New child support guidelines

There are several changes from the current guidelines to note, including:

The 2013 guidelines calculate each parent’s percentage of total available income up to $250,000 per year and a “combined support amount.” This is a different method of looking at support as a total obligation of both parents.
The 2013 guidelines now clarify what is to occur when the combined income of the parties’ exceeds $250,000 per year. The guidelines are applied on the first $250,000 in the same proportion as the Recipient’s and Payor’s actual income compare to the total combined income. There is now a space on the form to list how much income remains available to either parent above the $250,000 combined total.

Written by Robin Lynch Nardone. To read the full article, click here. For more information on family law attorneys, visit our website http://www.jwbrookslaw.com

Spousal Support and Bankruptcy

The dissolution of a marriage or civil union can be a very emotionally draining time for any family and may also come with serious financial consequences for the individuals involved. In some cases, individuals may be required to pay support to their spouse, children, and other dependents following divorce. In addition, there may be court and lawyer’s fees that must be paid following the legal proceedings.

Persons who go through divorce may have to assess their financial situation following their separation from their former spouse. If a person is facing serious financial struggles, he or she may consider filing for bankruptcy to relieve the burden of debt from his or her life. Although there are many types of debts that may be discharged through bankruptcy, support payments to spouses and children are not dischargeable debts.

Written by Bankruptcy man. To read the full article, click here. For more information on family law attorneys, visit our website http://www.jwbrookslaw.com

Is Divorce Bad for Children?

Many of the 1.5 million children in the U.S. whose parents divorce every year feel as if their worlds are falling apart. Divorcing parents are usually very concerned about the welfare of their children during this troublesome process. Some parents are so worried that they remain in unhappy marriages, believing it will protect their offspring from the trauma of divorce.

Yet parents who split have reasons for hope. Researchers have found that only a relatively small percentage of children experience serious problems in the wake of divorce or, later, as adults. In this column, we discuss these findings as well as factors that may protect children from the potentially harmful effects of divorce.

Rapid Recovery

Divorce affects most children in the short run, but research suggests that kids recover rapidly after the initial blow. In a 2002 study psychologist E. Mavis Hetherington of the University of Virginia and her then graduate student Anne Mitchell Elmore found that many children experience short-term negative effects from divorce, especially anxiety, anger, shock and disbelief. These reactions typically diminish or disappear by the end of the second year. Only a minority of kids suffer longer.

Written by Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld. To read the full article, click here.

Divorce, debt, and credit

Divorce is the antithesis of the American dream. It’s sad when two people who promised “Till death do us part” go their separate ways, but this is the final result of about 50 percent of all new marriages in America today.

Unfortunately, marriage has become disposable for many people, like everything else in our society.

There are many reasons for divorce. A few are biblical but most are not. Whatever the case, when divorce is spoken of as an option in a relationship, it is often inevitable.

Divorce always causes destruction, because it tears a family apart.

Aside from the emotional trauma of the divorce, the stress of having to deal with debt that was accumulated during the marriage is probably one factor that makes divorce so devastating.

Biblical responsibilities
There are no biblical provisions for the division of debt responsibilities for divorced families.

Because God does not condone the splitting of a marriage, He gives no instructions on how to divide debt. When a couple marries they are “as one” in the eyes of God. As such, their debt is joint debt, not separate.

So, since the Bible is silent on how to handle debt after divorce, the responsibilities are left to the world to decide, which forces many hurt spouses to be thrown before the mercy of secular laws.

Written by Crown Financial Ministries. To read the full article, click here.