Divorce | Pennsylvania Family Law Blog - The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz - Part 9
Coping with Divorce during Thanksgiving
Beginning a new chapter of your life after a divorce and moving forward can be difficult, but it can be exceptionally challenging during Thanksgiving and the holiday season. Feelings of sadness or distress are certainly common if you are newly divorced, but with the following tips and support from loved ones, the Thanksgiving holiday can be a happy one and you can create new traditions to celebrate year after year. Courtesy of WomansDivorce.com, here are some tips to make your holiday a festive one:
- Talk to supportive friends and family: Do your best to strive for a holiday atmosphere, free from unhappy feelings. If you need to vent or need a shoulder to cry on, try and grab a friend or family member and let it all out! This will help you try and enjoy the holiday. Read the rest »
Divorce Abroad: The Difficulties of Divorcing in Two Different Countries
Financial obstructions, red tape, and cultural differences are simply a few of the challenges one might encounter if they are divorcing a citizen of another country, an American who is a dual citizen, or someone who lives abroad. According to a Reuters news report, there are no statistics as to how many Americans have had to deal with divorce and dual citizenship, but the president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) states that it is a growing trend due to custody issues. He adds that they are “seeing more parental kidnappings, more conflict, more litigation, and simply more to fight about” in the event of a dual citizen or “international” divorce.
For U.S. citizens who may find themselves in a bi-country divorce situation, one must consider where they live in order to determine where to file for divorce. Simply because you or your spouse is American, one cannot assume that he or she can file for divorce in the U.S. A New York matrimonial lawyer explains that “It doesn’t matter where you were born, it’s where you live that’s going to determine which court has the jurisdiction.” As such, it may not ultimately be a decision as to which country is easier to divorce in, as divorce laws and outcomes certainly vary from country to country. Read the rest »
Divorce and Children: Tips to Celebrate Halloween with Your Family Post-Split
Both during and after a divorce, it is essential for parents to make the major new transition as seamless as possible to ensure the emotional and mental well-being of their children. The holiday season can be an especially difficult time for both parents and children, but as with many post-divorce situations, attitude and how parents handle family matters is key; if each parent is willing to work together, it can make a significant difference in how the holidays play out.
With the most frightening holiday of the year approaching, Halloween is certainly one of the most fun for a child to celebrate and share with parents. As such, parents should remember to put their child first when trick-or-treating on October 31 and follow these simple tips to make Halloween a memorable one for their child: Read the rest »
How to Help Your Children Understand Your Divorce
The decision to divorce is one of the most difficult and life-changing choices an individual will have to make, and the emotional toll it can take on a person can be overwhelming. However, if a couple has children, one must also worry about the emotional well-being of their family; as such, it is important for a parent to determine how to properly discuss with children this significant decision. As the concept of divorce will likely be difficult for children to understand, an article from KSL.com offers the following suggestions for discussing your divorce with your children:
- Be honest and open with your children. This will help keep the lines of communication open, but experts suggest leaving out the details. Simply express clearly to them that both of you will still be there for them and can count on you to be their mom/dad. Read the rest »
Five Lessons Divorced People Learned from their Marriage
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, a new study reveals five common themes that underlie most divorces. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, collected data periodically from 373 same-race couples who were between the ages of 25 to 37 and in their first year of marriage when the study began in 1986. Of the couples included in the continuing study, 46 percent divorced, and the conductor of the study asked a portion of these individuals who went into a new relationship what they learned from their divorce.
The following are five of the lessons revealed from the study: Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Divorce Issues: Who Gets the Pet in a Divorce?
After a married couple has made the decision to end their union, there are a number of things that must be decided during the divorce process, including the division of property, settling financial issues, and deciding who gets custody of the … pets? It is certainly true that a couple may come to love their four-legged friend as if it was their own child; as such, the issue of who will receive custody may be a contentious matter during the divorce process. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers reports that attorneys have seen a significant increase in pet custody cases, and issues in such cases can range from visitation rights to how veterinarian bills are split.
