In New York State (and most of the rest of the country), a marriage is considered a legal partnership between two people. There are a lot of details that go into that legal partnership and there are many benefits for both partners. A divorce is a legal process used to dissolve a marriage, which means there are a lot of legal parts in motion when a divorce is initiated. One of the legal necessities of a divorce is having your spouse served with divorce papers. It sounds simple enough, but there are rules to keep in mind.
When a divorce begins, one spouse is considered to have brought the motion of divorce against the other. The papers for a divorce proceeding are served by the spouse bringing the motion. The court is not responsible for serving divorce papers. That is something the spouse bringing the motion must take care of on their own.
The rules for serving legal papers can vary depending on the legal motion being used. In a divorce, it is acceptable to either serve the papers to your spouse by hand, or by using registered mail with a return receipt. If you try using registered mail but you do not get the return receipt confirming a signature back, then you can keep on trying until you do. But if your spouse will not sign for the papers once, it is probably best to deliver by hand.
Anyone over the age of 18 can serve divorce papers. When the spouse accepts the papers, they sign a Letter of Acceptance that shows that the process was completed successfully. The spouse bringing the motion can serve the papers, or they can have someone they know over the age of 18 do it. But serving divorce papers is not quite as easy as it sounds. The spouse serving the papers can also hire a company to handle the process, and this might be the best way to do it to avoid any problems.
There are times when a spouse absolutely refuses to accept divorce papers under the mistaken idea that if they do not accept the papers, the divorce cannot go through. If there have been several legitimate attempts to serve divorce papers that were unsuccessful, then the serving spouse can publish the divorce announcement in the local newspaper. It is best to consult with your attorney to find out how long the announcement should run, but the announcement acts as your service. You will need to bring the receipt for the ad and ad itself to court to prove the process was done properly.
If you and your spouse cannot solve your differences, then the unfortunate outcome could be divorce. Before your divorce can be heard by the courts, the spouse who initiated the divorce needs to serve papers on the other spouse. There are many ways to serve divorce papers, and there are also safeguards in place in case the spouse getting served refuses to accept those papers.
Cable television shows have a way of presenting an idea in the best possible light and making something unusual sound appealing. The problem is that many of the challenges people face when engaging in these activities are often overlooked. We never really hear about the house flippers who lose money on every flip, and we never hear about the problems tiny home owners have finding a place to park their homes. The lack of parking spots is a big problem for tiny home owners, and it is a problem that is not going away any time soon.
One big problem tiny house owners are coming up against is the fact that, in many parts of the country, it is illegal to make an RV or tiny home a permanent residence. This means that the usual places such as RV lots and campground are not going to allow tiny home owners to rent spots for years and years.
Many tiny home owners are under the impression that if they put their home on a foundation on property they own then they can enjoy a frugal lifestyle. In situations like this, tiny home owners are often introduced to zoning laws they never knew existed. For example, many areas have laws that outline the specific amount of living space that must be available for a dwelling to be considered a permanent home. Even if your tiny home is on a foundation, it could still be in violation of your area's zoning laws.
In most cases, you can park your tiny home on someone else's property and live there without much problem. If you and the neighbors get along and you and the property owner have worked out the power and water issues, then parking on private property is possible. The one condition is that the property must already have a home that meets zoning regulations for your tiny home to go unnoticed.
While you cannot set up shop permanently in an RV park, you can work out long-term arrangements and then move from park to park as your arrangements expire. Obviously, you will need to rent a post office box for your mail if you decide to be an RV park hopper, but that only brings up another problem. Many banks and other institutions require a home address instead of a post office box to legally apply for a loan or register children for school. It is a problem tiny house owners need to figure out before they can start hopping from park to park.
Tiny homes look like great ideas when they are presented on cable television, but their reality is much more challenging. Most people who build tiny homes do not realize that there are laws against living full time in an RV. Since a tiny home is considered a recreational vehicle and not a mobile home, tiny home owners are having problems finding places to park their homes.
In most parts of the country, it is not possible to park a tiny home on your own property if it is the only home you are using. It is an issue that is causing headaches for tiny home owners and putting a crimp in the economic lifestyle.
A divorce is an emotional time when two sides of a relationship make the decision to no longer be a legally bound couple. The benefits of marriage such as tax deductions and property ownership will cease to exist once the marriage is legally dissolved. For most people, divorce is something new that can seem intimidating. When you know the basic laws of divorce, it can help you to relax and make the best decisions for your situation.
In every state, a divorcing couple is given the opportunity to negotiate the terms of their divorce through their respective attorneys. Most courts will insist that each party has a qualified attorney to make sure that one side does not have an advantage over the other. Most states allow everything from marital debt to child custody to be negotiated outside of court, but if negotiations do not work then the process will be put in front of a family court judge.
If a couple cannot successfully negotiate a separation agreement that would be transitioned into the divorce decree, then the process would move to family court. In most states, there is one judge that would oversee the divorce process and, if necessary, make all of the decisions regarding child custody and the final divorce decree.
