Can I keep my ex from taking our child from the babysitter?

Question: I couldn’t get an ex parte order against my wife on behalf of my son because she has already filed for divorce. Is there anything I can do to keep her from taking my son from the babysitter while I’m at work?

Finances and Divorce: Credit Cards

By JoAnne C. Holt, Divorce financial analyst Credit cards are a serious problem if not handled properly during a divorce. This is one area where divorce planning is very helpful if not essential. The Twentieth Judicial Circuit in Florida, where I live, provides something called a Temporary Standing Order that …

I don’t want to leave the marital home so how can I keep my wife from moving our child out?

Question: My divorce attorney has advised me not to let my spouse take our daughter from our marital home to where she is now living until after child custody has been awarded, but to tell my wife she can visit our child at our home while I live there. How …

Can I prevent my wife from moving to another country to have our child?

Question: My wife is from another country and is pregnant with our baby. She wants to move back to her country to have the baby, which I am against. I already have kids from a prior marriage and it would violate my child custody agreement if I went with her. …

Practical Tax Advice While In Litigation

By Kristin K. Zurek Attorney, Cordell & Cordell, P.C. Around this time every year, clients start to ask me how to approach their tax filings while their divorce litigation is pending. As the parties are not yet divorced, does it benefit the client to filing separately or filing jointly? Read …

My wife fled the state with my daughter without my permission

Question: My daughter was born in Texas. Her mother took her without my permission/knowledge, and went to Iowa. She has been there almost a week. Now my wife is refusing to come home, and she will not let me see my daughter. What can I do?

What can I do to protect my kids from their alcoholic mother?

Question: I have not been living with my wife for the last 6+ months. She is an alcoholic. I’ve told my kids not to get in the car with her if they suspect she’s been drinking at all. If she gets in an accident driving, what can I do to …

My ex-fiancee says she’s moving with our kid. What are my rights?

Question: I have one child; he is 5 years old. I have raised him together with his mother since birth. We were engaged but have not married. She announced she is breaking it off and moving to another county and taking the child. What are my rights in Kansas and …

Laughing at Restraining Orders

Borrowing the title of a famous George Gershwin ditty, “they all laughed” when a Santa Fe, New Mexico family court judge granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) against TV talk show host David Letterman to protect a woman he had never met, never heard of, and lived 2,000 miles away …

Divorce and Your Taxes: Part 3 – Alimony

Alimony, also referred to in some states as “maintenance”, is a payment to or for a spouse or former spouse under a divorce or separation instrument. Generally, court-ordered alimony is tax deductible to you and taxable to your recipient spouse or former spouse. If you are the person paying alimony, …