McKinley Irvin Blogs from September 2013

• Understanding "Fair and Equitable" Division of Property in a No-Fault Divorce

  Sep 25, 2013
  The laws of the vast majority of the United States instruct courts to divide a divorcing couple's assets and provide spousal support (alimony) in a "fair and equitable" manner. A fair and equitable distribution of property or award of spousal support generally excludes any consideration of which party caused the divorce. Instead, courts must consider each spouse’s specific economic circumstances at the time of divorce. Here, we’ll cover: What's the difference between fault and no-fault divorce? How does a court decided what ...
  Posted By Marc T. Christianson
  Continue reading >>

• The Hazards of Email, Text Messages & Social Media in a Divorce

  Sep 16, 2013
  Email. Texting. Facebook. Instagram. Any one of these methods of electronic communication can—and have—been used as evidence in court. For people going through a divorce, you should expect that your electronic communications will be scrutinized. Many individuals going through a divorce freely text, email and status-update without considering the strategic risks and dangers that come along with these types of electronic communications. Before you post your next Facebook update, consider some interesting stats from the ...
  Posted By Kim Schnuelle
  Continue reading >>

• 5 Misconceptions About Common-Law Marriage

  Sep 7, 2013
  Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis did it. Maybe. So did Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. Probably. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are still doing it. What is it these famous couples have been doing? They all have waded into the murky waters that constitute common-law marriage. Many of us have heard the term "common-law marriage," and have some notion that living with a partner for some magic number of years creates a common-law marriage by default. More often than not, this is not the case. And the law around common-law marriage ...
  Posted By Lindsay D. Camandona
  Continue reading >>