Monday, March 31, 2008

Divorce Parties Help Achieve Post-Marital Bliss

For years, divorce has been seen as the end of a relationship, but increasingly more and more people are seeing it as the beginning of a new life.
The new outlook on divorce is giving rise to a trend that's spreading from country to country, continent to continent. Divorce parties have become all the rage in the U.S. and the U.K., and now they're taking off here in Canada.
Maria Caldarozzi, an event planner in Halifax, says she has already planned several divorce parties this year.
"It's a celebration of independence," she says.
"It's a celebration of your education -- of where you were -- and now a whole new road you're going down. You just learn to share it with your friends and family. You just want to have a great time and start life over again..."

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For more information regarding the California dissolution process, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at http://www.familylawmarin.com/

Friday, March 28, 2008

International: Divorce Drives Up Real Estate Sales in Australia

DIVORCE will drive real estate sales - regardless of interest rate rises.
Break-ups among married and de facto couples account for up to 15 per cent of all residential sales, L.J. Hooker WA manager Luke Walker said.
A Sydney agent recently claimed the figure was closer to 40 per cent, with every second client selling because of divorce.
Professionals WA Real Estate chief executive officer David Hobbs said that while he thought this figure was overstated, he agreed divorce triggered a big percentage of sales.
"Two properties in my street are being sold due to divorce. It is fairly prevalent at this stage,'' he said...

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Innocent Victims of a Litigious Divorce: The Children

"The war of the Roses" depicted every couple's worst nightmare. Two people who were once in love are engaged in a major battle where both sides lose. Divorce is second only to death as the most stressful of life's experiences. And litigated divorce increases the emotional stress many times over due to the hostility generated and the high financial cost. This is the tragedy of an acrimonious divorce. Each side hires a lawyer as their hired gun.
There is an alternative to the bitter, acrimonious litigated divorce...

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For more information about alternatives to divorce litigation, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Overcoming Divorce Trauma

Foolproof Strategies for Maintaining Your Child's Equilibrium:
As is typical in practically every divorce, your children are usually the last know. Even when a marriage is fraught with discord, children generally hold onto the wish that their parents will somehow manage to stay together, or, like The Parent Trap, they can engineer a modicum of a truce. But in the real world, acrimonious marriages generally end in equally contentious divorces. When that happens, a constellation of emotions surface, feelings of abandonment rage, psychological dysregulation, and immense anger are but a few of the overwhelming feelings children experience...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Friday, March 21, 2008

Dividing Pension and Retirement Benefits

Under the Family Code of California, community property is divided between the spouses 50/50. Retirement benefits are a form of employment compensation, like earnings. Thus, regardless of when the benefits are vested or matured, for pensions based on time of service as opposed to a point system fn-1, the benefits are community property, to the extent earned during marriage, up to date of separation.
For example, if the Participant [spouse earning the pension] earns benefits under the plan for 240 months, and is married prior to separation during 160 of those months, 2/3 of the benefits are community property. The other spouse therefore has a right to 50% of that 2/3 = 1/3 of the pension benefits.
When these rights are established through an appropriate order [see below], the other spouse is recognized by the pensions as an Alternate Payee.

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

California Divorce Basics

Residency Requirements and Grounds for DivorceYou must be a resident of California for six months and a county resident for three months to file for a divorce, called a "dissolution."

Either spouse can get a divorce simply by stating in the divorce papers that "irreconcilable differences" have caused a breakdown in the marriage. If both spouses are in agreement that there should be a divorce, they can agree in writing (called a "stipulation") that the marriage can be ended...

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For more information on California divorce proceedings, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Monday, March 17, 2008

Evaluating Spousal Support

Unlike child support, only vague guidelines are established in California for evaluating the amount of spousal support. Unfortunately, broad latitude is given by judges with varying attitudes. Different results appear in cases with similar factual situations. Generally speaking, spousal support is based on the reasonable needs of the wife as they relate to the husband's ability to pay, in order to maintain the Marital Standard of Living, established during the marriage. Major factors commonly employed to determine the appropriate amount of support are as follows...

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For more information on spousal support, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Negotiation Tip: Patience and Persistance Are Your Hidden Strengths

Patience and persistence are two of the most effective weapons in your negotiation arsenal. Winning negotiators know that by staying calm, determined, and focused they gain advantage that translates into favorable deals.
During the negotiation process you test your counterpartís expectations and goals as well as your own. Agreement is reached only after each party is ready to move from the wishful into the realm of the possible. Change takes place over time in small, constant, incremental movements. You cannot rush the process. The right number at the wrong time is the wrong number...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Thursday, March 13, 2008

International: Divorce Stopping Home Ownership In Australia

Relationship woes rather than housing affordability is keeping younger Australians from home ownership, a new study has found.
Flinders University academics have found higher percentages of younger Australians are embarking upon home ownership than ever before.
Professor Andrew Beer surveyed 2,600 people to find the average age for first entry to home purchase had fallen over the last 30 years.
"(It's) because of the liberalisation of home lending, rising incomes and increasing aspirations," Prof Beer said...

