Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Kindness, The Missing Ingredient In Your Divorce
No one wants an ugly divorce, but even if you are wealthy enough that the top Google results for all the divorce-related questions you Google include the words “high net worth divorce,” you do not inhabit the celebrity stratosphere where Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin ended their marriage with a “conscious uncoupling” or where… Read More »
Assembling Your Divorce Team
Being in an unhappy marriage can be lonely, but it has nothing on how lost and alone you feel when you are going through a divorce. You have to relearn how to do all the things for which you had developed a system, from home maintenance to filing taxes to navigating holidays with your… Read More »
Yes, The Family Law Court Can Take Away Your Driver’s License If You Don’t Pay Your Court-Ordered Child Support
Pop psychologists make much of the four horsemen of the communication breakdown, namely criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling, but there is also another bad habit that can drive spouses apart. Specifically, when your spouse tells you that you must do something in order to save your marriage, but then places all kinds of obstacles… Read More »
The Family Law Court Recognizes The Invisible Labor Of Wives, But Not Of Girlfriends
You have a legal right to sue anyone whose negligence or intentional actions caused you to suffer financial losses, but the burden of proof is on you as a plaintiff to show that it was the other party’s responsibility to prevent those financial losses. If it is a breach of contract dispute, you must… Read More »
What Do Divorced Parents Do When They Aren’t Parenting?
Raising children is an exhausting job, whether you are home with a baby all day every day or whether your kids’ school day ends around the same time as your workday. Every time you clean up one mess, two more arise in its place; it is like playing whack-a-mole, except instead of plastic moles,… Read More »
Anger Is A Lousy Chief Financial Officer
It is easy to find advice on divorce blogs and from divorced friends that the biggest mistake you can make during your divorce, especially if you are a stay-at-home mother, is being too conciliatory and not fighting hard enough for your fair share of the marital property. Yes, you will live through lean times… Read More »
Prenuptial Agreements Are Not The Latest Engagement Ring Fad, But Maybe They Should Be
Suffice it to say that, as the nature of marriage and divorce has changed over the past several decades, so has the nature of prenuptial agreements. Divorce rates increased sharply with the advent of no fault divorce laws, but as an increasing number of women remained in the workforce throughout their marriages, the courts… Read More »
Move Over, Divorce Monday: March Is Peak Season For Divorce Filings
Conventional wisdom suggests that the first business Monday of the year is the day that sees more divorce filings than any other day of the year. Furthermore, it is the day when divorce law firms review the greatest number of first-time communications from prospective clients. Couples have various reasons for filing for divorce at… Read More »
What Is A Status Quo Order In A Florida Divorce?
“Status quo” is a Latin phrase meaning “the current situation.” In the context of personal finance, self-help, and politics, people talk about the status quo as though it is something that you can and should change. The status quo is a rut or an outdated mindset that is holding you back from achieving your… Read More »
At What Point Does A Divorce Case Become Like Just Another Business Dispute?
Marriage is an economic partnership, and never is this more obvious than during a divorce case. The decision to leave your marriage is difficult enough, but it is much harder to divide your marital property in a way that both parties consider fair and, when it is not possible to reach such an agreement,… Read More »
