“The state has a great interest in having those who want the benefits of parenthood to take on the responsibilities and obligations that go with parenthood,” said Pacific McGeorge School of Law Professor Larry Levine in Sacramento.
In the latest case of assigning the parent child custody, a woman who did not adopt her ex-girlfriend’s kids was ruled as their parent because she provided for them monetarily, tended to them when they were sick and even volunteered at their school. Plus, she could not adopt the children as she was in the Air Force and did not want to violate the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that was only recently lifted. Because she was carrying out the parental responsibilities and rights, she was now deemed their parent.
Child custody decisions are, therefore, looking more at who is truly functioning as the parent. Adults who do not have blood ties or adopted a child used to be classified as “legal strangers”, but if they are carrying out the role of a parent, courts will want to keep what is in the best interest of the child. A child-centered approach versus a child as property mentality is what the courts are shifting too. Who do the children rely on? Who do they think their parents are?
This can have a big impact on not only child custody, but matters of child support. The state wants to side with whom will provide the best health, education, and home environment for the child if both parties cannot agree on joint custody. The courts really take each decision on a case by case basis, as no two scenarios are exactly the same. The biggest constant is that they will rule in the best interests of the children. An experienced child custody lawyer can help the individual who seeks child custody to create an agreement that upholds what is best for the children and takes into consideration all the actions they carry out for the children.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. The Maggio Law Firm specializes in divorce and family law. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
A mediator will provide guidance to reach a resolution on the issues that still need to be worked out. They bring critical negotiation skills to listen to each party’s interests and concerns, and then help to find a common resolution that each person can agree to. The mediator is a neutral party, and oftentimes an attorney, so they will be able to provide you with a background of what is legally permissible. When an impasse is reached or negativity stalls progress, the mediator knows how to get the conversation back on track. For some couples this means not doing the mediation all in one day. But in two to three sessions, you can resolve all the big priorities of the dissolution.
It is important for you to know what your future needs are so that child support, spousal support, and the division of assets and debts are done to help you find as stable of a future as possible. What many people like about mediation is that it allows you to express your values and opinions. A litigated divorce, in contrast, follows a more strict formula and what some call a “one size fits all” approach. Mediation is more sensible for two adults who can be in the same room together and hash out the details. You can take into account the budgets you live with everyday and the future needs you and the kids will have. Mediators also know how to look for tax savings and alternative settlement options to increase the chances of financial stability post-divorce.
Couples who have been through a mediated divorce say that it is far better to have the two people who intimately know their finances and assets decide how to dissolve the marriage versus a judge or pair of attorneys. At the end of the mediation process, a final divorce settlement will be created and approved by the courts. Months down the road, you will thank yourself for doing mediation. The money you saved can go towards the kids, a savings or emergency fund, or establishing yourself in a new home.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
As these attitudes have shifted, marriage has become less of a focus. Out of wedlock babies have increased, though. Being a good parent, to Millennials, does not necessarily mean that marriage is a must. Many couples are choosing to delay marriage, live together, and break away from the social norms of their parents.
Even though marriage is delayed or not a preference, when a couple has a child it can make them refocus their priorities. Some decide to create a cohabitation agreement to help spell out their responsibilities and rights as parents and a couple.
This can help protect each person and set up a framework should something happen to one of the parents. A modern-day – cohabitation agreement includes:
– each person’s parental rights and duties
– financial obligations
– property rights
– health care directives
– estate planning and inheritance wishes
– how long the agreement is good for and/or how it can be revised
For some Millennials, this is a good warm-up to getting married. The agreement helps safeguard each person yet also sets out how each person will be looked after. As a couple establishes more assets, property, and moves up in the work world, it can be a critical document to help them create a prenuptial agreement once it is time to get married.
