In the past twenty five years, a lot has been written about the pros and cons of divorce in United States society. The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are no exception. Laws concerning divorce have dramatically changed during this time. Unlike years in the past, Minnesota has No-Fault divorces today with the only legal reason for divorcing being the irretrievable breakdown in the marriage. The process of getting divorced in some instances is as easy as signing an agreement by both parties. So, how serious is divorce anyway?

If you and your spouse haven’t lived as husband and wife for very long, you are without children,  you have very little finances, and you have very few assets, divorce can be a viable alternative with minimal complications. Nevertheless, there still exists the potential for emotional and psychological turmoil that can have long term consequences to one or both of the party’s psychic. In our society, right or wrong, much of a woman’s or man’s success is measured by acquiring a mate capable of sustaining a marital relationship. In many cases, both the man and the woman’s self worth is tied to whether or not a marriage is successful. If this is so, then, why do we get divorced?

There are many factors for two married adults to come to the conclusion their marriage is irretrievably broken. Some of these contributing factors are:

• Poor communication – the personalities and education of a married couple are often times different. The words you may use can often times be misunderstood by your spouse, and the conflict resulting from misunderstanding can cause ongoing stress.
• Financial problems – we all have basic fundamental needs to survive like food, shelter, clothing, medical assistance, and transportation, and they all cost money. When you are deprived of these basic necessities, problems will arise that are very stress related.
• A lack of commitment to the marriage – marriage is a contract between two people requiring hard work, commitment, social skills, and determination. When you lack any of these characteristics or fail to see marriage for what it really is, stress is sure to follow.
• A dramatic change in priorities – having children, a loss of your job, a move from your home, a need for a fresh change can all contribute to changing your marital priorities and can bring unwanted stress.
• Spiritual differences – when you and your spouse have religious differences, your outlook and attitude about marriage, children, sex, family, and work may be different. As a result these differences can create stress through the conflicts of misunderstandings.
• Sexual differences – with the invention of the internet, sexual awareness seems to be at an all time high. When you or your spouse have different opinions about sex, your differences can cause stress in the bedroom, a place that should be for gratification and relief.
• Infidelity- when you or your spouse are unhappy in your relationship, being unfaithful to the contract can create not only mistrust but monumental stress as well.
• Abuse – both psychological and physical abuse from a dominating spouse within a marriage can contribute to long lasting stress related problems.

Stress, created by a variety of circumstances, seems to be the overwhelming culprit causing divorce. You might think solving the dilemma could occur by simply managing stress, either through medication or seeing a counselor. Nevertheless, many have undergone counseling and taken prescribed medications, but they still want a divorce. So, what has been the results of almost 50% of the marriages in the United States ending in divorce?

Thirty years of study found that the decline of the two-parent, married-couple family results in poverty, educational failure, unhappiness, anti-social behavior, isolation, emotional problems, and social exclusion for thousands of women and men. Especially affected, are the children of divorce.(“Experiments in Living: The Fatherless Family”, Rebecca O’Neill, September 2002, Institute for the Study of Civil Society.)

Research shows that 63 percent of youth suicides, 90 percent of all runaway children, 85 percent of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders, 80 percent of rapes motivated with displaced anger, 71 percent of all high school dropouts, and 85 percent of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes or men of fatherless homes. Other researchers found that the younger the child is at the time of the divorce the greater the impact. Note that, currently, nearly two of every five children in America do not live with their fathers (“Children of Divorce and Separation Statistics – Consequences of Father Absence”, April 11, 2001, published by Fathers for Life.)

So, how serious is divorce? Very serious, and on top of that, legally complicated. If you are considering divorce, please seek out professional legal help. Contact us right now and we will locate a divorce lawyer in your area that can provide you with the legal answers you are seeking.

North Carolina child support guidelines are based on the national  Income Shares Model for calculating child support. The monthly support amount is determined by dividing proportionally each parent’s income. These two support amounts are then offset to establish which parent will pay the other parent for support of the child. 

Payments ordered for the support of a minor child should be in such amount as to meet the reasonable needs of the child for health, education, and maintenance, but should also have due regard to the estates, earnings, conditions, accustomed standard of living of the family, the child care and homemaker contributions of each party, and other facts of the particular case.

Support payments ordered for a minor child will be made on a monthly basis, due and payable on the first day of each month. The requirement that orders be established on a monthly basis should not affect the availability of garnishment of disposable earnings for the parent ordered to pay.

