Whether you proceed with or without a capable Los Angeles family law lawyer, you will be required to gather all of your financial records and account for any property that you have. Some people choose to do this secretly, believing that this will give them some sort of an advantage or special ability to control the process. However, the secrecy won’t do anything except harm the trust that exists between you and your ex-spouse because your advance preparation will undoubtedly be exposed.

Additionally, if you are the person who initiated the divorce, you should try to be as straightforward and candid about your plans as possible. Many people simply wait for their negative feelings to be found out, and this cowardly approach almost always increases the cost of the divorce because the non-initiating party then feels the need to have all documents examined by his or her attorney.

Further, keep in mind that if you have children, your relationship will not end once you are divorced. The relationship will take on a different form, and your joint cooperation will remain crucial. If you need a Los Angeles family law lawyer, please call DA&D Law at (800) 257-6666 for a free consultation.

There are some common themes in parenting, but the ways in which they are presented to you can range from calm reminders and conversations to blunt statements and commands.  A knowledgeable Los Angeles family law lawyer will tell you that actions that run contrary to sound parenting will damage your children and also hurts the divorce process as a whole.

For instance, seeing your children whenever the mood hits you (or whenever you have the time) simply will not work.  Unlike you, children need structure in order to feel safe and develop normally.  Showing up at odd times will create a stressful environment for the children and the other parent.  Simply put, you must make time for your children based upon their needs, not yours.

Additionally, it may be a good idea for you to create a set of calendars and highlight or circle dad’s days in blue and mom’s days in pink.  Make copies for each parent and hang them up in the kitchen of each parent’s home.  Doing this will be more for the child’s benefit than yours, but it will demonstrate some sort of structure, much like having regular meals and regular bedtimes.

If you need a dedicated and knowledgeable Los Angeles family law lawyer, please call DA&D Law at (800) 257-6666  for a free consultation.

Historical costs include those expenses that were incurred before the separation.  The costs in this period are then used to predict current and future costs.  For instance, assuming that the wife will continue to live in the family residence after the separation, the utility costs for her will probably be similar to those incurred prior to the husband leaving.  These costs can then be used to predict current costs that will be incurred during the divorce process and, if the wife decides to keep the home, future costs.

Alternatively, any costs that are incurred for one party, but not the other, will only be included in that party’s budget.  For example, the husband’s entertainment expenses for things such as golf memberships, bowling, etc., would not be included in the wife’s budget.  If you believe that you need help with formulating the specifics of your budget, a skilled Los Angeles family law lawyer can further assist you with the preparation.

More specifically, your lawyer can aid in the budget process by applying logic (as opposed to emotion), removing duplicative entries and clearly marking out the relevant time periods.  The goal when developing a budget is full disclosure from both parties because coherent economic decisions cannot be made without complete information.  If you need a Los Angeles family law lawyer, please call DA&D Law at (800) 257-6666 for a free consultation.

Standard divorce proceedings generally require the divorcing couple to release copies of their assets and liabilities. Such disclosures act as the starting point in any financial investigation to find assets that have been excluded (or hidden) from the marital estate.  The information that is unveiled in these disclosures can either be simple (meaning that nothing was hidden) or it can be the basis for a more sophisticated analysis and comparison.

Further, with respect to tax returns, an individual’s or a couple’s tax returns may be inadequate representations of the person or couple’s actual income or economic worth.  However, tax returns that demonstrate significant income will raise the odds that a claim of hidden assets might be justified.  Still, tax returns that show little to no income should prompt the question, “If assets are hidden, where did they come from in the first place?”

Tax returns provide authoritative documentation regarding sources of income.  For instance, interest income is reported to the Internal Revenue Service, and accordingly, the taxpayer will report those amounts on his or her tax return.  If there is interest income on the tax return, yet there is no asset disclosed that would generate such interest income, the foundation for an inquiry is laid.   If you need a Los Angeles family law lawyer, please call DA&D Law at (800) 257-6666 for a free consultation.

You should keep in mind during your review of the credit card records that both legal (and at times illegal) businesses that operate outside of societal norms, such as gentlemen’s clubs, massage parlors, escort services, casinos and the like, will often show up on bank or credit card statements, not as “Billy’s Strip Club,” but as BSC Enterprises, or some other seemingly harmless name.  It is important to remember that, when looking through credit card records, pay particular attention to charges that occur regularly or ones that show multiple times on the same day or within a short timeframe.  Also, pay close attention to the payee’s name and location.

For example, if there are airfare, hotel or rental car charges for a specific date in Las Vegas, be sure to look at the charges around those dates to figure out if they might have some significance that goes beyond the identity of the payee.  Credit card records are replete with information and almost always lead to further areas of inquiry.  If you need a knowledgeable Los Angeles family law attorney, please do not hesitate to call DA&D Law at (800) 257-6666 for a free consultation.

