On occasion, a spouse will separate and relocate without telling or notifying the other spouse. Most Court systems have a provision for granting a divorce when you cannot locate your spouse. The Court will usually have a procedure that allows service by publishing and mailing (to the last known address) notice of the divorce. Although the Court may decline to enter substantive orders (such as alimony or child support) without the presence of the other party, the divorce itself will almost certainly be granted.
Barry Lewis, Attorney at Law - Divorce Lawyer Massachusetts - http://www.DivorceLawyerMa.comArchive for July, 2009
I “lost” (Can’t Find) my Spouse - Can I Obtain a Divorce?
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Do you Really Want to File for Divorce 1st?
Sunday, July 19th, 2009There is no “one size fits all” answer as to whether you should be the first to file for divorce. There are various reasons why it may or may not be to your strategic advantage to be the first to file. You might even think of it in sports terminology: Do I play offense or defense?
Some of the reasons that you may want to file first include:
1) A likely decision by the Court that is favorable to what you are seeking;
2) A need to finalize the divorce as soon as possible to allow for remarriage;
3) A psychological need to end the marriage as soon as possible in order to move on with your life;
4) A need to send a clear and unequivocal message to your spouse that “the marriage is over and that there is no hope for reconciliation”;
5) A need to force your spouse to vacate the marital domicile;
6) A need to put into place orders to protect marital assets;
7) A need to obtain orders for alimony or child support;
8 ) A need to obtain an order for child custody or to ask that you be allowed to remove the children from the current state of residence;
9) A need to expedite the sale of a marital home or other marital property.
Conversely, some of the reasons that you may not want to be the first to file for divorce include the following:
1) A likely decision by the Court that would not be favorable to you (and the possibility that you might be able to arrive at an agreement with your spouse that would be signifcantly better for you than what the Court would order in your circumstances);
2) Situations where the current support being provided by your spouse is more than you could reasonably expect the Court to order;
3) When your spouse is gravely ill and you want to preserve an interest in their portion of the marital estate;
4) Situations where your spouse is in a “hurry” to finalize a divorce (either for psychological reasons or for a desire to remarry) and you gain a tactical advantage in negotiating an agreement from their haste to resolve the matter as quickly as possible;
5) When you believe the marriage is still salvageable.
With the exception of the analysis of your particular situation and likely outcomes by the Court, most of the above is fairly straightforward. An experienced divorce attorney that understands the tendencies of the Courts and judges in your particular jurisdiction should be able to study your particular situation, perform this analysis and advise you as to your best course of action.
Barry Lewis, Attorney at Law - Divorce Lawyer Massachusetts - http://www.DivorceLawyerMa.comBad Economy? Why it Might be a Great Time to File for a Divorce or Modification!
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009I just read an article stating that the divorce rate is slightly down because of the economy. This is true. However, the Courts and attorneys that practice family law are busier than ever because people are reopening old support orders and filing for contempts as jobs are lost, incomes decrease, and asset values decline. Additionally, cases are being fought and litigated much harder and more aggressively as parties fight over an ever decreasing pie.
For some people (usually men), this is a great time to file for divorce. If you are already paying alimony or child support you might even consider filing for a modification. Alimony and child support orders are almost always based on current income. If you are unemployed or your income has decreased substantially, alimony and/or child support should reflect this and you should be paying less. Many people fail to have the Courts reduce their support obligation when they lose their jobs or their income decreases (it doesn’t automatically go down - you must go back to Court!) and end up with large arrearages. If your income subsequently increases, the party receiving the support will have to refile and bring you back to court to increase the support. Many (if not most) support recipients fail to do this. They usually don’t even know that the income of the payor has increased! I have seen many cases where support orders are based on incomes that are a fraction of the payor’s current income.
This becomes especially important in alimony cases. Depending upon the judge, alimony may be particularly difficult to change. If the alimony order was based on a period during which the payor’s income was low, it may be very difficult for the recipient spouse to obtain an increase.
Lastly, the value of assets that are usually retained by men in property settlements (such as a family business or stock options) may be temporarily depressed in a slow economy and therefore the wife would receive a smaller share of other assets to accomplish property division.
Barry Lewis, Attorney at Law - Divorce Lawyer Massachusetts - http://www.DivorceLawyerMa.comHow Long has your Attorney been in Practice?
Friday, July 3rd, 2009You wouldn’t want to have major surgery performed by an inexperienced surgeon. Why would you want to have an inexperienced attorney represent you in your divorce?
Don’t assume that just because your attorney looks older that he is experienced. In the day of evening law schools, there are many attorneys for whom law is a second career. An attorney that has nothing to hide will welcome questions such as “When did you pass the bar?” and “How many years have you been practicing as an attorney?”. If the attorney doesn’t give you a satisfactory answer, look elsewhere.
Barry Lewis, Attorney at Law - Divorce Lawyer Massachusetts - http://www.DivorceLawyerMa.com