The court will determine the amount of child support payments by applying the presumptive guidelines. Nevertheless, upon request of any party, the court may hear evidence, and from that evidence, find the facts relating to the reasonable needs of the child for support and the relative ability of each parent to provide support. If, after considering the evidence, the court finds that the application of the guidelines would not meet or would exceed the reasonable needs of the child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, or would otherwise be unjust or inappropriate, the court may vary from the guidelines.

If the court orders an amount other than the amount determined by application of the presumptive guidelines, the court can make findings as to the criteria that justify varying from the guidelines and the basis for the amount ordered.

So, if you are located in areas like Greensboro, Winston-Salem, or High Point, North Carolina, and you are facing a divorce with children, paying child support can be a very complicated and legal matter. It would not be wise to go to court without some knowledge of the legal system you face. If you don’t know what is appropriate for your fair share of contributions toward paying child support, then contact us right now at and we will help you find a divorce lawyer in your area that understands family law practice and can help you find the answers to all your legal questions.

The traditional, Christian, wedding, and ceremonial vows go something like this: “Do you take this person to be your husband or wife to live together after God’s ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him/her, comfort him/her, honor and keep him/her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him/her your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him/her as long as you both shall live?”

In our modern day, these traditional vows have been often modified to fit the nature and personalities of the participants, but in some conservative areas of our country, these vows are still a time honored tradition. The tradition grew out of a Judeo-Christian influence through Christian churches that hold to both Old and New Testament biblical teachings. That the words “God’s ordinance” are used in the traditional ceremony is not by accident. Most Christians view marriage as a Holy sacrament that is ordained by God himself.

An ordinance is a law, by definition, so, many Christian groups view this ordinance as a covenant or contract before God between two consenting adults. Since 84 percent of the United States population considers themselves to be affiliated with Christianity in some way, it is very probable you are familiar with this traditional concept on marriage, and you may even know someone who used similar vows in their wedding ceremony.

Our current laws on the legality of marriage has certainly been influenced by Judeo-Christian values throughout the United States. Fault divorce is what has come out of such a background. No-fault divorce in the United States did not come about until California passed their law on January 1, 1970.

No-fault divorce is the dissolution of a marriage requiring neither a showing of wrong-doing of either party nor any evidentiary proceedings at all. Since the first No-fault law passed in California, all the states except New York has passed some type of No-fault statute. Although a No-fault divorce is readily available in most states today, Fault divorces are still a common occurrence simply because the two parties cannot always agree on how their property and children are to be divided when the divorce is final.

When a Fault divorce occurs, the two opposing spouses are required to go to court before a judge or a jury. There are still eleven states that allow divorces to go to jury under certain circumstances. Only Texas, today, allows a jury to decide the fate of all the ramifications of divorce including the custody of children.

In places like Newark and in other cities around New Jersey, the reason for a Fault divorce has to be stated on the legal document entitled Complaint For Divorce, and then filed in the local court of jurisdiction. The only legal reasons allowed for a Fault divorce in New Jersey are: adultery; willful and continued desertion for the term of 12 or more months without cohabitation; extreme cruelty;  separation of at least 18 or more consecutive months; voluntarily induced addiction or habituation to any narcotic drug; Institutionalization for mental illness for a period of 24 or more consecutive months; imprisonment of the defendant for 18 or more consecutive months after marriage; and deviant sexual conduct voluntarily performed by the defendant without the consent of the plaintiff.

Before No-fault divorces were so common, our nation relied on our Judeo-Christian roots to understand what we considered to be acceptable reasons for divorce, but today, with so much diversity within our borders, marriage has become a battleground for the separation of church and state.

Our traditions have taught us that marriage is a covenant contract that should be legally binding, and our existing laws reflect what our roots have taught us. Therefore, we perceive the marriage ceremony, regardless of who officiates over it, as a legal binding contract between two consenting adults, and it takes a legal action to undo what has been legally done. Likewise, there should be no wonder why Fault divorce reasons in our laws also reflect our roots.

For instance, notice that the legal reasons for a Fault divorce in New Jersey reflect the traditional Christian vows for the wedding. You vow to be faithful to your spouse which certainly excludes adultery, you will not leave each other until death do you part and not even for 18 months, you will forsake all others which might imply forsaking deviant sexual behavior, and you promise to take care of each other in a loving manner which excludes extreme cruelty.

