What is Rehabilitative Alimony?

Here in the 5th Circuit there are only three types of alimony which may be awarded in a divorce case. The first is permanent alimony, which needs no further explanation, and the second is rehabilitative alimony. There is also temporary alimony, which is alimony which is awarded to someone during the pendency of the divorce. Many of my clients have questions about what rehabilitative alimony is and whether or not it applies in their case. Rehabilitative alimony is intended to provide assistance to a spouse while he/she regains the ability for self support which may have been interrupted by marriage. In order to be awarded rehabilitative alimony, one needs to show that you have a rehabilitative plan, and that the marriage affected one's ability to be self-supporting which deems the need for support for a certain period of time to allow for the ability to be self-supporting. Without a rehabilitative plan, a party cannot be awarded rehabilitative alimony. The party seeking the support for retraining has the burden of proof as to the retraining plan, the object of rehabilitation, the cost of the plan, and how the plan is workable to make the party self-supporting.

To read more about how alimony is awarded in Florida, visit our website at: http://www.bauerfamilylaw.com/alimony.html

Money and Marriage

With wedding season upon us, there are plenty of articles and news items being published right now about how to make a successful marriage. One of the biggest issues that couples fight about is money. Whether a couple is wealthy or poor, money can be a major contributing factor in most divorces. The best advice when it comes to money is make sure that there aren't any secrets. If all your money issues and concerns are on the table from the beginning, there are no surprises. Sometimes there is one party to the marriage who racks up credit card debt and fails to tell their spouse about it. This debt is always revealed at some point, and hiding the debt causes more friction and problems then letting the other spouse know about its existence. There are many other tips that can help you avoid some of the money pitfalls that drive a couple to divorce. If you would like to read more about how discussing money with your spouse can assist in the longevity of your marriage, see: http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/16/pf/saving/willis_tips/index.htm

Think Before Jumping Into Another Marriage

First marriages have a divorce rate of about 50% and second marriages have a divorce rate of about 60%. Generally speaking, 2nd marriages are more likely to fail than first marriages. Most 2nd marriages occur within 3 years of the finalization of the divorce of a first marriage. These statistics are staggering and discouraging. Before jumping into a new marriage after getting out of one, it is a good idea to make sure that all your issues and insecurities that arose out of the first marriage are resolved and you should also make sure that you don't make the same mistakes that led to the demise of your first marriage. The following article talks about how to insure that your 2nd marriage is a success: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/religion/17148779.htm

How To Deal With Debt After A Divorce

After a divorce is said and done, there are financial issues that always arise that can put a person into a downward spiral to financial ruin. Once the divorce petition is filed, it is important to start thinking of the future and determining what your financial needs are going to be once you are no longer married. Many people think about these issues when its too late and are stuck with outrageous car payments, mortgages, or rents that leave them with a negative balance in their checking accounts at the end of the month. No matter what, after a couple is divorced, one household is split into two, and everyone needs to make adjustments accordingly. In order to insure that a divorce doesn't ruin you financially, here are a few tips:

1. Do not be emotionally attached to your assets. Do not lobby to keep a piece of real estate that you will not be able to carry the mortgage for on your own. It is better to have your interest bought out by the other party, or to sell the property and split the proceeds then end up keeping property because you are emotionally attached to it. If you are solely responsible for the mortgage and are unable to sell the property, if you are having trouble making the mortgage payments, you could end up in foreclosure.

2. Keep the spending on your credit cards to a minimum. The less debt you accumulate during the pendency of a divorce, the less debt you will carry into your new life.

3. Start making lifestyle adjustments from the moment you file your Petition. Do not wait until the Judge signs off on your Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

4. Create a budget and stick to it.

5. Keep good records of all expenditures that are joint expenditures so that you can be properly credited for them at the time of Final Judgment.

