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How to Get More Retirement Money from Your Ex

How to Get More Retirement Money from Your Ex

 

Divorce can put an enormous emotional strain on people. This is because it frequently involves the splitting of assets, arguing over contentious points, child custody battles, and more.

Also, divorces are often the emotional endpoint of conflict between two people that may have lasted for years or even decades!

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Why Bird Nesting May Be the Best New Thing for Kids

bird nesting

One of the biggest concerns in any separation, divorce, or dissolution proceeding is often: “How will this affect the kids?” And for good reason.

According to a landmark 25-year study, adult children of divorce have more unstable father-child relationships, greater reluctance about commitment, and less education than their non-divorced counterparts. Also, these children carry very impactful, and sometimes traumatic, memories of the process of forced custody and visitation.

In a recent op-ed piece by Beth Behrendt in the New York Times, she recounts an associate’s adult reflection on the hardship of being split between two lives.

“It was 30 years ago but I will never forget my little sister sobbing uncontrollably every time we had to move houses. It was awful.”

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What You Need To Know About Uncontested Divorce in Ohio

relieved woman

What happens if a divorce complaint goes unanswered? Usually if one spouse files for divorce, the other spouse jumps in to make sure his or her competing interests are represented. 

Not always. Sometimes the allotted time to respond passes and prompting the court to grant an uncontested divorce. 

No contest! The person who filed is granted the divorce. Possibly "as is," or with some modifications at the judge's discretion. 

But not answering a complaint is no way to prevent a divorce from happening. No reply just means the other party wins by default.

Uncontested Divorce in Ohio

In Ohio, the other party has 42 days to respond to a divorce complaint. It that period passes with no response from the opposing party, the judge will grant an uncontested divorce.

Often the judge will award the divorce “as is,” according to the original complaint. But sometimes the judge will make some changes at his or her discretion and then grant the divorce.

The party who does not respond is at a disadvantage. Everyone should have his or her interest presented in an important matter such as ending one’s marriage.

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Big Change is Coming: Ohio Child Support Laws

change coming

You have financial and legal responsibilities to your child. It doesn't matter if you and the other parent are married.

This will remain true until the child is an adult, which is when he or she reaches age 18 in the United States.

Even if a parent does not want any parental rights he or she will still have responsibilities. A parent must make sure the child’s basic needs are being met.

Child support ensures the child has food, water, clothing, shelter, and so forth. If a married couple gets divorced, the goal is for the child's standard of living to stay the same. Or at least as close as possible to the same.

Changes

In Ohio, how child support is being calculated is changing based on new data. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services is making updates to its child support laws for the first time since 1992.  

These updates will go into effect in March of 2019.  Learn more about these laws and how you’ll be affected.

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6 Important Impacts of the New Tax Bill on the Divorce Process

6 Important Impacts of the New Tax Bill on the Divorce Process

Woman sad about tax changes

A lot has been written about the new tax bill, Congress’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The internet is packed with articles and blog posts, from The New York Times to TurboTax, warning people about the promises and pitfalls of the new bill.

A lot, too, has been written about its effect on divorce—and for good reason.

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Marriage on the Rocks? Blame the Internet!

“The times they are a-changing.”

Bob Dylan wrote and sang these lyrics almost fifty-four years ago. Many of us of a certain age believed that Bob was ahead of his time, but it’s safe to say that not even the great Dylan was envisioning 2020 back in those relatively innocent days of 1964.

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How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Marriage Limbo

Your Partner’s Debt Is Your Debt

A divorce is always daunting, and those unhappily wed often approach the process with trepidation.

Accustomed to the financial benefits and day-to-day normalcy of marriage, many partners today choose at the outset simply to skip divorce and avoid the hassle.

In other words, some married couples settle for divorce limbo. This is a mistake!

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4 Facts You Need to Know About Pensions and Divorce

4 Facts You Need to Know About Pensions and Divorce

Divorce. That’s a word that usually conjures up heartache: Like that pain, you felt from too many “angry nights and tearful dawns,” to steal a few lyrics from an old Carly Simon song. 

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What You Need to Know About Dating After Divorce

What You Need to Know About Dating After Divorce

date night

Dating isn't easy, but it can be even harder after divorce because it brings its own set of challenges. 

When a relationship like a marriage ends, you’re not yourself. You need time to rebuild and recover.

But how much time do you need?

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How to Find Closure After Your Marriage Ends

How to Find Closure After Your Marriage Ends

Your relationship has come to an end. But you aren’t satisfied.

You want answers. You need closure.

But how are you defining closure? Is it a clean break with everything ended to the satisfaction of you both? Is it having all of your questions about what went wrong with your relationship answered?

