Since child support guidelines vary from state to state, Maryland parents are advised to consult family court attorneys regarding child support issues in Owings Mills. Divorce law requires family courts to develop child support orders in light of certain factors, such as the actual monthly income and adjusted income of each parent. The court will also consider child care expenses, health insurance costs, and extraordinary medical expenses of the child.

Hear more about divorce law as it applies to child support by watching this video or consulting your family attorney. This video explains that the court may consider the disparity in standards of living between households and the total number of children that the parents are responsible for supporting. Mostbet oynayın

Alimony laws are intended to help spouses maintain a comparable standard of living that was enjoyed during the marriage. Typically, the intention of alimony is to allow the lesser earning spouse the opportunity to become self-sufficient after the marriage. If a divorce judge awards alimony to one spouse, these payments are completely separate from a child support order. If you intend on seeking alimony from your spouse or your spouse is seeking payments from you, contact an alimony lawyer located in Baltimore County for guidance.

What happens if spouses make an out-of-court agreement?

It’s highly advisable to avoid signing any type of agreement with your spouse before discussing the matter with a divorce lawyer. If you do make an out-of-court agreement with your spouse, the court is generally bound to honor that agreement.

Can I seek alimony after I’m already divorced?

After your divorce is finalized, neither ex-spouse can initiate a new request for alimony. If alimony has already been ordered, it may be possible to petition for a modification of alimony payments. Consider talking to your divorce lawyer if you experience a significant change in financial circumstances that might prompt an alimony modification.

What will the court consider when ordering alimony?

There are a range of factors the court will evaluate when deciding whether or not to award alimony to a spouse. Primarily, the judge will consider the ability of each party to be self-supporting, the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, and any agreement that was already made between the spouses. The court can consider each party’s financial needs and resources, the time necessary for a spouse to receive education or vocational training, the parties’ respective ages, their health, and the mental and physical capabilities of each spouse.

Are there any tax consequences for alimony payments?

Unlike child support-which is neither taxable nor tax deductible-alimony does have tax consequences. Generally, the payor can deduct alimony payments on his or her tax return and the alimony recipient must report it as income.

Does the court enforce alimony payments?

If the court has issued an alimony order or decree, then the court can also enforce that order. If an ex-spouse does not remit alimony payments, the court may decide to hold that person in contempt of court.

Making the decision to end a marriage is never easy, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always contentious. In fact, many couples successfully reach an uncontested divorce settlement. If you and your spouse have realized that it’s time to part ways, you may be tempted to download the legal forms yourself and do a DIY divorce. Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disaster. Family law can be incredibly complex and only divorce lawyers serving Carroll and Baltimore Counties can prevent you from making mistakes that may cost you in the long run.

A family lawyer can advise you of the many nuances of family law that may not have even occurred to you, such as the potential tax penalties for dividing retirement assets and the possible legal consequences for moving your children to another state. Furthermore, your family law attorney will have a keen understanding of the local family court system, along with its many rules and procedures. Failing to abide by these rules and procedures because you avoided hiring a family law attorney may cause you to automatically waive your legal rights. It’s always advisable to protect yourself, your kids, and your assets by hiring a seasoned family law attorney.

For the sake of the kids, it’s always preferable to resolve child custody issues amicably. You may find that many issues are resolvable through compromise when both parents prioritize the best interests of the children. Unfortunately, achieving mutual agreements isn’t always possible. If divorce mediation fails to resolve the dispute, a judge, like those found in Baltimore Countymust resolve the child custody case. Your divorce lawyer is likely to advise you to avoid involving your child in the dispute as much as possible.

Discussing the Divorce

Avoid discussing the divorce with your kids until you are certain that it will go forward. If possible, it may be a good idea for both parents to sit down with the kids to explain that they are going to live apart from now on. Use age-appropriate language to tell the kids that although both parents still love the kids very much, they’re not going to be married any longer. Depending on the children’s ages, they may ask which parent they will live with. Since the child custody case hasn’t been resolved yet, you can simply tell them that they will still be spending plenty of time with each of you and that neither parent will “disappear” from their lives.

Explaining the Custody Evaluation

In contested child custody cases, the judge may order that a child custody evaluation be completed. A court evaluator is a neutral third-party who will interview both of the parents, the children, and perhaps other parties such as teachers, counselors, and other family members. The court evaluator may visit each parent’s home. Parents are advised never to prepare kids to answer questions in a certain way. Rather, the kids may be told that the evaluator is trying to help the parents work through their issues and that the kids should answer any questions honestly.

Encouraging Open and Ongoing Communication

During a child custody dispute, kids may feel confused, anxious, and isolated. They may worry that the divorce is somehow their fault. It’s crucial to encourage your kids to discuss their worries and concerns. Listen to them without judgment. Reassure them that although you may not have all the answers right now, you will always love them and the situation will get better.

If you ask any divorced individual what caused the breakdown of the marriage, there’s a good chance he or she will mention personal finances. Poor money management and different spending or saving styles are among the most common reasons why couples around Owings Mills might consult a family law attorney. And unfortunately, divorce itself usually contributes to a couple’s financial woes. After filing for a legal separation or divorce , exes must adjust to living on a single income, changing their housing arrangements, and perhaps replacing physical property that the other spouse received in the divorce settlement.

If you’re engaged and you would like to improve the longevity of your impending marriage, consider talking to your fiancé about money management long before you walk down the aisle. When you watch this video, you’ll hear how Jason and Courtney explored their individual and joint finances together before they were married. The financial planner featured here recommends opening “his” and “hers” accounts along with a joint account to reduce the possibility of divorce. Of course, it never hurts to find a good family lawyer—just in case.

