Articles Posted in Divorce / Dissolution of Marriage

Joe Francis, the infamous founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” brand, has announced his split to long-time girlfriend and wife (well not exactly), Christina McLarty, after seven short weeks of marriage. He released the following statement to Us Weekly:

“After careful and thoughtful consideration on both our parts, Christina and I have mutually decided to end our relationship. We entered into our relationship with love and it’s with love and kindness that we leave it. We wish each other the best for the future.”

The couple was married in November of 2010 after four years together. However, it is not through divorce that the couple will be ending their relationship. “There was no divorce and there will be no divorce because the couple was never legally married,” a publicist for Francis told RadarOnline.”

The catch is that the two were married during a lavish ceremony in Mexico where the civil ceremony has no legal effect in the United States. Since they never got a marriage license in the United States their marriage in Mexico is not legally recognized. This is one of the details that couples who plan on being married under the laws of the United States must pay close attention to if they want to benefit from the legal benefits of being married.

Of course, if you’re looking for a quick marriage, this may be the safest route.

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On November 4, 2010 a federal bankruptcy judge in West Virginia ruled that the obligation to pay a former spouse a debt under a divorce decree was dischargeable. In this case the former husband, who later filed for bankruptcy, owed the former wife money for her share of the equity in the marital home, attorney’s fees from the dissolution action, costs from the same action, and money owed on a credit card account. The former husband sought to have these debts discharged in a subsequent bankruptcy.

Typically support obligations arising out of a family law case are not dischargeable.

Under 11 U.S.C. sec. 523(a)(5), “[a] discharge under section . . . 1328(b) of this title does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt . . . (5) for a domestic support obligation.” The term “domestic support obligation” is defined in the Bankruptcy Code.

In this particular case the Court found that although the debts met three of the four elements under the definition of “domestic support obligations” under the Bankruptcy Code, they did not all meet the fourth requirement that the obligation be in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or support.

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In recent news it has been reported that actor Kelsey Grammer is getting divorced from his wife of thirteen years, Camille. A recent development in the case is that the actor has requested a bifurcation of the trial proceedings so he can finalize the divorce as soon as possible and marry his current fiance’ Kayte Walsh. It is reported that Kelsey Grammer did not have a prenuptial agreement with his current wife and will probably have to pay her at least $50 million as part of the settlement. The couple spent their marriage in California which is a community property state. This means that the money the couple earned while they were married is to be split evenly. Apparently they earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million dollars during the marriage from his acting career, multiple property deals, and other unknown sources. That money is subject to division according to California’s divorce laws.

I have had cases where clients will do the same thing in a Florida divorce. Often times it is for the same reason. I’m usually surprised that someone going through an expensive and litigious divorce would be willing to move so quickly into another marriage. The court, in these types of cases, will maintain jurisdiction to decide the property and support issues after the divorce is finalized. The purpose of the bifurcation is to separate the action into two separate cases so that one may be resolved quicker than the other. Often times there is no dispute that the couple wants the divorce. The more complex issue is who is entitled to what property.

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In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, economic researcher Justin Wolfers says that recent media accounts of how the economy has reduced both marriage and divorce rates is misleading, and that both are pretty much on the same track they have been on the past 30 years.

Noting that marriage and divorce rates have remained “remarkably immune” to the ebb and flow of business cycles, Wolfers said it is misleading to count marriages among people in their 20s and early 30s because the average age of marriage has been increasing since 1970 – it is now 28 for men and 26 for women.

Instead, he says, we need to look at the number of marriage certificates issued to gauge whether or not marriage and divorce rates are decreasing during the recession. For 2009, there were about 2.1 million of them issued in the U.S. – a slight decline since the recession began, but the same rate of decline that has existed for the last three decades.

