Study: Divorce Affects A Woman’s Retirement, Savings
April 23, 2013One in every five women stop pension payments after divorce, while half of married women make no contribution to their pensions while they are still married, according to new research from British financial specialist the Phoenix Group.
According to their findings, only one in every six have rights to their ex-husband’s pension and more than 38 percent said they had no idea what happened to pensions they did have during their marriage, following their divorce. In fact, only six percent of women surveyed had been granted rights to share the pension accrued during their union.
Additionally, 42 percent of the women surveyed said they were worse off financially after their divorces than they had been before. One in three don’t save any money at all and two in five didn’t know what settlement they received in their divorce.
The research was collected from online interviews of more than 2,000 divorcees aged 40 and older during September 2012. Phoenix Group is the UK’s largest specialist consolidator of closed life funds.
If you are facing a separation or divorce, it is imperative to work with a Troy, Missouri family attorney who can fight to make sure you are treated fairly in the process. Call today for your free, confidential consultation.
TV Watching Could Negatively Affect How Couples View Their Relationship
March 23, 2013Frequent television viewing could affect the status of a romantic relationship according to a study published last fall in Mass Communication and Society.
The study results published in an article entitled “When TV and Marriage Meet: A Social Exchange Analysis of the Impact of Television Viewing on Marital Satisfaction and Commitment,” found the more an individual believed in television portrayals of romance, the less likely they were to be committed in their relationships.
Dr. Jeremy Osborn from Albion College studied more than 390 married couples. The couples were asked about their satisfaction with their current romantic relationship, relationship expectations, relationship commitment, belief in television portrayals of romantic relationships, viewing frequency and several others that focused on their spousal relationship.
“In this study I found that people who believe the unrealistic portrayals on TV are actually less committed to their spouses and think their alternatives to their spouse are relatively attractive” Osborn, the article’s author said. “My hope would be that people would read this article and take a look at their own relationships and the relationships of those around them. How realistic are your expectations for your partner and where did those expectations come from?”
Osborn pointed out that the marriage failure in the United States was not dropping and it was important that people got a sense for the factors that could be contributing to those failures.
If you are in need of a Troy, Missouri family attorney, contact my office today for your free, initial consultation.
Proposed Legislation Would Give Adoptees Access To Medical Information
February 20, 2013Missouri lawmakers are debating a bill that may make it easier for adoptees to find their birth parents.
If House Bill 252 is passed, it would require the Missouri State Health Department to provide birth parents with a contact preference form as well as a medical history form that would be attached to a child’s birth certificate. Then, if both parties are willing, it would make the process of reconnecting easier.
Advocates for the bill argue it is important for a child to at least have access to medical records so they have a more complete medical history. A similar bill was passed last year by the House, but failed to clear the Senate.
Legislators have asked Rep. Jeanie Lauer, sponsor of the bill, to investigate how the proposed bill could affect those born through in vitro fertilization, surrogates and donates eggs and sperm as well as how it could affect the donors.
As the proposed bill stands, all adoptees 18 and older adopted after August 28, 2013, would be able to request a copy of their original birth certificate without the consent of their adoptive parents as long as there was no objections from the birth mother or the birth father.
If you are involved in an adoption, custody case or divorce, you may need counsel of an experienced Missouri Family Law Attorney. Call today for a free, initial consultation.
Read the proposed bill here >>>
Legislation Passes Senate Eliminating Adoption Tax Credit For Out-Of-State Adoptions
February 4, 2013Legislation that passed the Senate this week may steer Missouri couples more toward adopting a Missouri child over adopting one from outside the area.
Legislation passed the Senate eliminating a $2 million annual allotment of tax credits for those couples adopting children from outside Missouri, including foreign adoptions.
There had been a $2 million annual allotment of tax credits for special needs children adopted from Missouri as well as for those adopted from outside Missouri. The credit was initially set up to help cover nonrecurring adoption costs like home visits and legal fees. It was capped at $10,000 per child.
The tax credit was left in place for those adopting Missouri children. To qualify, a child must be determined as special needs by the Department of Social Services, Children’s Division or by a court. Any individual or couple adopting a special needs child or any business helping an employee with a special needs adoption could be eligible under the Missouri law.
The legislation moved forward as a combination of Senate Bill 20, 15 and 19 and is the first piece of legislation to receive Senate approval in the 2013 legislative session.
It will now have to move through the House to gain full approval.
If you are in need of an attorney to assist in any family matters including adoption, divorce or custody issues, you want to speak with an experienced Missouri attorney. Call today for your free, initial consultation.
Missouri Special Needs Adoption Tax
Rare Child Custody Case Makes It To Supreme Court
December 22, 2012With only one percent of all court cases even presented to the United States Supreme Court and with only a very small fraction of that percentage involving family law, it is rare a child custody case is ever heard by the nation’s highest courts.
So it was a rare occasion indeed when this past summer, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case Chafin v Chafin, 11-1347 since most family law cases are usually heard in the state courts. At the beginning of December justices heard oral arguments in the case.
The case is an international custody battle and the question at stake is whether American federal appellate courts have authority to review a district court’s order returning a child to his or her habitual residence under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction once a child has left the United States.
This case involves an American military father, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Lee Chafin and a Scottish mother, Lynne Chaffin, who were married and had a daughter born in Germany with dual United States and United Kingdom citizenship. The mother and child moved to Scotland when the father was deployed to Afghanistan and established residency there, but moved to Alabama when he was transferred there to be with him.