Before you have your family lawyer file the divorce papers, you should take the time to discuss all of your concerns and your goals for the outcome of the case. If you live near Owings Mills, your family attorney will inform you that Maryland is an equitable distribution state . This means that the judge will order a fair or equitable division of property and liabilities such as credit card debt. Equitable distribution does not necessarily mean that your assets and debts will be split 50/50, however. Debts such as credit card debt can be particularly tricky to resolve during or after a divorce.

How Should I Deal With Joint Accounts?

Talk to your family attorney about closing joint accounts before you file for divorce. If this isn’t possible because a balance remains on the credit card, you may be able to have the creditor place a freeze on the account to prevent your spouse from making purchases with it. Depending on your particular situation, you might also consider talking to your spouse about paying off the account together before filing for divorce. If credit card debt remains during the divorce, your divorce decree should specify who is responsible for paying it.

Why Is the Credit Card Company Pursuing Collections Against Me?

Many people experience problems with creditors long after the divorce is finalized. If your ex-spouse was responsible for paying off a credit card, but your name is attached to the account, the creditor may pursue collection actions against you if your ex-spouse fails to make payments. This is because credit card companies are not required to honor the provisions in a divorce decree. Unfortunately, this also means that the failure of your ex-spouse to make payments could affect your credit score.

Am I Liable for Debt If My Ex-Spouse Filed for Bankruptcy?

Similarly, if your ex-spouse files for bankruptcy and has his or her credit card debt discharged, your name will remain on the joint account and the credit card company can demand payment from you. Bankruptcy doesn’t necessarily erase the debt, but rather eliminates your ex-spouse’s liability for it. However, bankruptcy will not eliminate your ex-spouse’s liability toward you. If the credit card company holds you liable for the debt, you can in turn file a civil lawsuit against your ex to demand damages.

While most couples who marry hope to stay together for the rest of their lives, divorce is a possibility. If you and your spouse agree that you cannot stay married, a divorce can be the best choice for both of you. Up until recently, couples in Maryland who wanted to get a divorce had to wait one year from the time one spouse moved out to make the separation official. Thanks to a new law, however, couples without minor children who can agree on the division of property no longer have to wait. This expedited divorce process indicates progress in the area of divorce law, and respects the privacy of both parties more than the old law. Take a look at this infographic from a divorce lawyer in Owings Mills to learn more about what the new law means for couples in Maryland who are divorcing.

Once a divorce has been finalized, an ex-spouse is at liberty to remarry if he or she chooses. In many cases, the remarriage will not create new child custody issues for families in and around Owings Mills. Maryland family courts cannot include the new spouse’s income in the calculations for child support; these obligations should in theory remain unchanged. However, the other parent may petition for a reduction of child support if the family attorney can demonstrate that the new spouse pays all or most of the custodial parent’s expenses. In addition, it is possible that remarriage will affect a spousal support order.

In certain cases, remarriage might affect the child custody arrangement. For example, if the remarriage precipitates a move out of state for the new spouse’s job, then the remarried custodial parent should consult a family lawyer as soon as possible. The divorce lawyer can advise the custodial parent as to any notification requirements for the relocation. The lawyer may also need to represent the custodial parent if the non-custodial parent contests the relocation and petitions for a modification in child custody.

As stressful as divorce can be on spouses, it’s even more challenging for children. Kids of any age can suffer psychological problems before, during, and long after a divorce. However, there are some steps you can take to mitigate the adverse effects of a child custody case litigated near Pikesville. In fact, some of these recommendations may even be mandated by the child custody order, such as the avoidance of disparaging the other parent in front of the child.

Avoid Using Your Child as a Messenger

Even in an uncontested divorce, children can suffer significant psychological harm if they are made to be active participants in the logistics of child custody arrangements. Parents who wish to avoid communicating with each other may instead ask the child to serve as a messenger. It may seem relatively benign to ask a child to tell one parent that the other will be a little late picking up the child. But doing so sends a subtle message to the child that the parents are incapable of communicating with each other. It also exposes the child to the potentially negative emotional response of the parent who receives the message.

Avoid Cutting Off Communication With the Other Parent

Talk to your family lawyer about including communication provisions in the child custody agreement. The document should include an arrangement for ongoing, regular communication between parents, as well as emergency contact information. While your ex-spouse may be the last person you want to talk with, cutting off communication or communicating through intermediaries is a grave mistake. For instance, it means that you may not discover that your child is struggling in school until the report card arrives or that you might not learn new medical information regarding your child.

Avoid Making Your Child Choose Sides

Parents may not directly inform a child that he or she must choose which parent he or she prefers, but even doing so indirectly can be irreparably harmful to the child. For example, avoid telling your child that he or she can pick which parent to spend a holiday with. Avoid disparaging the other parent in front of the child or asking your child to report on the goings-on at the other parent’s home. Above all, remember to put your child’s best interests ahead of your own.

Divorce has a reputation for being a costly endeavor. And indeed, certain problems are unavoidable, such as making the shift to living on a single income. But there are ways you can slash the cost of your divorce while still investing in the best family attorney you can find in Baltimore County. To learn how, watch this brief video by a financial reporter.

She explains the benefits of going into divorce mediation with an open mind. In fact, in many cases, the court may order you to attempt mediation with your spouse. By working toward compromises on child custody and other issues during mediation sessions, you can potentially reduce the time that you’ll spend in court with your family law attorney.