There are dozens of books and web pages about how to heal from a divorce. What few people talk about is how a divorce can itself be a healing process. Here are a few circumstances where that might be true — situations where a married couple might actually begin a healing process by splitting up: Read more
Divorce is rarely easy. However, it’s surprising how hard it can be for couples to part ways when one spouse wants out and the other doesn’t. Part of the reason for this is that most people simply don’t know much about how divorce laws work or, even, how to begin proceedings for filing for divorce, so they struggle to find their way through the process — held hostage, sometimes, to their own mistakes and misunderstandings. Read more
She’d been separated from her husband for eons, and their divorce wasn’t making much headway. So when Tricia’s boyfriend proposed elopement after a whirlwind courtship, she agreed. After all, she figured, she lived two states away from her soon-to-be-ex husband and they weren’t on speaking terms—plus she’d blocked him on Facebook, so he couldn’t see her posts. He’d never find out. And she and her boyfriend could simply “renew their vows” at a later date to make it legal, right?
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It’s often taken for granted many times that divorce is a time of turmoil, anger, regret, hostility, and stress. Does that have to be the case? Recently, a “peaceful divorce movement” has developed to try to limit some of the emotional harm that divorce does to families. The goal is to enable couples, particularly couples with kids, to “un-couple” without ripping apart the legacy of their lives together. Family gatherings or childrens’ functions become a great deal more enjoyable when you don’t have to dread the presence of your former spouse. Read more
There is plenty of step-by-step advice out there on how to file for divorce. But in our experience, there’s almost no discussion of the preparations you need to do before filing. Filing for divorce is like skydiving: there’s an awful lot of logistical planning to do in the weeks and months prior to the jump.
So before you start filling out forms, consider these five steps: Read more
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a divorce boom among the over-50 crowd. “Gray divorce” is on the increase in spite of an overall trend of lower divorce rates. Although the WSJ’s article was exploring why this trend is happening, we’d like to point out that there are some unique factors in later-life divorce that might make a difference in how you go about a post-50 split. Read more
Alimony reform is in the air in New Jersey. Following the lead of Massachusetts and Florida, legislation is being introduced to overhaul the state’s current rules for awarding spousal support, which many say are outdated for today’s economic conditions. Read more
Ending a marriage is difficult enough. But if you’re recently separated or divorced, you have the added burden of figuring out a new and more complicated tax situation. In our founding partner’s most recent Huffington Post piece (see below for the link), Bari Weinberger gave us answers to the top four tax questions she gets asked by clients who are in the process of divorce. We’re following up with three more common mistakes divorced taxpayers make on their taxes and how to avoid them. Read more
You’ve lived there for 20 years. Now one of you has to leave. And a central question in divorce is: Who gets the house?
It may seem like getting the family home in the divorce settlement is a victory. But is it? Think it through: along with the property come property taxes. And there’s usually a mortgage (which in many cases is too much for one person to afford easily). If you’re like most couples, you and your spouse have precious little equity to show for your home ownership right now—but trying to sell is going to be a lengthy affair. You may even lose money. So is it a blessing to get the house — or a burden? Read more
When Jennifer Lopez went on the Today Show last month, she brought up an interesting subject: What happens when the guy you’re divorcing is the same guy you’re in business with? In J-Lo’s case, Lopez is co-producing a new TV series, “Q’Viva — The Chosen,” with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony. The project has been in the works since long before the couple decided to split and — surprisingly — the business venture will survive their split. As Jennifer explained to Today Show host Matt Lauer, the passion and commitment both she and Marc feel towards the show outweighs their personal differences, so they have agreed to keep working together, despite any leftover emotional baggage. Read more
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