Las Vegas Family Law Blog

How to manage your finances after a divorce

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered on Monday, August 12, 2019.

Nevada has one of the highest divorce rates in the United States. According to data collected in 2018, if you live in Yerington, Carlin or Fallon, then you may have an increased risk of divorcing, as those cities have the highest rates in the state.

Going through the divorce process is tumultuous, and you may think you are in the clear once the dust has settled. However, you still have work to do. Once you are officially no longer married to someone, there are some financial matters to attend to. Taking care of these as soon as possible helps tremendously in the long run.

Parenting plans during mediation

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

Division of assets can create a lot of tension in divorce proceedings, but nothing is quite as heated as disagreements over parenting. Up until now, you and your spouse have raised your kids as a team. Now that the separation is underway, you will have to divide.

If you decide to use a mediator, one crucial task you will likely need to complete is a parenting plan. It is an important step to ensure your children have a positive future.

3 reasons you should stay off social media during divorce

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

Divorce can turn out messier than you anticipated. Even if you and your spouse agree that it is in everyone's best interest, things happen during the course of the proceedings that can make the process more difficult.

Advertising your marital status, or lack thereof, on social media can have an impact on the outcome of your divorce. While it is tempting to share so much of yourself, you need to keep in mind that doing so may come with consequences. These three reasons to stay away from social media during divorce show you why what you post can turn against you.

Common misconceptions about divorce mediation

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in divorce mediation on Thursday, February 28, 2019.

For many years, Nevada had one of the highest divorce rates in the country. It was nearly double what you would find elsewhere. However, the divorce rate in Nevada has declined in recent years, right along with the rest of the United States.

Despite divorce's prevalence in society, many misconceptions persist around it. In particular, people get many things wrong about divorce mediation. Here are some common myths you need to get out of your head if you think you could benefit from mediation for your upcoming divorce.

When might a forensic accountant help in a divorce case?

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in divorce on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

While divorcing your spouse can bring with it a near-endless stream of emotions, a divorce, once you take emotions out of the equation, involves dividing your shared assets and debts so you can begin to create a life on your own. Some couples who had short marriages and few shared assets may find that dividing their assets and debts is relatively easy. However, those who have especially complex finances, or those who no longer trust one another for various reasons, may find the process to be far more involved.

In such situations, divorcing couples, or one party within a divorcing couple, may want to hire a forensic accountant to help work through the divorce. A forensic accountant is an accounting professional who may be able to help you work through certain matters relating to property division while improving the chances you get your fair share. So, when might you want to hire a forensic accountant to help you in your divorce?

What happens to home equity when you divorce?

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in divorce on Friday, November 9, 2018.

While, when you are involved in a divorce, you may find that your emotions are all over the place, there are still certain matters you will have to work through before you can begin to rebuild and adjust to life on your own. For many couples, this means determining how to divide shared assets between you, and one of the more substantial assets many divorcing couples share is a home.

So, what sorts of options do you have when it comes to dividing home equity amid divorce?

3 key benefits of divorce mediation

On behalf of Radford J. Smith, Chartered posted in divorce 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 posted in premarital agreements 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 posted in divorce 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 divorce 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.