Posted on April 01, 2019 in High Net Worth Divorce

Your divorce agreement or decree puts to rest the legal issues involved in the divorce. That said, it does not necessarily resolve all the practical issues. Some of those practical issues involve following up on your retirement accounts.

You’ll want to ensure any division is completed correctly and that your accounts are as you want them going forward. Here are a few tips.

Follow up on your QDROs

A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is required by the IRS whenever shared IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and other retirement accounts are divided. It is needed to ensure that people below the age of retirement aren’t charged taxes and early withdrawal fees when moving assets due to a divorce.

In fact, many plans require a QDRO that complies with plan rules in order to make divorce-related transfers. A plan-compliant QDRO should be part of your divorce settlement or decree if you planned to move any retirement assets. However, it's a good idea to follow up with each affected plan to ensure that they received the QDRO and consider it compliant. If they don’t, contact your divorce attorney.

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 Posted on April 01, 2019 in Fathers’ Rights

The Fathers’ Rights movement involves a large array of different groups. On the whole, however, the movement fights for more equal child custody (conservatorship, possession and access) rights for fathers.

In the U.S., the movement arose in the 1960s and 1970s, after divorce rates began rising dramatically. At that time, many courts operated on the presumption that it was in children's best interest to live primarily with their mothers. As a result, mothers got the large majority of the available time with their kids, while fathers were often relegated to “visitor” status.

Many divorcing men found themselves responsible for large alimony and child support payments, even though they had little say over their children's upbringing and got to spend only a few days a month with their kids.

Over time, many states passed laws to remove any presumption that mothers should be given primary custody. Now, courts try to make their parenting orders in the best interest of the children.

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 Posted on March 01, 2019 in Divorce

Spring is on its way! Most of us get restless in the Spring. We think of projects we have put off. We clean out closets and the garage. Spring cleaning consumes some of us. What if your Spring includes a planned divorce or move? There are some things you should consider before making decisions about what to do with the house, typically the most valuable marital asset.

Perhaps you are planning to divorce and are on friendly terms with your soon-to-be former spouse. Perhaps you are thinking that you will place the house on the market before you hire an attorney and go ahead and split the proceeds 50-50. At first blush this may make sense. After all, Spring seems to be the right time to sell a house in the Frisco, Allen and McKinney areas. But, be careful. This may or may or may not make the most sense for you in your divorce.

The first question you should ask is when was the residence purchased? If it was before the marriage, it will be the separate property of the spouse who purchased it, even if there has been a refinance after the marriage. There may be reimbursement claims to the community estate for improvements made to the separate property during the marriage. If the house was purchased during the marriage, and it makes sense to sell the property, there may be a reason not to divide the proceeds equally. The law in the State of Texas does not presume or require a 50-50 division upon divorce. Rather, it must be equitable. An equitable division takes into consideration many other factors, such as the nature of all the assets to be divided. Each asset does not necessarily get divided. Rather, it is the entire value of the estate that is divided.

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 Posted on March 01, 2019 in Divorce

The Ramage Law Group has 27+ years of experience in helping families in the McKinney, Frisco, Plano, Allen, and surround areas specifically in Family Law and Divorce. We have found that although some coping strategies are great in theory, they do not always work effectively in practice.

We conduct client feedback throughout the entire divorce process as we understand how difficult this process can be while filled with such uncertainty and often agony that we have created 5 Coping Strategies that seem to work based off the feedback from our clients. Please feel free to try these yourself or perhaps share with a loved one who is going through the very process.

1. Rumination – STOP THE LOOP IN YOUR HEAD by simply addressing it head on. Imagining the worst possible outcome and all that it implies actually stops the ruminating (usually coupled with discussions with a therapist) as now it becomes something we can tackle and deal with. Rumination is the repetitive and intrusive thoughts that the brain unconsciously searches for and results in that endless loop of rumination that preoccupies us during times of stress, sapping our emotional and cognitive energy.

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 Posted on March 01, 2019 in Child Custody

Especially in a high-conflict divorce, it sometimes seems necessary to do whatever it takes to get conservatorship (custody) of your kids. That might include exaggerating the frequency of your caregiving, for example, to present a more favorable picture to the court. It could also involve making false statements about the other parent's caregiving — or even fabricating abuse or neglect allegations.

Don’t do it. There is a very good chance you will be caught, and doing it could bring about just the consequences you most fear — less parenting time for you and more for your ex.

In Texas, child custody is called “conservatorship,” and the order dividing time between the parents is called a standard possession order. What other states call “visitation,” Texas calls “possession and access to a child.” In the large majority of cases, both parents get some time in possession of the child. They may also receive joint managing conservatorship, which essentially means sharing the authority to make significant decisions about the child's life.

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 Posted on March 01, 2019 in Child Custody

Spring and Summer give parents time to reconnect and bond with their children, especially after divorce. If you share custody of your children, chances are you need to begin planning for your summer possession periods. At The Ramage Law Group, we have an office in Frisco and McKinney, Texas staffed with child custody attorneys working with several clients on this very matter due to a lack of shared time over the recent holiday. Maybe it is time for you to also review your current order and fight for more time?

Where to Start?

The first place to start is your most recent custody order, whether it is your divorce decree or an order modifying your divorce decree. First, weekend possession continues during the summer, except when each parent is enjoying extended visitation with the children. If you have a Texas Standard Possession Order and are the non-custodial parent, you will need to give notice to the other parent of a thirty-day period in which you plan to exercise summer possession of your children. If you fail to give notice, your summer possession period defaults to the month of July. The custodial parent may then take a weekend from your extended summer visitation period by notifying you on or before April 15 of his desired weekend. Additionally, the custodial parent may also designate a weekend that is outside of your summer visitation during which you may not exercise visitation, so long as it does not interfere with Father's Day weekend of a party's designated summer possession.

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 Posted on March 01, 2019 in High Conflict Family Law

If you’re involved in a high-conflict divorce, there is a fair chance your ex will try to conceal income or assets in order to reduce their obligations.

If you suspect this could be happening, discuss your concerns with your divorce attorney. They can review your finances for evidence of suspicious activity and bring in a financial expert, such as a forensic accountant, if necessary.

What should you look for if you suspect hidden money?

It may be common for one spouse to handle the finances, but an acrimonious divorce is not the time to be in the dark. If you are unfamiliar with your financial picture, familiarize yourself now. Get copies of a few years’ worth of tax returns and their underlying documents. If you don’t understand them, get help from your divorce attorney or another appropriate professional.

You should see all of your income and your spouse's income — including tip income — listed appropriately on your income tax return.

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 Posted on February 01, 2019 in High Conflict Family Law

When marriages break down, there is usually some resentment and anger. It's natural. Sometimes, however, the divorcing spouses go through a long period of rage and blame. For exes with children, that can lead to difficulty co-parenting.

Assuming that neither spouse is guilty of child abuse or neglect, however, you are going to have to work together on raising your children. You’ll need to be civil to each other at countless events involving your kids, ranging from parent night at school to weddings and grandchildren.

How can you build a productive co-parenting relationship when you weren’t able to maintain a positive marriage? It won’t be easy, but there are steps you can take to make it easier.

In an acrimonious relationship, the idea that you are “co-parenting” may be a bit of a stretch. On a day-to-day basis, you may not be doing your parenting together at all. What counts is that you communicate over issues of mutual concern, respect each other's boundaries and avoid dragging your kids into the middle of the argument.

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 Posted on January 01, 2019 in Divorce