ADVOCATE

The necessary steps in obtaining a divorce will depend on the particular situation of the parties getting the divorce. A divorce where the parties have been married for a relatively short period of time, have no children, and little property or debts should be less involved than a divorce where the parties have been married for a long period of time, where there are minor children, or where there is significant property or debt to divide. The divorce process should be simpler in cases where both parties want and agree to the divorce. If one party is blind-sided by receiving divorce papers they might respond by doing whatever they can to prolong the process. Finally, the more the parties can agree on between themselves the smoother and quicker their divorce. If the couple is bogged down in fighting and disagreements over anything and everything, the process will be slower.

Filing a petition. The first step in the divorce process is filing a petition. Even where both spouses agree that they want to get divorced, one of them will have to be the one to file a petition with the court asking for the divorce. The petition will state the grounds for the divorce. The grounds for divorce vary depending on the jurisdiction. All jurisdictions allow for some type of no-fault grounds such as “irreconcilable differences”, but only a few states still consider fault grounds for divorce, such as adultery or abandonment. Your lawyer can tell you whether fault grounds are available in your state, and if so, whether or not it makes sense to file for divorce on fault grounds.

Annulment has a similar purpose to a divorce in that it brings a marriage to an end, but differs from divorce in significant respects. Rather than dissolving a valid marriage as a divorce does, an annulment treats the marriage as if it never existed. The marriage is declared null and void. A marriage can be annulled only in very specific circumstances provided under the law, which include:

* At the time of marriage your spouse was already married to someone else

* Either person was under 16 years of age at the time of the marriage

* The marriage was between people in a prohibited relationship (i.e. a close relative)

There is a distinction between a marriage that is void and one that is voidable. A void marriage is one that is declared never to have existed because it was not valid under the law when it took place. Other marriages, voidable marriages, may have met the requirements of the law when they took place but may subsequently be annulled. For example, if one partner has been granted a full gender recognition certificate after the marriage then either partner can seek to annul the marriage.

If you think that you may have valid grounds to have your marriage annulled you should let Contact Law put you in touch with a family solicitor. There are only very limited specific grounds which will constitute grounds for annulment. Solicitors can explain the law to you and consider whether your circumstances may suffice, and whilst many people would prefer to get an annulment rather than a divorce, it is notoriously difficult to establish annulment. Divorce solicitors can represent you in court and argue your case on your behalf, increasing your chances of being granted an annulment. They can also advise you on the legal consequences of an annulment, such as on your jointly owned property and government benefits.

Visitation rights are a myth. Neither parent is inherently entitled to visitation rights when going through a divorce. You only have visitation rights when they have been established by the court or determined in a parenting plan that is created by both parents and acknowledged in court.

In your divorce proceedings, it is important to be aware that visitation and custody are two separate matters. Legal custody grants you the ability to direct how your child is raised. This includes things such as the religion, education and healthcare of your child. Physical custody allows your child to live with you. Visitation, on the other hand, tends to define how your time with your kids is spent. A qualified divorce attorney with experience handling custody and visitation issues should be able to more thoroughly explain the differences between custody and visitation and advise you on your best course of action.

For example, if you are awarded full custody of your children, your wife may seek visitation rights. Or if you are granted primary custodial rights while the divorce is pending, your wife may also seek visitation rights. This is something you should talk about with your attorney and something that should be dictated by your wife’s ability and capability to care for your children while they are with her. If your wife has drug or alcohol addiction problems, you should make sure that visits are supervised. Likewise, if there is a history of physical, mental or sexual abuse, visitation should be closely monitored. There may even be a specific location that your wife must be in to visit with your children. In this way, the way your wife spends her time with your children is defined. This offers a number of protections to your children if your wife is unfit to watch them on her own.

When we have to choose a nursing home for a loved one, we try to make sure it is a good place; a place to care for them and treat them with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.

Too often we assume that when we need to place a senior in a nursing home that the home’s staff and management will take care of them the way we would. You would treat your beloved elder with love and respect, dignity and empathy, and would never dream of withholding medications; isolating your loved one; shoving them around; leaving them unattended in their own waste; or trying to steal their money. The facts show that currently over one and a half million seniors are placed in nursing homes for care. While this number may seem high to you, it is expected to triple within 30 years. This is largely due to the baby boomer generation coming of age; of age to require nursing home care. Shockingly, one in three nursing homes in the US have been cited for neglect or abuse despite the fact that the Nursing Home Reform Act (1987) says nursing home residents have the “right” to live somewhere that maintains or improves their physical and mental welfare.

The idea behind nursing homes is that they provide professional care to those who are having trouble caring for themselves. While that might be the theory, it appears that the reality is somewhat different and nursing home abuse is on the increase. We know this because of the latest cases going to court and articles in the newspapers and on TV. It’s not the ugly secret it once used to be, but it is still hidden from prying eyes when and where possible, and nursing home abuse is still ugly.

The advertisements for debt settlement companies are all over the radio and television. “Information the Credit Card companies don’t want you to know” and “You are entitled to lower your credit card debt by 70%”. “We can lower your payments substantially and cut your debt in half”. “Be debt free in less than a year”.

If you have ever heard the saying that its too good to be true, then it likely is. These ads fit that description to a T. You are not “entitled ” to lower your credit card debt under any law that I am aware of. “We can cut your debt in half”, well, only in very extreme and lucky circumstances. Cutting the debt to 70% is a more reasonable goal (unless you are dealing with a debt buyer and not the original creditor. You can get a better reduction, but you should not pay anything to them). “Be debt free in less than a year”? Only if you file bankruptcy or hit the lottery.

The truth of the matter is that these claims are false, misleading, and in my opinion, fraudulent. These claims are merely a sales pitch to get you to hire a debt settlement company because you want to get out of debt. The worst part about these false claims isn’t that they can’t back them up and make them come true. No, the worst part is that they charge you an outrageous fee when you sign on with the company, usually a large percentage of the debt (I have seen upwards of 20%) and an additional monthly fee. The fee is typically paid up front, before any creditors are paid.