Whether you are in Phoenix, Mesa or some other city in the Arizona, going to Custody Court can be a very intimidating experience the first time when you don’t know what to expect. It does not have to be that way. Following these five simple suggestions can save you a lot of stress and worry in the long run:

1. Be prepared to go to court. Courts are institutions that try to operate on factual information. Take copies of proof of income such as an IRS tax statement or a pay roll stub. Also, make sure you take a copy of any health insurance premiums you pay on you children.
2. Appearance in any Court is very important, especially first time appearances. The Judge may not know you, and he or she has only your appearance to start sizing your parental abilities, so, appear to be worthy of what you will ask of the Court. Lean toward being clean and professional rather than flashy and uncouth. If you do not appear to take an interest in your own hygiene, the Judge may get the impression you won’t take interest in the hygiene of your children either.
3. Be on time to your court appearance. Leave your home in plenty of time to reach the Court destination and remember to allow for the screening process at the front door. Your case will most likely not be the only case on the docket, so, being late will make everyone else late. Your being late will make a lasting impression on the Judge, but it will most likely not be a good one.
4. Unless the Judge orders it, do not take your children to Court. Although the Court proceedings are about them, small children do not need to hear what goes on in the proceedings, it is not their business. If the experience can be intimidating for adults, think of how scary it might be for the children. The process is sometime long, and children demand time from you that you will not have during the Court proceedings. So, make arrangements for your children to be attended to in some other place than the Court proceedings.
5. Go to Court with a positive attitude. In most all Custody Courts across the United States, the courts have a vested interest in helping you solve a  most difficult situation. They want to do what is best for both parents and children. Going to Court with a negative disposition will leave a lasting impression of the wrong kind and will not help you get what you want. Your child and you both deserve to come out of the process with a bright future, so, be positive, courteous, and respectful. The Court will most likely respond in like kind.

Whether or not you are represented by counsel in your Court appearance, applying these five simple suggestions will go a long way into helping you relieve the stress and worry over your situation. Sometimes you can handle these problems on your own, but sometimes, it is best to have supportive counsel in the form of a divorce Lawyer who specializes in child custody cases. He or she will give you the legal knowledge required to provide the confidence you will need to have a positive attitude for your Court appearance. If you feel you need this kind of help, contact us right now and we will help you locate the right divorce attorney in your area that will provide you answers to the legal questions you may have.

Is there really any such thing as a friendly divorce? Actually, the good news is there can be. Pennsylvania is a No-Fault (Consensual and Non-Consensual) divorce state. That means, regardless of whether you live in a place like Pittsburgh 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 can include placing the information you have gathered together on a state documents, two of which are entitled Complaint For Divorce and Marital Settlement Agreement. These must then be signed and filed with your local Court of Jurisdiction. Once filed, in a Consensual No-Fault, Pennsylvania has a waiting period of 90 days before the divorce takes place. In a Non-Consensual No-Fault divorce, the petitioning party must wait two years waiting period from the date of separation before the Court will grant a divorce decree. Once the waiting period is over the decree ordered, 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 knowledge and experience it takes to give good counsel, and the compassion to understand your situation.

In the United States, our system of justice is based on the advocate system. That means there is usually going to be a winner and a loser when you go to court. Only rarely is there a situation when going to court that both sides win. The object of divorce is to end an irretrievably broken marriage, and it is the desire of most courts to end all marriages in as peaceful, amiable, and fair way as they can. They want to do what is best for all concerned, but in reality, because of our advocacy system, it does not always work our that way. That is why, if you live in an area like Raleigh, Durham, or Chapel Hill, there are state laws concerning the counseling and mediation in a North Carolina divorce. These laws are designed to temper the advocacy system in order to provide an amiable way of working through serious divorce issues like child custody.

In North Carolina, whenever it appears to the court, from the pleadings or otherwise, that an action involves a contested issue as to the custody or visitation of a minor child, the matter, where there is a program established, can be set for mediation of the unresolved issues as to custody and visitation before or concurrent with the setting of the matter for hearing unless the court waives mediation. Issues that arise in motions for contempt or for modifications as well as in other pleadings may be set for mediation unless mediation is waived by the court. Alimony, child support, and other economic issues can not be referred for mediation. According to North Carolina statute 50-13.1, the purposes of mediation include the pursuit of the following goals:

• To reduce any acrimony that exists between the parties to a dispute involving custody or visitation of a minor child.
• The development of custody and visitation agreements that are in the child’s best interest.
• To provide the parties with informed choices and, where possible, to give the parties the responsibility for making decisions about child custody and visitation.
• To provide a structured, confidential, non-adversarial setting that will facilitate the cooperative resolution of custody and visitation disputes and minimize the stress and anxiety to which the parties, and especially the child, are subjected.
• To reduce the re-litigation of custody and visitation disputes.

