BARTER AND BARGAIN, THRIVE AND SURVIVE – MN Family Law

I’m Jennifer Moore of Moore Family Law in Plymouth, Minnesota. Our legal practice encompasses trusts, estate law and probate as well as family law. But the holidays present a special challenge for families that are going through a divorce, a process which often brings with it disputes over emotional hurts, property, child support and alimony, custody and visitation and Spousal Support Lawyer MN.

TIMES ARE TOUGH – Discussed by a Minnesota Family Attorney

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has read / watched / talked about the economy this past weekend and gone, “Yikes!”  Times are tough! This puts the emphasis on being very flexible, very opportunistic as it were, about how you stretch your precious few dollars and still get done what has to get done.  We find people faced with this every day in our family law practice.

BARTER

Remember the story about Abraham Lincoln, who took various items in trade for legal services?  True story!  I could also tell you a story about how my mother paid for her first baby’s delivery by selling her cow Becky.  Turned out she, and the baby, were quite happy with the results of the trade.  The point is, if there’s a service you really need, and you are short on money, find someone you may be able to make a trade with, and make an offer to them.  I wouldn’t expect the IRS to take a cow in trade (whether named Becky or not) but perhaps a solo Divorce lawyers Minnesota, your accountant, or small practitioner would take some work on their house or office or car or home computer.  Try it!  And, be ready to be flexible.

BARGAIN

Many of us are not good at this at all, except maybe during port time on a vacation cruise.  The point here, I think is to go for not the cheapest but the best you can afford.  I know of one family who always got everything the cheapest when they built a garage behind their house.  They spent a lot of time in the courts trying to get recovery from the fly by night contractor who swindled them, *and* the garage leaked, too.   Use your brain!  If, for example, you’re bargaining for a lawyer and the cheap one has to look up everything in a book before he answers you, while the higher priced one knows the law already… you may be better off with the “more expensive” attorney since she has a better chance of actually accomplishing what you want.

CUT BACK

OK, I’m preaching motherhood and apple pie here, but cut back cut back cut back.  More than a few people we know have discovered the parsimonious joys of shopping at that really bare bones – and small! – Grocery store chain.  What applies to groceries applies to much of what we need in life.  Yes we have to give up variety and some expensive favorites but if the alternative is between living parsimoniously or living on an ever increasing credit card balance, I for one would choose parsimony.

DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Anticipation of a dire situation is often worse than the situation itself.  Someone once wrote that the fact that there is a problem means that the elements are already present in the situation, for a solution.  You just have to dig it out.  For myself, I find that doing *something* — provided I’ve put some thought into its appropriateness – is better than doing nothing.  And, if after consideration, nothing is what you are compelled to do, that can work too.

DO SWEAT THE BIG STUFF

Family, friends, your own dignity and honesty.  THIS *stuff* is well worth paying attention to; and making sure that even if at the cost of some short run advantages, there are principles you can stick to.

Please come back to our blog as we discuss more topics about Family Law and the economy.  You can visit our website, or give Moore Family Law a call 763-951-7330, if you have questions that you need answered.  We would be happy to assist you.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family Law Attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

Living Together During Divorce

This week, ABC’s Good Morning America had a feature on couples that are going through the divorce process while still living together.  Here is the link to the story: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6912479

Be Careful About Living Arrangements during Your Divorce

I find this to be a very difficult choice for my clients.  Divorce places you in an adversarial situation with your spouse.  You are often fighting over very limited resources.  And it’s not uncommon for the couple to have diverse views about the future.  If you can work out some ground rules that allow you to continue living together, it is a cost-saving option.  Such ground rules should definitely include issues such as sleeping arrangements, parenting time, financial responsibilities, family time, and when/where/how the Divorce Attorney Minnesota will be discussed.  You will have to be more adult than your emotions may want you to be.

Think of Your Children

Other cost-saving options include moving in with family or friends, moving in with a room-mate, and renting a smaller apartment than you might otherwise want.  If you have children, ensure that you obtain living arrangements that will permit parenting time.  Your space doesn’t have to be perfect, but it needs to be safe for your children.

Thank you!  You can return to www.MooreFamilyLawMN.com for more information on family law, divorce, spousal support, custody, and child support, Spousal Alimony MN .  There you will also find information on our will drafting, legacy planning, trusts and estates and probate practice.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family Law Attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

Agreeing to Valuation Dates

I’m Jennifer Moore of Moore Family Law in Plymouth, Minnesota. Our legal practice encompasses trusts, estate law and probate as well as family law. But the holidays present a special challenge for families that are going through a divorce, a process which often brings with it disputes over emotional hurts, property, child support and alimony, custody and visitation and Spousal Support Lawyer MN.

You and your spouse have been through counseling and some tough times, and you’ve come to realize that it’s time to separate, or even, divorce.  During this emotionally taxing time, you also have to start thinking about dividing your physical property.

The property you have to consider dividing includes just about everything, including the kitchen sink.  It includes your home, cabin, cars, possibly a boat and a pair of jet skiis.  The property represents a lot of investment of time and money in physical objects.  Further, there are intangible assets that are literally investments, including bank accounts, retirement assets, and investment assets.

Before the recent downturn in the economy, it was relatively simple to determine the value of individual property.  Your home could be appraised, and you could refinance the mortgage fairly easily to buy out one spouse.  You could look up the Kelley Blue Book value of vehicles.  You could talk to your Human Resources director to get a current valuation of your 401(k).

That’s not necessarily the case anymore. It has gotten more difficult to value property that has significantly lost value over recent time.  Setting the valuation date becomes an issue to be fought over, as each of you want a more beneficial valuation date to maximize your share of the property.

Minnesota statute sets the valuation date of property to be divided in the divorce “as of the day of the initially scheduled prehearing settlement conference.”  Minn. Stat. § 518.58, subd. 1.  It is possible, however, to modify that valuation date if “agreed upon by the parties.”  Id.  Further, the court may make “specific findings that another date of valuation is fair and equitable.”  Id.

Ideally, you and your spouse should agree on a date to determine the values of all your property.  This may include talking to a real estate agent to discuss the value of your home, an accountant to determine the value of your physical assets, and a financial advisor to determine the best time to value your intangible assets.  The more you and your spouse can cooperate on this one issue as you move through the process of Divorce Lawyer Minnesota, the more you can save in attorneys’ fees down the road. 

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family Law Attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.

Moore Family Law on Relationship Strategies

The “D” Word

Family attorneys are not in the business of breaking up families.  We are about helping people manage family transitions.  If there is one piece of Legal Advice I could give to stay married, it would be to never threaten divorce during an argument.

Don’t use the “D” word.

Just don’t.

If you are the one using the “D” word in the heat of an argument, chances are you don’t really mean it.  People who are seriously contemplating divorce don’t throw the “D” word around much.  Instead, they quietly go about locating the information they need to make the decision to divorce and implementing a plan for future independence.

On the other hand, the person hearing the “D” word in the midst of battle will begin to quietly locate the information needed to protect him or herself in the event of a divorce and implement a plan for the inevitable transition from married to single.

See the problem?  If you are not serious about divorce, you do not want to get your spouse serious about divorce.

About Author

Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in speech communications. In 2006, Jennifer achieved her life’s dream; owning her own Family Law Attorney Minnesota practice. She practices every day as Divorce lawyers Minnesota with the intention of representing her clients’ future.