Understanding Your Financial Obligation to Your Ex Iowa typically treats spousal support as a rehabilitative tool for spouses who earn significantly less than their partners. By awarding alimony, courts give these spouses with lower earning potential a chance to stay afloat while getting the education or training necessary to become self-sufficient. The duration of this financial award will vary ...
Securing Your Place in Your Grandchild’s Life Grandparents are some of many adults that children look up to for wisdom, love, and guidance as they grow. While their place is sometimes protected by a grandchild’s parents, drastic life changes – such as separation, divorce , or death of the parents – could threaten a grandparent’s place in their grandchild’s life. Luckily, should this ever happen, ...
From Temporary Housing to Forever Home Becoming an adoptive parent is a rewarding experience for the parents and child alike. By adopting through foster care, you can help a child regain a sense of stability and permanence while providing them with the caring, attentive family that they’ve been lacking. What Is Foster Care? When a family fosters a child, they provide temporary care while a social ...
Guardianship is a difficult but necessary decision for parents to make. Life’s unpredictability could drastically change a family overnight. Be prepared for such an emergency by ensuring your children will be cared for by people you trust in the event that something happens to you. Consider these points when deciding who to appoint. Your Relationship with the Prospective Guardian Guardians are ...
Adjusting Custody to Reflect the Changes in Your Circumstances The coronavirus has turned many lives upside down, leaving several parents jobless, struggling to pay rent, and unsure of when their lives will stabilize. Even those still fortunate enough to be employed face complications in circumstance, as they could be an essential worker who faces frequent risk of infection. Being responsible for ...
Flattening the Curve Two Households at a Time After a temporary drop in cases, the coronavirus is making a strong comeback, with many fearing it will only get worse as we near winter. The spike in cases will likely revive strict enforcements on social distancing and self-isolating with the goal of preventing another large spike, but what does that mean for co-parents and children who live between ...
One of the first steps in a divorce in Iowa is serving your spouse with the dissolution of marriage papers. That means that a sheriff or process server delivers the documents to your spouse. But what if the process server or sheriff shows up at your spouse's last known residence and they're not there? Can you still get a divorce without your spouse having received the necessary documents? Yes. If ...
In Iowa, both parents have the responsibility to provide financial support for their children. When parents are unwed or terminating their marriage, the court may order one parent to make support payments to the other. In matters where the parents were not married when the child was born, the mother is considered the legal parent ( Iowa Code § 600B.40 ), and she may request that the father be ...
Iowa is a no-fault divorce state. This means that when you or your spouse file a petition for dissolution of marriage, you do not need to state that either of you did anything wrong to prompt the request. Instead, you indicate that the marriage is broken beyond repair. Iowa Code § 598.5 specifically provides that the petition for a dissolution of marriage shall "allege that there has been a ...
As a father, having an active role in your child's life is essential to ensuring that they have a well-rounded upbringing. Your relationship with your child can shape their identity and provide the emotional support they need to thrive. Unfortunately, if you and your child's mother were unwed at the time of their birth, and she does not recognize you as your child's legal father, your ability to ...
If you are filing for a divorce in Iowa, you must wait at least 90 days before the court finalizes your divorce. The waiting period applies in both contested and uncontested divorces . Only in limited circumstances can it be waived. While 90 days is the minimum amount of time that must elapse before your divorce is final, depending on your situation, the process can last longer than that. When ...
In an Iowa family law matter involving children, speaking specifically about custodial rights and responsibilities of parents, there are two types: Sole legal custody (or custody) and joint legal custody (or joint custody). However, speaking in the broader sense about the roles of one or both parents in their child's life, a court will also make a determination concerning the child's physical ...
If you are a separated or divorced parent, you are likely already acutely familiar with the challenges of co-parenting with your ex. However, now that we are in the middle of a pandemic, raising children with your former spouse may be considerably more difficult and your children are likely picking up on the increased tension and anxiety in your family. Although everyone’s schedules may have ...
Wasteful dissipation can have a profound impact on a divorce. If your spouse failed to protect certain marital assets or wasted marital assets in anticipation of the divorce, these acts may be considered wasteful dissipation. That said, such cases can be challenging to prove in court, so it is essential to hire an experienced attorney to handle your case. Continue reading to learn more about ...
Every divorce presents unique challenges, but for those with substantial assets, the obstacles are often greater and far more complex. To ensure you receive your rightful share of marital property and assets, it is crucial to hire an attorney with extensive experience in handling such cases, so you can avoid making costly mistakes that may impact your future for years to come. Why Are High Net ...
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