January 13th, 2012
Preparing for a Texas Divorce: Part 1 – Assets
Preparing for a divorce is painful no matter the circumstance. Before you get into the tangle of the Texas divorce process, you can reduce the expense, stress and conflict many people face by making sure you are prepared. Planning ahead allows you to make sound decisions and start preparing for your life post-divorce, and may also help you avoid post-divorce pitfalls. Below is a list of items you may want to gather before counseling with an attorney.
Documents
- A Listing of all Real Property, address and location, including (include time-shares and vacation properties):
- Deeds of Trust
- Notes
- Legal Description
- Mortgage Companies (Name, Address, Telephone Number, Account Number, Balance of Note, Monthly Payments)
- Current fair market value
- Mineral Interests (include any property in which you own the mineral estate, separate and apart from the surface estate, such as oil and gas leases; also include royalty interests, work interests, and producing and non-producing oil and gas wells.
- Name of mineral interest
- Type of interest
- County of location
- Legal description
- Name of producer/operator
- Current market value
- Cash and accounts with financial institutions (checking, savings, commercial bank accounts, credit union funds, IRA’s, CD’s, 401K’s, pension plans and any other form of retirement accounts):
- Name of institution, address and telephone number
- Amount in institution on date of marriage
- Amount in institution currently
- Account Number
- Names on Account
- Publicly traded stock, bonds and other securities (include securities not in a brokerage, mutual fund, or retirement account):
- Number of shares
- Type of securities
- Certificate numbers
- In possession of
- Name of exchange which listed
- Pledged as collateral?
- Date acquired
- Tax basis
- Current market value
- If stock (date option granted, number of shares and value per share)
- Closely held business interests:
- Name of business
- Address
- Type of business
- % of ownership
- Number of shares owned if applicable
- Value of shares
- Balance of accounts receivables
- Cash flow reports
- Balance of liabilities
- List of company assets
- Retirement Benefits
- Exact name of plan
- Address of plan administrator
- Employer
- Employee
- Starting date of contributions
- Amount in account on date of marriage
- Amount currently in account
- Balance of any loan against plan
- Insurance and Annuities
- Name of insurance company
- Policy Number
- Insured
- Type of insurance (whole/term/universal)
- Amount of monthly premiums
- Date of Issue
- Face amount
- Cash surrender value
- Current surrender value
- Designated beneficiary
- Motor Vehicles (including mobile homes, boats, trailers, motorcycles, recreational vehicles; exclude company owned)
- Year
- Make
- Model
- Value
- Name on title
- VIN Number
- Fair Market Value
- Name of creditor (if any), address and telephone
- Persons listed on debt
- Account number
- Balance of any loan and monthly payment
- Net Equity in vehicle
- Money owed by spouse (including any expected federal or state income tax refund but not including receivables connected with any business)
- Household furniture, furnishings and Fixtures
- Electronics and computers
- Antiques, artwork and collectibles (including works of art, paintings, tapestry, rugs, crystal, coin or stamp collections)
- Miscellaneous sporting goods and firearms
- Jewelry
- Animals and livestock
- Farming equipment
- Club Memberships
- Travel Award Benefits (including frequent flyer miles)
- Safe deposit box items
- Burial plots
- Items in any storage facility
- A listing of separate property (property prior to marriage, family heir looms, property gifted)
- Listing of all liabilities (including mortgages, credit card debt, personal loans, automobile loans, etc.):
a. Name of entity, address and telephone number
b. Account number
c. Amount owed
d. Monthly payment
e. Property securing payment (if any)
f. Persons listed as liable for debt
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January 12th, 2012
Thirty seven percent of families in the United States are blended families. Sixty percent of second marriages end in divorce. A biological parent has his hands full, but as most step-parents will tell you, their job is even more complicated.
Following a divorce, it is not uncommon for a new step-parent to become the target of unprovoked spite or anger. In many cases, the previous-spouse harbors unfounded fears that their child will look to a new step-parent as a mother or father replacement figure. This can engender resentment to what may already be an uncomfortable situation between parties. Regretfully, these issues often escalate very quickly. Such resentments place the children squarely in the middle of a bitter fight between the people they love the most and are not healthy for anyone involved. The pain of conflicting loyalties to each parent and a child’s feeling of being “caught in the middle” of such disputes exacts an enormous emotional toll on a child. When a parent is in a rage, it is not uncommon for a child to withdraw. The child’s behavior towards the non-primary parent may abruptly change. This change in behavior may have more to do with keeping the primary parent happy than it does with how they really feel about the non-primary parent or step-parent. It is essential that you make it clear to your child that you love them and will always be there for them, regardless of the emotional or less than rosy current circumstances.
