Family Law

Divorce

Divorce is a process that legally separates and divides marital assets and debts. It determines the care and custody of a divorced couple's children. It also frees both halves of a couple to re-marry.

No-fault grounds for divorce:

Irreconcilable differences of the marriage
Living separate and apart without cohabitation for three years under a judicial decree of separation

Grounds for divorce:

Impotence
Adultery
Conviction of a felony
Willful desertion for one year
Willful neglect by not providing for common necessaries of life

Habitual drunkenness
Conviction of a felony
Cruel and inhuman treatment
Incurable insanity

Property division and child custody most often complicate and prolong contested divorce proceedings. Let Jeffrey Howe guide you through sensible decision-making that makes divorce a process you can live with.

Custody

A minor child of a divorcing couple faces custody determinations made by the court. It is about physical custody and legal custody.

Physical custody concerns itself with day-to-day care and activities. Legal custody concerns itself with rights and responsibilities associated with a child’s upbringing.

Courts usually award physical custody to mothers with visitation rights for fathers. But more and more, courts have begun to reverse the roles, giving physical custody to fathers and legal custody to mothers.

Courts work hard to make arrangements under which a child of divorce parents can live in the best practical place where the child can flourish under the circumstances. Let Jeffrey Howe help you focus on the best interests of your child.

Common law

Courts recognize common law marriage based on spouses’ agreement to consider themselves married after a specific period of cohabitation. In our state, courts must rule on the existence of a common law marriage within one year.

Marriage

Courts view marriage as a business union too. In the legal system, it is more than romance. Before you start your life together, come to Jeffrey Howe for assistance with a smooth transition into married life. Consider the advantages of prenuptial agreements and other financial arrangements you can agree on before marriage.

Alimony

Courts may award alimony to a wife or to a husband based on these considerations:

Recipient spouse’s financial condition and financial needs
Recipient's earning capacity and ability to produce income
Paying spouse’s ability to provide support.
Length of the marriage
Child custody arrangements of the spouse who gets child custody

Recipient’s business relationship to the paying spouse
Recipient’s contribution to the paying spouse’s education during the marriage
Either or both spouse’s marital faults
Either or both spouse’s standards of living at the time of separation
Either spouse’s enhancement of the other’s earning capacity

Most courts do not allow alimony payments to extend longer than the length of the marriage. Re-marriage automatically ends alimony payments. And recipients automatically terminate their alimony payments when they cohabit with a new person in his or her lives.

Child support

Obligations to support a minor child last until he or she reaches the age of majority, 18 years. Courts can order either parent to pay child support during or after a divorce. Unmarried mothers may also petition for child support. This kind of order becomes active and enforceable after testing for paternity. Courts enforce significant penalties against parents who fail to meet their child support obligations:

Business license suspension
Professional license suspension
Revocation of driving privileges

Revocation of recreational licenses
Requiring future payments in advance
Jail time

Let Jeffrey Howe show you the way to honor your child support obligations and maintain your lifestyle.

Visitation

Courts rule on child visitation on a case-by-case basis. Jeffrey Howe’s experience guides you through this process with your child’s best interests at the forefront of your plan.

Adoption

No adoption is legally final until a court’s formal action makes it so. Adoption requires you to submit yourself to the assessment of courts to determine if you can serve as an adoptive parent.

In the eyes of the law, all rights and benefits of a biological child belong to an adopted child. And parents of an adopted child bear the same legal duties, care and support, that they would owe to their biological child.

Enforcement of court orders

Most people have enough tasks to handle and never enough time to handle them. Adding court calendars and requirements to your life can break your concentration, disrupt your routine, and make more work than you can in fact handle. Jeffrey Howe practices an aggressive and systematic approach to these matters. Use his judgment and legal experience to make you comfortable when courts become a part of your life.

Contact Jeffrey Howe now for family problems, debt problems, and DUI: 801-831-9177