Divorce

How a Divorce Will Affect Your Estate Planning

If you’ve already put an estate plan in place, and then go through a divorce, you need to think carefully about the impact of the divorce on the plans you had for the orderly distribution of your estate. You may have language in your will or trust that renders the document null and void in the event of divorce. In any event, you will most likely need to take specific steps to protect your interests.

Revoke and Replace All Wills, Codicils and Trusts

An existing will can be revoked by either tearing it up (if it is the one executed copy). You can also revoke a will by drafting and executing a new one. Though the simple act of drafting a new will may legally invalidate any prior will or codicil (an amendment to a will), it is always best to specifically state in a new will that you revoke all prior wills and codicils.

Update Any Beneficiary Designations

If you don’t want your ex (or your ex’s children) to have a claim on your estate, you need to change all beneficiary designations that name your ex-spouse. By drafting a new will, you will exclude your ex-spouse from access to any property covered by the will, but you will also want to change beneficiary designations on:

• Retirement accounts
• Life insurance policies
• Bank or investment accounts that have a pay-on-death provision

Revise Any Other Estate Planning Documents

Chances are, if you have a power of attorney or an advance medical directive, you have named your ex-spouse as the person to whom decision-making authority will be granted. Confirm that someone else is willing to act in that capacity, and draft new documents naming them.

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Let us put our commitment, experience and dedication to work for you. To arrange a confidential meeting with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Divorce: Is It Any Different for Same Sex Marriages?

As more and more states legalize gay marriage, and as time passes, gay marriage starts to take on many of the attributes of heterosexual marriage, including the reality that some marriages don’t work out. If you are a party to a same sex marriage and your relationship has irretrievably broken down, what’s the process for ending it? Does it look any different than a divorce between a man and a woman?

The first thing to understand is that marriage is a legally conferred status. Because of that, you must generally take legal action to change your status. So, if you were married in a state that legally recognized same sex marriage at the time, you must file for divorce to legally change your status to single. Your safest bet would be to file in the same state in which you were married, as those states yet to recognize same sex marriage generally don’t recognize same sex divorce, either.

Once the divorce has been filed, the process may look exactly the same as a heterosexual divorce. That was not the case before the Supreme Court ruled portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional in 2013. Before that decision, parties to same sex marriages did not enjoy the same federal tax benefits that heterosexual copies did. The IRS issued a ruling, however, after the Supreme Court decision, that same sex couples who were legally married (married in a state that recognized same sex marriage at the time of the ceremony) have all the tax benefits of marriage, regardless of where they live. That includes the right to take a federal tax deduction for any alimony paid.

With respect to the traditional issues involved in a divorce—custody and visitation, support and property division—the process looks just like it does in a traditional divorce proceeding.

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Let us help you successfully resolve your family law problems. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Steps You Can Take to Escape a Situation Involving Domestic Violence

When you are the victim of domestic violence, you can feel trapped, fearful that any action you take will only lead to more abuse. Here are some things you can do to get out of an abusive situation.

Call the Police

Whenever you have been the victim of domestic violence, you can always call police (or 911). It can be a risky act, though, as it may lead to an immediate escalation in domestic violence, and it can take law enforcement officers some time to reach you. In addition, most police will tell you that, if they are called to a situation of alleged domestic violence, somebody will go to jail.

Ask the Court for a Restraining Order

The courts have the authority to issue an order prohibiting a person from contacting you or coming within a certain distance of you. Unfortunately, the courts do not have the resources to enforce these orders. If you get a restraining order and your ex violates it, you must notify authorities, which can often put you at greater risk.

Contact a Victim’s Advocate

In most states, domestic violence victim’s advocates are available to assist persons subjected to domestic abuse. A victim’s advocate will help you find counseling, walk you through the process of getting a restraining order, come with you to meet with police officers or when you go to court, and help you understand your options. A victim’s advocate will likely be able to help you find a shelter, so that you can escape the cycle of violence.
Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates
For an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania high net worth divorce attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266. Let us use our experience, skill, knowledge and resources to help you make informed and effective decisions.

Jenkintown Divorce Restraining Order Attorney

Unfortunately, divorce can lead to threats and violence. If you believe your soon-to-be ex-spouse poses a threat to you or your children, a protection order should be requested immediately. In Pennsylvania, requesting a protection order is relatively easy and straightforward. First, you need to go to your local courthouse and ask to see a judge to request a protection order. Next, you will be asked to provide information as to why your ex poses a threat to you or your children. At this point in time, you do not need to provide eyewitnesses or evidence; rather, you need only tell the judge your story and explain why you believe you or your children are in danger.