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For information on California divorce, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Kids Learn To Bear Divorce

It's no secret that divorce is hard on kids.
Wendy Lokken, co-author of ""You and Me Make Three"", knows the heartache families experience when they go separate ways.
""I am a child of divorce and I am divorced with children,"" Lokken said.
That's why Lokken, a Naples resident, joined authors Gwendy Mangiamele, Edna Cucksey Stephens and illustrator Heather Drescher to write a book for kids about divorce. They'll sign copies of the book this month at three Naples book stores.
Offered along with the book is a teddy bear named B.B. the Bear who offers comfort and a safe place to talk about feelings.
""I was raised in North Dakota and divorce was just something we never talked about,"" Lokken said...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Teen Tries To Help Others Cope With Divorce

ATLANTA - Bill Sears endured a childhood trauma that has been, and will be, faced by millions. He survived the death of his parents' marriage. He had to pick sides, counsel his parents and learn how to interpret his feelings. Pretty heavy stuff for a little kid.
Now, nine years later, Bill is as close to an expert on these kinds of things as a 16-year-old can be. And he's willing to help anyone -- parent or kid -- he can.
A voracious reader and researcher, Bill studied divorce law to learn what rights children have. Just as important, he listened -- to friends at first, then to friends of friends, and now to just about anyone.
"I saw what I had gone through, and I didn't think it was right. No kid should go through this," Bill said. "It took a brutal emotional toll on me. I was 7 or 8 and they split. It was a metaphorical tug of war and I just want to say: Are you aware, parents?

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

What Is Mediation And How Can It Help During Your Divorce?

Advantages of using a mediator:
Provide creative solutions to problems that parties may have considered impossible to resolve. Extensive knowledge of distribution of property and debts.
Sensitivity about child custody, support issues and spousal support
Private confidential office setting to handle matters that are painful and personal rather than public court
Less cost than having opposing attorneys battle it out
Helps avoid destructive battles which have negative impacts on children and other family members...

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For more information on divorce mediation, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

If Infidelity A Reason For Divorce?

Many women across America are faced with unfaithful husbands during the course of a marriage and weigh the pros and cons of divorce.
Dr. Bonnie Eaker Weil, author of Adultery: The Forgivable Sin, says her study reveals that only 35 percent of marriages can thrive after infidelity and that more than half of all marriages have had one person commit adultery...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

"Contested" and "Uncontested" Divorce

A case is contested if the parties cannot agree and every one of the issues involved in their particular situation. Common areas of disagreement include, but are not limited to, the following: grounds, custody, visitation, division of assets, child support, maintenance (alimony), payment of family debts, contribution toward educational expenses (college or parochial), payment of health insurance for the dependent spouse, income tax structuring, etc...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

10 Questions To Ask Your Divorce Attorney

With a few clicks of the mouse and a web search query for the keywords "questions to ask a divorce attorney", you will find thousands of results listed. Divorce is a well addressed topic, and suggested questions for divorce lawyers are numerous. In other words, there are hundreds of questions that one could possibly ask - from general to case specific. Assuming fees and general attorney experience questions have been answered, there are ten basic questions that your family law attorney should be able to address...

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For more information regarding the dissolution process, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Monday, March 10, 2008

Custody and Visitation

"Custody" is an emotionally laden term. To parties in a divorce, it often takes on the unintended meanings. Many parents believe that if they are not awarded custody, that they have somehow been determined to be an inferior parent. That is not the case. Custody determinations are necessary to provide stability for children in the way they are raised. It also helps to provide a home base and security which are important considerations for children of all ages, and even more so for the very young. Custody determinations in Minnesota are based on what is in the "best interests" of the children.
There are two types of custody, "legal" and "physical" custody...

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For more information regarding child custody and visitation issues during divorce, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Planning For Divorce

Nobody marries with the expectation of failure. Married couples never contemplate that the person they once loved could later seem to be a stranger and perhaps even an enemy. Yet, statistics paint an ugly picture. Approximately 4 out of 10 marriages today end in divorce. In divorce proceedings, women lose financially, their standard of living may drop as much as thirty percent in the first year following a divorce...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Monday, March 3, 2008

Divorce: The First Steps

So it's official - you are getting a divorce. Wait, don't head straight for the couch with bonbons and a box of tissues. Now is not the time to fall apart; it's a time to step up to the plate and take control of your situation, effectively managing your divorce and transforming yourself through this transition...


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For more information on the marital dissolution process, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com