Sometimes, though, the cohabitation and relationship does not work out, even if there is a child that both parents mutually love and want to care for. In these instances, the cohabitation agreement can provide a path for the main caregiver to receive child support. It will also help to modify each parent’s duties and set up a visitation agreement that both parties can agree to. For couples that can amicably agree on the parenting agreement, litigation is not necessary. A family law attorney can assist in creating a plan that the courts will approve for child custody and the visitation schedule.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County family law attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County family law attorney, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
Checking account and credit card statements can reveal a lot. Look at each line item for odd spending habits. The biggest warning signs can be:
– Places that do not fit your spouse’s personality. If your spouse did not dare eat sushi, for example, but then charges start to rack up, this is a sign.
– Excessive purchases at bars, restaurants, jewelry, flower, and other gift shops
– Charges from hotels
– Higher gas costs than normal
– Extra cell phone charges or other electronic purchases that are excessive note that your spouse could have purchased equipment to communicate with the person they are seeing
– Vacation and luxury purchases when your spouse is supposed to be on a work trip
– Charges from oddly named businesses
– Membership dues to video chat companies and dating websites
It can also be a big sign if you are used to receiving these statements at home and suddenly they are not appearing. Be sure you can still access these financial accounts online to see if they have been re-routed to a post office box or if you have been locked out of your own account. These are tell-tale signs that your spouse is up to no good.
Banks also offer a feature to receive text alerts. For joint accounts that you are suspicious your spouse is using to cheat with, set this up. You will get texted in real time and the spouse will not be able to make up an excuse so fast as to what the charge was for. It is also advised to order a copy of your credit report that you are allowed to get for free one time a year. Go over it carefully to see if there are new accounts, inquiries, large balances, or other items that you have no idea about.
Be sure to keep all paperwork of the wrongdoing so when you confront the spouse or meet with a divorce attorney, you have as much evidence as possible. It is also important to start a savings fund so that you can start a new chapter on your own. If there are co-signed accounts that you are worried about getting depleted or charged, call to get your name removed or close the account.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
Some divorcing couples might agree on a value for certain assets and courts will allow this for community property. In other instances, they might want to have a fair, current market value to divide the marital assets. When this is done in California, the divorce courts put a valuation date on assets to decide their value on a specific date. This date is usually near the time of the divorce proceedings. For some people, this can send them into panic mode because things such as stocks, retirement funds, and even real estate, and art and jewelry can fluctuate wildly in price. With the help of an experienced divorce attorney, an individual can get legal counsel on the estimated dollar value for the exact valuation date.
With this, the individual can forecast what he or she will want to keep and what their finances will look like in the days and months after a divorce. It is important to note that other states work differently, so you will want to focus on what your jurisdiction mandates versus what friends and family might be telling you from a different part of the United States. Even if there is a long time between when the two of you have separated and the actual divorce, the California divorce courts typically put the valuation date near the proceeding time.
By working with a skilled divorce lawyer, an individual can assess whether it is beneficial to keep the marital home, vacation or other real estate assets, and how much of the assets are part of the marital estate or a separate asset. Also, if a business must be divided due to the divorce, an attorney is critical to valuing this asset. An attorney can also analyze what will be fair for child support, spousal support, and help to create a comprehensive plan for your financial stability in the future.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
It cannot be said enough that it is important to take an active role in your finances. Knowing where documents such as your tax return, bank statements, and credit card bills are is critical. And if you have gone paperless, knowing the online passwords is also helpful. Without knowledge of the marital assets, income, debts, and expenses, it can put you in a position of vulnerability. Yes, a divorce attorney can have a forensic accountant research the marital finances, but if you were already aware of your finances and the other spouse’s financial status to a large degree, you would be far more empowered.
If you are already on the path to a divorce and starting to feel that the other spouse is starting to act strange in regard to finances, there are some signs that could show assets or income is being hidden. It usually starts with defensive behavior where an individual becomes angered, controlling, or secretive about finances. If there is a sudden drop in income that seems unusual or unplanned, this can be a sign too. Some individuals will work with their employer to hold off bonuses, commissions, or salary adjustments until after the divorce.
