Las Vegas Family Law Blog

3 key benefits of divorce mediation

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered on Monday, September 10, 2018.

Navigating your way through a divorce is difficult even under the best of circumstances, but long, drawn-out divorce litigation can hurt you and your family financially as well as emotionally. Rather than shell out considerable money on their own lawyers and court fees, however, many divorcing couples are instead deciding to undergo divorce mediation.

At its core, divorce mediation involves having you and your one-time partner sit down with a single, unbiased mediator to hash out matters relating to your divorce outside of a courtroom setting. Sometimes called alternative dispute resolution, mediation, while not appropriate for all couples, can offer many benefits for separating couples who are able to maintain at least some level of communication between them. Just what are some of the primary benefits of divorce mediation?

Prenups: How to bring them up to a fiance

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered on Tuesday, July 17, 2018.

Prenuptial agreements are highly useful in the event a married couple divorces. An increasing number of couples have discovered the benefits of a prenup, and they can help lead to a more peaceful divorce should the relationship get to that point.

Although couples can establish an agreement regarding the division of assets after tying the knot, it is much easier to do so before marriage. However, a lot of people are nervous about broaching the subject of a premarital agreement to a partner. There is no way to discuss the matter without touching upon the possibility of divorce. Luckily, there are ways to have a fruitful conversation.

What happens to the family business when you divorce?

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered on Monday, May 21, 2018.

If you and your spouse are a high-asset Nevada couple with a family business or professional practice, it likely is one of your major concerns if you are contemplating divorce. Deciding how you will divide it and how you will continue to operate it, if at all, after your divorce therefore is one of the biggest decisions you must make.

For most couples, the family business or professional practice not only represents the major source of income, but also the biggest asset. When arriving at a property settlement agreement, you have three basic choices as follows:

Sell the business or practice and split the proceeds
One of you buy out the other’s interest
Both of you continue owning and running it post-divorce

Bitcoin: a new way for spouses to hide assets

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in blog on Tuesday, March 27, 2018.

If you are going through a high-asset Nevada divorce, you may suspect that your spouse is hiding assets from you in an attempt to skew the property division. Hiding assets before or during a divorce is nothing new, and thanks to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it now is easier than ever. If you have never heard of Bitcoin and similar digital currencies, you should research them and also alert your attorney to their existence. (S)he needs to add them to the possible ways in which your spouse could be hiding assets.

Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are currencies, but not money as that word is commonly understood. They are virtual money that exists in “wallets” such as a file stored on a computer, external hard drive, thumb drive, smartphone or online in the cloud. They are easy to buy, easy to sell and easy to use in payment for an ever-growing number of goods and services. They also are easy to get out of the country since a person can have multiple wallets, some of which are not in the United States.

Should I choose mediation or litigation in my Las Vegas divorce?

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in blog on Monday, February 5, 2018.

If you are facing a divorce in Las Vegas, especially if you have a high net worth, you may have several unanswered questions about how to start the process. One of the very first decisions many people face is that of whether to attempt a mediation in the divorce process or to go straight to the courtroom for formal litigation.

There are several factors that can help you determine whether mediation is an option in your particular situation. You should also consider circumstances in which mediation may actually hamper your chances for moving forward successfully. Here is some information to help you determine which route may be the better one for you.

4 tactics your spouse may use to hide assets

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in blog on Monday, December 11, 2017.

Are you getting a divorce soon? If so, you may have concerns about the property division process. You should be aware that your spouse may try to hide assets to avoid fairly distributing assets. The law requires your spouse to disclose all assets during the divorce process, but some people try to lie in order to keep assets to themselves.

According to Forbes, hiding assets is surprisingly common. But how can you tell if this is happening? Read below for some of the ways your spouse may try to lie about property, income or debts.

3 expert tips on preparing for divorce mediation

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in blog on Thursday, October 12, 2017.

Choosing mediation is an important step. For certain couples, it can be a better process than traditional litigation. But that does not mean it is always easy. In fact, you probably feel anxious about how mediation will turn out. It can be hard work, but it is often beneficial.

Feeling nervous before your first divorce mediation session is normal, but you can take some steps to make it go more smoothly. Here are three tips for preparing for mediation:

Divorce mediation vs. litigation: know your situation

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in divorce on Tuesday, September 12, 2017.

Divorce mediation in Nevada is a newer form of resolution of divorce, unknown to many. For those for whom the process is suitable, it can be beneficial. But it can also be the wrong choice when you really have to protect your interests in litigation.

Mediation relies on a neutral mediator experienced in the laws related to the issues involved in the divorce process. That professional assists the parties to come to agreement on their specific divorce issues. The process helps prevent the divorce judge from making an order that one or both parties would not have chosen.