Blog Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 26-Nov-2019 Surviving Thanksgiving as a Newly Divorced Parent If you recently finalized your divorce, getting through the holiday season probably seems like an impossible task, especially if your children cannot join you at the dinner table for Thanksgiving this year. Given how family-centric this holiday is, ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 20-Nov-2019 Do I Need to Have a QDRO When I Get Divorced? If you are getting a divorce, you might be looking into the process, trying to get a better idea of the steps involved. During your quest for answers, you likely came across the term Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). A QDRO is essentially a ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 13-Nov-2019 How to Make Your Divorce Less Painful It is no secret that the divorce process is often painful and challenging, especially if you and your spouse spent a substantial amount of years together. However, there are ways for you to reduce pain and conflict, so you can both walk away ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 6-Nov-2019 Creating Consistent Rules for Your Children After a Divorce After a divorce, you and your former spouse will divide your time with the children and, although you will have two separate households, you must work together to maintain consistent rules. Consistent routines will help your children feel safe and ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 29-Oct-2019 5 Tips for Handling a Disneyland Parent A Disneyland parent is essentially a parent who rarely enforces household rules, showers the children with extravagant gifts, and shirks most parental responsibilities to earn their favor. If your co-parent is a Disneyland parent, you might worry you ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 22-Oct-2019 Preparing for the Coming Holiday Season After Divorce Although it might be a little too early to plan out your Thanksgiving dinner, it is not too early for you to consider how you will handle the holiday season now that you are recently divorced, especially if you have children. Your parenting plan ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 15-Oct-2019 What You Should Know About Adopting Your Stepchild Stepparents play an important role in the lives of their stepchildren. Some might even wish to make this arrangement legally binding through adoption. Adopting a stepchild is a far less complex process than most other forms of adoption, so if you are ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 8-Oct-2019 Will Wasteful Dissipation Affect My Divorce? It is no secret that divorce can get a little messy and spouses might not always play nice once they begin the process of dissolving their marriage, especially when it comes to dividing assets. You might have even heard of the term “wasteful ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 24-Sep-2019 Sharing Halloween as Divorced Co-Parents Halloween might not be as important an occasion for parents compared to Thanksgiving or Christmas, but you might still find yourselves fighting over the date. Perhaps you cannot wait to see your kids dressed up in costume or you love carving pumpkins ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 16-Sep-2019 Will a Judge Consider a Child's Preference in a Custody Case? Going through a contested child custody dispute is one of the most difficult experiences most parents will ever endure. Contrary to what some believe, however, your children cannot decide which parent they will live with in the aftermath of a divorce ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 10-Sep-2019 Rebuilding Trust with Your Co-Parent If you and your former spouse have children, you still need to remain in each other’s lives as co-parents. However, sometimes the divorce process can severely impact this relationship and make it difficult to work as a team. For the benefit of ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 3-Sep-2019 How to Live with Your Spouse During Your Divorce Oftentimes, it is impractical and even ill-advised to move out of the marital home before a divorce is finalized, particularly if you have children. If money is tight, trying to essentially manage two households can seriously eat into your resources, ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 29-Aug-2019 Avoid Making These Common Divorce Mistakes Divorce is not only a complex legal process, but one that is also frequently fraught with emotions and hurt feelings, creating a perfect storm for spouses to make costly mistakes. The mistakes you make in a divorce can have some serious ripple ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 22-Aug-2019 What Can I Do If My Spouse Refuses to Pay Spousal Support? If your spouse is falling behind on spousal support payments, there are some legal options at your disposal, which can help enforce the order and ensure you receive these payments on time. However, before you run off to court, find out why your ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 15-Aug-2019 Can I Modify My Current Child Custody Order? If your child custody order no longer works for you, it is possible to have it modified. However, since stability and consistency are paramount in a child’s life, a judge will only grant your request if it serves the best interests of your ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 8-Aug-2019 The Unique Challenges of a High Net Worth Divorce Every divorce can potentially pose some difficult challenges, but a high net worth divorce presents more unique challenges due to the substantial amount of assets that are involved. It is not uncommon for a high asset divorce to involve real estate ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 30-Jul-2019 How is Spousal Maintenance Calculated? Spousal maintenance, also known as alimony, is sometimes ordered to assist a dependent spouse, to help him or her maintain the standard of living that was enjoyed during the marriage. Spousal maintenance can be awarded during the divorce process, ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 17-Jul-2019 Will Having an Affair Affect the Outcome of a Divorce? If infidelity led to your divorce, you might be wondering if it will have an impact on the outcome of it and how much it might ultimately cost you. The truth is that adultery does not have as great an impact on divorce as it once did. In the past, it ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 10-Jul-2019 When to Divorce: Signs That Indicate Now is the Time Choosing to end a marriage is not an easy decision to make, but sometimes it is necessary, especially if the relationship is becoming increasingly toxic and unhealthy. However, it can be difficult to know when to pull the plug and when to keep trying ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 3-Jul-2019 How Therapy Can Help Children Cope with Divorce Divorce is an emotionally challenging experience for spouses and it is even more difficult for children to cope with. Children are often unable to understand why their parents are separating and might even be plagued with feelings of guilt, believing ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 25-Jun-2019 Can I Get a Divorce if I Can't Don't Know Where My Spouse Is? If you want to divorce your spouse, but are unsure of his or her whereabouts, you can still get a divorce, but it will require a few extra steps. Courts typically require spouses to perform a somewhat exhaustive search before allowing the process to ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 19-Jun-2019 When Can I Stop Paying Spousal Support? In most cases, a spousal support order clearly states how long payments will last. However, there are some circumstances in which a spousal support order can end earlier. It is also possible to have a spousal support order modified to accommodate any ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 14-Jun-2019 4 Tips to Help Celebrate Father's Day with Your Children After a Divorce It can be a little tricky to navigate a parent-focused holiday like Father’s Day after a divorce. Even if there is still some unresolved anger and hurt feelings between parents, however, it is important to remember that this holiday is just as ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 4-Jun-2019 How to Discuss Getting a Prenuptial Agreement with Your Fiancé Asking for a prenuptial agreement might not sound like the most romantic way to go about starting a marriage, but the fact is that having this agreement in place benefits both parties. Moreover, the act of working on a prenuptial agreement together ... Continue Reading Posted By Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny 29-May-2019 Preparing for the Summer as Co-Parents - It's Not Too Early If you think you are ahead of the game in terms of planning for the summer with your co-parent, you are wrong. Divorced parents should never put off summer plans, so if you do not already have a plan in place with your co-parent, now is the time to ... Continue Reading