So, if any of these reasons occur in a marital relationship, the contract can be considered to be broken. Since the marital vow has always been a form of legal and binding contract, should we always take our spouses for better or for worse, or better yet, should we vow to do so without legal recourse?

Maybe you and your spouse have come to that place where you think things have gotten a lot worse than you could have possibly imagined, you think there is reason enough to divorce, and you cannot agree on how to go about ending your marriage in a friendly and No-fault way. If this is the case, you both are probably going to need legal advice. Contact us right now and we will help you find a divorce lawyer in your area that can provide you with the legal help you are seeking.

The Woolworth Building, at 57 stories, is one of the oldest and most famous buildings in New York City. It is a National Historic Landmark, having been listed in 1966. Built by Frank Woolworth for Woolworth’s new corporate headquarters in 1910, the building stood for almost a century as a symbol of the hard work, determination, commitment, and a common set of values  that exemplified Woolworth.

In a recent interview in 2008 with Roger Corbett, Woolworth’s former CEO and  currently the Director of the Reserve Bank of Australia, when asked what is more important to him, money, family and friends, religion, or life principles, he responded, “I don’t think of ranking these things. They are all integral parts of what makes up life for you, and they are all important. They’re like legs to a table. You need all four.” I certainly think Mr. Corbett is absolutely right on target when it comes to marriage and raising a family. Without all four of these ingredients, our marriages seem to teeter and our families are often dysfunctional just like a table with only three legs. Why should we even consider these observations as being key ingredients to successfully being married and raising a family?

Money, especially in America, represents what we possess, power, and often influences who we are within our communities. In a sense, then, money can represent our self esteem and often does. Money provides the basic living necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, education, and good health care, and it also provides the luxuries of life. When we are without money or assets to barter, the well being of ourselves, marriage, and family can often suffer. Certainly it is no secret that divorce often places a hardship on the spouses to maintain their level of living prior to the divorce. In turn, not only do the spouses sometime suffer, their children suffer as well. Therefore, when money is used as a tool to provide the basic necessities of life and give our marriages and children every opportunity for success, then money is an important integral part of marriage and raising a family.

Family and friends are important ingredients to both marriage and children. We, as human beings, have a built in need for support groups in order to function as we should. When our families and friends interfere with our marriage and take sides, the results can be divisive at best and destructive at worse, but when we get along with our families and friends, the harmonious spirit can contribute to a well functioning and dynamic marriage as well as healthy and well balanced children. Therefore, supportive family and friends are integral parts of marriage and raising a family.

Religion is important to the success of a marriage with children if you define religion as that which provides a positive attitude or spirit of life. As human beings, our spirits, or attitude about life, is what motivates us to accept the trials and tribulations this life has to offer. Without a positive can do spirit,  the problems we encounter in marriage and raising children can sometimes be overwhelming. Religion is the reinforcement which allows our spirit to continue on in overcoming the trials and tribulation this life offers. Therefore, a religion that promotes a positive spirit is certainly an integral part of marriage and raising children.

Finally, life principles are important to the success of a marriage with children. Hard work, determination, commitment, and common values are the kinds of life principles that are tantamount to raising children and living together as husband and wife. When these principles breakdown in our relationships, complications will abound, but when husband and wife are hard workers, determined to make their relationship work, committed to one another and the ideals of marriage and family, and supportive of each others values, life’s principles are an integral part of marriage and raising children.

Wherever you live, whether it is in places like New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Schenectady, or Troy these four ingredients are the same throughout the great state of New York. They are necessary and important ingredients  for marriages and raising children. Maybe one or more of these ingredients to a successful marriage has broken down in your marital relationship, and you are considering a divorce which might also cause the break up of your family. Please contact us and we will help you find a divorce attorney who specializes in family law practice in your area.

Nevada is one of eleven states in the United States that permit jury trials for divorce cases. If you have gone to trial for a divorce, you are certainly in what divorce attorneys call a contested case. Contested cases can be very nasty ordeals for all concerned, including the divorce lawyers. Las Vegas, although touting “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” gets more than its fair share of divorces, and the information about these divorces are public record.  In a divorce trial, not only do you experience the humiliation of exposing the reasons for a failed marriage to the public, a stigma is sometimes attached to the participants who may endure a lifetime of shame for their failure to live up to societal expectations, regardless of where  you live.

