Overland Park Family Law Blog

When a marriage goes sour, it can give people a lot of anxiety thinking about the divorce process. However, the more one knows about the divorce process, the better they can prepare themselves and their family for the change. One subject that can cause a lot of stress is spousal support.

Spousal support, or alimony, is awarded in some situations when two people divorce. Alimony is a court-ordered sum that one ex-spouse makes to the other. The payments are often assigned when there is a large income gap between the partners and one spouse made educational or career advancements in lieu of the other spouse.

With Spring in full-swing, many Overland Park families take this as a time to address some Spring cleaning. However, for Overland Park couples who have decided to get a divorce, de-cluttering and organizing are just two things on a longer list. Applying Spring cleaning tactics to your financial organizing can yield some surprising and helpful results when in the middle of a property division with your spouse.

Spring cleaning one's finances can lead to finding assets or liabilities one may not have known were present in a couple's marriage. Locating and getting a valuation on these financial aspects can be crucial to understanding where you and your spouse stand financially, and where you may stand individually after a divorce has completed. This is also a great time to plan a budget according to your post-divorce needs and income. It's important to know that the standard of living can change when going from 'we' to 'me'.

Kansas couples who find themselves going through a divorce can face many difficulty decisions. For some, property division is the most pressing issue. For others, issues dealing with their children, such as child custody, child support and visitation plans can be the most important factors in the divorce. And, throughout the whole process, the soon-to-be ex-spouses will likely be reaching out to others to find out what the best strategy is for moving forward. So, what are some important tips for couples to remember when going through a divorce in Kansas?

Well, for starters, perhaps, the most important tip is to keep a level-head. The decisions that are made in the course of a divorce can, and likely will, have a lifelong impact. It is important to be reasonable with demands that are made and put aside emotions, whenever possible.

Anyone in Kansas who has to go through the process of hammering out a child custody agreement with a soon-to-be ex-spouse knows that this can be the most emotionally challenging part of a divorce. After all, in the vast majority of cases, the parents involved want what is best for their children, and many parents will rightfully think that they are the ones who would provide the most stable family life in a post-divorce atmosphere. But, being subject to a child custody order is part of the divorce process that the parents must accept.

In the best case scenario, the child custody order will come from an agreement between the parties that is simply submitted to the court for ratification. When parents can agree out of court on an arrangement that is best for the children, everyone involved benefits. In some cases though, the parties are unable to come to an agreement, and it is then up to the court to make an order that is in the best interests of the child.