The bold statement saying that “50% of all marriages in the United States will end in divorce” has had many people concerned. Did you know that approximately 67% of second marriages and 74% of third marriages end in divorce? It’s scary and an altogether crushing fact to face. However, it also leaves many families and couples looking for answers and professional legal help. Although divorce rates are lower for couples with children, the process of separating is much more serious.

The first and main concern of family law is what will happen with the kids. Child custody is left in the hands of a judge if an agreement with the parents cannot be made. Should the decision be left up to the judge, there is a lot of work to be done by the parents. Each will have to state their case for deserving custody. A judge will make this decision based on facts and what the best interest is for the minor child. Parents are reminded that attacking each other in court and only providing negative “facts” about each other is not something that will win a case. The judge is looking for things like school attendance and performance and witnesses that can describe their relationship with the child or children. They will be looking for mental and financial stability along with the amount of time the parent has to spend and nurture the minors. What is the parent’s relationship like with other adults? Are they able to take care of the children for extended periods of time? Rarely do they call a minor to the stand, but if they are age appropriate and both attorneys and circumstances approve, then they may be allowed to have their opinion included in the judge’s decision. These are just a few examples of what is considered in determining child custody.

There are two types of custody: physical and legal. If a parent has legal custody then they have full decision making rights. They are in charge of making all the major decisions. Physical custody is where the children are primarily living at that parent’s home, but both parties must agree on major life decisions regarded the minor.

Divorce can have a huge effect on the children. Many times they are too young to understand. It is important that everything is brought to the table when deciding custody. This decision is absolutely made in the best interest of the child and anything that proves that should be considered in court.

Family Law Raleigh

Chapel Hill Family Law

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Middleton
http://EzineArticles.com/?Family-Law-and-Child-Custody&id=6949991

The parenting agreement is the document that outlines how parents will continue to care for their children after they divorce or separate. The agreement contains a custody and visitation schedule, a holiday schedule, provisions and stipulations, and information about child support. As parents begin the process of making a parenting agreement, they usually have a lot of questions about how the agreement affects the child support payments. Here is an overview about the parenting agreement and support.

To begin with, child support payments can begin before the parenting agreement is finalized. As soon as the parents separate or one parent moves out of the house, a parent can file for temporary child support. This support payment is based on the same formula that is used for the permanent support. Every state uses different factors, but almost every state uses the timeshare percentage to calculate the amount that needs to be paid. This means that the parent who has the most time with the children receives the support. The amount of support is based on the time difference and the other factors the state includes.

Filing for child support is a different process than filing the parenting agreement, but they relate and they can be done at the same time. There are just different papers to fill out. The parenting agreement affects the support payments, because the information in the agreement determines the amount of support. The agreement has the custody and visitation schedule, which provides the timeshare percentage of each parent. The agreement should also contain stipulations about how the parents will provide insurance, education, and other necessities for the child. Some states use these factors to help determine the amount of support.

Once the parenting agreement is decided on, the parents can get a copy of the state child support calculator to find out the amount of support that is paid or received. If the parents do not think the amount of support is fair, they can make adjustments to the agreement to change the amount. They can do this by changing the custody schedule or the other information in the agreement.

It’s important for parents to take ownership for their agreement and child support. They should double check the calculations and do their own math rather than relying on the court. The court may estimate some of the numbers or make mistakes, and it is up to the parents to notice this and fix the situation.

Discover the tools you need to make your parenting agreement and learn information about lowering child support payments

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chloe_Nelsun
http://EzineArticles.com/?Your-Parenting-Agreement-and-Child-Support-Payments&id=3679777

The following guest post is from Marc Brown:

Divorce and debt problems often go hand in hand and have adverse impacts on each other especially in terms of finance and possessions. Sometimes, fighting on financial issues drain the joy out of a marital life and compel the couple to split up. Under Arizona law, all the assets and the debts incurred during a marital life are regarded as community property and therefore after divorce needs to be divided equally between husband and wife. Division of debt is not an easy task because your better or worse half might have accumulated outstanding debt, but you also remain liable to pay it off. Both Debt division as well as asset division is contentious as both you and your spouse fight over each and every tiny issue in order to evade any sort of loss. Only a knowledgeable attorney is capable of helping you to divide your marital debt equitably.

