Law and Justice

Posts Tagged ‘Divorce’

There comes a time when couple just have to separate for good, a term described as divorcing. Different factors leads to divorce. It may be because one partner has turned out to be abusive, alcoholic or have health complications. Whatever the cases there are always laws governing such process. One such is family law office Orange County.

Like any other divorce cases, family law office Orange County provides an opportunity for each partner with an access for getting a divorce attorney. This is the person who is going to be responsible in handling legally divorce matters.

The process is not different from other court cases.  A complaint need to make formal accusation alleging the reason why he or she needs to get a divorce from his or her spouse. After getting that formal request, it should be presented by claimant’s attorney to the accused person. A claimant will not be allowed to present divorce papers directly to his or her spouse more so if they currently are legally separated,, whereby, one person has a restriction order forbidding one from accessing either physically or otherwise his or properties.

The person summoned by divorce papers should appear to family law offices accompanied by his or her lawyer on the stipulated date. If this will not be possible, it is wise to inform the court formally before hearing period. All parties have an option of presenting their needs in regards to who to remain in family house, who to take care of the children and stay with them. In most cases a party that opts to stay with the children remains to stay in the family house. The other party is given assigned dates and times of meeting the children. Family law office Orange County however, has both parties interest at heart and makes sure that each party walks out smiling.

Does this sound like an oxymoron? It certainly seems impossible, yet if you are in a situation where you feel like your marriage cannot be salvaged then you cannot even fathom how anything could keep your marriage together. Consider making an appointment with a divorce lawyer as a final effort to fix the state of your relationship.

The word “divorce” certainly feels like a bad word as it exits your mouth. It also has a ring of finality to it. Having a meeting with a divorce attorney feels even more final, as if there is no turning back at that point. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. The reality is that there is always the opportunity to turn back and not go through with a divorce. In fact, most states have a specific waiting period before a divorce can be deemed final, and therefore, legal with the hope that at least some couples with withdraw their divorce petitions and work things out. Visiting a MN divorce law firm may be the very thing your marriage needs to get back on track.

First, when you go to a MN divorce law firm and sit down with a divorce attorney, the reality begins to sink in. It is no longer a threat, but something that may and probably will actually happen, which means that you are beginning to truly imagine your life without your partner. It may cause you to think back to your happier times and all the reasons why you fell in love with your spouse in the first place. You may have some recent bad memories, but you probably also have months and years of many wonderful memories together. Those tend to flood back when you are preparing to say your final goodbyes to your relationship. Think about those memories, what made them so special and whether or not you really want to give that all up. This appointment with the attorney may very well put things into perspective for you.

When you are at the MN divorce law firm meeting with a divorce attorney, you should talk about why you are there. What are the reasons that you are considering filing for divorce? There are many reasons why marriages end in divorce, such as infidelity, arguments due to finances, or differences in how to rear your children, to name a few. As you sit there, you must again decide if the strain in your marriage is important enough to break up your relationship forever. This may be the first time you start to think about ways you might be able to work together on repairing your relationship and forgiving each other for past bad behavior.

Divorce attorneys see all sorts of relationship problems every day as their office deals with separation, divorce and custody issues throughout the day. This also gives these attorneys some insight on relationships that may or may not make it in the long run. Many a MN divorce law firm has a large number of marriage and family therapists to whom they can refer you to see if marriage counseling may help resolve your differences. This is always a good step to take before making the final decision to get a divorce. This little nudge with a marriage counseling referral may be exactly what you and your spouse needed to work through your problems.

Marriage is hard and it takes work. A married couple will not always see eye to eye on things and sometimes not handle situations in the best way. But the institution of marriage is important, especially when there are children involved. Couples should be willing to do anything to make their marriage work. As off the wall as it sounds, a visit to a MN divorce law firm may be just the thing to put it all into perspective and remind you why you fell in love and got married in the first place.

Brown Family Law is a MN divorce law Firm of experienced divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our Attorneys represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our Blog – http://www.mnfamilylawblog.com/ – for advice and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.

There are a number of different issues that arise as part of divorce proceedings. No divorce can or will be finalized by the family court until all the relevant issues are finally resolved, whether by way of a settlement agreement or through a trial. Most divorce cases do not make it to trial, unless each and every issue is highly contested. If you are one of those people, be aware that such a divorce will end up costing a lot of money in attorney’s fees and costs. Most divorces are resolved through a settlement agreement, often called a Marital Settlement Agreement. Your Twin Cities law firm will help guide your case to a settlement that is reasonable and relatively satisfactory to all parties and which addresses each and every applicable issue.