Under the law, pets are considered to be personal property capable of human ownership and control, and courts working under that law may only have the authority to award the pet to one of the owners. Conventionally, before a court decides who gets what property in a divorce, it must consider whether it’s a community property or an equitable distribution state. Pennsylvania is an equitable distribution state, and the division of marital property includes anything acquired during the marriage. The court will also take into account whether the couple already has an agreement as to who will receive what property, such as a prenuptial agreement. Read the rest »
Divorce Hotel in the Netherlands Offers a Weekend Program for Couples Who Want a Speedy Split-Up
Is America ready for a Divorce Hotel? Jim Halfens, a Dutch entrepreneur, wants to bring this unique idea and Dutch import to the United States. The concept of the Divorce Hotel is to have couples who have decided to divorce check in on Friday married, then check out on Sunday with divorce papers in hand for a flat fee, all with the expert help of mediators and independent lawyers. Six Divorce Hotels are already used in the Netherlands, and 17 couples have tried it so far with all but one leaving divorce-ready. Halfens, who is helping “unhappy marrieds divorce en suite,” is currently negotiating with hotels and law firms in several major U.S. cities to make Divorce Hotels available to U.S. couples. He is also in talks with two television production companies to make a Divorce Hotel reality show.
Halfens came up with the idea for the Divorce Hotel after watching a college friend go through a painful divorce, eventually creating one of these unique hotels using his marketing background and brief experience with a law firm. Halfens later struck agreements with six high-end hotels in the Netherlands. Divorce Hotel guests stay in separate rooms and a suite is used for mediation talks. The fee for this weekend divorce getaway can range from $3,500 to $10,000, depending on the complexity of a pair’s financial arrangements. Child custody battles or a twosome with more complex financial arrangements, such as stock options, may be more costly, with fees that may exceed $100,000 per party. Read the rest »
Practical Solutions to 3 Financial Fights Couples Have
Marriage is certainly difficult, and a number of things may put a strain on an otherwise happy twosome. Newlywed or not, one of the most common things for a pair to fight about is finances, which is also one of the primary reasons a couple may get a divorce. In recognition of this unfortunate fact, Creditcards.com offers their assistance by providing solutions to several financial problems couples frequently fight about. After interviewing relationship and financial experts, here is the information that can help you avoid a future money-related spat with your partner: Read the rest »
“Women Unchained”: Jewish Women Denied a Religious Divorce by their Husband
Beverly Siegel, a Chicago-based filmmaker, made a documentary about Jewish women whose husbands refuse to grant them a religious divorce, known as a GET. The film, entitled “Women Unchained,” explores this phenomenon, which occurs because in traditional Judaism a husband may withhold a divorce. If this happens, the women seeking the divorce are then considered agunot, or “chained wives,” and between 2005 and 2010, a total of 462 cases existed in the U.S., according to a recent survey.
Secular courts in the U.S. cannot interfere in a religious divorce, which further complicates matters for the women, and violence may occur as a result. For example, a New Jersey couple was apprehended for arranging the kidnapping and beating of a man who refused to give a GET. Thus, some are promoting more civilized solutions to this problem. Read the rest »
Study Reveals Divorcing at a Younger Age May Be Hazardous to Your Health
The Huffington Post reports that a new study conducted by Michigan State University finds that divorcing at a younger age may be more dangerous to your health than separating later in life. The study’s researcher, Hui Liu, examined health information for a total of 1,282 participants over the last fifteen years in order to analyze the potential difference in well-being between those who stayed married throughout the study and those who divorced. For couples who made the decision to end their marriage, Liu discovered that those who split at a younger age tended to have more health problems than those who divorced later in life.
The findings of the study, which were published in Social Science & Medicine, seem to indicate that older individuals may be better equipped to handle the stress of divorce than younger people. Liu states another explanation of the study’s findings is that older people may be among “the most unhappily married due to years of pressure to stay in their relationships,” and therefore experience greater feelings of relief following the divorce. The finding surprised Liu as she thought younger couples would carry less stress from a divorce because it is more prevalent for the younger generation. Read the rest »
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