In the past twenty years, Las Vegas has grown, and the society living there to support “sin-city” has grown-up with the city. Once touted the “marriage and divorce capital of the world,” you have to legally reside in Vegas six weeks to be able to file for a divorce there today. With approximately two and one half million people living in Nevada, 80 percent consider themselves as affiliated  with some type of religion, and 64 percent of populace consider themselves as Christian. With strong similar values, work ethics, and community minded service of Nevada Christians, there should be no wonder the legal system in Nevada has been influenced by this group when it comes to the marriage institution. As a result and to some extent, “sin-city” has gotten religion.

Before entering a contested marital divorce in Nevada, you may want to ask yourself a couple of simple questions. First of all, is there any way for reconciliation between you and your spouse? In 2004, for every 1000 people in Nevada, there was 6.4 divorces, the highest divorce rate in the nation. The divorce rate did not seem to change regardless of religious or non-religious affiliations. Since hard work and commitment are two traits essential in making a marriage contract work and Nevadans across the board share these essentials in marital values, doesn’t it stand to reason that if at all possible, you should try to reconcile before acquiescing to divorce first?

Secondly, if your answer to the first question is honestly “no,” then you may want to ask yourself, is there any way you can get out of a bad marriage without a lot of public fervor? Obviously, there are reasons some people should not stay married, the threat of imminent harm being chief amongst them. So, if you have come to the place where you have decided there is no other alternative to divorce, there are two ways you can get a divorce in Nevada- Fault (Contested) or No-Fault (Uncontested or Non-Contested). The No-Fault process can be as simple as filling out a Complaint For Divorce and Marital Settlement Agreement, legal documents easily obtained, and filing them with the proper District Court of jurisdiction to hear the cause. Nevada permits No-Fault divorce when the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for one year and either party files for a decree of divorce, or when both agree they are incompatible. Providing you and your spouse can amiably agree on the terms of the divorce about your finances, assets, and children, the process is relatively simple and inexpensive. In the event you are divorcing because your spouse has put you at imminent harm, a No-Fault divorce is probably not practical, but if there are other reasons you seek a dissolution of marriage, doesn’t it stand to reason, you should try and obtain a No-Fault divorce?

There are many reasons two people who have been married a while may not be able to amiably and maturely come to terms involving finances, assets, and children. In the event this happens, and it often does, there exists a real possibility for a contested divorce. When it does happen, you can present your case before a judge or a jury. In either case, it may be wise to be legally represented. In addition to the No-Fault reasons for divorce, Nevada permits Fault divorce on grounds of insanity existing for two years prior to the commencement of the action requiring corroborative evidence of the insanity of the defendant at the time. One of these issues have to be stated in a Complaint For Divorce as the reason the petitioner is wanting to end the marriage. Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada has come a long way from the days of old when marriage and divorce were so readily available. Today, the divorce laws in Nevada are complicated and a whole lot like every other state.

Regardless of the decision concerning divorce you may have to make, there are divorce lawyers in Nevada who understand divorce law, and are adept in their negotiating skills. So, if you are considering a divorce, please contact us at and we will help you find the divorce attorney in your area that is more than willing to help you make the legal decisions that are right for you.

Alimony, also sometimes referred to as spousal support or spousal maintenance, is as old as the law. Law records found in the code of Hammurabi and dating back to 1780 B.C. states the man was obligated to return the dowry, grant his ex-wife custody of any children from the marriage, and give her an allowance to sustain her and the children until they were grown. If the couple did not have children, the man was obligated to return the dowry and pay his wife the equivalent of a bride price. If the wife had violated any number of traditions, the husband could be entitled to keep the dowry and children or even relegate his ex-wife to slavery. Except for the dowry, the bride price, and slavery parts, alimony laws in a places like Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater are really pretty similar to what they were almost four thousand years ago. In a modern society, though, should a spouse be ordered to keep the other?

In Florida, a civilized society where respect for law generally rules, the laws of society govern the sacred institution of marriage as a binding legal contract between two consenting parties. There are extenuating factors that may have an effect on the answer to the question of whether or not a spouse should be ordered by law to keep the other spouse in the form of alimony payments after the contract of marriage has been judged to be over. Some of these extenuating factors are:

• Length of the marriage – Generally alimony lasts for a term or period that will be longer if the marriage lasted longer. A       marriage of over ten years in many states is often a candidate for permanent alimony.

• Time separated while still married – In some states, separation is a triggering event, recognized as the end of the term of the     marriage, but other states may not recognize legal separation.

• Age of the parties at the time of the divorce – Generally, more youthful spouses are considered to be more able to ‘get on’ with their lives, and therefore thought to require shorter periods of support.

