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Family Law Attorney Houston: Most people going through a divorce in Texas know that the laws our of state regarding community property will play a role in their case. If you can count yourself among those that possess this knowledge, you should also be aware that it is not only property that will be divided in your divorce but also debt. While debt may not be as exciting it can pose as many problems as those surrounding property division- if not more so. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will discuss the subject of credit accounts and divorce. I will introduce the subject with some introductory information and then we will get into a hypothetical example that will hopefully illustrate the initial points that we have made regarding this subject. AN INTRODUCTION TO DEBT AND DIVORCE The types of debt that you and your spouse have accumulated throughout the course of your marriage will determine the type of options that you have for deciding who will pay the debt and how this will be done. For instance, you should be aware that there are two different types of credit accounts: joint and individual. Depending on the type of credit account that you and your spouse selected, different approaches will need to be taken for each. The simplest way to determine what type of accounts you each have is to pull a copy of your credit report. Once you have done so, for each open account that you have there will be a description of the type of account that it is. INDIVIDUAL CREDIT ACCOUNTS Houston Divorce Attorney: An individual credit account is one that considers only your personal income and credit history when it comes to determining whether or not to extend you credit in the first place, the limits of credit that will be made available to you and what the interest rate will be that is attached to that credit account. A key point to understand is that if you are listed an authorized user on an individual credit account held by your spouse, that account will be listed on your credit report but the account holder will be your spouse and not you. Finally, debts incurred on individual accounts may both be the responsibility of you and your spouse in your divorce as Texas is a community property state. As we just mentioned if their individual credit accounts are showing up your credit report and vice versa, that ought to tell you that your actions affect your spouse and vice versa. JOINT CREDIT ACCOUNTS Credit accounts in both your name and your spouse’s name mean that a credit will be considering your spouse’s income, assets, debts and credit history before agreeing to loan you money and open up a joint credit account. Moving forward you and your spouse are responsible for paying off that jointly held debt. Both of your credit reports will show activity, positive or negative, associated with this account. Negotiating how to handle these type of debts in your Divorce Decree is extremely important. If you negotiate for your spouse to take on the responsibility of paying off any jointly held credit accounts that have arisen during the course of your marriage the language stating this must be clear, concise and understandable. Meaning- your spouse must not be able to argue that he or she did not understand how to abide by the terms of the divorce decree on this subject matter. The reason for this is simple- if he or she does not do what he or she is ordered to do in your Final Decree of Divorce, you will need to file an enforcement suit against him or her in order to bring this to the judge’s attention. Why take this step to go back to court? Just because the Final Decree states that the debts are no longer your responsibility does not mean the creditors feel the same way. In fact, if your agreement to repay a debt states your name on it then the Decree will have no effect. Your credit will be harmed and you will suffer the financial consequences of your ex-spouse not paying down the debt as agreed in the Final Decree of Divorce. A judge will rely on your Decree’s language to determine whether or not your ex-spouse can be held accountable for his or her failure to pay. A Decree with unclear language may not be enforceable. This leaves you in a position where you may not be able to have the violations of the order addressed by the judge. Meanwhile, your credit score is dropping and your financial future becomes all the more murky. HOW TO CLOSE JOINT CREDIT ACCOUNTS ONCE YOUR DIVORCE IS COMPLETE Houston Family Lawyer: If you are the spouse ordered to pay a jointly held credit account after the divorce has been finalized you, of course, should do as the court has ordered you to do and pay on the account consistently until it is paid off in full. If the process of going through a divorce has not sworn you off the use of debt then I’m not sure that anything will. Having a plan, being intentional with your money and living on a budget will be essential to your coming back from any financial difficulties associated with your divorce. If you intend to get control of your money it is best to not utilize credit in the future if at all possible, in my opinion. With that said, you will want to at least close any credit account that was held jointly by yourself and your ex-spouse. Although much of our day to day personal financial matters can be handled online, you will not be able to close a credit account on the internet. For that, you will need to either pick up the phone and contact the creditor or you will need to write a request to close an account and have the letter mailed to the creditor’s address. A final statement with your balance of $0 should be requested at that time. You never know when a creditor has applied a last second “late fee” to a bill that you were unaware of. The next thing you know, you’re checking your credit score in a year or two only to find that the account that you thought you had closed with a zero balance actually had a small balance the whole time … Continue Reading
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Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: The emotional difficulties associated with a divorce are fairly well known. If you have a family member or friend who has been through a divorce it’s likely that he or she has spoken to you about just how taxing the process can be. When you are working through something where the end result is you losing your life partner there is no doubt that you will be a changed person at the end of your journey. While the emotional components of divorce are well known, what is not discussed with as much frequency is the relationship between the emotional difficulties of divorce and the effect that is had on your finances. When you feel vulnerable, hurt, uncertain or just plain sad you may seek solace in spending money and buying things. In the alternative, your divorce may leave you feeling so numb that you lose interest in keeping up with your finances. The rest of your life is in tatters- the thought may cross your mind- so why should I even bother trying to reduce debt or