Thursday, November 29, 2012

Can I get my spouse to pay for some of this?

This scenario comes up all of the time:  I get a call from a potential client inquiring about an uncontested divorce.  I confirm that the case is uncontested, making sure the parties have an agreement on property division, debt allocation, child custody and support if children are involved, maintenance, etc.  Generally the client inquiring about an uncontested divorce will confirm that an agreement has been reached.

Then, about 10% of the time, the potential client will ask, "can we make my spouse pay for half of this."  My answer is usually, "maybe, but we won't be proceeding with an uncontested divorce."

For your divorce to be considered uncontested - from an attorney's point of view - we (the attorney) cannot be "making" anyone do anything.  Recovery of attorney fees and court costs could be applicable to your case, but if an agreement on the splitting of those fees and costs has not been reached prior to obtaining your attorney, he or she likely will not view your case as uncontested.  This does not bar you from splitting fees in the uncontested case, of course - I have clients split fees and costs all of the time.. but it's by agreement, like everything else in the uncontested dissolution situation.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to contact me for more information.


Gerald W. Linnenbringer, Missouri Uncontested Divorce Attorney


GWL@LinnenbringerLaw.com
www.LinnenbringerLaw.com

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Is your divorce really uncontested?


Is your divorce really uncontested?

For a divorce to be considered uncontested, you and your spouse must have an agreed upon disposition for all issues that are addressed in a dissolution case, including, but not limited to:

+  Who will take what assets post-dissolution?

+  Who will be responsible for each debt after the divorce is final?

+  Will debts, like a mortgage or car loan, need to be refinanced to remove the non-responsible spouse?  If so, how long will the spouse have to refinance?  What if the spouse cannot refinance, how will that scenario be handled?

+ Will one party be responsible for paying the other maintenance (alimony), and, if so, how much and for how long?

+  What will the child custody arrangements be?  Details that must be considered include transportation, visitation, holiday visitation schedules, vacations, school year vs. summer schedule, etc.

+  Will child suport be paid?  If so, you and your spouse must work out all child support arrangements, including who will be paying child support, how much child support will be paid (if any at all), who will cover the children's health insurance, how daycare expenses will be paid, who will claim the children as dependents for tax purposes, how will college expenses be paid, etc.  

+  For your divorce to be considered uncontested, you'll even need to work out who will pay the court costs

As you can see, everything must be agreed upon for your divorce to be considered uncontested.  I am often asked, "Can we get my spouse to pay part of the attorney fees?"  And the answer is, maybe, but if we're filing the case looking for that relief, it's not an uncontested divorce.

Please feel free to contact me anytime to discuss your Missouri uncontested divorce.  I can be reached at 314-238-1219 or at GWL@LinnenbringerLaw.com.  Please visit my website has more helpful information and links to past-client reviews.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

About Gerald W. Linnenbringer

Gerald W. Linnenbringer

My name is Gerald Linnenbringer.  I am a St. Louis born-and-raised attorney with an office in Sunset Hills.  I handle a variety of cases, including divorce, other family law matters, criminal defense, and traffic tickets.

Over the last few years I have focused on making the uncontested divorce process easier and less expensive for my Missouri-based clients.  I get calls and emails all of the time with people requesting information on, and asking questions about, uncontested divorce in Missouri.  My website has a Frequently Asked Questions page dedicated to these inquiries and, as you can see, I have now expanded into this blog, which allow me to easily and quickly provide updates regarding this area of my practice.

Please visit my website, look around the blog, and check back often if you are interested in uncontested divorce in Missouri.  I'm confident if that the information here will help, but if you still have questions, please feel free to contact me at the info found below or through my website.  My office is also on Google+ and Facebook.


Thank you for reading. Please feel free to contact me for more information.


Gerald W. Linnenbringer, Missouri Uncontested Divorce Attorney


GWL@LinnenbringerLaw.com
www.LinnenbringerLaw.com