Mediate Michigan

March 11, 2010

• Divorcing couples leave out lawyers

  Breaking up is hard to do — especially in a recession.

  With depressed home values and a dicey job market, divorces in Metro Detroit are down, as unhappy couples ride out the financial storm, the theory goes.

  But of those who do file for divorce, more are financially strapped and duking it out without attorneys, according to courts. These do-it-yourself divorces are crowding legal aid offices and court dockets and slowing proceedings with incomplete paperwork and tutorials judges must deliver from the bench. And as more couples represent themselves, many are losing out on property and custody claims that are legally theirs, judges and attorneys say.

  via Divorcing couples leave out lawyers | detnews.com | The Detroit News.

  Mediation can provide a cost-effective alternative.

  posted to Divorce,Mediation @ 10:24 am

  
  

• Divorce, Retirement and the Federal Employee

  Studies have shown that one of the top five things that can wreck your retirement is divorce or a legal separation just prior to retirement and that is especially true for the federal employee.

  Whether you are CSRS or FERS, your retirement is property subject to division and can be cut by more than half, your TSP decimated, and survivor elections for any subsequent spouse limited or extremely expensive if you and your divorce lawyer don’t understand how federal benefits can be awarded in a divorce. Federal benefits are not subject to ERISA, the law used to divide private sector retirements. Rather, the Office of Personnel Management OPM governs how benefits may be awarded and requires certain orders or wording in a decree.

  via News Articles: Divorce, Retirement and the Federal Employee.

  posted to Divorce @ 10:11 am