at least hold things together during the divorce? The fact remains that it is crucially important that you focus on your financial life rather than only on your emotional well being during a divorce. There are steps that you can take to protect yourself from a financial perspective both before your divorce and during the divorce process itself. We would like to share some of those steps with you in order so that you can minimize the chances of mistakes being made in conjunction with those finances. While most mistakes can be fixed with time, a financial mistake often takes time and dollars to undo. A FOCUS ON RETIREMENT PLAN ASSETS Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: Once your divorce has begun the biggest asset of your case, and one of the more complicated aspects of your case will center around your and your spouse’s retirement plans. These benefits do not automatically get split in a divorce but the portions of them that are part of the community estate will be subject to division in a just and right manner. Keep in mind that your spouse and you will have the opportunity to negotiate a settlement on all issues your case- including the division of retirement benefits. If an agreement is not able to be reached, then the judge in your case would intercede and render a decision. FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU AND YOUR SPOUSE STAND EARLY IN THE DIVORCE Houston Divorce Lawyer: If possible, before your divorce begins work to accumulate as much documentation and information as possible regarding your and your spouse’s retirement plans. Your former employers and current employers should be contacted so that you are able to collect information on any retirement plans that you had previously contributed to that you may no longer access. For example, in your first job out of college, you may have had an employer-sponsored 401(k) that you contributed to for the six months when you worked at that company but have not contributed to it since. If you have not rolled that plan into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) it may just be collecting dust. If this retirement fund, no matter how large or small, was contributed to during your marriage then it is important that you do as much as you can to collect information about it. Provide that information to your attorney so that all retirement assets are known prior to the beginning of negotiations. The same goes for your spouse. Obviously, you will not have the same access to his or her information as you do to your own so if you are able to request the information during your marriage (before the divorce has been initiated) that would be for the best. It’s likely that you are listed as a beneficiary on any retirement plan your spouse has and therefore you would be able to access this information. An informed spouse is better positioned to negotiate and receive what is fair in a settlement, as opposed to a spouse who is not exactly sure what is out there are far as divisible assets. WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF RETIREMENT PLANS THAT EXIST? Divorce Lawyer in Houston: While it doesn’t take an advanced degree in finance to understand and appreciate the importance of retirement savings, the specifics of each sort of retirement vehicle can get confusing. For starters, employer-provided plans like pensions, 401(k)s, 403(b) and military retirement packages are common enough that if your spouse works for the government or a larger company it’s likely he or she has at least one of these sort of accounts. A private mechanism that is used for retirement savings purposes is the Individual Retirement Account (IRA). As the name implies, this is a retirement vehicle that is in only the name of your spouse and may have been opened as a result of he or she needs to “roll” an old workplace retirement account into a new account after he or she left the job that the 401(k) came from. IRAs are also a good place to invest if you earn enough money where the $18,000 annual contribution to your 401(k) leaves you with additional sums of money that you would like to invest. The key point to understand is that it is far easier, less expensive and all around smarter to collect all of this information before you even speak to a family law attorney about filing for divorce. If you learn about a retirement plan after your divorce is finalized it is almost impossible to get the case opened up in order to divide up the new found retirement account. THE QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER Divorce Attorney Houston: Retirement assets that were acquired during the course of your marriage are considered to be community property in Texas. This means that these benefits are subject to being divided between you and your spouse. This is important as you have likely worked and contributed a great deal of money into retirement assuming that the effort would be worth your while. In the blink of an eye, those savings could be gone and utilized instead by a spouse who has filed for divorce against you. In order to ensure that the retirement savings that you get from your spouse (if any) are made available to you, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) will need to be signed off on by the judge in your case prior to the divorce’s finalization. Waiting until your spouse retires to request your portion of the retirement plan is not a smart move. The QDRO sets forth your right under the law and under your divorce decree to receive a portion of your ex-spouse’s retirement assets. Your attorney will draft the QDRO and it will be based upon whatever the plan administrator for your spouse’s retirement plan requires the QDRO to say. Once the QDRO is drafted it will be submitted to the judge in your case for his or her signature prior to being sent off to the retirement plan administrator. Each retirement plan has different language that will need to be included in the QDRO so your attorney should verify with the plan administrator beforehand what needs to be included. QUESTIONS TO PRIOR TO FILING FOR DIVORCE AS WELL AS HELP WITH CREDIT ACCOUNTS- MORE FINANCIAL HELP TO BE POSTED TOMORROW Houston Divorce Lawyers: If you are interested in learning more about finances and divorce then come on back tomorrow to our blog to continue this discussion. We will talk more about how to protect yourself from financial mistakes in your divorce as well as briefly discuss credit accounts and their potential impact on your case. In the meantime, if you have questions about any topic in the field of family law please do not hesitate to contact The Law Office of Bryan Fagan. We offer free consultations six days a week with a licensed family law attorney. We would be honored to speak to you about how we can help you and your family manage the tough issues surrounding a family law case … Continue Reading If you have need a best suitable service your Family Law experience, Should a Divorced Parent Sign a Waiver (Release) and Indemnity Agreement to Allow a Child to Participate in Recreational Activities? with the great process!
