Divorce drastically alters the financial situations of most couples and requires them to make significant adjustments to transition to life as single people. For spouses who make much less than the other partner, or curtailed their own career development in favor of raising a family, this event is particularly hard to manage. While the spouse...

The goal of any good parent is to form a strong bond with their child, which is a process that ideally starts from birth. Unmarried couples with children share this same urge, but the father is at a disadvantage legally, and potentially personally, because of the mother’s ability to pull the child away at any...

Debt is not a subject most people openly discuss, sometimes even between spouses, which can become an issue during divorce. Debts are lumped with assets as part of a couple’s marital property, and thus, must be divided as part of the divorce. But, are all debts acquired by each spouse the potential responsibility of the...

Limiting the ability of the government to intrude in the lives of Americans is one of the main tenets of this country, and certain rights are guaranteed to ensure that government reach is only permitted in certain situations. Criminal suspects and defendants are particularly in need of such protections against unfair prosecution and conviction. Criminal...

Getting a college degree is almost as mandatory as earning a high school diploma in today’s world, but the costs of higher education require millions of Americans to take out student loans to pay for this endeavor. Depending on how many degrees a person chooses to earn, and the school attended, this debt can exceed...

Sharing custody of a child will present challenges from time to time that require parents to figure out how to work together in order to avoid conflict. Compromising and presenting a united front to a child is the healthiest way divorced and unmarried parents can navigate the issues that arise with shared parenting, and allow...

Figuring out how to pay for the costs of getting a divorce is an overarching issue for many spouses. If the parties are able to settle their issues privately and without court intervention, controlling the costs of dissolving the marriage is usually more manageable and less likely to have a long-term negative impact. If the...

When a couple marries, each is likely to bring some amount of separate property into the relationship, even if it just personal belongings or a car. Some will acquire additional property through outside sources, such as family gifts or inheritances. If a couple later divorces, the status of this property in relation to the division...

Some debt, like a home mortgage, is a long-term expense many people expect to assume, and thus, a manageable payment plan is usually created to avoid financial stress and the need to consider bankruptcy. Other expenses, however, especially those that are sudden, large, and unavoidable, are less easily absorbed and can lead to overwhelming debt....

When the subject of marriage is broached between a couple, rarely is the potential need to protect assets in the event of divorce also considered. Marital finances may be discussed, but not necessarily how to untangle them. Couples on the brink of marriage shy away from such sobering conversations because neither want to contemplate a...