3/3/10 3/3/10

Filing Bankruptcy Can Improve Your Family Life

Parenting and stress go hand-in-hand. Mix in being buried in debt, and the financial pressures can begin taking a toll on your family, your health, and your emotional well-being.Going through tough financial times increases tension within the family and interferes with your relationship with your children and your spouse. Don’t let the situation make you feel cut off from your family.Parenting is all about teaching your children. Share financial issues with your children much as you can, depending on their age. Opening up the lines of communication will not only keep you connected to them, but may also provide an opportunity to teach them about finances.When you first realize you are in over your head and can’t make your payments, contact your creditors and try to negotiate repayment plans with you. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.If you can’t restructure your debts, you should explore bankruptcy to relieve your financial stress. Bankruptcy was designed to help individuals stabilize their finances and get out from under their financial burden by protecting their property, lowering their stress levels, and allowing them to sleep at night.Keep in mind that filing bankruptcy is not the problem. The problem is not being able to pay your bills and not being able to provide for your family. This financial pressure causes the stress and anxiety to build. All this spills over into your family relationships.To decide whether bankruptcy is right for you, contact an experienced bankruptcy lawyer who can help you navigate the complicated bankruptcy process and advise you about whether Chapter 7 (“straight bankruptcy”) or Chapter 13 (“reorganization bankruptcy”) is best for you.Once you have gone through the bankruptcy process, rejoice in new beginnings. You went through bankruptcy to get to a fresh start. Now, begin by developing a sound financial plan that will protect your finances and your sanity. Establish a savings plan that will allow you to better absorb financial strain and plan for your family’s future. Once your present situation is under control, you can begin to look to the future and set aside money for your financial goals.But What If I’m Getting a Divorce? Sometimes divorce is inevitable. I practiced family law for ten years, so I know that debt not only can cause divorce but can also cause divorce proceedings to be more difficult than they would otherwise be.She says he spent too much. He says she spent too much. And neither can afford the credit card payments. The divorce case can come to standstill over debt.If that’s the case, both spouses should consider bankruptcy. Getting rid of debt means one less thing to fight over, and that’s a good thing for your divorce case.If you are married, you can file a joint bankruptcy case with your spouse. Depending on your situation, you may even be able to use the same bankruptcy lawyer to do this. Much hinges on whether there is any conflict of interest in having the same attorney represent you in your bankruptcy case—and that depends on the facts of your case.By using bankruptcy to get your financial house in order, you can reduce your stress, enjoy time with your family, and free up your mind to start planning for your future.Russell A. DeMott is a Charleston, South Carolina bankruptcy lawyer.

3/1/10 3/1/10

Most Popular Posts of February 2010

In case you missed them, here were the most popular South Carolina divorce and family law blog posts of February 2010:

2/10/10 2/10/10

The Lawyer's 2 Hats: Advocate and Counselor

I guess I've always known it. Though, they don't really teach it in law school. When you think of a lawyer, you think of the person who is going to stand beside you in the courtroom and zealously represent you. You think of the bulldog. The person who has only your interest in mind. That's the advocate. That is just one part of your attorney.The other hat your attorney wears is that of counselor. This is the hard part for lawyers. You have to be able to deliver bad news to your client. You have to help clients when the judge does not order something in their favor. Clients don't like the counselor. This part is hard. But it is also extremely important. A lawyer needs to be able to discuss your case openly with you. It is important that they discuss the pros and cons of your case. In family law, as with almost any other area of the law, things are gray. There is not one "right" answer but many workable answers. So many factors play into a court decision and what could happen in the case. A client should know where their case is strong and where it is weak or there is no way they can effectively resolve their case.So, as a client, don't get mad when your lawyer discusses the weak parts of your case with you. He isn't on your spouse's side when he does this, he is just making sure you know the good and bad of your case and how the law applies to it. Of course, when it comes time to put on the suit and head to the courthouse, your lawyer is going to do all he can to be your advocate and highlight the "highlights" of your case.

1/7/10 1/7/10

When Will my South Carolina Divorce be Final?