The counseling and meditation program, although it can be offered or mandated for anyone going through a divorce with children, may not work for everyone. If you believe there is more animosity between you and your spouse than you think the courts can alleviate, then, you may very well need an advocate, someone who is trained in the legalities of family law practices, someone who will be on your side when you have to go to court. Contact us right now at and we will help you find a divorce attorney in your area who can answer the legal questions about divorce and child custody you may have.

Whether you are in Houston, Texas or some other city in the State, going to Custody Court can be a very intimidating experience the first time when you don’t know what to expect. It does not have to be that way. Following these five simple suggestions can save you a lot of stress and worry in the long run:

1. Be prepared to go to court. Courts are institutions that try to operate on factual information. Take copies of proof of your income such as an IRS tax statement or a pay roll stub. Also, make sure you take a copy of any health insurance premiums you pay on you children.
2. Appearance in any Court is very important, especially first time appearances. The Judge may not know you, and he or she has only your appearance to start sizing your parental abilities, so, appear to be worthy of what you will ask of the Court. Lean toward being clean and professional rather than flashy and uncouth. If you do not appear to take an interest in your own hygiene, the Judge may get the impression you won’t take interest in the hygiene of your children either.
3. Be on time to your court appearance. Leave your home in plenty of time to reach the Court destination and remember to allow for the screening process at the front door. Your case will most likely not be the only case on the docket, so, being late will make everyone else late. Your being late will make a lasting impression on the Judge, but it will most likely not be a good one.
4. Unless the Judge orders it, do not take your children to Court. Although the Court proceedings are about them, children do not need to hear what goes on in the proceedings, it is not their business. If the experience can be intimidating for adults, think of how scary it might be for the children. The process is sometime long, and children demand time from you that you will not have during the Court proceedings. So, make arrangements for your children to be attended to in some other place than the Court proceedings.
5. Go to Court with a positive attitude. In most all Custody Courts across the United States, the courts have a vested interest in helping you solve a  most difficult situation. They want to do what is best for both parents and children. Going to Court with a negative disposition will leave a lasting impression of the wrong kind and will not help you get what you want. Your child and you both deserve to come out of the process with a bright future, so, be positive, courteous, and respectful. The Court will most likely respond in like kind.

Whether or not you are represented by counsel in your Court appearance, applying these five simple suggestions will go a long way into helping you relieve the stress and worry over your situation. Sometimes you can handle these problems on your own, but sometimes, it is best to have supportive council in the form of a divorce Lawyer who specializes in child custody cases. He or she will give you the legal knowledge required to provide the confidence you will need to have a positive attitude for your Court appearance. If you feel you need this kind of help, contact us and we will help you locate the right professional for you.

Sometimes we optimistically vow we will stay with a person for better, for worse, and even for life. Sometimes, though, the better laid plans of mice and men do go astray and worse becomes more than we can bare. That is why most all states across the United States has abandoned aged old traditional concepts about marriage for No-fault divorces. The No-fault concept requires only that a marriage is irretrievably broken and that the courts remain blind to who is at fault for the marriage being broken. Of course, the ideal situation is that all adults will work out their problems and remain committed to their marriage, especially when there is children involved, but in Honolulu and other places throughout Hawaii, when things become worse and marriage becomes irretrievably broken, divorce may be an honest alternative to a bad situation. Hawaii’s family Courts are geared to this possibility, and the laws are designed to help all concerned. When minor children are involved in a divorce, the Hawaii courts will do everything possible to help lessen the emotional trauma the children may be experiencing. If the parents cannot come to an agreement regarding the issues involving the children, the court will establish the custody order at its discretion. Simply stated, divorce is a traumatic experience that is handled in Hawaii with compassion. No one wants to see a divorce, but in light of the fact over 18 percent of the marriages in Honolulu ended in divorce in 2002, the reality exists, even in a beautiful, easy going, and romantic paradise like Hawaii.

In order to file for a divorce in Honolulu, residency requirements must be met for the court to accept the case. If the court discovers it does not have jurisdictional rights to hear the case, it will not be accepted, or it will eventually be dismissed. The requirements are as follows:

• No absolute divorce from the bond of matrimony shall be granted for any cause unless either party to the marriage has been domiciled or has been physically present in the state of Hawaii for a continuous period of at least six months prior to filing for the divorce.
• A person who may be residing on any military or federal base, installation, or reservation within Hawaii or who may be present in Hawaii under military orders shall not thereby be prohibited the above mentioned requirements.
• The divorce should be filed in the judicial district the plaintiff resides or the judicial district the spouses last lived together as a married couple.

