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
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
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
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
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
Most family law attorneys would agree that of all the major disagreements that take place both during a divorce proceeding and post-divorce, issues that involve parenting minor children are most common. When parents share joint legal custody and parenting time, as most parents do, temporary changes to the parenting time schedule, vacation scheduling, participation in extracurricular activities, medical treatment, religious
Over the course of the last few years, Utah’s adoption laws have regularly made headlines, but not for the reasons one would hope. Nationally, Utah has become an infamous forum for non-resident birth mothers in search of adoptive families, often without the knowledge or consent of the putative father. Utah, not unlike many other states, does not recognize the interests
One of the unspoken problems in divorce today is the financial impact it has on adult or soon-to-be adult children, assuming that the adult child is not disabled. In Minnesota, a person is considered an adult when they reach the age of 18. Minn. Stat. §645.451 subd. 3. Under the divorce statutes, however, financial support for a child continues until
Parents, lawyers, social services professionals and therapists all become involved in trying to work out a parenting schedule that works. The focus, however, is too often on what is fair to the parents versus what will meet a teenager’s needs. As a family law attorney, I have had several cases recently where the parties have inquired about parenting time for
Divorce is as much a financial process as an emotional one. If a party does not receive his/her fair share of the marital property, that spouse may be left facing difficult financial circumstances for some time after the divorce. That is why the failure of a party to disclose all of the assets during a divorce is a critical violation
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
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
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
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
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
Most family law attorneys would agree that of all the major disagreements that take place both during a divorce proceeding and post-divorce, issues that involve parenting minor children are most common. When parents share joint legal custody and parenting time, as most parents do, temporary changes to the parenting time schedule, vacation scheduling, participation in extracurricular activities, medical treatment, religious
Over the course of the last few years, Utah’s adoption laws have regularly made headlines, but not for the reasons one would hope. Nationally, Utah has become an infamous forum for non-resident birth mothers in search of adoptive families, often without the knowledge or consent of the putative father. Utah, not unlike many other states, does not recognize the interests
One of the unspoken problems in divorce today is the financial impact it has on adult or soon-to-be adult children, assuming that the adult child is not disabled. In Minnesota, a person is considered an adult when they reach the age of 18. Minn. Stat. §645.451 subd. 3. Under the divorce statutes, however, financial support for a child continues until
Parents, lawyers, social services professionals and therapists all become involved in trying to work out a parenting schedule that works. The focus, however, is too often on what is fair to the parents versus what will meet a teenager’s needs. As a family law attorney, I have had several cases recently where the parties have inquired about parenting time for
Divorce is as much a financial process as an emotional one. If a party does not receive his/her fair share of the marital property, that spouse may be left facing difficult financial circumstances for some time after the divorce. That is why the failure of a party to disclose all of the assets during a divorce is a critical violation
