Category: Family Law‎

When you and your partner do not agree on the decision of divorce, it is legally known as a contested divorce case. Divorce can already put you in a lot of emotional stress. So when there are additional complications involved, the stress can escalate further.

Contested divorces can have several grounds of conflict. Each estranged couple usually has some unique differences, which do not match with any other couple. However, the grounds of conflict often turn out to be the same. Leading law firm, the Lawrence Law Office has dealt with several contested divorce cases. Based on their experience, they have listed down some common reasons for conflict in divorces:

Child Custody Cases

Whenever there are children involved in a divorce, the chances of conflict becomes higher. While many couples ensure that they have decided about children before making the big move, others cannot arrive at a common decision. This can lead to custody conflicts between the estranged partners. Even for those who seek out of court settlements, a custody agreement usually requires professional help such as that of a lawyer.

Division of Joint Debt

Taking joint debts is quite common among partners. The problem arises when these debts have to be shared after the relationship has ended. If you and your partner do not earn equally, sharing the debt may lead to some major conflicts.

It has been seen that some partners try to push the entire burden of debt on the other person’s shoulder. However, they may have taken equal benefit from the debt amount earlier. Experienced divorce lawyers know how to deal with such situations fairly, making their services extremely important in such cases.

Marital Property

Another common ground of conflict like that of the debt is marital property. Marital property does not just mean the property that you hold jointly. It also counts all those properties that you may have acquired during the period of marriage. That is why the line between your marital property and singly owned property can get blurred easily.

An estranged partner can easily take advantage of such a situation by demanding an unfair share. The experienced lawyers can make sure that all the necessary documents are already in place. This can protect you from unjust claims and ensure that your property remains yours.

Alimony and Support

If your partner was dependent on you or if the custody of your children falls on your partner, then you are liable to pay a certain sum regularly. This sum of money is calculated, considering different factors. For instance, if your children are attending a private school, then the sum of money must cover their tuition fees. Your income can also become a factor in deciding this sum.

Estranged couples often have disagreements in this regard as they cannot stick to a common sum. Good lawyers can help in ensuring that the sum is fair for both parties.

Now that you know the common reasons for conflict, you can take the necessary steps or engage a qualified lawyer to avoid this situation.

Are you going through a divorce? While a consensual divorce may be considerably easy to go through, the contested divorce can take a toll on you both mentally and financially. In simple words, a contested divorce may be understood as a situation where both the partners do not agree on the terms of the divorce. As such, it is much more long-drawn and complicated than an ordinary, uncontested divorce.

The usual causes that are cited for a contested divorce include disagreement over marital property, the custody for children, the amount of child support and other children related issues, joint debts, alimony and so on. Either both spouses may have problems with the terms and conditions set by the other or only one of them may be in disagreement. Even if a partner disagrees with one of the terms of the divorce, it will be considered as a contested divorce. In any case, the partner has to be prepared for a long and legal proceeding that is not likely to be settled easily.

Steps For Contested Divorce

There are several steps involved in a contested divorce such as serving a notice to the partner, stating the grounds of the divorce along with the terms, serving notice if you are contesting with any of the terms that are given by your partner, replying to the petitions, mediation and so on. Going through even the initial processes is difficult unless you are very well acquainted with the legalities involved. If not, it is always advisable to opt for an experienced contested divorce attorney to represent you in the case.

Hastens The Divorce Process

As there is no fixed time period within which the contested divorce has to be settled, these cases often go on for years. A long drawn divorce can hamper all the other aspects of your life and leave you emotionally drained. It can also have a negative impact on your children who will have to unnecessarily be involved in the dispute between you and your partner. A good divorce lawyer who has handled contested divorces before can cut the entire process short and help you in resolving the disputes in the least possible time.

Helps In Negotiations

Finding common ground between the terms stated by you and your partner is often difficult in a contested divorce. While you can approach the court and have a judge decide the terms, it is not really advisable. An experienced lawyer can make an out of court settlement easier for you. When you have a lawyer team to support you, they will also see to the fact that you do not have to compromise with an unfair settlement term, simply for the sake of hastening the process.

Above all, a good lawyer is always great mental support in stressful situations such as divorce. They go beyond professional advice and help you cope with the entire divorce process. We hope, with this detailed information, you will be able to handle your contested divorce better and reach a settlement easily.

It is expected that there is no cleaner, genuine, and lasting adoration than that which parents claim to their youngsters. It is accepted that on the off chance that you can trust somebody with your eyes shut, it is them, however shockingly, that isn’t generally the situation.