Documents Required to Aid in Debt Division

Courts demand substantial proofs and documentation to determine marital assets and debts. It is not always possible for couples to provide all exact and accurate information to court and therefore verification of facts are required. Credit bureaus are able to shed light on this matter and can present exact figures and estimation of debt. Before planning a divorce you need to keep a record of following items like tax returns, mortgage papers, investment portfolios, bank account records, credit card statements, business records, titles or deeds of ownership. In case there is no financial documentation of the above mentioned items, you can request assistance from forensic accountants and certified public accountants. They can investigate your finances and get an exact account of debts and assets. It is essential to depict a clear picture of the community properties, separate properties and debts so that the court can make a perfect ruling on the property division.

Agreements of Debt Division

If you are in the planning stage of divorce you can better start paying off your debts, so you don’t have to handle them any more in the divorce settlement. However if you have overwhelming debts during divorce an Arizona family lawyer can help you to come to terms on some debt division agreements. In the agreement you need to follow the contracts given below:

• You need to give consent that you take responsibility for the debts in exchange for receiving more assets from the marital property division. For example suppose, you get the possession of the house, the cars and the lake house and agree to take care of all the credit card bills.

• You can also agree to let your spouse take responsibility for some of the debts and in turn he or she can receive more assets from the division of property. For example you can allow your spouse to take the boat, the house with the mortgage payment and all of the student loan debt as well.

• You can agree to share equal responsibility for the debts as well. Here both you and your partner will be legally responsible and if your ex-spouse does not pay off the debt, you will be left with the entire debt burden. You can appeal to court, but creditors will still hold you legally responsible and if you do not pay back the debt it will adversely affect your credit history in future. 

To make the best of a bad bargain and settle your marital debts you better keep all the above mentioned points in mind. There are some legal consequences that can affect you for a long time even after your divorce gets finalized. Settle your debt in dispute with the help of a proficient attorney. Make sure that your legal agreements put you in a fair position and you do not start your new life after divorce with a dent in your wallet.

About the Author: Marc Brown is a financial writer. He has been writing on financial topics over the years with special focus on the US economy. Marc also takes interest in debt related issues and contributes articles on debt settlement to acclaimed personal finance blogs.

The trial court agreed modifying spousal support, finding that, based on the language of the parties' settlement agreement entered into at the time of divorce, "review [was] mandated and no further showing of a change in circumstances beyond the sale of the residence [was] necessary for a modification".

Wife argued on appeal that althought the settlement agreement mandated review when the marital residence was sold, there had to be "a showing of changed circumstances" before the trial court could modify the award.  The Arizona Court of Appeals agreed with wife indicating that the while the sale of the marital residence is a factor that might justify a reduction, but only if, husband could show that the sale amounted to a substantial and continuing change of circumststances.

Needless to say, there are many instances where reductions of spousal maintenance may be permitted, given the downturn in the economy.

The trial court agreed modifying spousal support, finding that, based on the language of the parties' settlement agreement entered into at the time of divorce, "review [was] mandated and no further showing of a change in circumstances beyond the sale of the residence [was] necessary for a modification".

Wife argued on appeal that althought the settlement agreement mandated review when the marital residence was sold, there had to be "a showing of changed circumstances" before the trial court could modify the award.  The Arizona Court of Appeals agreed with wife indicating that the while the sale of the marital residence is a factor that might justify a reduction, but only if, husband could show that the sale amounted to a substantial and continuing change of circumststances.

Needless to say, there are many instances where reductions of spousal maintenance may be permitted, given the downturn in the economy.

Arizona Court rules on multiple tort claims alleging wrongdoing by married parties. 

In Berk, Wife made claims against Husband for "Consipracy to Commit False Imprisonment", "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Stress", "Libel", "Slander", "Invasion of Privacy", and "Loss of Consortium".

Apparently the underlying situation involved Husband's attempt to conduct an intervention for Wife' benefit,which subsequentlyeding up in his having the Wife committed to a mental health facility for observation, and his alleged discussions with various individuals in the Phoenix Arizona "Jewish Community" about Wife.

