During a nearly two-decades long career, financial planner Debbie Hartzman has doled out her share of savvy money advice to clients going through divorce. What may be surprising is that in the last few years she’s been seeing more and more clients in their 60s, 70s or even 80s. According to Statistics Canada, the phenomenon
Ron and Mary both live in the same split-level ranch they bought as newlyweds in 1995. But the problem is that Ron and Mary are not newlyweds anymore — or even married. The couple divorced in 2011 but remain living together as platonic roommates for financial reasons. Ron has been unable to find work after
Given the no-fault nature of most divorces, the issue of blame related to who caused the end of the marriage does not matter from a legal standpoint. However, during divorce proceedings, if one spouse has been unfaithful during the marriage, this information can affect the settlement outcome under certain conditions. Extra-marital relationships are potentially relevant,
With attention fully on the Vikings stadium issue, a bill that would change child custody proceedings for divorcing parents in Minnesota is quietly inching its way closer to the governor’s desk. The latest version of HF322 would simply increase the presumed time each divorcing parent would get with his or her kids from 25 percent
In my almost 28 years on the bench — most of which I spent presiding over family matters in the Circuit Court of Lake County in Waukegan — I had a front-row seat for an amazing display of human nature. I met families in crisis, parents in stress, and children in trouble. They arrived in
In today’s economic environment, it is a very difficult decision to opt for a divorce and end a dysfunctional relationship. Today there can be enough stress in people’s lives to make them hesitant to compound that problem by adding the stress of a divorce. However, there is a proven and slowly growing alternative to the
As working parents’ roles in the lives of their children evolve with the demands of the modern economy, so too do their parental rights as divorced parents. Traditionally, a child’s custodial parent would be the primary residential parent and child support recipient and the non-custodial parent would pay child support and be granted “visitation.” Those
“Family values” is a buzzword these days. We read about it in the newspapers and hear about it in political speeches and debates. From a Torah perspective, we applaud the espousal of these social values and national policies as they represent a return to our own traditional values. Judaism has always preached that the fate
Myth: Mediation allows one spouse to dominate another. Fact: A good mediator pays close attention to the power balance between the spouses and uses specific techniques to address any imbalance. If one spouse persists in dominating behavior, the mediator will call a stop to the mediation rather than allowing it to continue. One caveat: Even
Divorce. It’s right up there with death of a spouse for the most stressful life events we can experience. Yet just as you cannot escape the paperwork and financial issues after the death of a loved one, you can’t afford to ignore the financial aspects of a divorce, as you are setting the foundation for