If you are about to get a divorce or care about someone who is, there are some ways to make it less expensive that should be greatly appreciated in these trying economic times. Here are some tips on how to save money in a divorce:

Try to work out as much as possible in advance. The more you can agree on prior to involving attorneys, the cheaper it will be for both of you. Try to work out the division of assets and child custody issues so you only need to use your divorce lawyers for the legal stuff. Using your attorneys to argue with each other over who gets what piece of furniture and how you’ll handle holidays is a sure way to run up your legal bills in a hurry.

Get smart on your assets and liabilities. Engage a financial planner to help you make smart economic decisions for your future. Know exactly what and where your assets are, as well as the liabilities that each of you will be responsible for. Use the planner to help you figure out a fair approach to retirement account splits, alimony, etc.

Bitter Twitters and Facebook fits are becoming increasingly more common during bitter divorce and child custody disputes, and the idea of social media non-disclosure agreements between warring spouses is beginning to gain traction among divorce attorneys, according to a recent article in Canada’s National Post.

The Post interviewed celebrity divorce attorney Gloria Allred, who noted that the fact cyber-based non-disclosure is being discussed at all is a “2010 phenomenon” and a sign of the times. While most celebrity divorces include non-disclosure agreements, that trend has not yet filtered its way down to the mass divorcing public. However, that may soon change.

Recently, a judge in Canada told a father to “unfriend” his daughter on Facebook so she could not see the unflattering remarks about her mother on his wall page, and to change his password so she would not have access to his Facebook account.

A recent Reuters article focused on the use of financial advisers by divorce attorneys to help their clients discover hidden assets through the analysis of financial information.

Lili Vasileff, president of the Association of Divorce Financial Planners, gave the following tips for finding hidden assets:

Tax returns – examine the interest income schedules to ensure that all the accounts listed there are also listed on the net worth statement that divorcing spouses must fill out listing all their assets. You should also compare mortgage interest and real estate taxes listed on the return with the real estate listed on the net worth statement.

The wild rants of celebrities like Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin that were released to online sources and are now available to anyone may be tempting for spouses involved in a bitter divorce or custody dispute to emulate except for one big problem: it’s against the law.

Using a voice recorder to tape your ex’s rants as leverage or evidence in a divorce or child custody suit may be enticing, but it is also illegal and could do more harm than good to your own case.

In Florida, all parties must consent both to the recording and the disclosure of any wire, oral or electronic communication. If you record, disclose or try to disclose any of these types of communication, you could be charged with a felony, unless it is your first offense committed without any illegal purpose or commercial gain. In addition, the person you recorded without consent can sue you for damages.

Getting a divorce is bad enough emotionally without having to suffer unnecessarily when it comes to your finances. Here are some tips for making smart divorce financial decisions:

Count all your assets. In preparation for a divorce, you both will need to make an itemized list of all your assets. These should include both individual and joint assets, and cover what you have now as well as what you may expect in the future from inheritances, gifts, insurance policies, etc. Working with a financial professional like a certified divorce financial analyst can help you not only uncover all your assets but also project what you will likely need to live on in the future so you can negotiate for it in your divorce settlement.

Close joint accounts. First, be sure to check with your divorce attorney on when to close accounts so it doesn’t have an adverse impact on your case. If possible, divide the joint accounts equitably and open individual accounts.

A survey among 1,900 UK residents who divorced after the age of 50 found that a lack of intimacy was the main reason for their split. What differed between men and women was how they defined intimacy – one-third of men say their marriage ended because their partner was no longer interested in sex, while 28 percent of the women surveyed said they divorced because their partners became emotionally cold.

The survey also found that 14 percent say that nagging was responsible for their divorce, and 10 percent said they no longer had anything in common with their partners. Five percent of those surveyed said they had waited until later in life to divorce because of their children.

Researchers said they believe that older couples divorce for different reasons than younger couples. Once their children have left home and they are nearing the age of retirement, intimacy becomes a more important attribute in their choice of partner for their later years. In addition, women begin to see more opportunities for themselves that may not have been there when they were first married or occupied with raising children.