Reportedly, not long after moving to Alabama, the couple began having marital problems and the mother got an order allowing her to move the child back to Scotland, establishing it as her “habitual residence.” The mother and daughter relocated back to Scotland. Chafin went to the 11th circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, who ruled the case was moot since the two had already moved, but that contradicts a previous ruling by the 4th circuit court. Oral arguments were heard December 5 and the court is expected to issue a decision on the matter by summer 2013.
If you are facing a child custody battle, it is imperative to secure a family attorney who can help fight for your best interests in court. Call today for your free, initial consultation.
Study: Divorce Rates Decreased During Great Recession
November 24, 2012Findings from a new study showed the divorce rates in the United States dropped during the Great Recession, but are beginning to rebound.
The study, conducted by Dr. Adbur Chowdhury at Marquette University titled, “Til Recession Do us Part: Booms, Busts and Divorce in the United States,” is scheduled to be published in the first part of 2013 in the journal Applied Economics Letters. Dr. Chowdhury said he found, after studying data from 45 states, the divorce rate began to decrease in the early spring of 2008 and he is finding the trend is beginning to reverse itself.
According to the study, during the Great Recession, few employment opportunities along with reductions of the value of marital assets like properties seemed to keep couples together for the time. The study also found a correlation between levels of disposable income. In particular, the more disposable income available, the higher the divorce rate.
As the recession began to ease up more, the rates then increased suggesting that the downturn just delayed, not deterred divorces during the hardest part.
If you are in need of a Missouri divorce attorney, call today to discuss your situation with a caring, experienced attorney.
Paper Calls For Regulation Of What Happens To Digital Assets After Death
October 7, 2012With more of people’s lives spent online, the issue of what to do in the event of their death with their digital assets is an ever more-pressing question.
According to a paper written by a University of Illinois law professor and released last week, federal law needs to define what happens to someone’s “digital afterlife” and it needs to play a stronger role in regulating social networking sites, allowing users to determine the fate of what they own digitally.
Jason Mazzone, an Illini law professor argues that social networking sites are unlikely to adopt user-friendly policies for what happens to accounts upon a user’s death so a federal statute could help impose requirements on those sites to help users take some control of their accounts.
Mazzone points out that although social media sites like Facebook oftentimes set up memorial accounts for users who have died, they keep control of the content on their servers and ultimately, it is not their content to control. When someone passes away, these same issues affect email and online accounts as well.
If you need help planning your estate and what will happen when you die, contact Troy attorney Kathryn Synor today for a free, initial consultation.
Attorney G. John Richards, Former Lincoln Co. Prosecuting Attorney Dies
September 19, 2012The former prosecuting attorney of Lincoln County died Tuesday evening following a crash last week, he was 51.
According to his web site, Attorney G. John Richards was seriously injured last Thursday morning in a crash on Route 47, west of Ellis. He suffered a medical condition that caused his vehicle to swerve off the road and hit a tree.
Mr. Richards was a 1979 graduate of Pittsfield High School in Illinois. He graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with undergraduate degrees and went on to complete law school at the University of Missouri – Columbia. He served as Prosecuting Attorney of Lincoln County from 1991 to 2010. He was also a former municipal judge.
Mr. Richards lived just outside of Troy and was active at Calvary Chapel of Troy. He leaves behind a wife and three children.
Technology Can Help Or Hurt In Dealing With An Ex
September 1, 2012A new study released by the University of Missouri Monday said divorced and separated couples with poor relationships often use technology to manipulate situations, while those with good relationships use it to help better communicate about their children.
Researchers found that ex-couples with poor relationships often use emails, texting and social media to communicate with their ex partners about their children, but when the relationship was strained, ex-spouses used technology to limit their former partner’s access to the children. Researchers observed electronic communication was use in difficult relationships to avoid confrontations and control access to the children.
Researchers also observed that in relationships where the spouse got along, parents could use the technologies to benefit the children, making it easier to co-parent.
Lawrence Ganong, a professor of human development and family studies at MU and his team interviewed 49 divorced parents individually about the quality of their relationship with their ex-partners.
In the relationships where the ex-partners didn’t get along, sometimes a former spouse would pretend not to receive a message in order to benefit themselves or hurt the other parent.
The researchers suggest divorce counselors should teach separated or divorced parents the best ways to use technology to benefit their children and maintain healthy environments for them. The study was published in last month’s Family Relations.
If you are considering a divorce or separation, it is important to discuss your situation with a St. Charles family lawyer who deals with these types of cases. Call today for your free, initial consultation.
Study: Divorce May Improve Hostile Relationships
August 15, 2012A new study from the Human Development and Family Studies department at the University of Missouri – Columbia offers a glimpse at a more positive outlook for families of divorce.
According to Marilyn Coleman, many relationships may improve immediately, or over time after a divorce is finalized. Researchers found oftentimes ex-spouses are able to set aside their differences in order to put their children’s needs first.
In the study, researchers interviewed 20 women who shared custody of their children with their ex-spouses. Half of the women reported challenging relationships, while the other half reported amicable relationships after the divorce.
The study looked at relationships prior to the divorce and further down the line. While the study was small in scope, it offers hope for the families who face a divorce in the future. The study named, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Divorced Mothers’ Experiences with Co-Parenting”is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of Family Relations.
For more information, visit The University of Missouri – Columbia Web site.
If you are facing a divorce or are trying to work out custody of your children, it is imperative to speak with an attorney who can work with you and help you during this difficult time. Call today for your free, initial consultation.
