Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Supervised Parenting Time Should Not Be a One Size Fits All Response to Domestic Violence Injunctions
Some divorces are ugly, and some are hideous. If someone you know looks like they had a painless divorce, you probably just did not see the most painful parts. Perhaps they went through the agonizing process of going from partners to enemies while pretending to everyone else that everything was fine, and by the… Read More »
How Sober Do You Have to Be to Exercise Parenting Time?
Anyone who has tried to get sober and stay sober or help a family member stay away from alcohol or drugs has a vast vocabulary of proverbs from the addiction recovery subculture. “Love conquers all, but it doesn’t conquer addiction” is one that counselors often tell the spouses of people torn between their promise… Read More »
Surviving the Financial Fallout From Divorce
Divorce is rough on everyone’s finances, and if you ask your friends, or worse, the Internet, what you should do to protect your financial interests during divorce, the advice you get ranges from short-sighted to “too little too late” to downright vindictive. As any judge will tell you, divorce is not about ruining your… Read More »
Do Unofficial Agreements to Help Your Ex-Spouse After Divorce Always Lead to Trouble?
If you admit, publicly and privately, that even though you are divorced, your ex-spouse is still family, you are just being realistic. If you and your ex-spouse have minor children together, then you have to make an effort to keep the peace, even if it means only talking to each other through your lawyers. … Read More »
Coping With Unrealistic Imputed Income Amounts
The Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun, who reigned from 813 until 833, was famous for funding scientific activity, to the point that his capital city, Baghdad, was known as the scientific capital of the world, due to his patronage of mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. One of his court astronomers, Musa ibn Shakir, left a sizable inheritance… Read More »
The Horror of Jointly Owning a Rental Property With Your Ex-Spouse
You might invite your friends for a lavish party when your divorce becomes final, but in most cases, you still have a few hurdles to clear before a time where you never have to interact with your ex-spouse again. If you and your ex have children, you are legally obligated to co-parent until your… Read More »
What Happens If You Do Not Abide by the Terms of Your Own Prenuptial Agreement?
Anyone who has had to live with meddlesome in-laws can tell you that one of the secrets to a successful marriage is making your own set of rules and customs with your spouse, just the two of you, and following them; eventually, your children will be part of the unique culture of your immediate… Read More »
Paying for Your Children’s College Education After Divorce
The prohibitive cost of education is a contentious issue, even in the most conflict-proof families. If you and your spouse can agree on the hierarchy of worst-case scenarios regarding your children’s college education, and to protect against these, you have cracked the code of co-parenting. More often, though, one person thinks it is worse… Read More »
What Is the Difference Between Rehabilitative Alimony and Bridge the Gap Alimony?
By now, you have heard that Florida no longer awards permanent alimony, but you were probably not a candidate for alimony anyway. If your spouse was out of the workforce for most of your marriage, or if her income is a fraction of yours, you will probably have to pay some alimony, but perhaps… Read More »
Parenting Plans for Unmarried Couples
For couples who have children together, co-parenting is the most difficult part of divorce. Everywhere you look, it is easy to find online content creators vociferously judging unhappily married people who wait until their youngest child turns 18 before they file for divorce, but if you are in that situation yourself, you easily understand… Read More »
