Community property is the property acquired by either spouse during the period of marriage. It is different from separate property. The divorce settlement agreement should include all community property. A spouse may also be eligible for some reimbursement claims based on their economic contribution.
The term spousal support is an acronym for alimony or maintenance that are more widely used and publicized. It involves transfer of money or assets from on spouse to another in the event of a divorce. Spousal support normally comes into picture after the divorce is finalized or endorsed by a court of law. For a long time, “alimony” or “maintenance” has been looked upon as a series of payments from the male spouse to the female upon divorce. With the no-fault divorce evolving, the gender has become disassociated with the term giving rise to “spousal support”.
An economist looks at the cost of raising children as a function of the parent’s income. Such precise data and inputs are hard to find. The only source of such data is the consumer expenditure surveys which have various different objectives other than child support. The “cost of raising children” is something that has to arrived upon before proceeding further to examine each parent’s contribution towards it.
Child custody is the right to physically posses and bringing up a child in the event of a marriage breakdown resulting in divorce. Child custody is of two kinds that can be combined to have various forms, and is awarded on a case to case basis. Child custody is awarded by a court of law in the most unbiased manner as possible from the facts of the case. Therefore, a parent who does not get child custody is regarded as less qualified to get custody, although he/she may think otherwise. A parent who does not get physical custody is however entitled to periodic visitations with the child normally at his/her home unless there is reasonable evidence that the parent may cause harm to the child, or has been found guilty of abuse in the past, the court may order for supervised visitation or even deny it.
In the past, during the beginning of the 20th century, children were normally awarded to the father in a rare event of divorce. In those days, children were considered as property and the courts assumed that the father has a right to children’s labor and services. However, this began to change in the first few decades and mothers were awarded custody based on the “tender years” doctrine, which assumed that children should be with their mothers during their formative or tender years. These presumptions made divorces very predictable with respect to custody and most other aspects were overlooked.
The high rate of incidence of separation of parents as well as out-of-wedlock births have caused too much distress and suffering for a child in the world. With it comes the complicated area of “Child Support”.
As evident from many opinions, marriages are made in heaven, but relationships are to be practiced right here. When a relationship like marriage does not work and goes the way of divorce, it hurts since the couple has failed to work the marriage. A divorce proceeding thus puts both your destinies in the hands of lawyers, who are in the least knowledgeable about your family, its workings, aspirations and goals. Although one of the couple always wins in the court of law, eventually both lose out and realize years later how bitter the loss was.
Another option to litigation is resolution of the conflict outside the court of law using the process of mediation or arbitration. These methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) have been on the rise in the few years because of their cost effectiveness and the processes being less time consuming. ADR’s also do not tie up emotional happiness and financial resources for long times as many litigations do.
Children that are victims of divorce face too many challenges and undergo a lot of stress. These conditions are often not recognized by the parents who are planning the next battle in the court. They are too engrossed in their emotional turmoil and needs to pay heed to the needs of the children. The bitter contention and many a time, making the difficult decision in front of the world is too much for a tender child to bear.
Love is blind. So, the idea of having a prenuptial agreement seems very unromantic and cold. With the increasing rate of divorces today, having a prenuptial agreement should be looked upon as a considerate and practical way to make decisions on certain issues regarding financial matters, prior to the marriage.
A postnuptial agreement could be called a contract between spouses. It is very much similar to a prenuptial agreement except that a postnuptial agreement is signed after the marriage. A postnuptial agreement is made to make sure the ongoing marriage is smooth sailing and free from financial fights. A postnuptial agreement must contain a full and fair disclosure from both spouses and have independent attorneys.
Under the laws of the USA, spousal abuse is considered a form of domestic violence. This is a very serious crime, irrespective of the gender involved. Normally an incident of domestic violence warrants a police call and the police department is required to submit a report. In these cases, the police is empowered to arrest the abuser or abusing spouse and recommend a prosecution for felony of misdemeanor. Only the office of the District Attorney is empowered to drop charges in cases of domestic violence or spousal abuse. Although dropping of charges is rare, most cases are known to go to trial.
Violence in any form is unpardonable. This is more so in case of domestic violence. Domestic violence is described as the violence or abuse that takes place between family members such as spouses, boyfriend or girlfriend or date.
A legal proceeding that involves issues of visitation, custody and child support in unmarried parents is known as a Paternity lawsuit. It is similar to a dissolution proceeding and involves the establishment of parentage.
