Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Back to School Expenses: A Co-Parenting Dilemma
If you think trying to make difficult financial decisions with your spouse is stressful, try making difficult financial decisions with your ex-spouse. To make matters worse, the less money there is to go around, the more difficult the decisions are. Back to school is a close second, after tax time, when it comes to… Read More »
4 Hard Truths That Make Co-Parenting Easier to Take
Divorce is like an abysmally bad day that goes on for months and months. It will eventually be in the past, but right now, every moment is more stressful and more demoralizing than the last. The acute pain of divorce goes away more quickly if you and your ex-spouse do not have minor children… Read More »
How Bad Is It If You Show Up Late to a Child Custody Hearing?
When you talk to your friends about your divorce, they try to make you feel better, but just as often, what they say makes things worse. Your coworker probably meant well when he told you about the YouTube video he saw about a guy who arrived ten minutes late to a child custody hearing,… Read More »
What Is the Difference Between Divorce Lawyers and Mediators?
Financial hardship in marriage is plenty stressful, but financial hardship during and immediately after divorce is much worse. Your goal is to avoid unnecessary delays and unnecessary expenses so that you can finalize your divorce and rebuild your life, financially and otherwise. When the spouses have vastly unequal incomes, then the higher income spouse… Read More »
How To Avoid Paying Permanent Alimony
When a process server hands you a divorce petition from your spouse, it feels like you are experiencing the worst thing that could happen. You are certain to suffer financial losses, and the future of your relationship with your children is now uncertain. As much as your spouse drove you crazy when you were… Read More »
4 Common Misconceptions About Co-Parenting After Divorce
Even if you are relieved to get out of an unhappy marriage, it is heartbreaking to think that you will only get to live with your children part of the time, and you will not be there for every day of their childhood. The good news is that your divorce lawyer has helped many… Read More »
What Is a Highly Structured Parenting Plan, and Do You Need One?
If you go to a divorce lawyer, fearing that you might get stuck paying alimony to your ex-spouse for the rest of your life, you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that Florida acknowledges six types of alimony, and only one of them is permanent. Even better, if it is possible for your… Read More »
How Divorced Parents Can Cope When Teens Start Driving
When you arrive at a social gathering with an adorable new baby in your arms, the old folks will wistfully tell you that kids are full of surprises. You probably think that they are talking about the first smiles and first steps, the hilarious mispronunciations and misspellings of common words, and the awful tantrums… Read More »
How Does Child Support Work for High Income Couples?
No two families have the exact same budget or the exact same spending habits; this is true whether or not the parents are divorced. When a couple gets a divorce, they must decide how to divide their marital assets and debts. If they cannot reach an agreement during mediation, then the judge assigned to… Read More »
Discovery in Florida Divorce Cases
In order to get divorced, you must file a divorce petition, and your spouse should respond to it. You must attend divorce mediation. Your case probably will not go to trial, but if it does, then this will only happen after mediation. By the time your divorce is final, you will have a marital… Read More »