Society clearly believes that the lives of children are far more valuable than anything else one could imagine; nonetheless, any Los Angeles family law attorney will tell you that the amount of time and resources that are dedicated to the well-being of children during a divorce is relatively small. Luckily, children are quite resilient. If some basic provisions are made for them during the divorce process, the majority of children will go on after the divorce without having suffered any long-term effects or harm.

Additionally, you should remember that the children are not parties to the divorce. That said, they should not be a part of the process at all.  Fighting in front of your children (even when behind closed doors) should be minimized because it involves them in the conflict. Furthermore, choosing to confide in your children unloads emotional baggage on them that they simply are not mature enough to handle.

Also, pumping your children for information regarding the other spouse puts the children in a position of disloyalty, and that disloyalty will harm the enduring parent-child bond.  If you believe that you need the services of a Los Angeles family law attorney, please call DA&D Law for a free consultation.

Standard divorce proceedings generally require the divorcing couple to release copies of their assets and liabilities. Such disclosures act as the starting point in any financial investigation to find assets that have been excluded (or hidden) from the marital estate.  The information that is unveiled in these disclosures can either be simple (meaning that nothing was hidden) or it can be the basis for a more sophisticated analysis and comparison.

Further, with respect to tax returns, an individual’s or a couple’s tax returns may be inadequate representations of the person or couple’s actual income or economic worth.  However, tax returns that demonstrate significant income will raise the odds that a claim of hidden assets might be justified.  Still, tax returns that show little to no income should prompt the question, “If assets are hidden, where did they come from in the first place?”

Tax returns provide authoritative documentation regarding sources of income.  For instance, interest income is reported to the Internal Revenue Service, and accordingly, the taxpayer will report those amounts on his or her tax return.  If there is interest income on the tax return, yet there is no asset disclosed that would generate such interest income, the foundation for an inquiry is laid.   If you need a Los Angeles family law lawyer, please call DA&D Law for a free consultation.

You should note, however, that evaluating whether or not assets that have accrued from the time of your separation until the date of your divorce are part of the marital estate can be a very hard task. One of the reasons for this is that there can be a natural disagreement between the economic theories and the legal regulations that are related to these assets.

As an example, let’s say that a couple has been separated for a year, during which time the husband has continued to make regular contributions to his personal IRA savings plan. During this time, he has accumulated $5,000. One theory that might be applicable to this situation is that the couple did not jointly earn the additions to the IRA; thus, any amounts earned should not be divided. However, certain state statutes may order that marital estates be valued as of the time of divorce. Accordingly, under this regulation, the IRA contributions would be found to be part of the marital estate and divisible. If you need a Los Angeles family law attorney, please call for a free consultation.

For instance, some jurisdictions have rules that call for the complete surrender of any and all concealed assets to the other party if their existence is exposed.  Accordingly, you should speak with a knowledgeable Los Angeles family law attorney to assist you with the preparation of your statement of marital estate-related items.

Additionally, a marital estate summary that lists all of the parties’ assets and liabilities can be used to evaluate the parties’ expected financial condition after the divorce.  One of the factors used in the determination of alimony or maintenance support is a person’s overall financial condition.  A marital estate summary that demonstrates a person’s net worth could assist in the determination of whether or not alimony or maintenance support is necessary in certain cases.

However, you should note that simply because an asset or liability exists and is disclosed, it does not mean that it should be included in the marital estate to be valued and divided. For instance, a family heirloom ring that the wife received on her 21st birthday from her mother would not be marital property, particularly if the husband and wife were married after the wife’s 21st birthday and the husband had nothing to do with the ring in the first place. If you need a Los Angeles family law attorney, please call today for a free consultation.

Since unsecured creditors are so vulnerable, they may actually be more inclined to make a deal with a couple or an individual who is having trouble repaying the debt. The types of agreements that can be reached between a creditor and debtor can be anything from a monthly payment reduction to the complete removal of interest from the amounts owing. Accordingly, such negotiations can greatly reduce the amount of debt that is essentially owed by the matrimonial estate. A knowledgeable Los Angeles family law attorney can further assist you with regard to the specific issues surrounding your debt and estate.

If debt repayment agreements can be made prior to the valuation and division of the marital estate, then both parties will be able to avoid financial distress in that regard. However, there are occasions during the divorce process when one party may receive a larger portion of the unsecured debt and also a larger portion of compensating assets. While it may appear to be a small benefit for the party that is only required to pay a small amount of the joint debt owed, if the party that has the larger portion is able to settle for a significantly lower amount, then he or she has received a bigger portion of the marital estate than is fair.

If you need a skilled Los Angeles family law lawyer, call the DA&D Law Firm at (800) 257-6666 for a free consultation.