Choosing a divorce attorney can be a difficult process. Not only are you going through one of the most difficult and emotional times in your life, but now you don’t feel your attorney is giving you the best representation possible. You feel as if your divorce attorney just doesn’t care. He or she has continually told you not to worry. Now you are asking yourself if it makes sense to change attorneys during the divorce process. This can be just as scary as the divorce itself.

Although we are not tax professionals nor do we claim to be experts on the subject, we at Kevin Hickey Law Partners can tell you how the new tax laws approved by Congress as part of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will affect you. These new tax laws will have an effect on millions of Americans. In addition to the standard yearly adjustments for things like cost of living, retirement savings and inflation, the new tax reform impacts couples initiating divorce now or in the future, those that pay and receive alimony/spousal support and those that have utilized child exemptions. Remember, spousal support/alimony is when regular payments are made or received after a divorce that are agreed upon by both spouses or determined by the court. Spousal support has tax implications that affect both parties when filing yearly tax returns. The new tax laws also affect child support as personal/dependent exemptions for federal taxes have been eliminated.

Divorce entails the loss of more than future family goals and material things. Divorce can affect your professional life as well. Couples involved in a family business find themselves battling over the division of assets and labor that threaten the security of all involved. If you are divorcing and you own a business with your spouse, keep reading.

A question that we often get during divorce consultations is, “How much will the divorce cost?” While that is a valid question, there is no one answer. Each case is unique. Some divorcing couples have very few assets or generally agree on how they want to divide marital property resulting in minimal cost and, on the other side of the coin; some couples disagree on everything leading to high divorce costs. Let’s look at factors affecting divorce costs:

• Arkansas is a “fault” state; meaning the parties must have a valid reason to request the divorce. The reason does not need to be some specific, wrongful act or behavior that led to the divorce. If both parties are in agreeance, then the cost will be minimal. However, if a “fault divorce” is filed there may be additional costs associated with providing evidence of the fault. Arkansas recognizes the following fault grounds:
  • Impotence
  • A felony conviction
  • Alcohol abuse for at least one year
  • Cruel treatment that endangers the other spouse’s life
  • Behavior that results in intolerable humiliation, embarrassment, or shame to the other spouse
  • Adultery
  • Incurable insanity, and
  • Willful failure to support the other spouse despite a legal obligation to do so.

• Divorces involving minor children tend to cost a little more, especially if one spouse is being unreasonable about the children, visitation and/or child support. To help determine child support received or paid, it is beneficial to provide documentation detailing how much it generally costs to meet your child’s needs. You should also consider your child’s current standards of living and what it will cost to maintain it. Read my previous blog detailing child support payments here.
• Ironically, financial disagreements such as alimony increase overall divorce expenses. Alimony disputes can get very detailed requiring financial analysts, accountants and the like to provide evidence in each party’s favor. These disagreements can and most likely will extend divorce proceedings as they drag on.
• As mentioned, property division has an effect on the expenses associated with divorce proceedings. Couples that have a lot of marital property can expect a longer and more costly divorce. In addition to more attorneys’ fees, other professionals will need to be consulted such as financial analysts, real estate appraisers, personal property appraisers, and so on.
• Cooperation or non-cooperation play major roles in costs associated with divorce. For example, if one party is unwilling to fully disclose all their assets and liabilities then it is inevitable that costs will increase as formal filings will be made requiring the spouse to provide truthful documents.

In order to keep costs at bay during a divorce, you and your spouse should agree on the following:

• Marital property division.
• Alimony/Spousal support.
• Child support.
• Child custody.
• Visitation schedules.

What if you don’t have the money to hire your own attorney? These days it is increasingly unusual to see judges issue orders requiring one spouse to pay the other’s divorce attorney’s fees in dual income families. If you don’t have the cash readily available, a judge may let the spouse use some of the marital property for attorney’s fees with the understanding that when the property is eventually divided, the other spouse will be reimbursed. In the case that one spouse intentionally drives up the cost of litigation by delaying proceedings and withholding information pertinent to the divorce, a judge may be inclined to grant the other spouse’s request for attorney’s fees as a penalty for the inappropriate conduct. Examples of conduct that the court does not look too kindly upon:

• Continuously filing motions with the court about trivial matters.
• Refusal to comply with court orders.
• Delay in providing requested information to the other spouse.
• Failure to appear for hearings or court-ordered mediation sessions.

Generally speaking, divorce attorneys charge by the hour, rather than a flat rate fee due to the uniqueness of each case. A fee called a “retainer” will be required to retain our services. This in turn “prebooks” your attorney’s time just for you. Any money not earned by the attorney is returned to you at the end of the divorce proceedings.