The court, in ruling on competing summary judgment motions, found that Husband's attempts to lure Wife into an intervention was not actionable as a consipracy to commit false imprisonment because she was never physically restrained by contact, and that "words, actions and body language" alone was not enouph to make a claim.  Neither was the intervention and subsequent action by Husband to take Wife to a psychiatric facilitiy actionalbe as an intentional infliction of emotional distress because it was not "outrageous" or "intended to cause emotional distress".

Similarly, the Husband's filing of an Application for Involuntary Evaluation and Application for Emergency Admission was found not defamatory and libelous because, in part, documents containing reference to Wife were filed in litigation proceedings are entitled were thus entitled to "absolute privilege". And, eventhough it was alleged that Husband talked to "about 30 people about Munchausen's Proxy (MBP), without publication, no slander action could be brought.  And again, because of lack of proof of any publication, allegations that "falsely represented [Wife's] mental state to friends, colleagues and the Jewish community" was not actionable as an invasion of privacy.

Finally, no loss of consortium claim existed even though Wife was found to be separated from the parties' children during her stay at the psychiatric care facility.

There were more claims from Husband against Wife as well as claims against a third-party, which are set out in the full text of the opinion, Berk v. Berk.

Here is a topic that is often considered the absolute worst, orders of protection in Arizona family law cases where kids are involved.

First, a disclaimer: Some Orders of Protection have validity, and some actually work. There are people who seriously need to be protected from abusive or threatening individuals, and are at imminent risk of harm. Obtaining an Order of Protection does work if the person that you are attempting to restrain has some remnant of respect for the law, or fear of repercussion -- like arrest or imprisonment -- if he or she violates the order. And of course, an Order of Protection can assist responding police offcers in assessing and then directing what should be done temporarily while at the scene.

But improperly obtained Orders of Protection are a whole different story, and unfortunately are just as frequently the norm, and they hurt everyone.

In meritorious cases, family court judges can become so focused on the underlying motives for the requests for Orders of Protection that at-risk people may be denied the protection they need, sometimes with horrific consequences. It happens.

On the other hand, there are many instances when bogus Orders of Protections are obtained for use in manipulating other issues within a divorce or family law dispute.  For instance, a respondent is cut off from the kids, suddenly and indefinitely -- with little or no physical, telephone, written or even electronic contact -- while the case gets adjourned ad nauseum, based on allegations he or she never even had a chance to contest in court prior to the issuance of the Order of Protection.

As for the kids in these cases -- usually they are confused by the abrupt disappearance of one parent. If they are lucky, they won't get poisoned too much by the petitioner or his/her friends and relatives. However, there is a good chance they will.  To make matters worse, therapists often get involved and join the gang of total strangers (judges, law guardians, child protective services, forensic evaluators, etc. etc.) now intruding on the family without much investigation or information being obtained first.

Also, the petitioner, who thinks he or she has just scored big-time in the impending custody battle, may be completely oblivious to a bunch of problems that can result.  For instance, he or she may not have noticed the damage just caused his/her family - which no custody award in his/her favor will ever erase. And he or she runs the risk that a very patient respondent -- one who's prepared to ride the waves of mostly negative rulings for a while, and who's hired a good lawyer - will eventually expose the phony claims. If the respondent has a fair amount of facts in his/her favor, s/he may even prove it's the petitioner who's really harming the family. Boom. Custody unexpectedly awarded to the respondent.

The Court further ordered:

that any attorney currently appointed to represent a child in any dependency matter in the State is exempt from the introductory six (6) hours of court approved training.  All attorneys handling dependency matters, including those currently assigned cases, shall comply with the continuing training requirements outlined in the Duties and Responsibilities of Appointed Counsel and Guardians Ad Litem.

The Court of Appeals went on to state:

Thus, based on the plain language of the Guidelines and consistent with our case law and authorities from other jurisdictions, we hold the family court should have determined the value of Father’s on-base housing and considered, in the exercise of its discretion, whether that value was “significant and reduce[d] [his] personal living expenses,” instead of automatically excluding it from income simply because “the employer [was] the military.” As discussed above, the value of Father’s on-base housing could constitute an “in-kind or other non-cash benefit[]” received during employment if it is significant and reduces his personal living expenses.