Houston Family Law Lawyers: It’s our delight to introduce a guest blogger Paul H. Cannon who is a trial attorney and shareholder at Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. He has been practicing personal injury and product liability law since 1995. He is Certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2005. Without further adieu below is Paul H. Cannon discussing Should a Divorced Parent Sign a Waiver (Release) and Indemnity Agreement to Allow a Child to Participate in Recreational Activities. There are many kinds of recreational activity providers, many of which target catering to kid’s parties as a business model. These include bounce house parks, trampoline parks, exercise and fitness centers, obstacle courses and Ninja Courses to name a few. Most of these have one thing in common—you must sign a waiver (release) and indemnity agreement to participate. If you are underage, then your parent must sign a waiver (release) and indemnity agreement. While all parents who sign a waiver and indemnity agreement are potentially giving up their kids’ ability to effectively seek redress if the facility negligently causes their injury, divorced parents face an additional risk that could leave them personally liable for the cost of the judgment and the defense. WHAT IS A WAIVER OF LIABILITY OR RELEASE OF LIABILITY? Family Law Lawyer Houston: A waiver of liability a/k/a release of liability is a written agreement not to hold someone responsible for their negligence. If properly drafted, Texas allows people to sign a waiver of liability or release of liability even before the negligence occurs. If this document is signed by an adult, it is valid as to the adult. Kids, however, enjoy a special privilege under the law. They have the right to void a contract signed on their behalf that is not in their best interest. So, when a parent signs a waiver/release, the child can have it declared void and still sue the negligent tortfeasor when they are injured. The parent, who has the right to collect the medical bills, can still be barred from collecting the medical bills up to the child’s 18th birthday if the parent signed the same waiver. WHAT IS AN INDEMNITY AGREEMENT? Kingwood Divorce Attorney: An indemnity agreement is a contract wherein one party agrees to assume or take on the liability of another party. The best example of an indemnity agreement is an auto liability insurance policy. It can also be added to a contract between a person participating in a recreational activity and the participant to make the participant assume the responsibility for the company’s own negligence. INDEMNITY AGREEMENTS AND CHILDREN’S CLAIMS The Woodlands Divorce Attorney: Parents are often required to sign both a Release and an indemnity agreement before allowing their child to participate at trampoline parks and other recreational businesses. Again, it is a contract. Thus, a minor can have it declared void as to the minor. The parent, however, is bound by it. So, let’s assume only one parent signed the release. When the child is injured that parent cannot get out of the waiver nor the indemnity agreement. The other parent can file suit on behalf of the child. However, the company will be able to cross-claim against the signor parent and sue them for the amount of the judgment plus their attorney fees. That debt will be community property, so both parents will owe it. As a result, the waiver and indemnity agreement deters both parents from bringing a claim. THE DIVORCED PARENT SITUATION Spring Divorce Lawyers: When the parents are divorced, the effect of the release and indemnity agreement is the same as to the signing parent. However, as to the non-signing parent, it does not have the same deterring factor. The non-signing parent is no longer married to the signing parent, so they do not face the community property debt problem. Moreover, because they do not necessarily care if the other parent gets stuck with more debt, they can bring a claim for the child and let the company turn around and sue the signing parent for whatever judgment and attorney fees they incur. SIGNING A PRE-INJURY RELEASE AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: As you can see from the above, signing a waiver (release) and indemnity agreement have serious consequences that affect a child’s ability to pursue justice when a recreational activity provider negligently injures them. They are very dangerous to sign regardless of whether you are single, divorced or married. However, if you are divorced and considering letting your kid participate in an event that requires the signing of a waiver and indemnity agreement, you are way better off letting your ex-spouse be the one who signs the document. At a minimum, you should never be the only parent to sign for your child—make your ex-spouse sign too ... Continue Reading If you have need a best suitable service your Divorce Law experience, Marriage, Finances and Preparing for Unforeseen Events with the great process!
