What Happens to My Inheritance in a Divorce?

The simple answer is the inheritance belongs to the person who inherits it.  It is their separate property.  However, as with most things, this question is not as simple as it may seem. Often inheritance comes in one form, say money, and is later used to purchase something else.  Or, sometimes, it comes in the…

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Who Gets the Pets?

James J. Sexton-New York divorce trial lawyer Laws have been changing around pet issues for several years now, with courts, and pet owners, increasingly treating pets like family rather than like property in divorce proceedings. I’m in full support, as you can imagine, having my pup, Huckleberry, as a big reminder that pets are people,…

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How to Decrease Conflict in Your Divorce or Custody Case

By Randy Powers Jr.- Little, Gilman-Tepper & Batley, P.A. In domestic relations law conflict has consequences.  Whether the consequence is that a Judge gets involved to make a tough decision, you are charged a large bill for attorney’s fees to resolve the conflict, or whether a child is negatively affected from the turmoil, it is…

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Children Who “Lose” a Parent

Advice from the experts on successful reunification. by Sandra Morgan Little and Jan B. Gilman-Tepper from the ABA Family Advocate Client Manual: Visitation/Parenting Time Every single day all over this country, children are separated from a parent for a variety of reasons that range from  parental kidnapping, parental alienation, misconduct, incarceration, voluntary abandonment, military deployment,…

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11 Points to a Successful Co-Parenting Plan

by BARTHOLOMEW & WASZNICKY Designing a successful co-parenting plan is all about creating a calm environment for making decisions about what’s best for the children and easing stress between the parents. Keep the following points in mind when developing your co-parenting plan: 1.  Follow the golden rule of “do unto others.” That includes no talking behind…

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Successful Long-Distance Co-Parenting

by BARTHOLOMEW & WASZNICKY   Yes, co-parenting is easier when both parents live near each other, but it’s absolutely possible to have a successful long-distance co-parenting relationship when you plan ahead and avail yourself of the following tips. Whether you’re out of town for just a few days, or you live across the country, here…

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Documents to Update After Your Divorce

by BARTHOLOMEW & WASZNICKY Once your divorce decree becomes final, you’ll need to update many documents to reflect your newly single status and change beneficiaries. Many people only consider life insurance policies and updating their driver’s license if they changed their name.  However, there are actually quite a few other documents to consider revising that, if…

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Using a Pre-Nup to Improve Your Chances of Marriage Success

This article was featured on the IACP (the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals) website and is recommended by Sandra Morgan Little of Little, Gilman-Tepper & Batley, P.A.   by Dennis S. Lerner -Practices collaborative marriage and family law in Syracuse, New York In my years of practice as a matrimonial lawyer, I have twice been called…

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AAML Executive Committee Reception in Santa Fe

David Walther Law and Little, Gilman-Tepper & Batley, P.A. hosted a reception for the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers at the La Posada Hotel in Santa Fe on May 22. In additon to the Executive Committee a number of local attorneys, judges and other professionals attended. AAML Fellows President -Elect Joslin Davis,…

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Supreme Court Decision June 25, 2015

  Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges.  I have asked Michigan AAML Fellow Ric Roane, who created and chaired the AAML LGBT Committee and served as the Academy’s official observer at the Court – where he witnessed the oral arguments firsthand – to help prepare this blog…

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