Tips from Chandler family law attorney

Domestic violence is a problem that can influence every part of your life. If you are a victim, it is common to feel isolated from your friends and family. And when we feel alone and scared, it’s even harder to leave an abuser and start a new life.

The situation becomes even harder if you have children with your abuser. Research has shown that roughly 60 percent of abusers who attack their intimate spouses also direct some of their violence towards their children.

One crucial thing to remember is that domestic violence can play a considerable role in your decision to divorce. You may need legal assistance to help gain your freedom and the attorneys at Shaffer Family Law can help you by representing your case before the court.

Domestic violence is an area of the law that often has criminal consequences and has a big influence on the result of a family law case. A conviction following domestic violence charges can have negative implications on a child custody case, often because of the indication of child endangerment.

Our attorneys are prepared to advocate zealously on your behalf regardless of how far the domestic violence case has gone forward. Give our Chandler office a call today at (480) 470-3030. If you need help with this situation, give the National Domestic Violence Hotline a call at 1-800-799-7233.

While the divorce rate has declined in the population, there has actually been an increased rate for people over the age of fifty to get divorced. The phenomenon is being referred to as a ‘gray divorce’ and surprisingly enough, a divorce after age 50 is different from getting divorced in your 30s or 40s.

While the process of the dissolution of a gray marriage is the same as the process of any other marriage, coming to a settlement agreement can be much more challenging because each party in the divorce wants to protect themselves during the divorce and safeguard their financial future so that they are able to live comfortably in their later years.

There is no denying the fact that splitting will get harder as you age, both financially and emotionally. You must separate your emotions from the division of assets, as well as worry about unique financial repercussions that might not occur in other divorce cases. Getting divorced when you’re over 50 can be harder for a variety of reasons.

Dividing assets is a common part of divorce proceedings, but this division can create problems for one or both partners. As you get older, your ability to work to make an income quickly diminishes. Income has either stopped or slowed down, and splitting assets and fixed income affects each person compared to those who are still at a working age. You may be at-risk of not having enough money for your bills and will need to drastically change your life.

Dealing with taxes can be hard in your senior years if you are filing as a single individual. It’s hard because while you’ll be in a higher tax bracket, your income level is lower. You may also be at risk of owing taxes on your retirement accounts when the funds are divided.

Protect Your Finances During a Late-in-life Divorce

Now that you understand the unique challenges you will face; it is important to learn how to avoid financial errors so that you do not have to worry about recouping from them. Here are some valuable tips to get protective of your finances so that you can still live comfortably once you are single:

• Stay Civil When Talking About Marital Assets: When you get married, everything is about your love for your spouse. When you get divorced, it is a business transaction that is all about money. Letting your emotions affect how to behave can make it harder to divide your assets objectively. Of course, this is easier said than done, but you need to look at the divorce as a business deal instead of having the emotionally charged arguments, which will only you time and money.
• Evaluate Your Individual and Shared Debt: No one wants to be surprised by debt that is not in your name. Try to run credit reports on you and your spouse before you file so you’ll be able list your debt as a couple and debt that was accumulated by the other person.
• Evaluate Marital Properties and Retirement Accounts: When negotiating what type of settlement is going to be most beneficial to you, a divorce lawyer can help. Many people believe a lump sum payment to the other spouse is better than the long-term value of the assets.
• The Effects on Your Children: As you have gotten older, you have probably talked about your estate and how assets will be given out. A later in life divorce can affect this estate plan, which will affect your children and grandchildren. This would be a good time to let your children know how their inheritance could change.
• Don’t Overlook Medical Care: Older age also comes with an increase in medical issues. It is an especially important time to have health insurance since your health can affect your assets and financial future.

If you would like to speak with a divorce and family law attorney about your case and get their advice, give Shaffer Family Law a call for a consultation at (480) 470-3030.

Child custody is the term legal used to define the relationship between a child and their parents or legal guardians. It’s mainly used within the context of divorce and separation to describe how both parents should care for and visit with their children.

There are a few custody arrangements, so it is helpful for parents dealing with custody issues to understand the options that may be available to them. Each type carries different implications, so getting it right is critical to the success of the relationship you share with your child and your ex.