If you would like to read more tips on how to stay financially savvy in the event of a divorce, see: http://www.divorcemag.com/articles/Financial_Planning/drowningUS.html

Cyber-Dating and Divorce

Over the past ten years there has been an increasing number of people who met their significant other through the Internet. At first, people were meeting each other in chat rooms and a few were brave enough to meet their chat buddy face to face. For the past couple of years, there are numerous Internet dating sites that are popping up all over the place that insist they are able to weed out people who are incompatible before either party puts any effort into a real relationship. More and more people are willing to admit that they subscribe to these dating websites, and there are more than a few people, including some people from my own group of friends and family, who proudly state that they met their ideal mate through the Internet. Some of these cyber-relationships end up with a trip down the aisle. The question then becomes, are people who met over the Internet more or less likely to stay married? With the boom of Internet dating still in its infancy, I'm not sure that any real research is out there to determine whether the 50% divorce rate here in America will decrease as the number of people who meet online increases. No matter what, relationships are work, and even though a computer screening process may say that you are compatible with a person, until you are actually living together under the same real house rather than a virtual one, there is no telling whether those compatibility tests are a good indicator of a successful marriage.

If you would like to read the ABC article that this blog is based upon, see: http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=sci_tech&id=5248204

How To Be A Good Wife

Back in the 1950s, Good Housekeeping published an article entitled "How To Be A Good Wife". This article is something that every "bride-to-be" receives in her email inbox at some point prior to her marriage. In today's day and age, this article is comical, given the fact that most of the advice is straight out of the June Clever handbook. However, the goal of the article was to give women the tools to make their husbands happy. While retrieving slippers and making sure that the kids are clean and quiet when the man comes home from work may not be the recipe for a happy marriage, in order to insure the health and longevity of a marriage, a couple needs to nurture their relationship. Couples today are busy nurturing careers and their children and often times, a husband/wife comes a distant third on the priority list. The role of a wife has evolved and changed over the past 50 years and the dynamics between husbands and wives has evolved. In order to make a marriage work long term and avoid issues and pitfalls which lead to divorce, a couple needs to nurture their relationship with each other. This doesn't need to be in a 1950s style, but a 2000s style. A family is only as strong as the couple who is at the helm, therefore, remember to take care of one another.

If you would like to read the article that this blog is based, see: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article1635855.ece

Grounds for an Annulment in Florida

There are many reasons why a couple or party would prefer to annul their marriage rather than dissolve it. However, there are strict regulations as to which types of marriages are allowed to be annulled.

Florida has no special rule or statute which governs annulment. The proceeding may be brought by the innocent party, and may be brought at any time. In some situations, the courts might allow parents to seek annulment of the marriage of an underage child, when in the best interest of the child, since some other contracts made by under age children may be set aside upon the initiative of their parents or guardians.

Annulment is an appropriate method of termination of the marriage where one of the parties lacked the capacity to contract; either because of a prior existing marriage, extreme intoxication or lack of the requisite mental capacity. A lack of physical capacity to consummate the marriage may also be sufficient grounds for annulment.

If the lack of intent to contract or to fulfill the contract can be proven, the marriage can be annulled. A marriage induced by fraud and deceit can be annulled where the marriage has not been consummated. Misrepresentation of pregnancy, alone, has been held an insufficient reason for annulment. It appears, however, that sexual intercourse operates as a complete ratification of a marriage otherwise voidable.

A marriage entered into under duress may be annulled if the duress dominated throughout the relationship of the parties to the extent that one party was prevented from acting as a free agent.

Despite the fact that the contesting party may prove some of the previously mentioned defects in the marriage, annulment may not be allowed, where that party has ratified the marriage. If the person seeking annulment is aware of the defects and nevertheless confirms the marriage, it is deemed ratified and not later subject to annulment. In effect, the complaining party has waived his right to contest the contract, unless it can be shown that the person ratifying the agreement was not aware of all of the material facts and therefore could not have knowingly waived his rights. See Lambertini v. Lambertini, where the Third District Court of Appeal reversed the granting of an annulment where the parties co-habitated for thirty years, held themselves out as husband and wife, bought property as tenants by the entireties, bore and raised two children and the testimony showed the parties reasonably relied on the marriage.

This information can be found in its entirety at: http://www.ablelegalforms.com/annulment.html