Other strange behavior includes financial statements no longer being sent to the home. Especially if the two of you still live together and have not gone to paperless delivery, you will want to call any banks, investment companies and credit card institutions to get the latest account statements. If you find any big discrepancies at any time, let your divorce lawyer know so that a paper trail can be started to show the deficit.
Some individuals also start to overpay creditors and others to have it appear that they have less money. This can mean they overpay IRS, pretend they are paying off loans to family members, and even transfer money to the children. Once the divorce is over, the individual will then get an IRS refund, get the money back from the relatives or pull it out of the child’s account. This is not only deceptive, but immoral too.
Also, when the soon-to-be ex is a business owner, look for ways that he or she might be manipulating those finances. Hiring new employees, paying friends and family for work, and delaying new client agreements can be ways to make the company have less money. After the divorce is over, family could give back the money and those new employees could go away. And a wave of new contracts could come in. Being sneaky like this does not pay off, so alert your divorce attorney should you become aware of such activities.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
With the expertise of a family law attorney, disputes about spending, the kids, the family business, and even how many guys’ fishing trips and visits by the mother-in-law can be defined. Half of all family law attorneys surveyed nationwide have noted an increase of postnuptial agreements in the last few years.
For couples with issues that are causing a strain, the postnuptial can provide them a way to reset their behaviors and get back on a level playing field. If a budget has never been used in the household, this is a good time to set one and hold each spouse to it. If child raising duties need to be better divided, this is an opportunity to have each parent take their fair share.
The postnuptial agreement process will inform both spouses about each other’s financial status if they are not aware of it previously. For some couples, this is particularly helpful as it highlights what could occur if divorce were to happen. Hefty spousal support, child support, and liquidation of investments and savings could have occurred if the two had not worked hard to save their marriage.
This is exactly the premise behind getting a postnuptial agreement. The reality of what the couple has worked hard to create together could be divided if they split. If they can use the postnup opportunity to reframe their attitude toward each other and how they interact on a daily basis, the marriage can get back to its better days.
And if the postnuptial agreement does not work months or years down the line, the couple will already have some understanding of the family law system. They will have utilized one aspect to save their marriage before they call it quits.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County family law attorney , in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County family law attorney , Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
Cohabitation agreements, whether for opposite or same sex couples, define all the key financial and living decisions for the couple. It will detail:
– Disclosure of financial status to include all assets and debts
– Division of living expenses and insurance needs
– Property ownership
– Inheritances, trusts, and retirement plans
– Responsibilities for child custody, health care directives, and last wishes
– Duration of the agreement
Family law attorneys highly recommend getting a cohabitation agreement. If an individual were to be incapacitated, the other person would not have a right to make health care decisions. The responsibility and decisions would be made by family members, and this can sometimes lead to conflicts that are expensive and time consuming. And should the person die, the other partner would not be able to get their share of any assets.
Attorneys often work with clients who claim they were supposed to be supported financially from the other partner but after a breakup were nowhere to be found. If the couple had a cohabitation agreement beforehand, there would be no misunderstandings on the financial agreements and duties, and it would be enforceable by the courts.
“Cohabitation is continuing to increase in popularity,” says sociologist Susan Brown, co-director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research. “Marriage is something that is more optional now and it’s also something increasingly people do later in the life course.”
For many people, they do not want the complications that come with getting married, but still want to love, care, and define their responsibilities. The Pew Study, “Living Together: The Economics of Cohabitation” shows that 58 percent of women lived with an opposite-sex unmarried partner in 2006-2008. As marriage becomes less of a social must, but people are still living together for many years, it calls for the need to have a written understanding of each other’s responsibilities and duties.