No matter what your family’s structure is, deciding upon a child custody arrangement that acts in the best interest of your child is a critical first step toward living life under the new norm.

Here are the four types of child custody arrangements:

1. Legal Custody: Legal custody describes the basis of parental rights and responsibilities. It is the clearest form of child custody from a legal standpoint, since it usually involves the rights given to all parents regardless of arrangement type. Every parent has legal custody, whether they have sole or joint custody.
2. Physical Custody: Physical custody is a term reserved for parents who provide daily care and support to the child. It is also referred to as residential custody, which essentially describes who the child will live with. A physical custody arrangement can be joint or sole custody.
3.  Sole Custody: With sole custody, the courts assign the responsibility and care of a child to a single parent. The parent who has sole custody is sometimes referred to as the custodial parent, while the parent who only has visitation rights is called the non-custodial parent. The sole custody arrangement is common because it gives the non-custodial parent the opportunity to still visit with their children, without disrupting the consistency of schooling and home life needed for a child to thrive.
4. Joint Custody: Sometimes called shared custody or shared parenting, joint custody is when the child’s full-time living arrangements are divided between parents using a method of percentage. For instance, a court may award a joint custody agreement using a 50-50 split. However, the actual rate used varies according to what is in the best interests of the child. Joint custody arrangements are more challenging in terms of a court ruling. There is a ton of consideration on behalf of the family court judge assigned to your case. It’s possible that receiving joint custody might not even be on the table if he or she feels that it is not conducive to your child’s well-being.

When it comes down to it, the priority should be providing for and protecting your children. If you are concerned about child custody issues as a married or unmarried person, you have options. More than anything, you have rights that deserve to be protected.

When you hire a licensed Arizona family law attorney at Shaffer Family Law, you can have the peace-of-mind in knowing that you are doing your best at giving you and your family the best chance at moving forward in life.

At Shaffer Family Law, we know how hard it can get when it comes to navigating the difficulties that surround child custody issues. You can schedule a meeting with our team by calling (480) 470-3030 today!

In family courts across the country, text messages and other forms of electronic communications have been used as evidence in divorce proceedings. In today’s technologically advanced world, texting has become the go-to method of communication. While we think that our personal text and phone messages are confidential, the truth is, once you send a text message there’s not no taking it back.

This can be negative, since it’s so easy to take messages out of context and people can interpret the message in a wrong way. It has also, unfortunately, become a tool for people engaging in extramarital affairs.

Divorce attorneys have noticed an increased use in digital messages submitted as evidence, a trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Texting to your lover is basically like walking in the door with kiss marks on your neck. It’s easy to be caught. Even if your divorce has nothing to do with a cheating spouse, text messages can still cause problems for you, especially if you text a message that could be construed as hostile or negligent.

This is especially true if you have been fighting for custody of your children. If you send your ex-spouse an angry text about one of the contentious issues, the message can now be used as evidence in court to make it seem like you have anger issues.

And if you’ve been trying to prove spending more time with you is best for your children, you don’t want to give your ex any more ammo to fight that claim. While the message alone may not be very strong evidence, it can be used in addition to other evidence being used against you. Text messages can be misinterpreted so it is best to avoid sending anything in anger.

The credibility of text messages

Some legal experts believe that the use of personal texts as evidence is an invasion of privacy and shouldn’t be acceptable in court. However, if your partner’s cell phone is part of a family account, you may have the legal right to look at her messages.

Then again, it may be a crime to try to get the text messages from a phone that doesn’t belong to you. Remember, like in criminal cases, the credibility of your evidence is generally based on how defense got their hands on the evidence.

Another challenge to the admissibility of a text is to have the proof that it was actually your spouse who wrote and sent the messages. Even though your spouse’s phone contains steamy messages to an unknown person, there may be doubt that they were the ones who wrote it.

While there is a lot of legal work when it comes to addressing these issues, if you’re facing a divorce, it’s a good idea to work with an experienced family law attorney. They’ll be able to help you determine whether the text-message evidence will influence the court or be dismissed as irrelevant. Give Shaffer Family Law a call today at (480) 470-3030 to get started on your case.