One of the questions we have discussed on this blog is how long with my divorce case. Another related question is when will my divorce be final. In many states there is a waiting period for the divorce to be finalized following a trial. However, in South Carolina there is no waiting period for the divorce to be finalized after the final hearing. For your divorce to be final in South Carolina the judge has to sign your divorce decree and the decree must be filed in the Family Court clerk of court's office. After it has been signed and filed with the clerk of court your divorce will be final. Many times this happens on the day of the final hearing, especially if your case is an uncontested divorce. If your divorce case is contested and goes to a trial it may take several weeks for the order to be sent to the judge because one of the lawyers will prepare the order and send it over to the other lawyer for his review. They will go back and forth until they can agree on particular wording for the order and then it is submitted to the Judge for his/her review.

1/5/10 1/5/10

Can I Get a Divorce in South Carolina if I was Married in Another State?

In order for you to obtain a divorce in South Carolina, the South Carolina Family Court must have jurisdiction of your case before it can hear the case and make a ruling on it. The South Carolina Family Court is a court born out of statute, therefore it has limited jurisdiction. The Family Court can hear and decide cases involving all types of marital litigation and disputes between spouses involving children, termination of parental rights, custody, visitaiton, child support, alimony and spousal support, and division of marital property.In order for you to file for divorce in South Carolina you will be required to be a resident of South Carolina. You cannot file for divorce in South Carolina unless the plaintiff or defendant in the divorce case has been a resident of the state for certain periods of time. If the defendant does not live in South Carolina, the plaintiff must have resided within the state for at least one year. If the plaintiff is a non-resident, the defendant must have resided in South Carolina for at least one year. If both parties are residents of South Carolina, plaintiff must have only resided in South Carolina for three months prior to filing for divorce.So, depending on where your spouse lives, you or he/she will have to be a resident of South Carolina for a certain amount of time before you can file for divorce here no matter where you and your spouse were married.

12/30/09 12/30/09

Proving You've Been Separated for More than 1 year

When you have filed for an uncontested divorce in South Carolina usually the no-fault ground of more than one year's continuous separation is used as the ground for divorce. This means that you and your spouse have not resided together in the same residence for more than one year. I am questioned by clients about how they are going to prove this. Sometimes, in counseling a client who is considering leaving their spouse, they want to know what they should do to make sure that once their one year passes they will not have to worry about their spouse being about to avoid the divorce by proving they have not lived separate and apart for more than one year.In a typical case, a witness who is at least 18 years old and has known the parties for more than one year is used to testify about the length of separation and that they are confident that the parties have not lived together in more than one year. Their testimony could include that they call or visit one spouse on a regular basis and the other spouse is never present and it does not appear that the other spouse is residing in the home. It is also nice to have testimony from the witness stating that they are confident that they know the parties (or one of the parties) well enough that if the couple had gotten back together they would know about.Unless the other party can prove that you have lived together in the last year you will not need any more than that to prove separation or the date of separation so it is usually not necessary for you to have a copy of the receipt from the hotel you booked the night you moved out.

12/29/09 12/29/09

Is a Hearing Required for an Uncontested Divorce in South Carolina

Many prospective clients have an idea that we can file some paperwork with the court and as long as everyone agrees with everything and wants a divorce that we won't have to go to court and have a hearing. In a South Carolina divorce case, even in an uncontested divorce case, you will be required to go to a final hearing.The final hearing is where the judge will hear testimony from you and your witnesses about the grounds (or reason) for divorce and about any other issues such as a property settlement agreement or custody agreement. It is the judge's duty to ensure that the marriage cannot be saved and that no counseling would help reconcile you and your spouse. The judge will also look at your agreements to make sure they are fair to both parties and in the best interest of any minor children born of the marriage.In a typical uncontested divorce in South Carolina a final hearing will last between 10 and 15 minutes depending on how much information is needed to be put on the record.

11/22/09 11/22/09

Bankruptcy During Divorce

During this kind of economic time, people are dealing with overwhelming debts, potential foreclosure, and they are eying the real possibility of filing for bankruptcy. This problem is compounded even further when the couple is facing a divorce as well and whether you should file bankruptcy together as a couple or not. If you are facing both divorce and the possibility of bankrupcty, I would encourage you to check out this divorce and bankruptcy post at the Bankruptcy Law Network blog by attorney Craig Anderson. Check it out!