» Children

There are many reasons that divorcing or separating parents argue over custody of their children. While gaining a tax advantage may not be the primary reason to seek custody of a child, historically, there have been federal tax benefits associated wi… Read More

Even the best parents have insecurities about how they are performing in that role. It’s easy to wonder if you are being too strict, or too lenient, a helicopter parent or a neglectful one, putting too much pressure on your kids, or not encouraging… Read More

In decades past, it was common for mothers to be granted custody of the children in a divorce, with fathers being given “visitation,” having the children on alternate weekends and perhaps one evening a week. Those arrangements reflected the preva… Read More

Every parent, as soon as they find out they are going to have a child, imagines what that child will be like. We imagine who they’ll look like, what their interests will be, what they will excel at. And when most parents hear “It’s a boy!” or… Read More

When you picture a child who has a trust fund, you probably envision someone who is wealthy, spoiled, and entitled. If that’s the image in your head, you may not have ever dreamed that you would set up a trust for your child. You might be surprised… Read More

Transitions can be difficult for children, especially young children or kids with anxiety issues. One of the most difficult transitions for children can be moving back and forth between parents’ homes and dealing with joint custody schedules. One o… Read More

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This quote was probably coined for the business world, but it applies in a lot of other settings, too—including family law and child custody. Most people are reluctant to think about worst-case scenarios… Read More

You may have heard that you should update your estate plan after every major life change, such as marriage or the birth of a child. Divorce is no different. And while making or updating an estate plan may have seemed like something to do for a day in… Read More

If you have a child with your same-sex spouse of partner, the joys you experience are the same as those of any other parent. But if you are not your child’s biological parent, some of the challenges you face may be unique. For instance, heterosexua… Read More

As a parent, you’re used to making decisions for your child, both large and small. When you divorce or separate from your child’s other parent, though, things often change. Especially when you have a joint custody arrangement, certain decisions n… Read More

A client once said to me, “Life is like a video game: you master the challenges on the level where you are, and then you level up, and everything gets turned upside down. There’s a whole new set of challenges you need to figure out and master.”… Read More

Divorce ends a marriage, but it shouldn’t end a relationship between a parent and children. For too many fathers, unfortunately, divorce causes the threads of this all-important relationship to begin to fray. The damage may be intentional, as with… Read More

In recent years, you may have noticed, some of the language around divorced parents and children has changed. What used to be called “visitation,” for instance, is now called “parenting time.” It’s an important distincti… Read More