Each judge will use their own interpretation of the state's divorce laws and their personal judgement to come up with decisions regarding a divorce. But before any of that happens, most judges will send both parties back to try and negotiate a separation agreement they can agree on.
Attorneys who have argued many divorce cases in front of the same family court lawyers develop a comprehensive understanding of how those judges will rule in each situation. This kind of experience can be invaluable to a person who feels that their spouse is being unreasonable in negotiations. An experienced attorney will use their past case history to make recommendations that will get their client the type of divorce decree they want.
There are plenty of myths floating around about divorce proceedings and one of those myths is that the child custody part of a divorce must be settled before the rest of the divorce can be determined. The truth is that the custody part of a divorce can be determined at the same time as the rest of the case, or the divorce can be determined first. But it is important to remember that the family court system will always act in the best interests of the children, which means that there will always be some sort of temporary arrangement in place before the final decree is decided.
A divorce case is just as much a negotiation as any other legal proceeding. While it is a highly emotional time for both parties, it is also a time for both sides to put their emotions aside and negotiate a settlement that the courts will agree with. If there can be no agreement, then both parties will be at the mercy of whatever decision the family court judge will make.
Life is extremely unpredictable and anything can happen at any time. If you have spent years of your life building up a business or working hard to take care of your family, then you want to make sure the right decisions are made on your behalf if something were to happen to you. If you have strong religious beliefs, then you want those beliefs followed if you are ever injured. A power of attorney will make sure that your financial dealings are handled by someone that you choose. A health proxy will make sure that your medical situation is handled in the way that is in line with your wants and beliefs.
A health proxy is an assignment you make to the person or persons you want making decisions on your behalf regarding any medical treatment you may need. The proxy only goes into effect if you are unable to make decisions for yourself, and it only covers medical decisions. A health proxy cannot make any financial decisions or any lifestyle decisions as those decisions are covered by the power of attorney.
You can designate any person you want to be your health proxy. It does not need to be an immediate family member or even part of your extended family. As long as you sign the health proxy naming your person of choice, that person will be the one making medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself.
Whenever you fail to make arrangements to have people in place to legally make decisions for you, the laws of your state take precedent. If you do not have a health proxy, then the state will decide what kind of care you will get and what will happen to you if you pass away.
Once you reach the age of 21, you should set up your health proxy. Many people make the mistake of thinking that because they are healthy they do not need a health proxy. Accidents happen and so do sudden and devastating medical events. The moment you set out to make your way in the world, you should have a health proxy in place to help out in case something were to happen.
You should review your proxy every one or two years to make sure you are still comfortable with who you have designated to make decisions for you. If you want to make changes to your health proxy, contact your attorney immediately to get those changes finalized.
When people are in excellent health, they tend to take that for granted. If something were to happen to make you unable to speak for yourself, then you would be at the mercy of a state medical system that is not going to take your personal requests into account. You must have a health proxy in place at all times to make sure that you get the type of medical care you want when you are unable to speak for yourself.
No couple ever enters into a marriage with the idea that it will end at some point. When couples get married, they believe in the part that says "'til death do us part." But as time goes by and life changes, some couples grow apart and it becomes obvious that they are not going to be able to stay together for life. That is when it is time to consider looking for a divorce attorney, but too many people do not realize just how important choosing the right attorney really is.
A divorce attorney helps guide their client through the difficult and emotionally taxing process of divorce. If there are children involved, then the attorney will help with the process of determining who will have the children and what visitation will be. Your divorce attorney works for you and only you. Your divorce attorney will be your professional adviser that will be the preferred way that you communicate with your soon-to-be ex-spouse.
You need a good attorney for your divorce because the courts will want everything divided fairly and evenly. A do-it-yourself divorce is an invitation to a lot of problems in the future, where using a professional attorney will make sure that your interests and the interests of your children are properly represented. A divorce decides important details such as who is responsible for marital debt, how should marital assets be distributed, and whether or not maintenance is due either spouse. An attorney will make sure that your side of the story is properly represented.
People going through a divorce rely on their attorneys to varying degrees, and a good attorney is prepared to be as helpful as they need to be for each client. Some people just want the process to be done with, while others look for advice on how to cope with the situation.
A good attorney is going to be prepared to be available to their client in any necessary capacity. A good attorney can handle the situation and relay information when necessary, or they can recommend professionals who will help their client to get through a very emotionally difficult situation.
You should never choose a divorce attorney based on price or how much of their advertising you have seen in the local area. If you are looking at the prospects of getting divorced, then you should talk to several attorneys and hire the one that gives you the strongest feelings of comfort and confidence.
You should be looking for an attorney with experience in the field of divorce. and it helps if you can get personal referrals from people you know and trust. Divorce is a long and difficult road, and the right attorney can make the entire process much easier. You should take your time and make sure that you are hiring the ideal attorney for your situation if you ever find yourself facing a divorce.