The Complaint for Divorce must state the appropriate Hawaii grounds upon which the divorce is being sought. The appropriate lawful ground will be that which the parties agree upon and can substantiate, or that which the filing spouse desires to prove to the court. According to the Hawaii statutes, Title 580 and Chapter 41, the family court shall decree a divorce from the bond of matrimony upon the application of either party when the court finds:

• The marriage is irretrievably broken;
• The parties have lived separate and apart under a Decree of Separation from bed and board entered by any court of competent jurisdiction, the term of separation has expired, and no reconciliation has been effected;
• The parties have lived separate and apart for a period of two years or more under a Decree of Separate Maintenance entered by any court of competent jurisdiction, and no reconciliation has been effected; or
• The parties have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of two years or more immediately preceding the application, there is no reasonable likelihood that cohabitation will be resumed, and the court is satisfied that, in the particular circumstances of the case, it would not be harsh and oppressive to the defendant or contrary to the public interest to a divorce on this ground on the complaint of the plaintiff.

Maybe you live in Honolulu or somewhere else in Hawaii, you have come to the place where your marriage seems irretrievably broken, and you want relief from a worse case scenario you no longer feel you can tolerate. There is relief available. Contact us today and we will help you find a divorce attorney in your area who will help answer all the legal questions you may have.

Is there really any such thing as a friendly divorce? Actually, the good news is there can be. Florida is a No-Fault (Uncontested) Divorce state. That means, regardless of whether you live in a place like Miami or any other city within Florida, 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 placing the information you have gathered together on state documents, the two primary documents of which are entitled the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. The rest is simply signing the documents required and filing them with your local Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County. Once filed, Florida has a waiting period of three days before the divorce takes place unless both of you have completed a state sanctioned marriage preparation course within the last 12 months. 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 legal counselor to help untangle the legal complications you may face. Contact us and we will help you find a divorce attorney who can answer any legal questions you may have in your situation.

The income shares model was developed by the Institute for Court Management of the National Center for State Courts under the Child Support Guidelines Project of the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Many of our states use this model to determine child support in child custody cases. The Income Shares model is based on the concept that the child should receive the same proportion of parental income that he or she would have received if the parents lived together. In an intact household, the income of both parents is generally pooled and spent for the benefit of all household members, including any children Thus, the income shares model calculates support as the share of each parent’s income estimated to have been allocated to the child if the parents and child were living in an intact household. This principle is consistent with the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, enacted in many states.

Using the Income Shares model, computation of child support is basically a four-step process:

1. The income of the parents is determined and added together.
2. A “basic child support obligation” is computed based on the combined income of the parents, using a table or grid in the guidelines. The amounts in the table are derived from economic data of household expenditures on children.
3. A “presumptive child support obligation” is then computed by adding expenditures for work related child care expenses and extraordinary medical expenses to the basic child support obligation. Other obligations may be added or deducted from the calculations.
4. The presumptive child support obligation is prorated between each parent based on his or her proportionate share of total income. The non-custodian’s obligation is payable as child support, while the custodian’s obligation is retained and presumed to be spent directly on the child.

There are both strengths and weaknesses in the Income Shares Model. First of all, the main distinguishing feature of the income shares model is that it embodies the underlying economic assumption that as income increases, the proportion of income spent on child support decreases. Secondly, Critics have charged that the income shares model is based on faulty underlying economic research. One study has suggested that the underlying economic data failed to reflect true child related expenditures in upper income families including such non-consumer expenditures as principal on home, savings, and trusts for the benefit of children. Thus, the income shares model does not accomplish the goal of ensuring that parents, after they break up, continue to spend on their children the same percentage of income that they would have spent if they were together. Thirdly, Another distinguishing feature of the income shares model is that it illustrates graphically that both parents are sharing in the support of the child. Where the perception of fairness is as important as fairness itself, this feature is its greatest asset. A final distinguishing feature of the income shares model is that it can more easily than the flat percentage model take into consideration adjustments for shared and split custody, health care needs, child care expenses, serial family development, and children’s ages by the manipulation of income, additions and deductions and by then allocating these costs between the parents. Because these factors can be built into the income shares formula, there is less reason for deviation from the guideline’s presumptive award. Limiting deviation meets the ideal of perceived fairness, as well as the federal requirement that the number of cases in which deviation is granted be limited. Limited deviation also meets the goals of consistency and predictability. Given that the ultimate goal of child support guidelines is increased compliance through perceived fairness, the income shares model meets this goal.

The Income Shares Model is used in Columbia, South Carolina for determining child support. If you live anywhere around Columbia, and you are facing a divorce with children, contact us today and we will help you find a divorce lawyer in your area that understands family law. They will be able to answer any legal questions you may have about child support laws.