It is crucial to a child’s self-esteem and emotional growth that parents avoid putting children in the middle of such disputes. This can be incredibly difficult, however, when a selfish or manipulative parent does not think twice about wrongfully placing his or her child in the middle of conflict. Children are very perceptive and as they grow older they will ultimately realize when a parent has lied to them and used them for their own emotional or financial gain. Though they may temporarily identify with the aggressors, in time they will deeply resent the parent who has manipulated them.
Regardless of the circumstances, it is critical that biological parents avoid arguments or conflicts in the presence of the children. Such conduct is conducive to parental alienation goals of the misguided previous spouse. If the child sees that you maintain a calm and collected demeanor, it gives them reason to pause and feel safe.
If a previous spouse is making statements to the child regarding issues that should only be discussed between adults, tell the child that such discussions are inappropriate and you will take them up with the other parent at another time.
It is ok to tell your child “I am sorry,” if they are upset, even if you are not the parent upsetting them. This validates that they are hurting and relieves any false guilt they may have over things that are being said and done when you are not present. It is sometimes helpful to use everyday situations to explain conflict to your child. As an example, when dealing with conflict explain that “brothers and sisters fight, but they still love each other. Families have to work through conflict in order to stay together. I would not leave you if you made a mistake, I would not want you to leave me.” Such statements reinforces that reasonable conflict is ok and assures the child that you will remain a constant force in their life regardless of the situation.
If you feel that the conflict has escalated to a point of becoming emotionally abusive and/or destructive to the child, consult an attorney. It may be in the best interest of the child that he or she be removed from the primary parent and placed with the non-primary parent so that he or she is allowed to love all parental figures, parents and step-parents alike, unconditionally.
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January 11th, 2012
Everyday millions of people log into their favorite social networking sites to start their day, catch up during the day and end the day visiting with friends, business associates or looking for new contacts. What we are all doing is giving and receiving information about ourselves and others! A recent Pew Report states that 50% of the U.S. population uses social networking websites on a regular basis and 26% of the 50+ population engages in social networking!
Other interesting facts from Pew Reports: the U.S. 18-29 year-olds use their cell phone for the internet compared with 49% of 30-49 year-olds and 21% of 50+ users. The popularity of texting, taking pictures or video is increasing the use of social networking sites for all ages. These users of social networking and messaging services post information without much discretion or future perception as to what is said and how this information can legally be used against them down the road.
The Ten Most Popular Social Networking Sites of 2012 - taken from Hitwire.com (1/7/2012)
1. Facebook, 64.28% visits share
2. You Tube, 19.57% visits share
3. Twitter, 1.48% visits share
4. Yahoo!Answers .96% visits share
5. Tagged, .75% visits share
6. Linkedin, .67% visits share
7. Pinterest.com, .48% visits share
8. MySpace, .44% visits share
9. Google+, .42% visits share
10. MyYearbook .39% visits share
You should exercise careful thoughtful judgment when posting on social networking sites.
Think before your post! Could this post , which is one click away to immortality, be potentially damaging to you, others you care about or business relationships?
In today’s world, many lawyers are asking very specific questions to their clients concerning email addresses, use of social networking sites and types of personal information the client has posted about themselves, or information publicly disclosed from other people’s social networking. Many lawyers now ask their clients to stop using or to deactivate their social networking sites during their litigation process. Better safe than sorry!
The use of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) is now starting to be addressed by the U.S. Government and many states regarding usage for legal issues. The Federal Rules have been recently amended to mention ESI and set up a framework on dealing with this information. The new rules include ESI to email, web pages, word processing files, computer databases, and just about anything that is stored on a computer. The definition of ESI also includes traditional email, instant and text messaging, voice mail, personal webmail, blogging and other new emerging technologies. Potential relevant information from any of these sources must now be preserved by litigants in the federal courts. Just remember what you do or say online can and will be used against you and distorted since “you said it”!
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Posted in Social Media and the Law | No Comments »
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