Columbus, Ohio, Family Law Blog

Can an irrevocable trust be changed after a divorce?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in post-divorce estate planning on Tuesday, September 18, 2018.

When creating an irrevocable trust, one of the things that probably drew you to it was the fact that it cannot be changed. However, that is not 100 percent true. You can change an irrevocable trust according to the Ohio Revised Code under specific circumstances. This can be good news if you have gotten a divorce and feel you need to make a change to a trust.

You do have to follow specific guidelines and meet certain conditions in order to make any changes to a irrevocable trust. First, all the beneficiaries must agree to the change. The court can rule to modify it even if a beneficiary does not provide consent if the interest of the nonconsenting beneficiary is not affected by the changes you wish to make. If allowed to make changes, you cannot change the trustee. Any changes you do make cannot go against the trust's purpose, which is the intent at the time the trust was created.

Do the courts consider what a child wants in custody cases?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in child custody on Monday, September 10, 2018.

It is not an easy task for the court to make decisions in custody cases. This is why you are highly encouraged to come to an agreement without the court having to intervene. However, that is not always possible. In such cases, the court will take into consideration many things, which in Ohio, also may include your children's wishes.

According to the Ohio State Bar Association, the law does not specify how old a child must be to have input on custody matters. It is left up to the court to decide during each case. The court will generally consider the child's ability to reason and share his or her feelings. While other evidence is always considered and the ultimate decision is always based on what is in the best interest of the child, getting to know the child's wishes can greatly help the court in making a final decision.

Can the court divide property of people who are not married?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in complex property division on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

When you are in a long-term relationship, your lives become very comingled. You probably share many possessions and even live in home you own or share responsibility for. You may have a joint bank account and share debt. Sometimes relationships end, and if you are not married, there is no legal way to end your relationship and neatly divide property in Ohio. The court can only intervene to distribute debt and assets in a divorce.

However, according to the Ohio State Bar Association, you do have some other options for property distribution. You can file civil cases to handle the process if you cannot agree on how to split your shared property. You can go to court for a partition action, which allows the court to then decide who gets a physical property that you jointly own. For personal property, you could take the person to municipal court to request the return of the property, but you do have to prove ownership rights.

These 5 divorce mistakes will make things worse on you

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

As you move closer to divorce, it's important to pay attention to the things you can do to prevent additional stress. When you avoid common mistakes, you're putting yourself in position to more efficiently make your way through the process.

Unfortunately, a variety of divorce mistakes can get in your way, all of which will make things more difficult on you during this already challenging time.

How are retirement payments handled in a divorce?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in high asset divorce on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

Divorce is not something that only happens to young couples. It can also happen to you when you are in retirement or near retirement. This brings up some concerns as to what will happen with retirement income or payments when you divorce your spouse. According to Forbes, division of retirement can be complicated for many reasons.

First, some retirement may be considered marital property if you or your spouse contributed to it during your marriage, but some may be separate if you funded it completely before you were married. The account would have to be separate from any marital income to be separate property. In general, your retirement will be divided as any other assets, which means you could lose about half of any retirement accounts you have.

Mistakes to avoid when discussing divorce with your children

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA on Friday, August 24, 2018.

Once you and your spouse decide to divorce, it's time to turn your full attention to your children. While you need to tell them what's going on, doing so is easier said than done.

The first thing you have to consider is the age of your children. Telling a 15-year-old about your divorce is different than a 5-year old. If you treat every child the same, you could end up causing more harm than good.

What are some commonly forgot estate updates?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in post-divorce estate planning on Tuesday, August 21, 2018.

After a divorce, you probably knew to update your will and to make sure your beneficiaries on accounts were changed. However, there are a few other things you should also do as part of your estate planning updates after you have ended a marriage in Ohio.

Forbes reminds you that if you have a power of attorney, it may need changed. Your ex-spouse is probably listed on it, so you will want to change that to someone else. Another change is with emergency contacts and your health care proxy. Both of these often have the spouse listed, which you will want to change as well.

What are non-marital assets?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in complex property division on Tuesday, August 14, 2018.

In Ohio, when you get a divorce, the court looks at your marital assets to divide property. Marital assets, according to the Ohio State Bar Association, are those things you own together. They are assets gained during the marriage. However, the court will not consider non-marital assets. There are four categories of such assets.

The first category are those assets that you or your spouse inherited during the marriage separately from the other spouse. For example, if your grandfather left you and only you property, then that would be a non-marital asset.

How are kids affected by custody disputes?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in child custody on Tuesday, August 7, 2018.

Divorce is hard on children because their family is changing. It does not help when their parents enter into a custody dispute. While the goal of Ohio courts is to keep the best interests of the child in mind, the court really cannot do anything about how parents act during the court case or what affect the process has on the children. As a parent, you should be aware of just what is happening to your child when you and their other parent argue over custody, visitation and other related issues.

According to the Huffington Post, the effects of a custody battle take an emotional and financial toll. As you fight in court, you will incur plenty of expenses. The money for these may have to come from funds you have set aside for your child, such as college accounts. This will have a long lasting effect on your child's future. Emotionally, children do not want to see their parents fight. They also do not want to see you upset. They may also feel ignored or uncared for during the process since your attention is on the case.

What makes a high asset divorce different?

On behalf of Greg Lewis of Gregg R. Lewis, Esq. - Harry Lewis Co., LPA posted in high asset divorce on Wednesday, August 1, 2018.

A high asset divorce in Ohio can be a very serious situation because of the extremely high value of assets and money involved. Because of this, it can take longer to sift through assets and for the court to make judgements. It may require investigations to ensure all assets are accounted for. According to Forbes, a high asset divorce includes another layer of stress simply due to the value of assets in the case.

Common issues arise when errors are made in calculations or when assets are hidden on purpose. The best thing to do to avoid such issues is to get a team of people who are experts in high asset cases to work on your behalf. These professionals can work to make sure all assets are accounted for and that all calculations are done correctly. This is especially important if you have investment accounts to consider.