MOST ASKED QUESTIONS: DIVORCE
Seeing Life Through Private Eyes (2017). The second book by Thomas G. Martin. Available in hardcover, paperback & Kindle.
An Exclusive Excerpt
The list below is taken from Thomas G. Martin’s second book, Seeing Life Through Private Eyes.
It is being made available online for free – exclusively for listeners of podcasts I have appeared on.
This list is copyrighted and not to be reproduced anywhere else online.
- What immediate action should I take if I am planning to separate?
- Should I take some, all, or none of the money currently in the joint accounts?
- Can I cancel my life insurance after I file for divorce?
- Can I change the beneficiaries on my IRA, 401(k), life insurance, and the like after I file for divorce?
- Can I draft a new will/trust after I file?
- Can I terminate the joint tenancy deed to my properties after I file for divorce?
- I put the down payment on a house with my separate property. Will I get that money back?
- If I sell stock after the separation, what happens if it goes up? Is a large tax due?
- I’m fifty-nine years old. Can I just quit work to avoid paying child support?
- I had the business before we were married. Does my spouse have an interest in it now?
- I don’t want to pay my spouse for 50 percent of the value of my business. Can I just give my spouse the business or close it down? Can I close it down and then reopen it as a new entity across the street?
- I’m planning on filing for divorce next month. Will it hurt me if I expand the business at this time?
- Should I take my year-end bonus or just leave it in the company?
- Am I entitled to a share of my spouse’s bonus that was earned partially before separation and partially after separation?
- Is my prenuptial valid?
- I paid tax on my spouse’s community property income from community funds. Should the community be reimbursed?
- What determines the date of separation?
- Is the separation date important?
- Does it matter if we go to counseling / have sex / go out to dinner exchange gifts after the separation?
- What are the benefits of mediation?
- Can one attorney represent both parties?
- At what age can children decide with which parent to live?
- I’m going to inherit money eventually; will it have an effect on any divorce settlement?
- I had my retirement fund established before my marriage. Will my spouse be entitled to any portion of it?
- Will my spouse receive part of my stock options?
- Does it matter if options are partially vested?
- What can I do if I think my spouse is hiding assets? How can I find them?
- Will the court order the parties to pay for half of tuition for private school or college for the children?
- How long until I am divorced? What steps are necessary to complete the case? Can we shorten or speed up the process in any way?
- How much can I receive in support? How is it determined? How can I get an order for child/spousal support?
- Will I have to testify in court?
- Can I keep the house? How long will I be able to stay in the house? Can I force my spouse to sell the house now?
- Can I continue to be a stay-at-home parent?
- Can I get 50/50 custody? What is joint legal custody? What is joint physical custody? How can I get full custody?
- Can I get my spouse to pay my divorce attorney fees?
- What happens when you go to court?
- Should I pay community debts while the divorce action is pending?
- Should I make repairs/improvements to the house before separation?
- Should I use community property credit cards?
- Can I charge my attorney’s fees on a community credit card?
- Should I cancel all the joint credit cards?
- Can I sell any property or community property assets (car, stocks, and so on)?
- Can I buy new real property or refinance during dissolution?
- How much will the divorce cost?
- How much of a retainer is required? Is the divorce case a flat fee?
- Should I move out? How will it hurt me if I leave?
- Do people stay in the same house during the divorce?
- What is the effect upon custody if I stay in the house with the children or leave? Will this be considered abandonment? What can I take with me if I leave?
- Do mothers always get full custody?
- How does the court determine custody?
- Can either party move out of state with the children?
- What is a standard/typical custody and visitation order?
- What is “family support”?
- How long does spousal support last?
- How do you define separate property?
- How are 401(k)s and IRAs divided?
- How do you divide a pension?
- How do you divide furniture?
- Can I get reimbursed for pre-separation expenditures of my spouse?
- Is fault an issue?
- Can I date while separated? Will it affect the divorce?
- Can I handle this divorce without an attorney?
- How do you initiate a divorce/papers?
- Is a person charged rent if he or she stays in the house after separation?
- If I owned the house before marriage, does my spouse now own a portion of it?
- How are debts divided?
- What is the effect of a written agreement resolving divorce is-sues?
- How do I get my spouse to move out?
- Who pays attorneys’ fees? Do I have to pay my spouse’s attorney’s fees? Does my spouse have to pay any part of my attorney’s fees?
- Who is responsible for the mortgage payment? Who pays for the house while I am there?
- Can I move out with our children?
- Am I responsible for my spouse’s debts incurred during our marriage if the credit card is only in my spouse’s name?
- I am a supported spouse. Should I get a job?
- Who pays the bills right now?
- What should I do with my paycheck?
- What should I do with the money in our joint accounts?