In California, Riverside family law attorney Gerald Maggio is skilled in helping an individual create an amicable, enforceable cohabitation agreement with their partner. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in creating a well-thought out agreement to protect both parties and prepare each person for all anticipated events that could occur.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
“Being the one to cook the meals, prepare the lunches, help with the homework, buy the birthday presents for your children’s friends, make play dates, drop them off at school, take them to the doctor – without an outlet or someone else to fall back on if you’re tired – is part of building a deeper connection with your children,” said Jonathan Weiler and Anne J. Menkens in a recent article about the benefits gained in a child-parent relationship after divorce. “…A newfound sense of capability might make you less overwhelmed by the challenges of dealing with your kids, thereby freeing you up to enjoy the experience more.”
As a single parent, chances are that you will be more heavily involved than before in your children’s health and education decisions as well as social activities. The custody and parenting agreement will define the mutual decisions you and your ex have for these aspects of your child’s life. As time goes on, the decisions and child support might need to be modified. Getting legal advice to see about these possibilities or making a move to change them is highly advised.
Throughout it all, it is recommended to focus on the best interests of the child. Child advocates say to never make your kids messengers to the other spouse. Do not put a child in the center of dispute you have with the ex. Do not say negative things about your ex in front of the child.
“Kids are impressionable and you can make your child hate your ex-spouse if you want to, but it won’t bring you closer to your child,” said Weiler and Menkens. “If, on the other hand, if you know your ex-spouse is a good parent (even if a bad spouse) and that your child loves him or her, try praising that parent. Building your child’s esteem for her other parent will be one of the best gifts you can give to your child.”
In California, Irvine child custody attorney Gerald Maggio is skilled in helping a parent achieve the best child custody outcome and has resources in the area for parents to work on their parenting skills. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in maintaining and preserving the crucial parent-child relationship. They are well versed in child support and modifications, divorce, and alternative conflict resolution.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
During divorce proceedings, an individual can explain and show how credit card transactions did not benefit him or her. Placing a freeze on credit cards can be beneficial so that a vindictive spouse does not ruin your credit history. In general, the debt accumulated during the marriage will be divided just like the assets – down the middle. If debts can be traced back to one person’s habits or interests, there can be exceptions.
Many people forget to take their name off mutual credit cards, and this can come back to haunt them months and years in the future. Remember that a divorce decree does not actually transfer the debts in one person’s name; individuals must call the creditor to make the name change and any relevant change of contact information. If one person fails to pay the card, but both names remain on the account, the creditors can come after both accountholders. Your credit score can drop dramatically and take a lot of effort to get back up. So it’s wise to remove your name as soon as possible to prevent harm. It’s also good to do this with bank accounts so that you don’t find that an ex cleaned it out.
Getting legal guidance from a qualified divorce attorney can help individuals get a hold of their finances and assets, and properly determine what is a fair child custody and parenting agreement. An attorney will keep your financial matters confidential.
In California, Riverside divorce attorney Gerald Maggio helps clients determine the best course of action to preserve their finances during and after a divorce proceeding. The Maggio Law Firm has helped thousands of clients with their divorce, division of debts and assets, and parenting matters.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
Dividing the assets becomes a conversation between the couple, and is given the approval with a divorce attorney’s input versus in a courtroom with a judge deciding each individual’s share. “Divorce will always be a tough, emotional journey, but now people are being more practical and pragmatic about how to bring resolution,” said Karen Stewart, a divorce and relationship expert. “Boomers are looking for alternatives to the standard ‘hire two lawyers to fight it out’; people recognize the need to bring the marriage to an end in a less destructive way.”
When both adults can see the divorce akin to the end to a business relationship, they can remove the spite and stress that often leads people to court. Couples can expedite the divorce process with collaborative law and lessen a lot of the stress. When couples can focus on divorce in a business-like fashion they can remove themselves emotionally. Every divorce lawyer has a story about a client that fought for weeks over some prized possession that had no economic value and delayed divorce proceedings.
“Women tend to be completely paranoid about being left to starve and become bag ladies,” said Stewart. “Men are typically worried about being taken to the cleaners. Our job is to come up with a solution that is going to make both individuals leave feeling comfortable and secure.”
And that’s the essence of collaborative law. When a couple can sit down and divide property, assets, and mutually determine what is best for their children in custody and child support matters, each adult can be better off financially and emotionally.
