Few people enter marriages with divorce in mind. They believe wholeheartedly in their “happily-ever-after,” but life has a tendency to throw obstacles at couples. If you and your spouse cannot overcome them together, then it may be time to consult a family lawyer.
Divorce and Family Law
Ex Talking Badly about You to the Kids? Chandler Family Lawyer Offers 5 Tips
Children have a tendency to say the oddest comments, but when they relay negative statements that your ex said about you, there may be a greater issue at hand. Hearing curse words, negativity and accusations from your ex is bad enough, but when your children deliver them, it puts your young ones in the middle of the controversy. PsyCare warns that such behavior could even lead to parental alienation, and you may need to discuss this problem with your family attorney.
[Read more…] about Ex Talking Badly about You to the Kids? Chandler Family Lawyer Offers 5 Tips
9 Important Documents to Update after a Divorce – Advice from a Chandler Family Attorney
It’s no secret that divorce is mentally and emotionally draining, but the process continues long after the marriage ends. In addition to adjusting to a single income and possibly relocating, there are several documents that you will need to update. A divorce attorney help you make this transition and protect your financial interests.
How divorce can impact your life–and beyond
It is generally acknowledged, and a lot of people learn from experience, that during a divorce, people may focus mainly on their children and their financial assets. What divorcing couples may not be thinking about, but perhaps should be, is how divorce will impact the futures of your loved ones–even after you’ve died. That’s why I believe that the time to consider making legal changes to a will, or trust, or other testamentary document, should follow your careful consideration to file for a divorce. Because these vital documents also affect people’s lives going forward – just like a divorce does.
It isn’t a “given” that every married person has named his/her spouse in every aspect of a will. Also, it isn’t necessarily true that divorcing spouses will want to remove their ex-spouse from a will or trust. Somewhere in between, however, exists the possibility that you may want to change some important legal designations of the people you want to undertake certain responsibilities during your lifetime, or after your death. Here are just a few examples of things that, following a divorce, you may want to consider changing.
- Designated Guardians: temporary, permanent, for your children, of the person, of the estate
- Designated Trustees for bypass trusts, living trusts, etc.
- Power(s) of Attorney
- Designated Executors of the Estate
- Beneficiaries named in wills and/or trusts (taking into account that Arizona is a community property state)
At Zachary Law Group, we offer estate planning services from experienced attorneys. We also handle family law issues such as divorce. So if you are dealing with either, or both, of these landmark life events, please turn to us for help and guidance. Change can be difficult enough without adding uncertainty to the mix, and we are here to answer your questions and represent your interests to the best of our abilities. We offer a FREE 30-minute case evaluation, and together we’ll map out solutions to your legal issues. We take each challenge and “Zach-It!” So when you are ready to move forward, just give us a call at 1-855-Zach-law.
A Post-Divorce "Arrangement" Is No Substitute For a Legal Modification
Let’s say that for the past 10 years since your Arizona divorce, you and your former spouse have smoothly cooperated in the support, care and decision-making for your child.
As primary custodian, that ex-spouse has been accepting checks you have been sending since losing a job or taking a pay cut, being relocated or remarried, or becoming seriously ill and dealing with health care expenses. It occurred to neither of you to execute a formal, legal, drafted and signed modification of support, custody and visitation — parental rights you simply assumed, and carried out to the best of your ability.
With no documentation to prove what you have accomplished outside the law, and with your comfort level so high that you never saved a check stub or other records that reflected your “arrangement” — you are now financially exposed and vulnerable to the possibility that your ex-wife or ex-husband could very well change their mind, take you to court, and accuse you of having been a deadbeat dad or mom all these years.
And that suddenly vindictive former spouse would have a very good chance of winning.
A family law attorney with an agenda could convince your ex that seeking more money in a family court is a good idea, whether or not you can afford it. Nothing has been signed between you as co-parents since the financial “hit” that affected your support payments. That same lawyer may even try to disguise legal fees as additional arrears on behalf of his or her equally underemployed client, in which case you would essentially be paying for your own mistreatment — your completely unwarranted punishment for what used to be a “go along to get along” attitude.
The lesson? When lifestyles change, suddenly or gradually, dramatically and substantially, pursue a formal legal modification of your divorce settlement obligations. Do it then and there. Discuss it, draft it, sign it. You will be doing yourself a huge favor by taking guesswork out of a post-divorce relationship that can go south at any moment.
If this harrowing situation describes yours, or you fear that it might someday, and you want to protect your access to your child after a divorce, you should contact experienced divorce and family law attorney Steven Zachary of the Zachary Law Group in Gilbert. Our trusted law firm’s founder can tell you more about the importance of protecting yourself legally from the whims of an ex-spouse who has had too much time to think about, and feel manipulated by, informal revisions of your responsibilities.
This is the kind of problem you can try to wish away, sweep under the rug, turn a blind ey
e and deaf ear to until it can’t be ignored anymore … or you can “Zach it.” Every problem has a solution, and solutions are what Steven Zachary’s leadership is all about. Call today for an initial consultation. 480-389-3533.
Keeping The Family Together After Parents Relocate
Divorced parents petition courts for the right to relocate and reside outside Arizona for a number of reasons — some legitimate, some not. These reasons can include remarriage, business or military transfer, job-seeking and the urgent need for specialized health care that is only available in another state.
Some parents behave irresponsibly, going outside the legal system to spirit a child across state lines in what amounts to a virtual abduction. Others realize the need to pursue legal channels and do things right the first time, continuing communications with the co-parent left behind and serving the best interests of the child.
A parental relocation with a child from a previous marriage can be a heart-rending situation. So can the denial of a move to relocate. In either instance, the competence and compassion of a skilled divorce modification lawyer can cushion the blow and create ways to keep a family together, despite these circumstances.
Steven Zachary of the Zachary Law Group is an experienced, client-focused family law and divorce attorney in Gilbert, Arizona. He delivers quality advocacy for you and your goals when a parental relocation needs to be requested or contested in family court.
Mr. Zachary’s leadership is designed to bring you peace of mind, comfort your concerns and help you to continue with your brighter post-divorce future. He also believes deeply in “the best interests of the child” and does whatever he can to help parents maintain prominent roles in a child’s upbringing, regardless of the miles that separate them.
Has a proposed out-of-state relocation of a child of divorce become a problem for you? Please remember that every problem has a solution. Your best option is to “Zach it.” The law is on your side. Call Steven Zachary today and take your worry away with an initial consultation. 
