Divorce and the Start of School If you are going through a separation and/or a divorce, please make sure that you are mindful of what your children are going through as well.  Children are often anxious with the school year starting and they need to know that both parents are going to support them.  Never discuss who is paying for what when it comes to school clothes or supplies in front of the children.  Parents should split these costs because they are extra and the items will help your children succeed in school.  Find out who your child’s teacher is and how you can getRead More →

Fall Divorces and Tax Issues Tax issues can arise when people decide to divorce in the fall of a tax year.  First, if you get divorced in the calendar year, you cannot file married jointly.  That means if the Judge signs your divorce judgment on December 31, 2011, then you can’t file jointly even if you lived together the whole year.  Often attorneys may hold the signed judgments until January 2nd of the new year so that the couple has the option of filing jointly for the previous year.  It is essential to speak with your accountant as you are going through the divorce processRead More →

2011 NON HOSTILE FAMILY LAW RESOLUTIONS It is the start of a new year and I wanted to let you know that the Court has lowered filing fees for divorce.  It costs $260 now for a divorce and $260 for a legal separation if you are filing in any county.  What a gift, to have fees actually go down!!!! 1.  I will promise to keep my child’s best interests in mind while going through this divorce or healing from this past divorce.  I understand that even though I am traumatized, my child is traumatized, too.  My child needs me to be mentally and physically healthy.Read More →

Summer Vacation and Divorce June 2012 It is hard to believe that summer is right around the corner. Without the structure of the school year children can experience additional stress, if mutually agreed upon plans are not made in advance for their summer vacation. It is important that parents take the time long before the last day of school to plan out their summer vacation schedule. Many parents rely on the Deschutes Parenting Plan or another plan ordered by the court to guide their children’s summer schedules. The parenting plan states that “prior to May 1, the non-residential parent shall notify the residential parent, inRead More →

SELLING THE FAMILY HOME AND DIVORCE April 2012 The family home is commonly the biggest asset in a divorce case.  Sadly, in these economic times the family home can be a troublesome area when it comes to divorce.  In the good old days, the home would be sold quickly and each party would have a nice pot of equity to restart their lives.  Today, a lot of family homes are upside down and no equity is to be had. There are different options that can be examined in a divorce situation.  One option would be for one of the spouses to remain in the familyRead More →

PERSONAL PROPERTY AND DIVORCE Who gets the couch?  Who gets the big screen television?  Unfortunately, sometimes people end up fighting over personal property in a divorce.  Each party has a 50% interest in any marital asset such as personal property.  However, there are some exceptions which would include inherited items, items that were purchased before marriage and items that are personal to the individual.  Obviously, a wife would have no marital interest in her Husband’s clothing.  What about the wedding ring?  The court in Mallorie and Mallorie (2006) concluded that a wife’s wedding ring should be treated as her separate property rather than as aRead More →

Filing Fees around the State are now uniform Merry Christmas!  The State of Oregon actually lowered our divorce filing fees to $260 as of October 1, 2011.  It used to cost $340 in Deschutes County to file for divorce but the State recently enacted a law that all counties must be uniform. It also costs $260 to file a filiation case (case where parents not married but have children together).  A Dissolution of a Domestic Partnership is $240 to file.  It was always a lot cheaper to divorce or separate in a small county as they did not have the overhead that bigger counties had. Read More →