abbott's blog

When it comes to divorce, couples face two major property division issues. The first is deciding which property belongs to the couple and therefore must get divided. The second is the actual division of the marital property.

A common misconception about the divorce process is that it is all or nothing. Either you and your soon-to-be ex agree on every point and amiably submit your agreement, or you are caught up in a no-holds-barred courtroom battle. In Georgia, as in many other states, a third option is gaining popularity. Divorce mediation can be an effective, non-confrontational way to work out points of contention and arrive at an optimal resolution.

Many couples deal with divorce. According to research conducted by Bowling Green State University, divorce rates are falling, but they still hover between 40 and 50 percent on average. This translates to over 800,000 every year, but the commonness often does not lessen the emotional impact a divorce has on an individual. It is often devastating to recover and rebuild your life after the end of your marriage, but there are several steps you can take to lighten the struggle. These four tips are a great place to start.

If you and your spouse have decided it’s best for the two of you to go your separate ways, there are many boxes to check and emotions to be processed. At the heart of the situation, your children may be confused, angry and depressed about the changes. As a parent, you can calm their anxiety by having a solid plan in place and answers to common questions before presenting your offspring with the divorce.

During the course of your divorce proceedings, you may have felt inundated by issues that needed to be resolved in short order: child custody and support, housing considerations, asset division and career matters. At the time, you thought that the custody agreement was specific enough in how it addressed future conflicts. Now you realize that there are aspects of your new life that the custody agreement does not cover. You realize that your decision to request a modification of custody is not one to be taken lightly.

All children deserve financial support from both parents, which is a presumption child support orders all over the country address. Although each state has the ability to create its own child support guidelines, many adhere to the same standards, including at what age a child support order will terminate.

In Georgia, judges see joint custody as the better custody arrangement because it allows parents to continue to take an equal part in their children’s lives despite the fact that they are no longer living together. But just because parents are supposed to share legal and physical custody equally doesn’t always mean it happens.

Most people who go through divorce simply want the process to be over as quickly as possible. For some, this means enforcing a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. For others, it means working through tough negotiations that lead to a resolution both sides agree to.

Unfortunately for individuals with considerable wealth, divorce proceedings aren’t always easy to work through or quick in nature, for that matter. Most contentions arise during the course of property division where certain assets, such as business holdings and stocks, require valuation and equitable distribution.

After six years, Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams have ended their marriage. They would have liked to do so earlier – they announced their separation well over a year ago – but could not agree on the terms of their divorce.

Their disputes hinged, in part, on Moore’s demands for spousal support, and Adams’s refusal to pay it. Namely, Moore believed she was entitled to monthly payments of $37,000 in exchange for taking care of the couple’s six cats and two dogs.

What’s more, she may have been right.

With the tax deadline behind us, it’s unlikely that a lot of people have next year’s taxes on their minds. But for couples presently going through divorce proceedings, it might be a good idea to at least consider next year’s tax filing. That’s because some of the decisions you make this year during divorce proceedings can change how you address your taxes next year.

Here is a list of five important decisions made during the divorce process that should take extra consideration if you do not want to negatively impact your filing status next tax season.