One of the issues that are dealt with in divorce proceedings is the division of property and financial assets, and then their distribution. As your Twin Cities law firm will inform you, you and your spouse will need to document any and all assets you held together during the marriage that is not legally deemed separate property. Separate property is any property that was brought into the marriage, or was received by gift or inheritance during the marriage. Any other property that was “earned” or purchased during the marriage or towards which marital earnings were paid will be subject to a 50-50 division. Bank accounts, 401(k) and profit sharing assets, car values, personal property values, such as your furniture and electronics in your home, and the value of your home if you own your home are all assets that will likely need to be divided. Of course, you cannot cut up the TV or the house.

As such, the value of each asset is determined and then divided such that each side retains items that represent 50% of that value. With homes, typically one spouse keeps the home and the other spouse retains other assets that equal the value of the home. When that is not possible or desirable, the family home is sold with each spouse receiving one half of the proceeds. The spouses will also have to share 50% each in the marital debt that accumulated during the marriage. Spousal support will also typically be awarded in a divorce to the lower earning spouse. In addition, the lower earning spouse can sometimes get the higher earning spouse to pay all or a portion of their Twin Cities law firm attorney’s fees.

Aside from property division and spousal support, a major issue that comes up in divorce is custody of any children from the marriage. This is always the most sensitive issue in a divorce. This is something that you will need to heavily lean on your Twin Cities law firm, who can not only advise you on your rights and how the courts typically address custody, visitation and child support, but can also provide you with the emotional support you will likely need. The courts will always rule in favor of what is in the best interests of the child. If that means they live with mom and visit with dad, then that will happen. They will often look to see what type of custody and visitation has been taking place since the couple have separated as well as who has been the primary caregiver to the children. The age of the children is also a factor. The custodial parent will usually receive some child support with the amount being dependent upon the amount of time the custodial parent has the children and the difference between the incomes of the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent.

As you can see, there are many aspects to a divorce that require the expertise and guidance of a Twin Cities law firm specializing in this area of the law. It is always wise to hire an attorney to handle your divorce, but this is especially so when there are children involved. Children become such an emotionally charged issue in a divorce and your attorney will best be able to help work through it and do what is best for your children in the end.

Brown Family Law is a Twin Cities Law Firm of experienced divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our Lawyers represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our Blog – http://www.mnfamilylawblog.com/ – for advice and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.

Divorce cases, no matter how cut-and-dry they may seem, can sometimes take a long time to get through the court systems and finalize.  A number of factors may predetermine the length of the divorce case, but if you and your ex-wife cannot make agreements on anything, you can plan on the case going to trial and being decided by a judge.  But what exactly does the judge make decisions on?

The judge in divorce court will first address the division of property.  This means property, material goods, assets, etcetera will be split in a fair and proper way, and will be determined by a number of issues already pending through your divorce case.

If you have children, the judge will also decide upon who gets custody of the children, develops a vague and basic parenting plan for the parents to abide by, and decides on child support payments, alimony and maintenance that may be involved.  This will typically be based on each of the spouse’s incomes and financial situations.

The judge in a divorce case has a lot to consider, and must look at every aspect of the divorce itself to come up with a plan that works and is agreeable by all parties involved.  Although the judge may not make decisions that you necessarily agree with, he is typically required to make difficult decisions on his own and will try to be as fair and non-judgmental as he can.  Remember, though, that if the judge makes a decision that you do not agree with, you can always appeal the decision in the higher courts.

Children are involved in the marriage, so you know there are going to be custody rights that need to be decided on. Child support will also have to be worked out. Begin your search for the right MN Family Law Firm as soon as possible. The phone book will yield a wealth of names, as well as a search on the Internet. Begin by researching the backgrounds of each attorney listed in the firm’s directory.

You are each going to have to enlist the services of an attorney because it is not customary to have the same lawyer handle the case for both of you when there are certain issues like support and custody involved. The only time it is recommended is if you and your spouse are in complete agreement, have worked out all the terms between yourselves, and just need the services of an attorney associated with a reputable MN Family Law Firm to file the necessary paperwork for you.

This is rarely the case, however. Somewhere along the line one of the parties involved will object to something the other is asking for, and then the fireworks are liable to start. What started out as a friendly, amicable divorce may escalate into a bitter court battle that may tend to drag on for a very long time, or at least until one party or the other is willing to concede to the demands. The attorney you have hired at the MN Family Law Firm will be able to apply his or her expertise to working out an agreement that will eventually make everyone happy, but this can take considerable time, especially if the lawyer your spouse has retained is being overly aggressive in the interest of his or her client.

The two attorneys will meet, with or without you and your spouse, to discuss the options and come up with a plan that will enable both parties to walk away from the marriage with their pride intact, along with any assets that may have been the cause of the difficulties. A good, solid MN Family Law Firm is needed to work with the family to see that all ends well for the involved parties, and the divorce decree is finally granted without having to go to court and putting all your private matters on display. It will be less traumatizing for any children if they can see that their parents are trying to work through the issues instead of constantly battling each other for control.