Houston Family Law Attorneys: On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in the landmark case, Obergerfell vs. Hodges, which provided equal protection for same-sex marriage in our country. As a result, same-sex couples now have the same benefits- and risks- associated with marriage as opposite-sex couples. Managing risk and preparing for events that are unexpected is a part of sensible planning for married couples of all sorts, same-sex couples included. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan would like to help same-sex couples to better understand their finances in the context of marriage and divorce. HAVING A SAY IN THE HOUSEHOLD FINANCES IS IMPORTANT Divorce Houston: If you are active and involved in planning the financial present and future for your family then you are at a distinct advantage compared to those spouses in our country that do not. Personal finance is just that- personal. There is no one size fits all rule that you can go by that will possibly work in all aspects for you and your family. As a result, the only way to ensure that your family is taken care of and that you know how to contribute to this process is to take an active role in managing the financial well being of your household. Unexpected events are those that take us by surprise and have the potential to stun and paralyze us. What once seemed certain may become uncertain and scary in the blink of an eye. Having your spouse pass away is one such unexpected event. For family law practitioners, divorce would be an unexpected life event that we see happen to people more often than we would like. Divorce is an unexpected event that can have far-ranging effects beyond just turning your financial world upside down. The emotional component to losing your life partner and parent to your child is daunting to stare down. Add on top of that any issue that will need to be resolved in the divorce itself and you can already see that as far as unexpected life events are concerned, divorce is foremost among them. BECOMING FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT IS THE KEY TO SURVIVING- AND THRIVING- AFTER DIVORCE Family Lawyers Houston: When I say the term “financial independence” thoughts may spring to your mind of those get rich quick radio shows that play on AM radio at all hours of the day. For many of us who work 9-5 jobs, financial independence may seem like a faraway dream- one that due to our family commitments just is not possible for us. However, I am using the term in a differing manner in this blog post. What I mean when I say financial independence is allowing yourself to be committed and trusting of your spouse during marriage while maintaining a certain degree of self-sufficiency from a money standpoint. In case of an emergency or another unforeseeable event, you can and should be able to act independently should the situation demand this kind of action. How can you manage to become financially self-sufficient? Let’s discuss some tips that I have learned in my time as a family law attorney. KEEP BASIC FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS AND FILE THEM FOR FUTURE USE Family Lawyer in Houston: Financial documents are typically available to you online in PDF form, so why should you want to have hard copies of them in your residence? These sort of documents would include safe deposit box information, bank account numbers and tax returns. If you have retirement accounts like Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA)s, pensions, or mutual funds then these documents should be kept in whatever file cabinet houses those documents. If you have life insurance, copies of those policies should be maintained and reviewed periodically. As life changes, you may need to update them as a result of beneficiaries changing during a family case, for instance. Another good example of financial paperwork that you will absolutely need to keep handy in your divorce is a premarital agreement. A premarital agreement is signed and agreed to prior to your divorce and concerns how certain pieces of property will be handled in the event of a divorce (or the death of either you or your spouse). Having to manage your finances alone is daunting enough. Not knowing where all your accounts are, or how to access them can be a sickening feeling in the event of an emergency. SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR OWN CHECKING AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS? Houston Family Law Lawyer: In my marriage, my wife and I share a checking and savings account. This offers several advantages for spouses. First of all, I would advise living on a budget as an adult. A budget is not constricting but rather tells you what you can spend your money on. This is freeing in the purest sense. Instead of spending your money first and then wondering where it all went. When you live on a budget and share a checking account with your spouse you can quickly tell what money is going into your account and what money is coming out. I can’t think of a better way to manage your finances than to share the responsibility with your spouse while knowing exactly the money coming in- and exactly the money coming out to pay bills. However, that’s not to say that there is no scenario where keeping a checking and savings account separate from your spouse’s is a good idea. This is especially true if you anticipate that you or your spouse will be filing for divorce in the immediate future. Having ready access to money can solve a lot of problems and can create a great peace of mind for you. IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT Family Lawyers in Houston: When your spouse makes all of the financial decisions for your family you are entrusting him or her with too much responsibility. Your spouse may have credit accounts that go unattended to and ultimately are unpaid. Since Texas is a community property state, these unpaid bills could stand to harm your credit as well as your spouse’s in the event that your name is on the account itself. In the future, if you want to buy a car or a home, having good credit is essential. A history of unpaid bills can negatively affect your credit and leave you without options in the future. Review your credit report to make sure you recognize all of the accounts that are open in your name. If you do not recognize one, contact the credit bureau to have some research done. Of course, the need for good credit is diminished if you choose to live a life that does not incorporate the use of debt. However, I realize that a no debt lifestyle may be a dramatic change from your current lifestyle so baby steps are probably needed to get to this stage. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE If you choose to have your own personal savings account, it is wise to save money and to keep it there in the event that you need to use it in the future for things like hiring a divorce lawyer. Again, I am not advising you to hide money from your spouse. I am also not telling you to start saving for a divorce attorney throughout your marriage. This would not only destroy the trust of your marriage but also is just plain unnecessary. However, by saving money with your spouse during marriage you can eliminate much of the need to borrow money for day to day things while also ensuring your own financial self-sufficiency if an unexpected life event were to occur. QUESTIONS ON DIVORCE, LBGT MARRIAGE OR ANY OTHER FAMILY LAW MATTER? CONTACT THE LAW OFFICE OF BRYAN FAGAN Family Law Attorneys Houston: The licensed family law attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week to potential clients like yourself. Contact us today to set up a no strings attached meeting … Continue Reading If you have need a best suitable service your Divorce Law experience, Social Security Retirement Benefits and Divorce with the great process!
