Can I Modify Child Support If My Ex Moves In With Boyfriend?

Question: My children primarily live with my ex-wife and I pay her child support per our child custody agreements. Her boyfriend has now moved in and they are a cohabitating couple with dual incomes. Do child support laws allow for a modification of child support if her boyfriend is now …

Discrimination Against Stepparents

By Julie Garrison Special to DadsDivorce.com The law works to protect marriage and nuclear or traditional families. Stepfamilies, however, are considered incomplete institutions to be ignored and as stigmatized groups, less functional and more problematic than nuclear families. The “progress” made in expanding the stepparent’s role is primarily geared toward …

Cohabitation and the distribution of assets

Question: I am in a cohabitating relationship where we both keep our finances separate. I don’t believe our relationship would be defined as a “common law marriage,” but if we break up will she have a right to make a claim to any of my assets?

Do I pay child support if both the child and mother are living with me?

Question: I am an unwed father living with my girlfriend and our child. Even though we are living together, she thinks I should be paying her child support since we are not married. Do I have to pay child support if the child is living with me?

Money Made Easy: Tax Filing Status

In this week’s Money Made Easy, financial adviser Dan Danford answers this financial question from a viewer: What qualifies someone for “head of household” tax status? Do you have to claim a child as a dependent to qualify? What if you don’t have children but are the primary wage earner …

Blending Families

By Julie Garrison Special to DadsDivorce.com If you are fresh off your divorce, you may not be able to imagine remarrying and subsequently parenting someone else’s kids. But it’s been my experience that the day will come when that “special” woman captures your heart and you take the plunge all …

Morality Clause: Prohibiting Cohabitation and Overnight Guests

By Michelle Hughes Divorce Lawyer, Cordell & Cordell Note: Read the other morality clause article discussing the use of morality clauses to prohibit the use of alcoholic beverages and/or illegal drugs during periods of custody with the child. We live in a “Charlie Sheen World” where movie stars and musicians …

How can I prove my ex is remarried?

Question: I suspect my ex-wife may be remarried, in which case my alimony payments may be terminated. I live in Missouri and she lives in another state. What is the easiest way to find out if she is remarried? If she has not legally remarried, how do I prove cohabitation?

Dating During Divorce

By Rachel Brucks Men’s Divorce Lawyer, Cordell & Cordell Divorce attorneys usually frown upon dating during the divorce process because having a girlfriend can negatively impact the outcome of divorce proceedings. Dads should wait until after the divorce is finalized to begin a new relationship. But what if you and …

How To End a Common Law Marriage & Other Problems

By Jill A. Duffy Attorney, Cordell & Cordell Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part article on common law marriages. Part 1 outlined how to know if you are in a common law marriage. If you have lived with someone as husband and wife in a state that recognizes …