, 2016

Old photographs, family antiques and the autographed basketball. Sentimental value plays our heartstrings, but does it help clients get their special items at divorce? The short answer is generally no. North Carolina’s equitable distribution rules don’t address sentimentality. So what’s a practitioner to do when a client really wants a particular item? You can start by learning how the client

Antenuptial Agreements in MN Divorces: Not a Vote of ‘No Confidence’

Kathleen Newman September 4, 2016

Historically, antenuptial agreements have been seen as the antithesis of romance. What could be less romantic than planning for an ending that could be less than happily ever after? However, with a divorce rate at nearly 50 percent for first marriages and 60 percent for second marriages, many people are reconsidering the use of antenuptial agreements as a way to

Hats Off to the Texas Supreme Court

Dennis Fuller August 24, 2016

Once in a blue moon, the Texas Supreme Court issues an opinion that addresses an issue that is purely family law related. By that standard, there was a blue moon June 24, 2016. That is the day the Supreme Court issued the opinion in Ochsner v. Ochsner. This opinion potentially impacts tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people paying

Divorce Coaches: Providing Support for Attorneys and Their Clients

Kathleen Newman August 3, 2016

During the very difficult process of divorce, coaching from a qualified professional can provide support and problem solving assistance to successfully augment legal representation. Attorneys practicing matrimonial law often complain that they spend a lot of time “handholding” their clients, which can distract the attorney from the primary functions of investigating and valuing assets and income, and preparing the financial

Challenges in Managing The CEO’s Divorce

Mitchell Reichman July 13, 2016

Representing a high-level executive in his or her divorce presents unique and recurring challenges to a family law practitioner. While every client’s divorce has its own particular circumstances, representing high net worth senior level executives have certain commonalities among them regardless of their profession and industry. These include the absence of time to devote to divorce-related tasks and difficulties accepting

Understanding How Personality Disorders Can Impact Divorce Cases

Kathleen Newman July 1, 2016

Attorneys who practice family law are often forced to deal with the challenging mental health issues of their clients and opposing parties. Some mental health issues can be addressed by referring a client to a psychologist for talk therapy or a psychiatrist for medication. Others, such as personality disorders, are much more difficult to address. Often, a client will refuse

The Art and Science of Building a Lifestyle Budget

Kathleen Newman June 3, 2016

Under Minnesota Statute 518.552, there are eight factors to be considered when determining spousal maintenance. Of these eight factors, defining the standard of living the parties established during the marriage is one of the more challenging ones. It is worth the effort and diligence to accurately assess and quantify the standard of living by means of a lifestyle budget to

Family Law

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