Family Lawyer Houston: If you are divorced but were married to your spouse for ten or more years you are potentially eligible for spousal benefits through Social Security. However, there is more to this eligibility than merely applying for benefits and receiving them without any issue. Today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will walk you through your options and hopefully provide you with some knowledge as to how you can best proceed in your particular situation. SPOUSAL BENEFITS EXPLAINED Divorce Lawyers Houston: The spousal benefits that the Social Security Administration Offers are equal to one-half of your ex-spouse’s benefits as a retired worker. If the amount of this benefit is greater than your own benefits you are eligible to receive in Social Security benefits then you would want to take advantage of your ex-spouse’s benefits rather than your own. A key point to understand, however, is that later on, you have the ability to convert this spousal benefit to your own benefits as a retired worker. The same rules apply here for both current spouses and ex-spouses. DIVORCE AND SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS Family Attorney Houston: As we noted at the outset of today’s blog, if you are divorced you must have been married to your spouse for at least ten years to be eligible for spousal benefits. If you are currently married then you would not be eligible, however. The spousal benefits you intend to claim through your ex-spouse can be claimed once your divorce has been finalized for two years. It does not matter if your ex-spouse has claimed their benefit or not but he or she must be eligible to claim the benefit. RESTRICTED APPLICATION FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS Divorce Attorneys in Houston: If you qualify to take advantage of the spousal benefits, you will want to file a restricted application for benefits once you reach your full retirement age. By doing so you are able to collect your spousal benefit while simultaneously allowing your own benefits to grow 8% per year until you turn 70 years old. At that point, the conversion that we discussed above can occur- your spousal benefit would then convert to your own retired worker’s benefit. THE IMPACT OF FILING EARLY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS Houston Divorce Attorneys: It is fairly well known that you have the ability to apply for Social Security Benefits early, beginning at age 62, or when your benefits become fully vested at age 67. The decision you make has impacts on your life and I would like to share those with you in this section. First of all, Social Security will only pay you based on your eligibility in terms of your spousal benefit and retired worker’s benefit. This amount plus any cost of living adjustments will be your full, permanent benefit. A restricted application for a divorced person like yourself can potentially play out in the following way. Suppose that you and your spouse were married for 19 years before getting a divorce. You never got remarried and returned to the workplace after your divorce. You find yourself at age 63 being in a position where you are considering retirement. Your “full” retirement age for Social Security is 67. Your benefits could be something like $1,200 per month once you reach this age. Meanwhile, your spouse’s benefits at the same age would $2,200. For the sake of this example, assume that you and your spouse are the same age. If you decide to file for Social Security benefits at age 63 then Social Security will pay you the higher of either your spousal benefits or your own retired-worker benefits. In this example since your own benefit would be higher than your spousal benefit ($1,200 vs. $1,100), you would receive only your retired-worker benefit. Your benefit amount would then be permanently reduced to something like $1,050 per month (plus the cost of living adjustments) given that you are not at your “full” retirement age. However, if you decide to wait until you reach the full retirement age of 67 then you could file a restricted spousal benefit of $1,100 per month. In doing so, you allow your own retired worker benefit to grow at the eight percent rate that we have previously discussed. Once you reach the magic age of 70 you would then be able to convert your own retired worker benefit into a combination of that benefit and your spousal benefit. The growth would mean your benefits now equal something closer to $1,550 per month. WHAT TO DO IF YOU WANT OR NEED TO RETIRE EARLIER THAN 67? Divorce Attorneys Houston: You may be in a position where you want or need to retire earlier than 67. If you want to retire early then you can always live off your IRA or 401(k) for a few years until you reach age 67. Some folks in your hypothetical position choose to purchase low-risk financial assets like an annuity during this time period. An annuity is an insurance policy that pays the policyholder a guaranteed monthly income. Another option would be to work in a part-time position during the interim years between retirement and age 67. Doing so would allow your retirement benefits and Social Security benefits to grow at the same time. SURVIVOR’S BENEFITS Divorce Attorney in Houston: If you and your spouse are divorced you are also eligible to receive survivor benefits from Social Security. If your ex-spouse passes away before you do your benefits on a monthly basis would be replaced by their retired-worker benefit if their amount were higher than your benefit. DON’T JUST TRUST US- DO THE MATH TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE No matter what source you go to for information regarding your retirement, financial or legal options it is crucial that you understand your options. We all know that feeling when we go to a business and the salesperson, accountant, or attorney talks at us rather than to us. Their speech on a given subject has been given so frequently that he or she gets on auto-pilot. Meanwhile, none of what they have to say sinks in and we gain no knowledge from the interaction. This is a bad way for you to make decisions that can have far-reaching implications on your life and those of your family members. I recommend working with people, attorneys specifically, that have the heart of a teacher rather than the heart of a salesperson. Teachers worry more about your understanding and feeling comfortable with a subject than they do with making a dollar. With that said, make sure