The division of assets and debts is one of the most controversial and complicated stages in a divorce. The division gets even more complicated for certain items people consider special or valuable. Here are a few examples of such items and how their division usually unfolds.

Engagement Rings

States each handle engagement rings differently. In some states, the ring belongs to both people, while in other states, the ring is a gift that the recipient gets to keep. Colorado is one of the states that take the latter approach. Each person gets to keep the wedding bands and engagement rings they received from the other person.

The rationale is that the engagement ring is a conditional gift that one person gives the other before marriage. You satisfy the condition of the gift once the marriage actually happens. Thus, you get to keep the gift when you divorce because you have already met the condition. However, you have to return the rings if you break the engagement before marriage.

Parents of a child with autism often find themselves in a struggle to maintain a positive and fruitful relationship. Many such parents report unique strains in their marriage, such as less time to spend together as a couple and decreased patience with their spouse.

Despite the challenges that occur in families where at least one child has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a 2012 survey of more than 77,000 parents found that the parents of a child with autism divorce at the same rate as other couples. Still, some children with autism do experience their parents’ divorce, and that event can have significant effects on their well-being.

You have a major task on your hands if you have to divide a business in your divorce. The following are some useful measures to help you with the division.

Categorize the Business Properly

After a divorce, a trip with your children should be a happy and restful reprieve. During the divorce, you and your spouse should have created a parenting plan which outlines your plans to co-parent the kids after the divorce. Vacation time is an important component of the parenting plan.

The plan allows each of you the opportunity to discuss your thoughts or concerns about how the children vacation. Be sure to consider the following points referring to vacation when you develop your parenting plan.

Not every marriage ends in happily ever after. Up to 50 percent of all couples who get married end up getting divorced down the road. If you are divorcing your spouse and you are not on the same page as far as asset separation, debt separation, and child custody go, you may think that going to divorce court is in your future. But there is an alternative.

Every divorce situation has different financial assets, different needs for children or pet custody, and different expectations for what contact each person will have with their previous spouse. However, most people in modern relationships have one thing in a common: social media accounts.

Social media allows for intensive sharing of your personal life, and for many people, sharing details and photos is second nature. However, during your divorce, your lawyer might advise you to change the way you use your social media accounts. You may even want to temporarily retire your online presence until your divorce agreements are finalized.

The Law Office of Greg Quimby is pleased to announce that Erica Vasconcellos now facilitates mediation for family law cases.  She completed the 40 hours of Mediation Training and has been practicing family law for over 13 years. She has regularly used mediation in her practice. Now she can provide mediation services for attorneys with family law cases. She has successfully negotiated some of the toughest cases.

Mediation can help parties come to an agreement which allows them the flexibility that the court may not provide for their individualized cases.  Parties that are able to come to an agreement can control the outcome of their case. Erica is looking forward to helping parties through the mediation process.

There are some cases out there whereby one of the parents is no longer a part of the child’s life. If this is the case then a Step-Parent Adoption may be something you will want to consider.

In order to file for a Step-Parent Adoption the Biological Parent that has the child, this person is called the Custodial Biological Parent, will need to be married. Both the Custodial Biological Parent and his or her new spouse would have to agree/consent to the Step-Parent Adoption. This is a big responsibility because once the Step-Parent Adoption is granted the Step-Parent now has the same rights and responsibilities as the Biological parent.

After you determine that you and your Spouse are interested in a Step-Parent Adoption the major hurdle that you most overcome is termination of the Non-Custodial Biological Parent’s Parental Rights. The Non-Custodial Biological Parent may be willing to consent to the adoption and consent to the termination of his or her parental rights. By consenting to the termination the Non-Custodial Parent will lose all parenting rights and child support responsibilities to the child. On the other hand if the Non-Custodial Parent refuses to consent to the adoption and termination, you may have to have a hearing to terminate his or her parental rights. While the Court will look at all of the circumstances and give paramount consideration to what is in the child’s best interests, they will look specifically at the following factors:

1.  Whether the Non-Custodial Parent is unfit.

2.  Whether the Non-Custodial Parent has had meaningful contact with the child in the 12 months preceding the filing of the Step-Parent Adoption.

