Navigating the divorce process is often both emotionally and financially challenging. As part of the process, couples must divide their assets. While this often involves extensive legal and financial negotiations, and potentially even court involvement, there exists one option in structuring a property division that can yield positive results that benefit both the parties and their communities: charitable contributions. The…
Newsweek – “Ask the Experts” By Maria Azzurra Volpe On 10/7/23 at 7:00 AM EDT Dear Newsweek, I live in Southern Oregon and I have a neighbor with a small house and small backyard and 15 full-grown male huskies. He is not directly behind me but we share a corner. Some background. Until August 27 last year, I was a…
As mortgage interest rates soar to a 22-year high, divorcing couples face yet another hurdle as they work to disentangle themselves from one another. With the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate exceeding 7%, divorcing couples must make increasingly complicated decisions regarding property division, housing arrangements and the overall financial stability for both parties involved. Divorcing couples often have an emotionally…
Newsweek – “Ask the Experts” By Lucy Notarantonio On 8/13/23 at 6:00 AM EDT Dear Newsweek, I’m 73 years old and I live alone. I have owned the property for 34 years and 11 years ago, my neighbors from hell moved next door. They are in their 40s. For the first eight years, at least three or four times a…
Lakeland man claims ex-wife abducted son in Brazil The Ledger (subscription required): Andrew Zashin, adjunct professor of law, weighed in on the case of an international family dispute surrounding the case of a Florida father who filed a challenge when his ex-wife took their son to Brazil after filing for divorce. “The Hague Convention itself is not about custody, it’s…
Couples sharing auto, health and homeowner’s insurance, or who have named each other as beneficiaries of life insurance policies, face the task of disentangling these policies if they choose to divorce or otherwise separate. As break-ups often bring out the worst in people, however, vindictive partners may try to weaponize these policies to cause harm or exert control over the…
Artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT are transforming the world as we know it. While people worldwide are using these programs to solve math problems and generate travel itineraries, these tools also have the potential to revolutionize the workplace. In the legal field, AI tools have the potential to transform the profession. From summarizing complicated legal theories to analyzing data, AI…
Newsweek – “Ask the Experts” By Maria Azzurra Volpe On 6/3/23 at 6:00 AM EDT Dear Newsweek, I would appreciate any words of advice. I have a daughter who has three children and was living with her dad and stepmom sleeping on their couch for the last eight months, not trying to find a job. She and her children have…
Newsweek – “Ask the Experts” By Maria Azzurra Volpe On 5/21/23 at 6:00 AM EDT Dear Newsweek, I have neighbors who were new six-and-a-half years ago. From the very first day they were here, they began harassing me and trying to run me off of my property. I am 58 years old, disabled, and on a fixed income. After three…
Most people have heard of prenuptial agreements. These are contracts that couples enter into before walking down the aisle that outlines what happens with respect to the parties’ finances in the event that the marriage ends due to divorce or the death of either party. On March 23, a similar tool known as postnuptial agreements will be available to married…