Posted on July 23, 2012 in Child Support

Today our society is more global than ever before. It is not uncommon for children to live in a different country than their parents due to a divorce or other circumstances. Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed legislation which would make it easier for state child support enforcement programs to collect payments from parents living outside of the country.

The measure given approval in the House is a move towards ratifying a 2007 international child support treaty. The purpose of the treaty is to facilitate cooperation and information sharing between countries for the purpose of securing financial support payments.

The measure's sponsor, Rep. Rick Berg (R- ND) explained the goal of the legislation, "This bill is about empowering states, which operate the child support enforcement program, to do more to help families, and most importantly, children."

Although the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance was signed by the European Union, the United States and other countries, only Norway has since ratified it. If approved by the U.S. Senate, this measure would provide the language required for implementing it.

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 Posted on July 19, 2012 in Child Support

Most new parents will tell you that raising a child is expensive, but rarely do you hear an actual dollar amount. The federal government, however, recently released its annual report laying out the specific costs of rearing a child.

The report is prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and used by states in calculating financial guidelines for child support and foster care. The report found that parents who welcomed a little bundle of joy into their families in 2011 can expect to spend almost $300,000 in the next 17 years.

Did you catch that the cost calculation stops after 17 years? That means the $300,000 doesn't even include the cost of college. That amount was also based on middle-income families earning $59,410-$102,870 before taxes. For higher earners the cost of a child was $490,830, and it was $212,370 for the lowest income households.

According to the report, it is the least expensive to raise a child in rural areas and the most expensive to rear a child in the urban northeast.

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 Posted on July 17, 2012 in Alimony/Spousal Support

Over the past few decades, women have been making significant strides in climbing the corporate ladder. Many women now have high paying executive positions, which used to be almost exclusively held by men. One indication of this trend is that increasing numbers of women are now paying spousal support and child support to their husbands after a divorce.

Nationwide over the past three years, 47 percent of family law attorneys reported an increase in the number of women paying spousal support, and 56 percent saw a rise in mothers paying child support, according to a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). The president-elect of the AAML explained, "It shows that women have really moved up financially and that in many instances they are the major bread winners in a lot of families."

The shift in women's careers can also be seen in the numbers of those seeking advanced degrees. According to information from the Digest of Education Statistics, the number of women graduating from law schools has almost doubled, and women are now the recipients of about half of all medical degrees. In 1980, only about one out of three medical degrees was awarded to a woman.

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 Posted on July 13, 2012 in Divorce

When a couple divorces, puppy love may give way to a fierce dog fight. As more people treat their pets like family members instead of property, the number of pet custody cases has been growing.

A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in 2006 found that 25 percent of respondents had seen a substantial rise in pet custody cases since 2001. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, one attorney recently reported his pet custody cases had grown as much as another 15 percent since 2007.

Illinois, and all other states, consider pets to be property which is subject to the division of property in a divorce. Many pet owners, however, treat their dogs, cats, birds and other animals as members of the family. This can lead to emotional disagreements as to who will keep the pets when spouses part ways.

The law does not recognize visitation with pets, but a knowledgeable family law attorney can help couples discuss options and develop their own agreement regarding who will own the pet, visiting arrangements and how the pet expenses will be divided. For those considering sharing custody of a pet, a book about pet co-parenting has also recently been released titled, "What About Wally?"

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 Posted on July 10, 2012 in Child Custody

Since the 1990s when the first electronic visitation cases began to appear, virtual visitation between children and their parents has continued to grow. In 2010, Illinois became the most recent state to legally recognize virtual visitation. Currently six other states have laws governing "electronic" or "virtual" child visitation, and 22 more have efforts underway to develop similar legislation.

Virtual visitation includes anything from instant messaging to social media to video chatting. Technology has made it easier for parents who live far from their children to stay connected and involved with their kids' daily lives. For instance, a child may show off a lost tooth over Skype, or a parent may play a game with a child through Facebook.

According to the National Center for State Courts, an estimated 35 million children have parents who are divorced, separated or never married, and 25 percent of these kids have a parent who lives in a different city. Almost 10 million kids don't have routine in-person contact with one of their two parents.

