Recent Blog Posts
Bankruptcy Basics: Understanding the Discharge Process
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Appellate Court in St. Louis Grants Couple “Joint Custody” of Their Frozen Embryos
Technology and medicine have made massive advancements over the last several years. In fact, things have progressed so quickly that the law has fallen behind. Consider, for example, the numerous cases involving frozen embryos, many with different outcomes. One of the most recent cases involves the awarding of “joint custody” to a divorcing couple in Missouri. Learn more about this recent case, some of the previous rulings, and how all this could impact your divorce case if there are frozen embryos involved.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/divorced-st-louis-county-couple-s-frozen-embryos-are-property/article_396ca794-e3d3-5166-9e29-485feff8e6d4.html
Can You Keep Your Home After Bankruptcy?
While the decision to file for bankruptcy should never be taken lightly, it is important to distinguish the difference between fact and fiction. For example, prospective filers are often told that they will lose home in the process. However, this is not always the case. Learn more about what happens to your home in a bankruptcy case, and discover what an experienced attorney may be able to do for you.
Understanding the Basics
Bankruptcy is a process in which a debtor comes to the court, asking to be released from their obligation to their creditors. It is, in many ways, a fresh start. Keep in mind, however, that it does not come without cost. Your credit does take a hit (though not quite as severely as people make it out to be). You may also lose some (or most) of your assets, but homesteads are protected. As such, they are treated quite differently in bankruptcy than other assets.
What Divorcing Biological Parents Need to Know About Adoption
When parents face an unplanned pregnancy or a pregnancy during divorce, they have three options: parent, terminate the pregnancy, or place the child up for adoption. Choosing the latter option, adoption, does not mean that a parent is “giving up;” it means they are making the best possible decision for everyone involved in their situation at that time. This decision belongs to the biological parents, particularly the mother, and no one else. However, even a decision made to place a child up for adoption remains unenforceable unless certain specific prerequisites are met.
A Biological Parent’s Rights Regarding Adoption at the Time of Birth
When a situation, such as a pending annulment or divorce, changes the dynamic of a family, a mother sometimes determines she does not want to be a single mother, or that it is not the appropriate time for her to raise a child. The birth mother has all of the rights and responsibilities as a parent to her child until she officially relinquishes her rights.
Factors to Consider When Filing for Bankruptcy During Divorce
Divorce can be stressful for anyone, but it becomes especially difficult when a couple is struggling with financial difficulties during the breakup of their marriage. When spouses are facing overwhelming debt, bankruptcy may be their best option, allowing them each to have a fresh start after they have dissolved their marriage. However, if you are considering both bankruptcy and divorce, there are several issues that you should pay attention to when determining your best path forward:
Should I File for Bankruptcy Before or After Divorce?
In most cases, filing for bankruptcy prior to filing for divorce is the best option. When debts are shared by spouses, they can each be pursued by creditors if they fail to make payments. By filing for bankruptcy together, they can discharge their mutual debts, ensuring that neither spouse will be responsible for repayment of these debts after divorce.
How Bankruptcy Can Help You Recover a Repossessed Vehicle
Getting behind on your bills due to unforeseen life events takes a toll on both your credit score and your emotional well-being. When your vehicle becomes repossessed, it may feel like the world has collapsed around you. How are you going to get to work? If you have no reliable transportation, how will you keep your job to pay bills and put food on the table? As contradictory as it may seem, filing for bankruptcy can help.
Get Your Vehicle Back
Many lenders do not give any advanced notification of an upcoming repossession. If you are behind on your payments, filing for bankruptcy can prevent the lender from taking your vehicle without warning. When you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay is placed on all of your bills, preventing lenders and creditors from pursuing any collection actions, including repossessions and harassing phone calls. It may be possible to reclaim a repossessed vehicle, so long as it has not already been sold. Typically, lenders successfully sell these vehicles in under two weeks, depending on a variety of factors, so it is important to move quickly after a repossession.
Tips to Help Older Children and Young Adults Deal with Divorce
Younger children undoubtedly need more hands-on attention in all areas of life. In addition to learning how the world works, their psyche needs development. Negative experiences can leave a lasting impact on infants, toddlers, and young children. Although older children and young adults are more capable of understanding situations and are generally self-reliant, coping with the divorce of their parents has a dramatic impact on their lives as well. Whether they are a pre-teen or an adult, your children still need you to help them through your divorce.
Show Them They Are Loved
While younger children often need to hear that your divorce was not because they did anything wrong and that both parents still love them, older children and young adults also need to witness that they are loved. Older kids likely already know that the divorce is not their fault; their concern is how this will impact the future. Will you both be able to attend their graduation? Will you be civilized at their wedding? Who will attend family events? Older children need to know that your love for them is greater than the anger you and your spouse have toward each other.
Can You Discharge Child Support or Maintenance (Alimony) in Bankruptcy?
When finances get tight, most people take an in-depth look at each of their monthly expenses and consider cutting out what they do not need. If, after making adjustments to your budget, you still cannot make ends meet, you may begin researching and considering the option of bankruptcy.
On payday, the first bill paid often covers housing. Next come all of the other expenses necessary to make the house run, such as electricity, water, and other utility bills. The phone bill, car note, and insurance payments rank next in the order of importance. If there is anything left of the paycheck, many people who are experiencing financial hardship must decide between paying their court-ordered maintenance (formerly known as alimony) or child support payments and buying food for themselves.
When times get tough, many find that bankruptcy is a prime solution to make a fresh financial start. Unfortunately, many people wait months or until there are looming legal repercussions to seek help. At this point, a significant number of bills may be months past due, and outstanding debts and interest (known as “arrears”) can add up quickly. When your domestic support payments (child support and maintenance) are past due, the punishments can also be damaging to your future, and worse, result in a jail sentence. If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, you may wonder if your past-due child support and maintenance payments are dischargeable.
Divorce and Bankruptcy: Which to File First
For many families today, divorce and bankruptcy tend to go hand-in-hand. Every situation is different, but divorce may occur as a result of financial strain, or a separation may result in economic pressure for both spouses. Regardless of what starts the struggle, both divorce and bankruptcy can be emotionally complicated. However, if you plan ahead and understand the legal issues you must address, this will help the process proceed more smoothly and result in less of a strain overall. Typically, couples choose one of two options:
Option 1: File for Bankruptcy First
Filing for bankruptcy first offers many benefits. For instance, you and your spouse can file for bankruptcy jointly, which saves money and may increase the number of exemptions you are allowed to take. Additionally, if one spouse is the sole breadwinner of the household, you have a higher likelihood of qualifying for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which eliminates most unsecured debts, will help you get out of high car payments, and can reduce the fight over finances during divorce.
Benefits of Creating a Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreement
Although prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are often associated with the benefits they may provide during the divorce process, not all of their perks are related to divorce, or even legal separation. While you are blissfully planning your upcoming nuptials or are happily married, you may find the idea of a prenup or postnup unromantic or unappealing. However, these types of contracts do not doom your marriage to failure. Marriages that begin with such contracts often have a more open and honest beginning, which can create a stronger foundation for a long-lasting union.
These are some of the primary benefits that many couples enjoy when they create a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement:
Open Communication Before You Say “I Do”
Finances are often a hot topic during divorce cases, especially when it comes to hidden debts or assets. Many people enter into marriage only to discover that their new spouse has thousands of dollars in student loan debt. When you add that to the price of a potential mortgage and the wedding expenses themselves, there may be little left with which to begin a family. A discovery of this magnitude can put a strain on any union and alter the dynamic of a family, forcing spouses to adjust their goals and expectations for their marriage.
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