that you understand how you can best align your interests with your potential Social Security benefits. Your spousal and survivor benefits are available to you no matter if your ex-spouse has gotten married again after your divorce. As we’ve mentioned in today’s blog post a restricted application may be your best option for increasing not only your own monthly retirement income but also your peace of mind. QUESTIONS ON SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND YOUR DIVORCE? CONTACT THE LAW OFFICE OF BRYAN FAGAN Houston Family Attorney: If you are in your “golden years” and are going through a divorce an aspect of your case that you should not overlook are Social Security benefits. If you have questions over anything that we’ve discussed today please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan today. Our licensed family law attorneys are experienced in handling divorce cases of all sizes for clients across southeast Texas. A free of charge consultation at our office is available six days a week. We pride ourselves on being strong advocators for our clients but also in teaching and explaining the steps of a divorce or family law case so that our clients understand the relevant issues and are better equipped to make good decisions for themselves and their families … Continue Reading If you have need a best suitable service your Family Law experience, Financial Decisions that surround family law cases with the great process!
A Houston Divorce Lawyer can have a dramatic impact on your life. This may feel like the understatement of the century if you are going through a divorce right now, but for those who are in the contemplation stage a divorce’s potential impacts may not seem as far-reaching right now. If you find yourself considering a divorce the best thing you can do to prepare is to learn about those issues that have caused problems for people that have already been divorced. Obviously, every divorce is different but there are some common threads between your potential divorce and those that have come before you. Specifically, if you are considering Houston Divorce it is likely that you and your spouse have experienced financial problems. No, I don’t know anything about your income or your spouse’s income but I do know that financial problems are a leading cause of divorce in the United States. With that said if your financial position isn’t quite what you want it to be before a divorce, actually going through the divorce will probably make things worse for at least a short period of time. By reading through today’s blog it is my hope that you can take a look down the road some distance to avoid potential money mistakes that people make regarding divorce. HOW TO MAKE GOOD DECISIONS SURROUNDING YOUR DIVORCE Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: Getting good legal advice can be the biggest difference between having a successful divorce and one that is not. Of course, you can file for a divorce and proceed through the process on your own. There is nothing wrong with this and people do it with varying levels of success. However, I view hiring a Family Attorney Houston to represent you in a divorce as an investment in yourself. This is a short-term, relatively small investment in the grand scheme of your life that can have impacts well beyond the length of your case. RETIREMENT AND PENSION PLANS AS THEY RELATE TO YOUR DIVORCE Family Law Attorney Houston: Do you or your spouse have a pension plan through work? What about a 401(k)? Maybe you both have taken advantage of the tax benefits of a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA)? Planning for your future is one of the most important financial steps you can take for yourself and your family, and is one that unfortunately many Americans either choose not to take or are not in a position to be able to choose to do so. If you can count yourself among the group of people that do have retirement savings then a divorce is a good way to have those savings be severely diminished through no fault of your own. For one, if you and your spouse have been married for an extended period of time it possible that every dime that you contributed to your retirement account, including growth, has occurred during your marriage. This means that the entirety of your retirement savings could be community property and therefore subject to division in the divorce. If you have not signed a premarital agreement that divides up your and your spouse’s property in a certain way the community property laws of our state will take over and see to it that your spouse has the ability to receive a portion of the money saved in your name. Of course, the law would entitle you to the same sort of division in your spouse’s retirement income but whatever your situation you want to be able to receive strong legal advice to protect your nest egg. An experienced family law attorney with knowledge of the various sorts of retirement plans that are relevant to your case is an essential tool to have at your disposal. ISSUES SPECIFIC TO PEOPLE LIVING TOGETHER WHO ARE NOT MARRIED Spring Divorce Lawyer: If you find yourself in a living situation where you reside with your partner but you are not married there are ways that you are vulnerable financially that similarly situated married persons are not. This section will discuss how to best protect yourself and your financial assets if you choose to live with a person that is not your spouse. You and your significant other live together and may consider yourselves to be “basically” married. I hear this all the time from clients and potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. You share in the bills, the care of your child and may even have plans to buy a house together at some point. Sure sounds like a marriage- but, I can assure you that it is not. You and your partner lack the ability to gain the benefits and the protections that married people have just by virtue of the fact that they are married. If you are not married and do not plan on getting married then you all should take precaution to protect yourselves from a financial standpoint. You and your partner can create legal documents in order so that you can state which one of you owns certain pieces of property. Additionally, that document can also lay out a plan for how expenses in your home can be paid for or other financial matters like paying for your child’s school or extracurricular activities. COMMON LAW MARRIAGE Divorce