Schedule a consultation with Kevin Hickey Law Partners to assist you in your divorce. We will help you plan and move forward with the divorce process and keep you informed about your legal rights and requirements. Whether your divorce is clear-cut or more difficult, no divorce is ever simple. Even if the divorce is uncontested, it is advisable that each party to the divorce seek legal counsel. Let us make sure all the forms are filled out correctly, keep you from agreeing to something that could eventually harm you and identify assets that you might not even know you are entitled to. In many of the cases we see, the divorce proceedings start out amicable, but end quite the opposite. It is best to begin with your own attorney, because in the end it could end up costing your more money.

The holidays are filled with happiness and joyous occasions…most of the time. For families of divorce the holidays can be anything but those things. They are often filled with struggle and conflict about custody. Then, top all of that off with emotions in regards to past relationships you have a recipe for a very stressful time of year. It doesn’t have to be that way; you can regain the joy and happiness in your holidays with a bit of planning, collaboration and especially communication.

The first step in a happy holiday season is to determine which holidays are most important to you. For example, is Thanksgiving more important to you than Christmas Eve? If so, then communicate this to the co-parent. Christmas Eve may be more important to him or her; thus, eliminating a conflict. There will be times that you both want the children on the same day. If you live close enough to one another, then you could possibly share the day. To split the holiday in one day requires some coordinating, but it can help children not feel torn and guilty for enjoying the day with one parent and not the other. For example, one parent could host a Thanksgiving brunch or early lunch and the other could host a Thanksgiving dinner allowing the children to spend an enjoyable day with both parents. If you do not live near one another, then you will most likely need to alternate years with the co-parent. If it is not your “year” to spend the holiday with your child, you can still let your child know you are thinking of him or her by sending a package to arrive in time for the holiday.

Planning ahead with your ex will help to identify conflicts and sort them out early. This also allows the children to know ahead of time where they will be spending the holiday. Couples often forget that the children need time to plan as well. This is especially important if the divorce is fairly recent and this will be their first year or two spending the holidays with each parent separately. Kevin Hickey Law Partners can help you go through this process and present it to your ex and/or his or her attorney. If it is short notice, it is unlikely the court will approve a change, but we can work with your spouse’s attorney to help reach the same compromise that the court will likely order.

Additionally, if your children are old enough, check in with them. They have inner lives to consider as well. Talk to them to get an idea of what is important to them and what they want to do on their vacation.

After you have determined the best holiday visitation schedule for you and your children, it will need to be written down. In order to be valid, the agreement should be signed by both you and your ex. This ensures that you both understand the agreement and it is favorable evidence if your ex fails to adhere to it.

A couple of other things to keep in mind this holiday season:

• If you plan to take your children out-of-state, check your custody agreement. Many have provisions prohibiting out-of-state and/or a distance over a certain amount of miles without telling the other parent. You will need to ask permission first.
• Think twice before purchasing a gift for your child that you know will upset the co-parent. If you feel the gift is safe and appropriate, then it is a good idea to make a deal with your child that it only stays at your house.

Planning and communicating early allows you to focus on the children and making their holidays memorable and happy. After all, isn’t that your first priority? To make sure your children are happy and secure. Contact Kevin Hickey Law Partners to let us help you work out a holiday schedule for you and your children. We not only identify relevant holidays, but we also help establish the parameters. If you get the children on Christmas Day, when does it start? Is it 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, etcetera?  We are also here to help you when legal questions arise. Our team is dedicated to your legal care.

The holidays are just over a month away and we often see many clients wrestling with whether or not to file for divorce before or after the holiday season. In our professional opinion, there are good and bad points to both choices. There are several reasons to grin and bear it until after the holiday season practically, financially and emotionally. Yet, filing for divorce before the end of year can give you the peace of mind to start the New Year fresh and avoid any chance that something could derail your divorce plans like an illness or loss of a job.

Reasons to Delay Divorce until After the Holidays

• If you and your spouse can maintain civility and amicability through the holidays, it may be a good idea to get through them if you have kids at home. This will help keep your children from associating the holidays with the divorce. It is hard for children to adapt to a new home and the idea of spending the holidays separately with each parent. No, we’re not saying to “stay together for the kids”, but it is an unintentional consequence that you must consider.
• This may seem superficial and materialistic, but things like this are what you pay your attorney to think about for you—year-end bonuses. If your spouse received a year-end bonus, you may be hurting your chances of receiving half of it. Of course, even if you wait until January to file, you may encounter backlash from your spouse’s attorney. If the payment is considered to be for services from the past year, you have a good chance of receiving half since you lived with your spouse for the entire year.
• Taxes are not always at the forefront of your mind when you are wrestling with the idea of filing for divorce, but waiting until the first of the year will make filing the previous year much easier. Beginning the New Year with a clean slate so to speak, will make tax preparation much simpler in the future.
• You will have the opportunity to gather information for your attorney such as all marital assets and debts. You will also have the opportunity to get personal things such as finances and a place to live if you will be moving out of the family home.