• Relative income of the parties – In states that recognize a ‘right’ of the spouses to live “according to the means they have become accustomed,” alimony attempts to adjust the incomes of the spouses so that they are able to approximate, as best possible, their prior lifestyle. This tends to equalize strongly post-divorce income, heavily penalizing the higher-earning spouse.

• Future financial prospects of the parties – A spouse who is going to realize significant income in the future is likely to have to pay higher alimony than one who is not.

• Prenuptial agreement – The content of a prenuptial agreement can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for       the division of property should the couple divorce and any rights to alimony during or after the dissolution of marriage.

• Health of the parties – Poor health goes towards need, and potentially an inability to support for oneself. The courts do   not want to leave one party indigent.

• Fault in marital breakdown – In states where fault is recognized, fault can significantly affect alimony, increasing, reducing or even nullifying it. Many states are “no-fault” states, where one does not have to show fault to get divorced. No-fault divorce spares the spouses the acrimony of the ‘fault’ processes, and closes the eyes of the court to any and all improper spousal behavior.

Each state has its own set of laws reflecting the will of the society it represents. Whether or not a spouse should be ordered to keep or support the other is a legal argument, not a moral one, that will be determined within the jurisdiction of the state you and your spouse reside. If you are faced with the dilemma of having to decide what your legal rights are when it comes to having to keep or support your spouse, you can do something about it right now by contacting us and we will put you in touch with a divorce attorney in your area who is an expert on legal matters involving alimony or any questions you may have concerning divorce.

Is there really any such thing as a friendly divorce? Actually, the good news is there can be. Utah is a No-Fault (Uncontested) Divorce state. That means, regardless of whether you live in a place like Salt Lake City or any other city within the State, you can readily and quickly obtain a divorce without a lot of legal complications, that is, if you and your spouse can agree to terms in a friendly manner. It is important to note that a history of domestic violence in a relationship may very well hinder any attempt at a  friendly divorce and may even exacerbate the problem, so, if the history exists, it is not recommended by this author you try a No-Fault Divorce without legal counsel.

Once the shock, hurt, and anger have subsided from the initial realization your marriage is over, the time may be right for you and your spouse to seriously look at a No-Fault Divorce. If both parties are mature and reasonable, there is no reason for anything unfriendly to occur, but what both will have to do to accomplish a goal of a friendly divorce is first to forget the reason you are getting a divorce. In this case, the reason for getting the divorce is what one or both of you might think is what caused the divorce. If the differences are irreconcilable, the reasons only become stumbling blocks to a friendly solution. Therefore, it is impervious that both parties are willing to move on with their lives looking forward to a new life, and they need to stay away from unproductive accusations about why the marriage failed and whose fault it was. If you can both get by this fact, you stand a reasonable chance of successfully obtaining a friendly divorce.

When both of you resolve to avoid accusations, then, it is time to meet in order to discuss the details of the marriage dissolution. There are basically three subjects you will need to discuss in detail in order to dissolve the marriage in a friendly manner, so, staying on subject is very important. The three subjects you need to discuss include your community finances, assets and children. Since each of these are complicated subjects within their own rights, it would probably be wise to resolve the issues associated with each subject one at at time.

If you can come to a friendly agreement on these three subjects, the rest of a No-Fault and friendly divorce includes satisfying the state requirements of legal separation and filing certain documents in the proper Court of jurisdiction. You and your spouse must have lived separately under a Decree of Separate Maintenance for three consecutive years without cohabitation before either of you can file a No-Fault complaint. Once the Decree has been satisfied, you can then proceed to fill out the state legal documents required to be filed in the Court. On the state documents, a reason for the divorce must be submitted as irreconcilable differences of the marriage. Two of the state documents required are entitled Complaint For Divorce and the Marital Settlement Agreement. After filling these two documents out, you sign the documents, and file them with your local Court of Jurisdiction. Once filed, Utah has a waiting period of 90 days before the divorce decree can take place. Once the waiting period is over, the divorce is final.

A No-Fault or friendly divorce is not for everyone. Sometimes, two people can not get by their shock, hurt, or anger, and sometimes they just can’t agree on the dissolution of their finances, assets, or the custody of their children.  When this happens, it may be time for you to consider getting a professional counselor to help untangle the legal complications you may face. Contact us, and we will help you find a divorce attorney who has the legal expertise, the experience it takes to give good counsel, and the compassion to understand your situation.