Brown Family Law is a MN Family Law Firm of divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our attorneys represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our MN Family Law Firm Blog for information and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.

It is never wise to represent yourself. Even lawyers tend to hire other lawyers to represent them in various matters. This is for two reasons. First, all lawyers are not experts in all areas of the law, especially in areas that require specialized knowledge such as family law. Second, when one is dealing with their own personal lawsuit, one is more emotionally attached to the situation. As such, emotions can interfere with effective handling of the case. This is especially so in the case of divorce. Hiring a MN divorce law firm to handle your divorce will ensure that your case is handled professionally, objectively, skillfully, and with your best interests at the forefront.

But how can you keep your costs down if you engage the services of a MN divorce law firm? For some people, it is worthwhile to have a prenuptial agreement drawn up prior to even entering into the marriage. This is typically done when one spouse has significantly more personal wealth and / or assets than the other and wishes to protect that wealth and assets should there be dissolution of the marriage at a later date. If your prenuptial agreement is ironclad, then there should be fewer issues to be addressed at the time of divorce as a settlement of the marital property has already been agreed upon ahead of time. There may end up being some custody, visitation and child support issues, but if the parties work together to come to a mutually agreeable solution and schedule, it should not take a great deal of time to work through. If the parties honor their prenuptial agreement and do not attempt to contest it at the time of divorce, the process should go relatively smoothly without incurring much in the way of attorney’s fees.

The majority of people, however, do not enter into prenuptial agreements. Without having an agreement ahead of time how the marital assets would be divided or a settlement should the marriage end, there tends to be more fighting between the couple on these issues, as well as on custody issues. The best way to minimize costs in a divorce and custody case is to work with the other side to come to a resolution quickly that will satisfy all parties as best as possible. The more couples fight in a divorce, the more it costs. If one or both parties intend to fight over each and every little item, the case will drag on possibly for years, racking up the MN divorce law firm attorney’s fees.

This not only hurts your pocket, but if you have children, it hurts them as well. If you and your spouse can work in a cooperative manner to resolve your case quickly, then your attorney will not need to engage in discovery, which can end up costing a lot of money, especially if it gets to the point of depositions. Discovery is typically needed in a divorce case if one or both parties are attempting to hide information, such as assets. Your MN divorce law firm is certainly capable of conducting discovery if need be, but it is best to avoid getting to that point. Moreover, the longer you drag out your divorce, the more animosity builds up between the parties and it become a vicious cycle that feeds upon itself.

Cooperation is definitely the key to keeping divorce costs down as much as possible. An amicable divorce means an inexpensive divorce, where you will likely only need to spend attorney’s fees and costs on the initial divorce petition and the cost of filing it in court and the drafting of a settlement agreement. If you are truly concerned about being able to afford to hire a divorce attorney to handle your matter, make an appointment with a MN divorce law firm and discuss your concerns. You will likely be presently surprised on how willing they will be to help you find ways to minimize the expense of your divorce and even ways that you can spread out your payments.

Brown Family Law is a MN divorce law Firm of experienced divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our attorney’s represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our Blog – http://www.mnfamilylawblog.com/ – for advice and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.

Courts make determinations in law and in equity. By ‘in law’ is meant following a specific law – constitutional law, state law, etc. By ‘in equity’ is meant determining what is ‘fair’ to do where now law specifically rules. An example is determining how to distribute the assets in a divorce among the husband and wife.

Common law refers to the myriad of decisions made by judges and appeals courts. Maxims of Common Law are ‘guiding truths’. Adhering to them helps judges make fairer decisions. They’re ignored in family court determinations since fairness is a wholly secondary issue. This article overviews what these maxims are.

Maxims are absolutely essential to the preservation of rights and fair treatment to all litigants. Maxims:

* represent ‘self-evident’ truth – as mentioned in our Declaration of Independence when it referred to ‘all men’ as being created equal.

* serve to guide judicial determinations in the same way that ‘axioms’ guide the analysis of mathematical determinations

* promotes fair dealing and unbiased justice – a clearly essential issue in the purpose of courts

Courts, primarily established to enforce the principles of common law, are bound by common law rules of equity that should be grounded in the never-changing maxims. This grounding serves to restrain the court’s wanton discretion in equity law determinations.

Examples of Maxims:

Let’s take a look at some examples to see the nature of maxims -as self-evidently fair. Here’s an important one:

*The certainty of a thing arises only from making a thing certain.

This implies that the court should seek clear proof of allegations made against someone and not rule on just the allegations or weakly supported ones. Family court ignores these maxims all the time.

*The safety of the people cannot be judged but by the safety of every individual.

Laws which supposedly protect the safety of some people at the expense of other people’s rights violate this maxim. A clear example of such a violation is present day domestic restraining order laws which are rampantly and unjustly imposed upon so many fathers.