3.  Whether the Non-Custodial Parent has paid child support in the 12 months preceding the filing of the Step-Parent Adoption and whether there is a likelihood of future support.

In order to be successful you must only prove one of the above factors by clear and convincing evidence.

Here at the Law Office of Greg Quimby. P.C. we have experience in both contested and un-contested Step-Parent Adoptions. Call us today to schedule a free initial consultation so that we can discuss your case and your options. We are here to help.

First let’s define some terms:

1. The legal term for a restraining order is a protective order.
2. The person requesting the restraining order is called the protected party.
3. The person who is order to stay away from another person or location is the restrained party.

It is not uncommon for a divorce to begin with one party getting a restraining order against the other party. Sometimes restraining orders are necessary to prevent further violence or threats of violence. Sometimes restraining orders may provide a cooling-off period for the parties. Sometimes restraining orders are used by one party to gain a perceived legal advantage over the other party in a divorce or child custody proceeding.

A party may apply to the court for a temporary restraining order with the intention of gaining a permanent restraining order. A temporary restraining order is an ex parte proceeding.  An ex parte proceeding means it is done without all parties being notified. A party makes an application for a temporary restraining order.  That party appears that same day before a judicial officer who may have questions for the applicant. At that juncture, the judicial officer decides whether to issue the temporary restraining order based solely on the application of the party seeking the restraining order. The restrained party is not present and generally does not even know that there is a hearing.

Typically the sheriff’s department serves a copy of the temporary restraining order on the person being restrained. The hearing is set in about 14 days. At that point in time, both the protected party and the restrained party are heard by the court. The options are:

1. The protected party may dismiss the temporary restraining. In that case there’s no further legal action and there is no restraining order.
2. The restrained party may allow the restraining order to enter against them without admitting to the allegations made by the protected party. At that point in time there will not be a hearing, however, the court will make the temporary restraining order into a permanent restraining order.
3. If the protected party still wants the restraining order and the restrained party does not agree then the court will hold a hearing. At the end of the hearing the court may either dismiss the temporary restraining order or make the restraining order permanent.

In order for the court to grant a permanent restraining order it must find two things:

1. That there was an act of violence or threat of violence perpetrated against the protected party made by the restrained party.
2. That unless the court takes action, the violence or the threat of violence will continue.

If a party seeks a continuance of the restraining order hearing the court, for good cause shown, may grant a continuance. If the other party objects to the continuance, the court must set the hearing within 14 days.

Restraining orders may have other orders embedded in them. For example, if the restrained party is also the party who pays the bills, that party may be order to continue paying the bills. The idea behind this is that the protected party may be financially unable to pay the normal living expenses. The protected party should not have to choose between being protected and being able to pay the bills.

The protected party, contrary to most people’s perception, is not prevented from having contact with the restrained party. The only person that can enforce the restraining order is the protected party. It is incumbent upon the restrained party to stay away from the protected party and to stay away from any of the properties listed in the restraining order. Typically the court lists both the home and workplace of the protected party.

The court that handles restraining orders does not have the authority to issue a restraining order against a biological parent and their children. That would be, in essence, terminating that parent’s rights. The court will order temporary parenting time until the domestic court can make orders concerning parenting time. The parenting time ordered through the restraining order court may be limited and even supervised.

Violations of the restraining order can result in the restrained party being arrested and charged with a crime (violation of her restraining order). The protected party cannot be charged with violating the restraining since the protected party is not ordered to stay away from the other party.

The attorneys at The Law Office of Greg Quimby are experienced in providing legal representation regarding the complexities of restraining orders.  The information you obtain at this site is not legal advice nor is it intended to be legal advice.

The Law Office of Greg Quimby, P.C. is pleased to announce that today KLite 106.3 presented us with the award of Workplace of the Week.  We are thankful of this recognition.  We received Workplace of the Week because our office manager, Renee Ybarra took her time to enter us in the KLite drawing to brag about our firm atmosphere and that she thoroughly enjoys being a part of the Quimby law family.

Captain Dan, radio host from KLite 106.3 just before honoring us with the Workplace of the Week award.