The Maggio Law Firm has many years of experience in divorce and collaborative law. Irvine divorce attorney Gerald Maggio is known for his legal expertise and helping clients with all the difficult issues that are raised in a divorce. Maggio is active in the Orange County Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Riverside County Bar Association, the Orange County Barristers, and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
Psychologists show that the first three years after a divorce are the most critical time to preserve the child-parent relationship. In particular, divorce can be the hardest on children from the tween to adolescent years. Some teens might play it cool and act as if they are above experiencing difficulty from a divorce, but they are just as affected as young kids. It’s especially hard as they might not understand how a marriage that has lasted so long has come to a sudden halt. Whether it was infidelity, finances, or a long unraveling, how a divorce is dealt with during a teen’s pivotal “growing up” years is crucial.
“The children’s needs and feelings are of utmost importance,” says Risa Garon, the executive director of the National Family Resiliency Center. “Remember, the children come first when there is a family transition.”
Teens are already dealing with a lot when a mid-life divorce occurs in the family. They are starting to date, worrying about money and social status, and getting ready for big decisions like college. A parent’s apology and ability to encourage discussion when the teen is ready can go a long way to healing the teen’s feeling of loss during and after a divorce. More than anything, this can help a family relationship and the teen’s own sense of self-worth and identity be stronger, says Garon.
Yet, unfortunately, 27 percent of children have an absentee father according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of the National Survey of Family Growth. Being abandoned by a parent can have long-term consequences. That said, studies show that psychologists agree that a teen can develop in a healthy way with one parent guiding them to be successful, establish healthy relationships, and openly talking with them on a daily basis.
As Deborah Moscovitch, the author of The Smart Divorce, says, “While parents divorce each other, they don’t divorce their children. Children nonetheless are the ones who live out the divorce because their day-to-day routines, not to mention their emotional lives, are so deeply affected by it…You want your children to perceive themselves with their own goals and aspirations, independent of their status as the children of divorce.”
In California, Orange County divorce attorney Gerald Maggio counsels individuals and families through all the steps of a divorce. His legal experience and compassionate guidance helps a parent keep the child-parent bond during and after the divorce proceedings. The Maggio Law Firm is skilled in child custody and visitation, child support, property division and spousal support.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
A recent survey of Certified Divorce Financial Analysts noted that divorcing couples want to divide liquid assets only. Real estate, investments, retirement plans are not as lucrative as they were before, so cash is king. For divorcees who request child support and spousal support, job security is a big concern to be able to make the payments. Child support will always be the main priority if only certain monies are available.
The marital home is still the most problematic part of the divorce equation. Some couples agree to sell it at a loss to move on, but others have to take it day by day as one spouse stays in the home and pays rent until it can be sold when the market improves. People should be aware though that since the mortgage and deed remains in both names, both people’s credit can be affected if the payment is late or not paid for some time.
Some divorce attorneys are seeing that couples wait to do the final division of assets until a house is sold. This way, the opportunity for more child support or spousal support can be a possibility. Many couples wonder if they can do a divorce on their own, and save a substantial amount of money that way.
Unless one has a full understanding of the legal and financial parts of a divorce, the do-it-yourself kits and websites can create many costly errors in the future. Many parts of a divorce agreement are non-modifiable, or difficult to change unless both parties agree to it later on. Individuals can spend a lot of money trying to fix what they originally thought was a just divorce settlement. Having a qualified divorce attorney represent you is worth the money to avoid a disastrous situation down the road.
And should job loss, change in income, or your home be foreclosed, you will want legal representation to modify the divorce decree. These days the courts are seeing many requests for this, and as long as this is truly the circumstance, a lawyer can help an individual push to make this change.
In California, Riverside divorce attorney Gerald Maggio is skilled in helping an individual achieve their divorce goals. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in the division of assets and debts, joint custody matters, and child support.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
The court will approve a parenting agreement that lets the child equitably have a relationship with each parent, unless there is concern for the child’s safety and wellbeing. But oftentimes long after the agreement is approved and the child has been shuttled between both parents, a conflict arises. How each parent treats the other parent can play a huge role on how the child perceives the split parenting time.