Attorney Houston: If you are involved in a common law marriage then you have the ability to share in social security benefits if your spouse passes away. However, if you are merely cohabitating with your partner no such benefits are extended to you. Formalizing property agreements in the absence of a common law marriage is likely a smart thing for you to do. Look into whatever options are available to you as far as protecting each other from the other passing away or becoming disabled. Again- in a marriage, your spouse would have survivorship benefits under a pension or social security plan. This is a great benefit and provides peace of mind to your partner in the event something were to happen to you. To meet the requirements of a common law marriage, you and your spouse must agree to be married, hold yourselves out to other people in the community that you are a married couple and then must also reside together as husband and wife. There is no time length requirement for a valid common law marriage. All three of the aforementioned qualifications must be in place, however, for a common law marriage to occur. As soon as anyone falls off and is not occurring then your common law marriage ceases to be. A FINAL WORD ON FINANCE AND FAMILY LAW Spring Divorce Lawyers: Thinking about your financial future is not fun. If you find yourself in a position where your financial house is not in the order you probably would prefer to just put these issues out of sight and out of mind rather than focusing on making improvements that are not easy to come by. I get that. Asking someone to do something that is difficult is not easy. With that said, there is no better time to start thinking about these sorts of things than today. You can work with your spouse or your partner to protect each other from a financial perspective. The peace of mind that these decisions can bring you are well worth it- that much I can promise you. QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY LAW AND FINANCES? CONTACT THE LAW OFFICE OF BRYAN FAGAN The Houston Family Law Attorneys and staff with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan understand there is more to a family lawcase then what happens in a courtroom. To learn more about the financial implications of your family law situation please do not hesitate to contact us. A free of charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys is available six days a week. The decisions you make today can have a far-ranging effect on your future and we would be honored to help you and your family make a plan … Continue Reading If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Texas Jurisdiction over Child Custody with the great process!
Houston Family Lawyers: How do you know if child custody will be an issue in your case? Custody proceedings are part of every family law matter involving children. Parenting issues can arise out of a couple’s divorce, separation, annulment, or following an establishment of paternity. Therefore, if you have minor children, custody decisions must be made. Once the court asserts jurisdiction, the judge will render a judgment and issue orders accordingly. Those orders will cover: 1. Child Support 2. Parenting Time 3. Rights and Duties Before Texas will hear a family law case, make decisions, and issue orders, it must have proper jurisdiction or authority. The court must have: 1. Jurisdiction over the subject matter of the lawsuit; 2. Jurisdiction over both parties to the lawsuit; 3. Jurisdiction over custody under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA); and 4. Jurisdiction over property and things located in Texas. WHAT IF TEXAS DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION? If Texas lacks jurisdiction, then the case must be filed in the state that has jurisdiction. Let us take a closer look at each of these so you can understand why establishing jurisdiction is an essential first step. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION Houston Family Law Attorney: An example of subject matter in a family law context would be cases such as: 1. Divorce 2. Child Custody 3. Child Support 4. Annulment Certain courts can only hear certain types of cases. A court cannot hear a case when the subject matter is not present, even if both parties would like the court to hear the case. JURISDICTION OVER PARTIES Think of jurisdiction over the parties as asking the question: “does Texas have a reasonable connection to the people asking for relief from the court?” For example, if a spouse files for divorce here, then one of the spouses must have lived in Texas (or stationed here if a service member) for six months. They also must have lived in the county where they are filing for 90 days or longer. Often it is only a matter of waiting longer before filing for divorce to establish personal jurisdiction. UCCJEA Specific to custody, Texas is a part of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Below is just a brief overview, but in order for a Texas court to have the authority to make an initial child custody determination or decision: 1. Texas must have been where the child has lived for the most recent six months (“home state” jurisdiction); or 2. Texas has the most significant connection with the child and at least one parent, in terms of evidence, contacts, etc.; or 3. The child is physically present in Texas and needs protection because of abandonment or some emergency; or 4. No other state is able to assert jurisdiction or choose to assert jurisdiction if it could and it is in the best interest of the child for Texas to assume jurisdiction. If none of those circumstances exist, then the court lacks jurisdiction over the child and will dismiss the case. JURISDICTION OVER PROPERTY AND THINGS Divorce Lawyers in Houston: Jurisdiction over property and things is also known as “in rem” jurisdiction. This refers to the court’s power over the parties’ property and assets that are located in Texas. The court exercises in rem jurisdiction in every divorce when it divides the couple’s property. When jurisdiction is established, the next step is to decide the property venue – that is, which Texas county to file in. As mentioned earlier in the divorce context, a couple could file in any county that either of them had lived in for the last 90 days … Continue Reading If you have need a best suitable service your Family Law experience, Financial Decisions associated with Family Law Matters Texas with the great process!
