Litigation

By: Daniel M. Hanifin

Upon the request of either party in a divorce action , a court shall divide, distribute or assign, the marital property between the parties without regard to marital misconduct in such percentages and in a manner that the court deems proper.  In dividing marital property, which is defined as property acquired during the marriage, the court will consider the following factors:

(1)    The length of the marriage;
(2)    Any prior marriages of either party;
(3)    The age, health, income , vocational skills, estate, employability and needs of each party;
(4)    The contribution of one party to the education, training or increased earning capacity  of the other ;
(5)    The possibility of each party for future acquisition of assets and income;
(6)    Income of both parties, including medical, insurance and retirement benefits;
(7)    The contribution of each party to the acquisition of marital property;
(8)    The value of personal property for each party;
(9)    The standard of living created during the marriage;
(10)    The circumstances of each party at the time of equitable distribution; and
(11)    Whether the party will be the custodian of any minor child.

The court has broad based power to effect equitable distribution of the marital assets including the entry of a judgment against a non-complying spouse.

Many people avoid the necessity of having a court divide their property by entering into a marital settlement agreement, which should be incorporated into the divorce decree.  To learn more about equitable distribution of marital property and/or marital settlement agreements please contact Dan Hanifin.

By: Anthony T. Verwey

There is an interesting article in the December 8, 2009 Legal Intelligencer regarding a claim that the attorney-client privilege is waived if a client uses an employer’s computer to exchange email with her attorney. It appears that the client was preparing to sue the employer and used her corporate laptop to exchange email with her attorney via a personal, password protected, web based email account. The employer apparently had a policy advising employees that their computer/email use would be monitored and that they had no expectation of privacy in this regard. The trial court found that the privilege did not protect the emails, but the intermediate appellate court reversed. The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

In cases where an attorney represents an individual, for example in a DUI, divorce, personal injury action, etc., it may be worth advising a client, preferably in the engagement letter, to refrain from using their employer’s computer for communications with you related to the representation to help ensure that the issue of waiver isn’t given a toehold.

For more information please contact our office.

By: Daniel M. Hanifin

For many separated couples the first step on the road to divorce is a domestic relations conference for spousal and child support. Even before a complaint for divorce is filed, many dependent spouses will file a complaint with the county domestic relations office for both spousal and child support.

When you receive a domestic relations complaint:

First, check the accuracy of the information reported by the filing spouse. There are often inaccuracies which can affect the outcome of the conference;

Second, get all of your required paperwork in order. Attached to the complaint are several worksheets that are required to be filled out and brought to your first conference;and

Third, call a lawyer to help you prepare for and to represent you at the conference.

While it is not necessary to have a lawyer represent you at your domestic relations conference, it is advisable! There are many issues surrounding the payment of spousal and child support, including tax ramifications that your lawyer will help you with. In addition, whether you are nervous or just angry a lawyer will keep you from making mistakes that will hurt the outcome.

For more information on domestic relations conferences contact Dan Hanifin at dhanifin@utbf.com