Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided Turner v Rogers, 387 S. C. 142, 691 S. E. 2d 470, a case involving incarceration for contempt of court for failure to pay child support, something which is an every day occurrence in courts all over the country. The petitioner argued that an alleged contemnor facing imprisonment […]
Determining Marital Property in Maryland, Virginia and The District Of Columbia When you are married, everything you acquire during the marriage is marital property unless it’s a gift or inheritance, proceeds of gift or inheritance, or excluded by a valid agreement. Whether something is marital property does not affect title to the property, transferability, right […]
After your divorce you should review your Will and all beneficiary designations to ensure that you do not unintentionally include a gift to your former spouse. Although we strongly recommend against relying on statutes to correct your estate plan despite your own inaction, there are statutes that provide that the judgment of divorce eliminates prior […]
You can improve on the intestate estate outcome by unilateral action. You can make a Will or a new Will; or revoke a Will that leaves everything to your now estranged spouse. We encourage clients to consider taking these actions early on in the process. However you cannot freely disinherit your spouse. In each […]
If you die intestate (without a valid Will) your spouse is entitled to the following percentages of your net probate estate: Maryland – the surviving spouse takes entire net probate estate unless there are surviving decedents or surviving parents of the decedent; the surviving spouse takes $15,000 plus one-half of the net probate estate if […]
Generally spousal claims apply to the probate estate which only includes assets that the decedent owned at death and which did not pass by operation of law or beneficiary designation or other contract provision. Virginia expands the spousal protections to the “augmented” estate, the calculation of which includes certain non-probate assets and prior gifts. A […]
The marital contract that spouses enter into at the time of the marriage includes many provisions that I often find are a surprise to some people. One area where marriage makes a big difference is how property passes at death. If you are married at the time of your death your spouse has important rights […]
When alimony is at stake in divorce settlements and trials, it is the most unpredictable issue. Unlike child support, which is determined under statutory guideline in all three local jurisdictions, and all the other states, alimony depends on “all the circumstances.” The courts consider a whole range of factors in determining the amount and duration […]
Various alimony guidelines have been developed around the country. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) has developed a guideline that uses incomes and length of marriage to calculate the starting point for determining alimony. The Kaufman guidelines, developed by a Michigan divorce attorney and initially published locally by the Montgomery County Commission for Women, […]
What if one divorcing spouse works for a private company and has a pension and will be eligible for social security and the other is a government employee? The Court will divide the marital portion of the private pension and the government pension but cannot divide the social security. Should the Court take account of […]
Thyden Gross and Callahan divorce attorneys are here to help you. Our philosophy is that a constructive approach to cases, and a respectful approach to clients, lawyers, opposing spouses in divorce cases, best serves our clients.
 |
 |
 |
 |