Houston Divorce Attorney: Are you considering re-marrying after a recent divorce? Or perhaps you are a single person who just found out that you are pregnant or your partner/significant other is pregnant? These are not only life-defining moments for you but can be moments and events that define your financial life as well. As such, you should not enter into them lightly or without regard for the implications of the decisions you make- both in the immediate sense and on into the future. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan would like to single out a handful of these life events and discuss with you the impact each can have on your financial future. Beyond the simple sound bites like “Having a kid is expensive!” or “Marriage is grand, but divorce is fifty grand!” we would like to share with you our perspective on them so that you can be a well educated and informed person in these regards. GETTING MARRIED AND STARTING A FAMILY Houston Family Lawyer: You may be surprised to click on our blog today only to find that the family law attorneys are going to discuss marriage and not divorce. Making the decision with your partner to get married, or to live together as a couple and then to have children requires that you be well informed of the issues that are associated with each of those decisions. The majority of people don’t have a lot of wiggle room in their budget to make bad decisions in relation to these subjects. There are ways to escape bad decisions, but those decisions have consequences. Often times those consequences have a dollar sign at the beginning and a few zeroes at the end, unfortunately. Especially if you have been divorced before, getting married again means that it is absolutely necessary that you be involved in the decision making with your spouse to be in regard to financial decisions. If you did not learn this from your divorce, the decisions that your spouse makes in regard to finances affects you in a very real sense. Remember that when you get married, most of the property and income that you and your spouse acquire during your marriage will be considered community property. The property that you came out of your first marriage with, or that you owned before you were ever married is your separate property. The same can be said of the property owned by your spouse to be. If you came out of your first marriage with debts that you did not specifically take out it may be a good idea to speak to your spouse to be regarding your family’s ideas and thoughts on debt. What debts need to be paid off? Would you all be utilizing debt in the future? The toughest part of paying debt continually is that you are not able to utilize that money to build wealth for the future. Being bitten by the debt bug may be enough to swear you off the subject altogether. Communicate this to your fiancé and see where the discussion takes you. DECISION MAKING IN REGARD TO PROPERTY Divorce Lawyer Houston: Once you get married again, the ownership associated with yours and your spouse’s property changes. If you are interested in keeping as your separate property an item that would otherwise be considered to be community property, your best bet is to draft a premarital agreement with your spouse prior to getting married. This is a legally binding document that designates that certain property as either community or separate. For instance, if there is a debt that you incurred in your first marriage that you and your fiancé agree should be yours separate and not subject to division in your divorce then you can isolate that debt as your separate property in the premarital agreement. It may not be romantic and m, in fact, it may be extremely difficult to discuss, but you may want to ask your fiancé to pull their credit report and you can do the same. Take a look to verify all your accounts are correct and to verify any balances with creditors. Now is a better time to find this information out than after you each have said, “I do”. Plan ahead instead of trying to go back in time to erase a prior mistake. Finally, learn from your fiancé whether or not he has any child support payments that are outstanding or any responsibility to pay child support at all. You would be surprised to learn that some people find out that their spouse has a child from a prior relationship only after they have married one another. This is a financial commitment can stretch years into the future depending upon the age of your fiancé’s child. FINANCIAL ISSUES RELATED TO CHILDREN Houston Divorce: If you don’t have children currently but are considering starting a family, you should be aware that time and money before the rarest but also the most important of commodities once you bring a little life into this world. It will seem like you can never have enough of either. My advice in this section is intended as legal advice, but more so things to think about in order to possibly avoid making mistakes that may cause you to find yourself needing to hire a family law attorney down the road. It is important to keep in mind that when you decide to have a child that either you or your spouse may need to cut back your hours worked or even change jobs entirely. Again, ensure that you and your spouse talk about these issues in advance of having a child so that there are no problems once your little one is born. Arguments and conflict in an already high-stress environment can lead to a breakdown of your marriage. Above all else, you should be focusing your attention on your child, not on ancillary issues that could have been resolved well in advance of your child being born. FINANCIAL ISSUES RELATED TO DIVORCE It is not uncommon for a family that is stable from a financial perspective to find itself doing a complete 180-degree turn if either you or your spouse files for divorce. Aside from the emotions associated with divorce … Continue Reading |
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December 2018
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