Divorce
Common Reasons for Contested Divorce in Tennessee
Divorce can be the hardest thing you’ll ever go through, or a blessing in disguise. Some divorces are completely amicable, with each spouse going their own way, able to co-parent and enjoy their life after marriage. Others, however, can be more difficult. When two spouses cannot arrive at a consensus, during mediation or otherwise, about…
Read MorePrenuptial Agreements in Tennessee: Smart Idea, or Unnecessary Paperwork?
Prenuptial or antenuptial agreements are quite common in marriages and are, at their core, a negotiated document signed by both members of a couple prior to marriage. These documents typically lay out ownership of property, monies, and assets. In Tennessee, these agreements are binding in court. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-501, the law stipulates…
Read MoreSubstance Abuse & Your Kids: Child Custody Options in Tennessee
If you are the non-custodial parent in a Tennessee divorce case, you do have rights when it comes to the welfare of your kids. At the outset of your divorce, Tennessee Code Annotated Section 36-6-106 governs which parents will play what role. A parenting plan written and agreed to in good faith should be established…
Read MoreAfter the Fact: Modifying Your Divorce Decree in Tennessee
Once you’ve finalized your divorce in Tennessee, you will have the final order from the court that governs the terms of your separation from your former husband or wife. Crucial to this process is a credible and experienced Columbia divorce attorney that will advocate on your behalf to ensure your divorce decree is the most…
Read MoreWho Gets the Dog When People Divorce in Tennessee?
If tears rush to your eyes at the thought of being forced to part with the family pet, you are indeed a pet lover. You will have trouble with the idea of your pet as property that will get divided among the furniture, the jewelry and the vacation house. In Tennessee, the court uses the…
Read MorePendente Lite Temporary Spousal Support in Tennessee Divorce
Marriage is typically a partnership where each partner does their part to support the other. In some situations, one spouse is the higher earning spouse and they support the receiving spouse who may be maintaining the home and caring for the children. The days of one spouse taking care of the other spouse are quickly…
Read MoreWhat to Do When Your Child Fights Visitation with Your Co-Parent
Your young child has not handled the separation and the ensuing divorce very well. Now that you and your ex are living in separate homes, your four-year-old daughter does not want to spend time at her father’s home. When it is time to get ready to spend the weekend with her father, she creates a…
Read More5 Benefits of Divorce Mediation in Tennessee
As we have said so many times, divorce is basically the breaking of a contract. If there were a way to separate the high level of emotion that the divorce transaction stirs up, it would probably be a faster, easier process to work through. But divorce is not just about breaking a contract. Marriage represents…
Read MoreChild Support Enforcement in Tennessee: Liens for Child Support Arrears
There are many ways in which the payment of child support can be enforced, and federal law has created some uniform guidelines for enforcing child support payments. Tennessee’s statutes for child support enforcement can be found here: T.C.A. § 36-5-901, and the Department of Human Services (DHS) is the state agency that is responsible for…
Read MoreHaving a Conversation with Your Child’s Teacher about Your Divorce
Telling your child’s teacher that you are going through a divorce might not be high on your list of priorities, but it should be. Whatever happens in your home has an impact on your child. If your family is going through a rough patch, your child may display behavior at school that is inconsistent with…
Read MoreGifts and Asset Division in Divorce—It’s Complicated
Depending on how long a couple has been married, they will likely accumulate various different kinds of property during the marriage. From homes and cars to boats and vacation properties, jewelry and investments. Property and assets that the couple acquires after the wedding and to which they are joint owners is marital property. Marital property…
Read MoreHow to Prepare for Divorce
Couples who marry today have a roughly 40 to 50 percent chance of getting divorced, (for first marriages) so while divorce seems like something that happens to other people, many who are married may face it at some point. While going through a divorce is usually more traumatic than you think it will be and…
Read More5 Difficult Things to Accept about Divorce
There will come a time when divorce gets real for you and things might be a bit more challenging than you had bargained for. Divorce can be adversarial and it will bring out aspects of your spouse’s character that you may not have seen before. When you agree to divorce and you set off on…
Read MoreModifying Your Parenting Plan When Circumstances Change
When Tennessee couples with children divorce, they create (sometimes on their own, sometimes with lawyers, sometimes by ruling from a judge) a parenting plan. The basic format of the plan is supplied by the TN courts, and must be used for the creation of a new plan, or to modify an existing one. We point…
Read MoreFive Signs You May be Heading for Divorce
The decision to end a marriage is always a tough one, even if both spouses are in agreement. After all, no one gets married in the hopes of one day getting a divorce. Over the years, we’ve found that there are certain indicators that a couple is ready to divorce, or at least ready to…
Read MoreHow Vacations and Summer Travel Impact Parenting Plans
This is the time of year when parents start planning vacations and make plans for the summer months. When you are going through a divorce, or after the divorce is finalized, the parenting plan agreement is an important document that will govern the communications between the two co-parents. Even when the co-parents have a relatively…
Read MoreAlcohol and Drug Abuse Can Affect Alimony Payments in Tennessee
Alimony, sometimes called spousal support, is awarded to a spouse by a judge. Unless you and your spouse have worked out a plan in your Marital Dissolution Agreement, the process of awarding alimony is an entirely subjective one: a judge is not forced to award alimony to anyone. However, if you file under certain grounds,…
Read MoreThe Supreme Court Will Hear Same-Sex Marriage Arguments on April 28
Tennessee has had a ban on same-sex marriage since 1996, and voters approved a constitutional ban in 2006 – but the future of this ban might be in question. On April 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear 2.5 hours of arguments on same-sex marriage in four cases from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee. The…
Read MoreJanuary is Considered National Divorce Month
Deciding to divorce is difficult enough for couple, especially those with children. For this reason, many couples choose to postpone their divorce until after the holidays have passed, which makes January a month with some of the highest divorce rates in Tennessee, according to ABC News. But getting divorced in January may not be the…
Read MoreWhat Is Collaborative Law?
Generally speaking, collaborative law is a form of alternative dispute resolution, and is a relatively new way of protecting legal clients’ needs. Instead of fighting a battle in a courtroom, two parties agree not to litigate, and instead allow their lawyers to serve as advocate partners. Its success in resolving conflicts in the areas of…
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