Are Temporary Divorce Orders Modifiable?

Question: I have a pending divorce case, and the Temporary Order did not assess anyone with an obligation for child support, gave my soon-to-be-ex-wife visitation, and granted me physical custody of the children. I am wondering if I can modify the temporary order so that she is responsible for paying …

Can You Modify Decree That Requires College Support?

Question: By checking off a vague box, my divorce decree states I must pay for half of my children’s college expenses. With three kids currently in college at once the expenses have become too expensive for me. At this rate, I will not be able to keep up with the …

What Counts As Income For Calculating Child Support?

Question: My ex-wife receives a large check each month from her parents. This was undisclosed when my child support amount was being set. Does this money she is gifted every month count as income for purposes of calculating child support? If so, can I have the child support order modified …

Money Made Easy: Asset Protection Strategies

Asset protection is an area of law in which your attorney works with you to ensure that the assets you have worked to accumulate are legally safeguarded from third parties. In this episode of Money Made Easy, financial adviser Dan Danford, CFP®, CRSP®, MBA, answers a reader’s question about asset …

Dividing Retirement Accounts: Will The IRA Custodian Accept Our Division Formula?

Question: My ex-wife and I agreed to a certain formula to divide our retirement accounts and the court adopted our asset division formula in the divorce decree. We are currently dividing the retirement accounts and have agreed to the division amounts based on our understanding of the agreed upon formula. …

Paying For College: What Does Non-Minor Support Cover?

By Natalie Bower Cordell & Cordell Divorce Lawyer If you are divorced, depending on the state where you live, the court could order you to pay for your child’s college – something no court could ever order a married couple to do. Roughly half the states have statutory provisions or …

Money Made Easy: Safe Investments

The current economic climate is a great time for borrowers but a lousy time for savers, according to financial adviser Dan Danford, CFP®, CRSP®, MBA. Because of the severe recession, the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates to the lowest rate in roughly 50 years. While this was done to …

Child Support: Paying Daycare Expenses

Question: My soon-to-be-ex-wife found a new job and said the kids must go to an expensive daycare that she wants me to pay a substantial amount per month, in addition to my child support. Can she really put the kids in the most expensive daycare she can find, which costs …

How To Divide The 457 Plan In A Divorce

Question: My wife and I both have separate 457 plans through different companies. Can I award her mine and she award me hers? We both need the money to move on with our lives post-divorce.

Tax Tips: Claiming Single On Tax Status Before Divorce Is Final

Question: My wife and I are in the process of getting a divorce, but her paycheck stub lists her tax filing status as “single” with our child as her dependent. Can she claim herself as “single” on taxes before our divorce is final?