Reasons to File for Divorce before the Holidays

• If you and your spouse are continuously fighting, delaying the divorce may do more harm than good. Delaying the inevitable only places all parties, including your children, under stress.
• Many life factors beyond your control can happen in a split second causing you to delay your divorce plans. Significant events such as the loss of job or an illness can negate your feelings of wanting a divorce. After all, you have history with this person and you can’t help but feel drawn to want to help them through such a difficult time.
• If it’s time, it’s time. Delaying a divorce to avoid short-term pain is still going to hurt in the end. It is going to hurt the people that it will hurt regardless of when you do it.
• Knowing the decision you will ultimately make could make the holidays harder on everyone by stewing on it.
• If your spouse is abusive, it is imperative that you leave him or her immediately for your safety as well as your children’s safety.

Whether you decide to file for divorce before the end of the year or after is a personal decision that must have all outcomes weighed for your best interest as well as your children’s best interests. Remember, what matters the most is how you deliver the news to those immediately affected by the decision. Of course, you need to be sensitive of the timing. For example, it is not advisable to do it on Christmas morning or any significant day for that matter.

We at Kevin Hickey Law Partners encourage you to schedule a consultation with us to help you determine the best timing. Even if you decide to wait until after the first of the year, it is a good idea to make your appointment today to begin preparations for the filing. Our experience will help you make the best decisions for your circumstance to help you get through the holiday season.

People always say money can’t buy happiness. Yes, that is true, but not having enough money can certainly add a burden creating feelings of uneasiness and insecurity. Money becomes high on the list during divorce processes. It falls in line right after child custody. Of course, you need to be concerned with your financial wellness after a divorce. However, many people get caught up in wanting particular assets (in most cases that is the family home), but do not consider the financial effects long after the divorce is granted and everyone has moved on. As your legal representation, we at Kevin Hickey Law Partners want to work with you to aid you in surviving financially after divorce. It doesn’t matter if you are a financial-savvy businessperson or a stay at home parent, this is a stressful process and you need an outside representative to help you think logically and clearly. Our goal is to help alleviate financial fears, bring you confidence in financial decisions being made during the divorce and ultimately financial independence. We will get to work on your financial autonomy by considering the following:

1) It may seem like a no-brainer, but many people do not think it through clearly that their income will drop after the divorce is final. You will need to make a budget according to the income you will have after the divorce. Your income includes spousal and child support as well as your regular income. Based on the information you give us up front, we can help you determine a general idea of what income, if any, to expect either receive or payout for spousal and child support. The budget will also need to be based off expenses you anticipate. Check out our blog about writing a successful parenting plan to help you determine which expenses you will be responsible for.

2) Do any “homework” your attorney assigns to you. In order to help you determine the best course of action that is most beneficial to you, we will need to know what you have. This list includes, but is not limited to:

• Retirement accounts
• Real estate
• Personal property
• Liquid assets
• Business interests
• Debts associated with the above items and any other individual or joint debts

3) This one is always a hard one for many divorcing couples—the family home. Not only is the family home often one of the biggest assets a couple can have, but it is equally filled with many memories such as your child’s first steps, birthday parties, all things reminiscent of happier times. The home can be a hard one to let go, especially if you are not the one wanting the divorce. Kevin Hickey Law Partners will help you look at it from an unemotionally attached party. We will help you look at the facts. Can you afford to stay in the home? Not only can you make the monthly payments, but also can you afford the upkeep? How much are utilities, grounds maintenance, etcetera. It often makes no financial sense to keep the family home. There are typically two ways to handle the family home during a divorce:

• The spouse that keeps the home buys the other spouse’s share of equity. This is normally done by a cash-out refinance if you don’t have the cash on hand (which will change your monthly payments); negotiate the equity in the home for another asset, or a property settlement note.
• The couple can also sell the home during or after the divorce and split the proceeds. Depending on the housing market in your area, this could take several months.

In many cases, it is better to be the spouse receiving his or her portion of the equity and starting a fresh new chapter, which works twofold—financially and emotionally. Often times the reason a spouse wants to keep the home is that they are emotionally trying to hang onto something that just is not there anymore. It can be therapeutic for you and the children to start with a clean slate so to speak. Think of it as a new adventure you are doing together.

Your divorce settlement can either lead you to a place of financial disaster or financial peace. Let Kevin Hickey Law Partners help you gain the peace you deserve.