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If you practice family law, you will need to be familiar with how to collect past due child support in your jurisdiction. Unfortunately, the nonpayment of support is a very common problem. It is amazing at how skillful some payors can be at avoiding their...

Besides knowing the law and empathizing with your client’s emotional state, a family law practitioner must have a pretty solid foundation in how to prepare a household budget and when and if bankruptcy should be considered. Why? Because, next to...

In common law property states, property following a marriage is divided by the equitable distribution method. Contrary to widespread belief, “equitable” does not mean equal. Instead, “equitable” means a division of assets according...

You may be amazed by the number of potential clients who meet with you to request to have their marriage annulled. Many people believe that their marriage can be annulled because it has not lasted for very long. Others need an annulment rather than a...

Deciding who will receive the marital home is one of the most difficult issues in a divorce. Generally, the parties’ home is the most valuable asset of the marriage. It is also often the center of family life, especially if there are young children...

When you prepare a child custody agreement for your client, the party entitled to claim the child is often a highly contested issue. After you have worked so hard to obtain the dependency exemption for your client, you need to be absolutely certain that...

While laws differ in each state with regard to dividing property in the context of a divorce, two primary methods exist: community property division and equitable distribution. Community Property Division In community property states, each spouse...

If parties to a divorce are able to agree on how to divide their assets, a formal property settlement agreement or separation agreement should be prepared. Detailed lists of who gets what should be included in this agreement. Usually, attorneys use form...

Whether you are approached by the mother or the putative father, you will likely deal with quite a few paternity issues in your family law practice. A paternity determination may be requested by the mother, the putative father, the child, or a court....

If you live in one of the nine community property states, property is not necessarily distributed equitably in a divorce action. Instead, marital property must be characterized as either community or separate prior to any distribution. Asset Characterization...

Custody clients often voice concerns about the other parent’s making derogatory remarks about the client to adversely influence the opinion of the parties’ child. When do mere derogatory remarks turn into a harmful psychological phenomenon...

This Glossary of Common Child Support Terms is intended to provide a listing of acronyms and definitions of terms used by child support workers to facilitate communication and understanding with regard to child support.

Committed but unmarried couples should consider making the following legal documents part of their portfolio: Powers Of Attorney A durable power of attorney and a living will (sometimes called a "durable power of attorney for health care"...

If your client and the other spouse file a joint tax return while the divorce is pending in order to obtain more favorable tax treatment, it is important to understand that generally both parties are jointly and severally liable for any mistakes or omissions...

When parents divorce, there are many financial, as well as emotional, issues to consider. When a household is split in two, whether both parents work or not, there is a direct impact on their finances. There are now two households, including more than...