*Law is unjust where it is uncertain or vague in its meaning.

Laws should be clear so that one knows precisely when he’s breaking such a law. Remember the violation of laws brings consequences on those who violate them. Vague laws are considered unconstitutional. An example of vague standard of law is the ‘best interest of the child’ standard – used to unjustly deny fit fathers custody of their children.

*The Burden of Proof lies on him who asserts the fact -not on him who denies it.

This is based on the fact that you can’t prove a negative. Courts that force people to prove a negative are examples of kangaroo courts. Family courts jail fathers when they can’t prove that they don’t have money to pay!

*No one should be believed except upon his oath.

This simply means that anyone who will give testimony must be sworn in. That way he can be charged with perjury – which is a felony (a serious crime) – if he can be found to be intentionally lying. No ‘swearing in’ means no perjury and no penalty for lying.

*Perjured witnesses should be punished for perjury and for the crimes they falsely accuse against him.

This is the bottom line of enforcing honesty in court testimony. Unfortunately perjury is almost never punished -allowing the degradation of court integrity – so obvious in family court.

*Every home is a castle; though the winds of heaven blow through it, officers of the state cannot enter.

This is from English common law which made a man’s home sacrosanct. It should still be true. It requires officers to have warrants to enter a home. A warrant is permission from a judge based on good cause to enter a home.

*No man should profit by his own wrong or, He who does not have clean hands, cannot benefit from the law

This is self-evident. An extreme case is the child that pleads mercy because he’s an orphan – but only because he murdered his parents.

*He who uses his legal rights harms no one.

But, fathers are routinely punished by seeking their rights in family court.

*No one is punished unless for some wrong act or fault.

But forced into the noncustodial status for doing no wrong would be considered punishment by any reasonable person.

*It’s natural that he who bears the charge of a thing, should receive the profits.

If you have all the obligations for something but none of the benefits, then you are a slave.

Fathers who go to family court observe clear violations of these maxims all the time. Such violations mean that there is a tyranny taking place.

Incoming search terms:

Dealing with getting a divorce in the first place can be quite scary and overwhelming, and it certainly brings with it a flurry of emotions. Finding an attorney to handle your divorce, especially when so much is personally at stake, can be downright daunting. Unless you have a large group of friends who are all in the legal profession, chances are you have no idea where to start. It is quite probable that you have a friend, or two, or maybe several who have been through a divorce themselves or know someone who has, especially since at least half of marriages today end in divorce. You can get a referral to a MN law firm that handles divorces from one of these people and get their opinions on that law firm and how their matter was handled. You can also get some insight from these people into the divorce process itself.

It is true that family law firms get a lot of clients through referrals from former clients or other attorneys. But if you are unable to get a referral to a MN law firm from someone you know or are somehow acquainted with, how do you go about finding a firm to handle your divorce? You can search the yellow pages, both the hard copy kind and an online version. You can find many law firms who advertise this way. You can then call some of those firms and ask some specific questions to find out if scheduling an in-person consultation is warranted. Some questions you may want to ask will include the require retainer amount and hourly rate, whether or not the law firm is certified as a family law specialist, their current caseload and the kind of attention your individual case will receive, and any other questions you may feel are pertinent to enable you to make a decision.

You can also contact the state or local bar association for referrals to family lawyers in the area. They should be able to point you in the direction of many a MN law firm who specialize in handling divorces. You can then contact each potential firm to ask questions and potentially schedule an appointment for a consultation.

You may want to schedule an in-person consultation with a few different law firms. Typically, that initial consultation is at no charge to you, so you need not worry about incurring a bunch of costs in your search to find the right MN law firm for you. In sitting down face to face and meeting a few different attorneys, you can get a good feel for the attorney who may ultimately represent you in your divorce. Your relationship with your divorce attorney is very important as you are entrusting a very emotional part of your life to this person. As such, you want to feel totally comfortable with your attorney and have the ultimate faith and trust in him. You also want someone who is truly listening to your wants and needs and addresses them accordingly, while at the same time provides you with honest, objective advice. You do not want someone that will just tell you what you want to hear to get your business and then find out that much of what he said was not exactly true.

A divorce can feel like your whole world is turned upside. During such a painful time, it is important that you have a family law attorney from a MN law firm that is truly there to support you and look out for your best interests. Take the time to do your homework, including meeting with a few attorneys in person, to make sure that you end up with an attorney you feel you can trust to resolve this matter for you.

Brown Family Law is a MN law firm of experienced divorce lawyers and attorneys focusing on Divorce and Family Law cases. Our Lawyers represent clients throughout Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area. Call or contact us or visit our Blog – http://www.mnfamilylawblog.com/ – for advice and guidance in contested divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody cases, child support, and more.