- Should I open a new bank account?
- How are the assets divided up? How do we put a value on them?
- My spouse didn’t pay much attention to the children during the marriage, so why should my spouse get much time with them now?
- My name is on title to the property we share; do we own the asset equally?
- Are the oral agreements my spouse and I made before and/or during marriage valid?
- My retirement/pension is not accessible now. Can it still be divided?
- My spouse had a number of credit cards that I just discovered, and my spouse made a number of charges I did not know about. Am I still liable?
- If I pay against community credit cards, will I get credit some-how?
- Are spousal support payments taxable?
- Who pays the taxes/declares taxes?
- Does the judge consider the fact that my expenses are greater than my income?
- Can my spouse keep me away from our children? Can I keep my spouse away from our children?
- Should we file a joint tax return?
- Can I get an annulment?
- What is the difference between separation, legal separation, and dissolution?
- From who do you need declarations to support my point of view?
- Can the other party change our children’s school, doctor, child care, and the like without my consent?
- How do I get the district attorney off my back?
- If the DA suspends my license, how do I get it (professional license, driver’s license) back?
- What can I do to stop wage garnishment?
- What kind of change is the court looking for in order to modify custody/visitation?
- Is there anything I can do to plan/protect myself financially be-fore commencing this divorce action? What can I do to protect myself financially after the divorce action is filed?
- Can my spouse be removed from the residence?
- We own our own business. How do I prove what the other party earns and what the business is worth?
- What can the court do if I am caught trying to hide assets?
- What can the court do if I fail to tell my spouse about a specific asset or significant facts about an asset?
- Do we have to go to court or can we reach an agreement be-tween ourselves? Are there any other alternatives?
- How does the case start?
- Does it matter which party files?
- Is there any benefit to filing first or waiting to be served?
- If I decide to file first, how does my spouse get served?
- What is the best way to serve my spouse?
- What should I do if my spouse gets mad when service is made?
- Am I legally separated now?
- How will 1 know when I am separated?
- What kind of witnesses do I need to prove the kind of person my spouse is?
- What has to be done before I can be divorced?
- What is the legal process of divorce? What is discovery?
- How do you make certain the spousal support is tax-deductible?
- How long will the spousal support order be?
- How long will the child support order be?
- My spouse and 1 agreed to pay for our children’s college educations; can that promise be enforced?
- My spouse runs his/her own business and I know he/she is running a lot of expenses through the business. How will I know what his/her true income is?
- I do not work now but I have in the past. What number will the court use for my income?
- How can I enforce the support order(s) if my spouse does not pay?
- Should I have my mail sent elsewhere?
- What records do you need to see about our financial assets?
- What if my spouse shows up at school and just takes the children?
- What are my options at this point?
- How do I get a child’s preference on where to live into evidence or before a judge? Will that child have to testify?
- What is a 730 evaluation?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing a 730 evaluation?
- What is the cost of a 730 evaluation?
- What if we are unable to reach an agreement about custody?
- Can I live with a person of the opposite sex? Are there any disadvantages to doing so? If so, what are they?
- Is it okay for me to negotiate directly with my spouse? Are there any specific things that I need to be careful about discussing?
- How will you let my spouse know we are open to settlement?
- What if there are extraordinary expenses for repairs or maintenance of the house? Whose responsibility is it to pay?
- 1 put some inheritance money into our home. How do I recoup that?
- Is there a difference as to whether I hire an appraiser, expert, private detective, and the like, as opposed to my attorney hiring that individual?
- I signed the house over to my spouse because he/she said it would make it easier to get a loan. Do I still have any interest in that house?
- How can I make sure my spouse doesn’t get rid of clothing / furniture / personal effects?
- How will my jewelry be divided?
- Who determines what each one of us gets in terms of property?
- We have some stock options and my spouse wants to exercise them; should I agree? Are there any tax traps involved with this exercise?
- Who determines which car each of us gets?
- What can I do to ensure my spouse does not hold up or delay the divorce process?
- How can I get my spouse’s business records if he/she will not cooperate?
- How can I protect myself from my spouse’s harassing calls and visits?
- My spouse’s parents are claiming they have an interest in our business/property, what can I do?
- How do I make sure my spouse keeps up health insurance on my kids and me?
- Can my spouse be ordered to maintain health insurance for me or the kids after the divorce is finalized?
- Can I force my spouse to name me as beneficiary on his/her life insurance?
- How does the court determine the attorney’s fee issue?
- My parents gifted us with family heirlooms. Can I claim these for myself?
- What do I say at the custody mediation appointment?
- How do I make sure my credit is not ruined if my spouse does not pay the credit card bills / debt?
- How do I maintain my own good credit record?
- How do you determine if a debt is community or separate?
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