The Temporary Restraining Order

At this point, the judge will issue an ex parte temporary protection order if he or she believes you have good reason to believe your soon-to-be ex poses a threat to you during your divorce. Once the temporary restraining order is issued, your ex cannot contact you, approach you, or even be within a certain distance of you. If you know your ex owns a gun, be sure to let the judge know so he or she can order that any firearms owned by your ex be turned over immediately to the sheriff’s department.

The temporary restraining order will remain in effect until a hearing is held to determine how long the protection order will remain in effect. In most cases, the final hearing will be held ten business days after a temporary protection order is issued. At the final protection order hearing, evidence can be brought forward by you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse.

Since your ex will try to convince the court to rescind the protection order, it is in your best interests to work with an experienced protection order attorney who can take steps to ensure the court will be convinced of the need to extend the protection order.

The Final Protection Order Hearing

At the final protection order hearing, you and your soon-to-be ex are allowed to present evidence and call eyewitnesses. Here, if you have any evidence of previous violence or abuse on the part of your ex, it’s important to present it at the final hearing. Evidence of this kind can include previous criminal charges, calls to the police, or medical evidence involving injuries to yourself or your children. Additionally, any angry or threatening emails or voice messages should also be presented to the court.

If the court believes the protection order should be extended, your soon-to-be ex will be required to vacate any living premises shared with you. Your ex will also be required to stay away from you, avoiding all contact with you. Consequently, your ex cannot show up at your workplace, where your children go to school or play sports, or bother family and friends of yours. Your ex’s guns will also be surrendered to the sheriff’s department.

Contact Jenkintown Divorce Attorney Joanne Kleiner

If you are frightened for the safety of yourself and your children, call the police and then contact protection order attorney Joanne Kleiner today. If you need an emergency protection order and it is at night or on the weekend, your local police department can help you get into contact with an on-call judge who can issue a protection order for you.

Jenkintown Divorce Attorney • Marital Debt

While divorce alone does not affect your credit score, there are a number of financial and legal issues involved that can. First, if you and your spouse have joint credit cards, co-signed loans, or opened a line of credit together, you are both responsible for them. Here, it’s important to remember that the terms of your divorce settlement are not binding on your creditors. This means that if your spouse agrees to pay off debt on a jointly held credit card but fails to do so, the credit card company can initiate collection actions against you.

Secondly, suppose your soon-to-be ex-spouse continues to use the Discover card both of you opened years ago when you were first married – maybe he or she insists they need it to pay for things until the divorce is finalized. Assume further, however, that your soon-to-be ex is delinquent or late on the card’s monthly payments. Even if you don’t use the card anymore, as long as your name is on the account the late and missed payments will appear on your credit history as well.
In this way, divorce can affect your credit if you fail to take preventative steps up front to avoid having your name on what had at one time been joint lines of credit.

Mortgage Payments and the House

If you’re like most couples, both you and your spouse’s names are on your mortgage. Consequently, both of you are financially responsible for keeping current on mortgage payments. If you agree to let your soon-to-be ex stay in the house, you will still be responsible for mortgage payments until your name is removed from the loan. In order to remove your name from the loan, your spouse would essentially have to refinance the house – something your bank may not agree to given the loss of household income after your divorce.

Additionally, if the court believes it is best for your ex to stay in the home until your children are grown. If this is the case, you can be held financially responsible for mortgage payments even if your ex is supposed to help with the payments. This, too, can adversely affect your credit score. For these reasons, it may be best to sell the house and divide the proceeds between you and your ex.

Cancelling Credit Cards during Divorce – What to Expect

In order to avoid potential problems with jointly held credit card debt, it may be tempting to simply cancel the credit cards in question. Here, it’s important to keep in mind that your credit score is in part of a function of your debt to credit ratio. So, if you have five credit cards with a $2,000 limit on each, you have $10,000 in credit to $0 in debt. Now, assume you have $4,000 on two of your cards. Your debt to credit ratio would be $4,000 (in debt) to $10,000 (in credit).

If you cancelled two of your cards that didn’t have any debt on them, your debt to credit ratio would skyrocket to $4,000 to $6,000 – a 2/3 ratio as opposed to a 2/5 ratio. As a consequence of cancelling these credit cards, your credit score would go down.

Contact Jenkintown Divorce Lawyer Joanne Kleiner Today

The financial consequences of divorce can be subtle and unexpected if you’re not familiar with the numerous issues that are involved in divorce. To learn how we can help you protect your financial interests and credit score during divorce, contact family law attorney Joanne Kleiner today.