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 Posted on July 02, 2012 in Divorce

Americans are familiar with wedding expos where future brides can see the latest wedding dress designs, check out new floral arrangements and sample wedding cakes. Recently, however, divorce expos have been attracting a significant amount of attention. At such events expo-goers will find seminars and booths on financial planning, parenting after divorce and an array of other topics.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a piece discussing the phenomenon of divorce expos, highlighting an event that took place in New York last month titled "Start Over Smart: A Modern Divorce Expo." Examples of featured seminars included: "Moving on After Infidelity," "Parenting Through Divorce," and "Into the Fog-Becoming a Single Dad and a Single Dude Again." The event also included booths staffed by attorneys, financial planners and even dating coaches.

The organizers who planned the New York expo based it on an event in Paris, and similar expos have gone on across Europe. They feel it fills a need to provide resources for those going through a divorce. "Even after divorce, people need a network of continued support to help them transition into their new, post-divorce life," one of the organizers explained. The expo serves as a place for people to get legal and financial information, as well as network with those individuals facing similar challenges.

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 Posted on March 29, 2012 in Divorce

Most people wouldn't imagine that a retailer could tell if you were recently divorced by your shopping habits. However, a recent exposé by the New York Times discussed how Target has an initiative in place to determine when customers are experiencing life cycle events. Such life cycle events include marriage, child birth and yes, divorce.

The aim of the initiative is to tailor advertising to customers at these various stages of life. By focusing on major life events, retailers are more likely to impact brand loyalty and change consumer shopping patterns.

For instance, if a retailer thinks a customer is pregnant they could send ads for specific brands of diapers, baby clothes and toys. If customers act on those ads they may remain loyal to those brands throughout their child's life.

How do buying patterns shift after divorce? Interestingly, it increases the chance that individuals will select a different brand of beer. Perhaps more predictably, research also indicates that right after divorce consumers may suddenly purchase frozen food, linens, furniture and low fat foods.

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 Posted on March 27, 2012 in Divorce

Most people probably think it is unlikely that many couples would divorce after decades of marriage. In reality, this phenomenon of so-called "gray divorces" is a growing trend. Specifically, women over age 50 are more frequently initiating divorces.

According to data from the National Center for Family and Marriage, baby boomer couples now represent one out of every four divorces. This is up significantly since 1990, when baby boomers were only involved in one out of 10 divorces. Such divorces later in life are more likely to be initiated by women. According to a survey by AARP, in marriages among seniors women initiate 66 percent of the divorces.

There are probably a variety of factors behind these trends. Once spouses retire and their children have left the nest couples often spend more time at home together. This may cause differences to be magnified and tensions between the couple to grow. People are also living longer, and may not want to continue to devote time and effort to an unsatisfying relationship.

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 Posted on January 09, 2012 in Divorce

When people think of January they often think of cold weather, snow and New Year's Day. Apparently, however, January also brings thoughts of divorce to many couples. According to several studies, January is the most popular month for couples to choose to divorce, earning it the nickname "Divorce Month".

There are several theories as to why couples select the month of January to split. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season may put many divorces on hold during November and December. Those couples with children in particular may choose to stick it out through the end of the year for the sake of family gatherings and celebrations.

As the coldest month of the year, January is also a time when couples may be spending more time in the home together. Tensions that may have grown during the stressful holiday season may finally reach a breaking point in January. Spouses may also reflect upon the past year and decide it is a time for a fresh start as the new year begins.

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 Posted on December 30, 2011 in Divorce

Most couples who have recently decided to go their separate ways choose to wait until after the holiday season to file for divorce. Of course this is understandable, considering all the family obligations and events this time of year.

Once the New Year begins it is a time for turning the page and for fresh starts. Perhaps not surprisingly then, nationwide, more divorces are filed in January than any other month of the year. Even if you have chosen to wait until the beginning of next year to formally begin the divorce process, there are steps you can take as this year comes to a close to properly prepare.

One important step you can take is to collect year-end statements from your accounts. You will need to supply information regarding your bank accounts, brokerage accounts, credit cards and mortgages. As you receive month and year-end statements from these accounts keep them together in a safe place. If all your accounts are currently shared, you may also want to consider taking the step of opening new bank accounts and credit cards in your own name.

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