A few parents are not prepared or ready to confront the difficulties of parenthood. The most straightforward arrangement they can consider is to leave their kids being taken care of by the other parent or a family member. As per the law of child support, a missing guardian is a familiar name for a parent of a kid not living in the same house as the kid when the kid has his home with a parent with care; who has no contact with him or who committing to pay an annuity doesn’t do as such for a while or years.

This kind of conduct causes a lot of hurt and hatred in the parent who stays under the watchful eye of the youngster and some of the time in them. When at some point later the absent father wants visitation Virginia, the indignation reemerges all things considered. For what reason would he reserve the privilege to see the child if he has never dealt with him and now claims to assume the cool parent role?

All things considered, as out of line as it might be, you can’t overlook that as per the law the parents reserve the privilege to have contact with their youngsters, to see them, to make educational, financial and medical choices concerning them among numerous others to serve the kid, regardless of how included or not in their lives.

So how would you manage it? First, you need to choose what you want to do. You can use either counsel a lawyer to sue the missing guardian to satisfy their parental commitments, or you can experience the process of requesting that the court end his parental rights, incorporating appearance rights with the youngster. Besides, here and there missing guardians themselves will decide to terminate their parental rights to abstain from paying kids to uphold and couldn’t care less about being associated with their youngsters’ lives.

A request to end a missing guardian’s parental rights will be recorded in a domestic relations court to terminate the parental privileges. At that point, the appointed authority will review the case and, thus, the conditions and decide if parental rights ought to be ended. In Virginia, one parent’s parental rights are frequently completed as long as there’s a third person, similar to a step-parent, ready to step into that parent’s job.

This is in such a case that there is no a third one ready to accept parental commitments, the kid will be left being taken care of by one parent, so if something happens to the parent, the kid will turn into an orphan and be upheld by the state, so it is a lot simpler for the court to concede the end of parental rights if there is another person who makes it more outlandish that the state should expect this commitment.

Automatic end of parental rights is practical inside the uncommon situations demonstrated by clear and persuading proof:

• That a parent has been blameworthy of abuse neglect that endangered the child’s life and health, and
• That it’s not sensibly likely that the issue is regularly settled so the child can spend time with the two parents.

Thus, if you manage an absent father who wants visitation Virginia, it is a smart thought to look for legal advice.

Regardless of residency’s state, grandparents aren’t instantly given rights that permit them to go to with their grandchildren due to the household link. Furthermore, no condition enables grandparents stay together or to request for visitation while both parents continue to be committed and/. In California, the only real circumstances once the courtroom permits grandparents to document a movement for visitation are when the parents are separated and/or don’t reside together anymore; if among the parent is imprisoned or dead; or if your guardian’s whereabouts are unfamiliar.

If one of these simple circumstances pertains to you and you stop from viewing your grandchildren, courtroom can be requested by you -requested visitation. Since prior court cases (such as the US Supreme Court) have frequently dominated in support of the guardian declining visitation since it might “hinder their basic to guardian the kids because they see healthy”, the court may follow this method:

1. The judge may interview the grandparents to discover when there is a pre existing connection between grandparents and just how powerful this relationship is. The judge will even request the grandparents to show that it’s within the children’s “greatest attention ” to carry on this grandparent- relationship.

2. The judge will even request the parent(s) due to their viewpoint, to comprehend why they oppose visitation, and certainly will subsequently consider a parentis to create suitable parenting choices about their particular kids. In the event that both parents acknowledge against visitation, the judge may tip within the parents’ benefit.

It’s our viewpoint grandparent visitation privileges in reality might boost the current friction between parents and grandparents, as well as may possibly not be the easiest way to solve this household issue. Additionally, Family Court Providers may obtain the household and a mediator meet to try and achieve an arrangement. Judge mediators have limited-time to hear both sides although Household Court Providers provide arbitration providers. Should you cannot recognize they can make their very own tips towards the judge.

Nevertheless, selecting to work well with a completely independent mediator outside the court program allows as-needed to achieve a consensus you to invest just as much time. Grandparents may obtain parents to meet up having a family mediator who’ll behave as a third party and assist the household arrived at an arrangement. Open conversation among all-family members promotes, while maintaining concentrate on the children’s interests. A skilled mediator may guide parents and grandparents through the different contradictory problems while maintaining the objectives of functions affordable. Because parents possess the legitimate to choose who gets visitation using their kids, it’s within the grandparents’ attention that is greatest to avoid conflict fights that are high in courtroom, and choose a peaceful decision via arbitration instead.