“Somehow, children get the message that going to the other parent’s house after a separation or divorce is optional,” says Esq. Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute. “If you give them a choice and imply it will be a negative experience, any healthy child is going to want to avoid it. Since children have so few options in their lives, if you give them an option to avoid something negative, they will avoid it.”
Eddy recommends focusing on how you speak to your child to make the transition from one parent to another. Instead of “You have to go” or “Your dad or the court is forcing you to go”, say “I expect you to go see your dad”. Expect is a much more positive word than the perception of conflict that a child will create if they hear the word force. It’s much like forcing your child to eat broccoli or brush his teeth; kids do not want to be pushed into anything.
“When given a choice, many children who live in two households would rather stay where they are at the moment,” said Eddy. “It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to see their Mom or Dad, it just means that they don’t want to stop what they’re doing, get up, pack up, and go somewhere else. Once they get to the other house, they act just the same way. Don’t take it personally: most of the time children just prefer where they are and what they’re doing. They live in the present.”
Equally as important is how each parent converses with each other. Arguments and fights can cause confusion, resistance, and abnormal behaviors from a child. Kids mimic their parents, often without knowing why, so many family therapists recommend treating your ex as if it is a business partnership. The goal of the “business” should be your child’s wellbeing. Speak to your ex like you would a colleague with neutral, respectful, diplomatic language. Children who can have a regular schedule with each parent and similar rules at each household will greatly benefit mentally and socially from a consistent routine. Everything doesn’t have to be the same at each household, but parents should work to agree on important things like homework, bedtime, activities, and big decisions involving medical and education needs.
In California, Riverside family law attorney Gerald Maggio helps individuals create a parenting agreement that the courts will approve and benefits the child. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in joint custody matters, child support, and can help modify the parenting agreement should a change be needed years after a divorce.
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.
A good approach is to have a divorce team with your divorce attorney and a financial advisor assessing the best route to get the other spouse out of the business. The buy out strategy can include:
• Using a marital asset such as real estate, stocks, retirement funds, or cash
• A property settlement note that allows for a longer buyout of the amount owed with interest
• An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to generate funds by selling ownership interest to employees
• Selling the business and dividing the proceeds
ESOPs can work well if a business is worth more than $5 million. ESOPs are complex but they are tax deductible, so it can become a better scenario for your business. And since employees receive a small interest in the business, they typically become more engaged employees because they want the business to succeed even more.
An ESOP is controlled with a trust fund and a trustee, and the employees are the financial beneficiaries of it. The business makes tax deductible cash contributions to the ESOP and then the trust funds buys ownership interests based upon current values. Each employee gets a small interest annually and can cash in their portion when they leave or retire from the business. Interestingly, ESOP businesses are shown to grow eight to 11 percent faster than normal businesses, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. Quicker growth equals a bigger increase in value. Thus, ESOPs can be the best route if the business forecasts growth and profits and values its employees as an integral part of the operation.
What’s more common, though, is that the business must be sold outright as a large portion of the assets are tied up in the company. This can be an excruciating process as it will leave one or more spouse without work, and the court must approve the value of the business for sale. The court will analyze the opinion of value from appraisers and accountants.
No matter which route is best, both sides need proper legal representation. Most likely one spouse will have to pay child or spousal support, so adding in the division of a business can create a financial hardship. Both spouses can benefit from mediation or a collaborative divorce to mutually work through the issues with their attorneys and accountants.
The Maggio Law Firm has many years of experience in divorce and the division of assets. Orange County Divorce Attorney Gerald Maggio is known for his legal expertise and giving clients compassionate guidance through the maze of issues that are raised in a divorce. Maggio is active in the Orange County Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Riverside County Bar Association, the Orange County Barristers, and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com
Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax
Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501
Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.