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Quick Tips About Divorce Jurisdiction in Ohio

Quick Tips About Divorce Jurisdiction in Ohio

In Ohio, the court that handles divorce and dissolution cases is the Court of Common Pleas which is located in each county. This means a particular county court has “jurisdiction” over a case.

Jurisdiction involves residency. Meeting Ohio residency requirements are usually easy and only a concern for a person who has recently moved or is planning a move shortly.

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Dissolution vs. Divorce: Which one is Right for You?

Dissolution vs. Divorce: Which one is Right for You?

In Ohio, a dissolution is a non-adversarial proceeding to legally terminate a marriage. A Dissolution also means that the terms of the divorce are decided between the two parties before any documents are filed with the court.

Unlike a divorce, the negotiating couple is expected to voluntarily trade any information as part of their dissolution. The courts do not have subpoena power during dissolution and cannot put temporary orders in place or force either side to share information.

The court does allow professionals to be hired to evaluate a property or give financial advice.

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Divorce Hearing No Show: What Happens if You or Your Spouse Don't Show Up?

Some people do allow their divorce to proceed without their participation. Reasons include apathy, guilt, fear, depression or because they are attempting to delay or stop the divorce.

This is never a good idea!

Failure to appear means you have skipped a scheduled court date without notifying the court. You can be charged with contempt of court, and the judge can issue a bench warrant for your arrest. You may also have to pay a fine.

While such measures don't usually happen in a divorce case, you still should always show up in court if required to do so.

Skipping your court hearing not only gives a bad impression but allows the other spouse to tell the court what they want.

If you aren’t there, you can’t disprove their story or defend your self! Once this testimony is part of the court record it becomes very hard to discredit later—because you didn’t show up in the first place to refute it!

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How to Get a Divorce

How to Get a Divorce

divorce wedding topper with decree

Getting a divorce in Ohio often requires going through several court hearings and participating in numerous rounds of negotiation with your soon to be ex-spouse.

Ohio requires that you are a resident of the state for a minimum of six months to file for divorce. Since you will be filing your paperwork through a county court, it is best to look up and see what their residency requirements are—usually a minimum of 90 days.

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What is a Legal Separation and What are the Main Benefits?

Divorcing Couple Broken Heart Puzzle

When it comes to ending a relationship, the word “separation” can be a confusing term.

While there are many different types of informal separations, there is only one legal separation recognized in the state of Ohio. A legal separation does not terminate a marriage, and you are not free to remarry. Under Ohio law, there are only three ways to terminate a Marriage: Divorce, Dissolution or Annulment. 

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Owning A Business and Divorce

Owning A Business and Divorce

bussiness analysis

Starting your own business is the dream of many people, but one thing that is often forgotten is that a failed marriage can negatively affect the business you worked so hard to build.

Certain divorce issues are unique to business owners, but there are ways that you can protect yourself and your business during a divorce or dissolution.

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How Much Will Your Divorce Cost?

How Much Will Your Divorce Cost?

When you know it's only a matter of time before your marriage ends, the first thing that comes to mind is how much a divorce costs. We always hear about multi-million dollar divorce trials and settlements, but for most of us living in the real world that isn’t a possibility.

Like other legal issues, the cost of divorce varies tremendously from state to state and couple to couple. The cost of a divorce varies from case to case, and there are countless variables to consider, but often it can be expensive.

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Divorce Myths That Can Hurt Your Future

Divorce Myths That Can Hurt Your Future

 

myth vs realityUnfortunately, most people base their knowledge of divorce on what they have seen in the movies or on television, what they have heard from friends or what they have read online.

The divorce scenarios in the movies and on television are fictional and dramatized for entertainment purposes. These stories are not based on the laws of any particular state, if based on any law at all.

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How Long Does a Divorce Take in Ohio?

How Long Does a Divorce Take in Ohio?

divorce agreementHow Long Does a Divorce Take?

One of the first questions that a client who is contemplating a divorce asks an attorney is, “How long does a divorce take?”

Unfortunately, it typically takes much longer to get out of a marriage than it does to get married unless you live in a state that has a simplified divorce proceeding and your divorce is uncontested.

The length of time that a divorce takes depends on several factors including...

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Seven Questions You Should Expect To Hear Upon Hiring an Divorce Attorney

man floating questions

#1 What is your story? 

  • What happened between you and your spouse to put you in front of a divorce attorney?
  • What are your concerns, questions, and other issues that are keeping you up at night worrying? 
  • Your divorce attorney will need to know.

The important points the attorney will be looking for are when you were married, how long you have been married, what happened during the marriage, what did not happen during the marriage, your income and employment situation, the children and why you are in the situation you are in.

At Jack’s Law Office, we need to know your questions first.

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Delaware, OH

Columbus, OH

Dublin, OH

Granville, OH

Jack’s Law Office

305 S Sandusky St

Delaware, OH 43015

(740) 369-7567