Your child has (or children have) the right to freely love both parents. While you may have bitter feelings or feelings of indifference towards your ex, you must not let those feelings ruin your child’s relationship with you or their other parent. You may find out that those feelings may have a greater negative impact on your relationship with your child/children than expected.

Putting together a parenting plan will help each party see that the needs of the children are the utmost priority. If the parties cannot agree, the courts will ultimately intervene to resolve visitation, support and custody. When a Judge intervenes they will not do what they think is best for you or your spouse’s particular situation, but do what they think is best for the entire case in general and this may not be anything close to how you wished your case to resolve.

It is always best to resolve your dispute on your own and in order to do this you should consider the following:

• Having a comprehensive parenting plan that addresses responsibilities of each parent and understands the needs of the child/children.

• Communicating with your ex-spouse. If schedules change, communicate. If there is an illness, communicate.

• Honor the parenting plan that has been established.

• Be as consistent as possible in discipline. Nothing causes more confusion than completely different discipline actions.

• Always think about the children and their best interests first.

We have all seen have seen good divorced parents and bad divorced parents. Many times we can recollect being involved in conversations wondering why the ex-spouses can’t get along even for the children. Don’t let this happen to you.

If you have also been involved in conversations praising an ex-couple that are pleasantly co-parenting it is probably because they are being communicative parenting team, even though they are divorced. While you shouldn’t be concerned what other people say, you should be concerned what your children say and how they are adjusting to their new life, being separated from a parent they love.

It will take a great deal of work on both sides, but parenting together is the best choice in raising your children and working through the struggles that may occur. Having a solid parenting plan is almost always the best solution to a difficult situation.

Property Division
In compliance with the General Laws of Rhode Island, property is divided equitably. RI is not a community property state. While everyone starts out with at least 50% of the marital estate, this does not mean a judge will grant you exactly 50% of your assets. In order to determine the fair percentage of the assets you will be entitled to, a Judge must consider the following: the conduct of each spouse throughout the marriage, the length of the marriage, the age and physical health of each spouse, the vocational skill or employment capability of each spouse, the contribution of each spouse to the home, and the necessities of each party for capital.

Alimony
A common misconception is that alimony is synonymous with child support payment. This is not the case: A former spouse can request alimony payment for a number of reasons, including rehabilitative alimony or alimony as reimbursement. However, the RI Supreme Court has been very clear that Alimony in RI should be granted only when a party is in need of rehabilitation. Generally, the amount of alimony a person receives is based directly upon the need of the recipient and the ability to pay of the payor. As the traditional precepts of marriage and gender roles fade away, an increasing number of former husbands are seeking and receiving alimony payments as results of divorce.

If you are considering divorce and have questions, please contact us to schedule a consultation.

One of my kids is graduating from Providence College next month.  The settlement agreement says kids are emancipated upon completion of a four year degree. Can I stop paying child support as soon as he graduates or must I file something with the Court?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Interesting question. I think you probably must file a motion to stop the payment of support. While support in RI normally terminates upon graduation form high school, it sounds like you contracted to pay for a longer period of time. As such, it may be necessary to have a court affirm that the obligation is over. Moreover, RI has recently passed legislation allowing for child support to essentially go on permanently and you want to make sure you get a definitive ruling terminating your obligation. 

Providence Family Law Attorney, Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families in Providence Rhode Island and throughout the state including the communities of Cranston, Johnston, West Warwick and Warwick, Rhode Island.

Can my wife that I have been separated from for 30 years get half of my house and 401k?  I married my wife in ’82 and we separated in ’85. We didn’t get divorced but we are both seeing someone else. She has her own place and also retirement benefits from her job,  so can she really get half of my home in Elmwood and take half of my 401k when we get divorced?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Unfortunately, she has a very solid claim to ½ of your home. Of course you also have a claim to ½ of her 401k or home. Any assets acquired by either of you are subject to potential division. In your case, you may be able to argue that she never contributed to the acquisition or preservation of the asset and as such should not be entitled to the home. However, your failure to file a divorce in over thirty year unfortunately has consequences. 

Elmwood Divorce Attorney, Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families in Elmwood, Rhode Island.  Attorney Heberg assists with division of property and other financial matters resulting from divorce.  He represents clients throughout the state of Rhode Island including the communities of Cranston, Providence, Johnston, West Warwick and Warwick, Rhode Island.

My boyfriend and I got married 3 months ago, and I now realize we rushed into things.  How do I know if I am eligible for getting an annulment in Rhode Island?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Unfortunately, the fact that you rushed into it is not a basis for an annulment. While you certainly may regret getting married, unless you can prove that you had no idea what you were doing when you married or did not marry the actual person you thought you were marrying, you have little or no chance to annul a marriage.  

Rhode Island Divorce Attorney, Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families throughout the state including the communities of Cranston, Providence, Johnston, West Warwick and Warwick, Rhode Island.

I left my husband a couple of years ago and moved out of state (I’m in Cranston, Rhode Island now but we were married in Boston). When I moved, we just needed some time apart.   I don’t plan to remarry and don’t expect he would either.  Are there any issues with remaining separated indefinitely or do we actually have to get divorced?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Absolutely, you have many issues. First, all assets acquired during your separation are most likely subject to division. Of course, this also means that any debt each of you acquires may be subject to joint responsibility. If you have children, a prolonged separation could have a significant affect on custody and visitation. If you plan to stay separated you should talk to a good attorney as soon as possible.  

Cranston Divorce Attorney, Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families in Cranston and the surrounding communities including Providence, Johnston, West Warwick and Warwick, Rhode Island.

My wife and I are getting divorced.  She took out a loan so she could go back to school at URI.  She said she would use the degree to get a job, but she hasn’t finished the program so technically the “community” hasn’t benefited from her going to school.  Will I be liable for half of the loan?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

You probably will not have to contribute anything to your wife’s school loans. School loans in RI almost always stay with the person who incurred them and are not subject to marital distribution. 

Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer, Attorney Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families in Kingston, RI and the surrounding communities including North Kingston, Narragansett, Charlestown, Richmond, Exeter and West Greenwich.

My husband married me for my family’s money.  We’ve been married for 5 years, have 3 kids and a house worth $2.5 M in East Greenwich. He took care of all the finances and I just found out that he has depleted our bank accounts.  He came into the marriage with next to nothing ($10K) I thought he truly loved me but now I see that he doesn’t care about me or the kids, he was just interested in my family’s money.  I now see why we should have signed a prenuptial agreement.  Will he be entitled to half of our property when we divorce?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

I can obviously understand your concern, however, without much more information I cannot answer your question completely. Notwithstanding, inherited property is NOT subject to distribution in a divorce. However, if you take inherited property and commingle it by putting your husbands name on the property, you could end up having to share that with him. He will be entitled to a portion of the property that is marital in nature. Martial property generally does not include inherited property, gifted property and pre-marital property. Of course there are always exceptions and you should speak to a good divorce lawyer to learn about your rights. 

East Greenwich Divorce Lawyer, Attorney Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families in the East Greenwich, RI and the surrounding communities including Warwick, North Kingston, Exeter, Coventry and West Warwick.

My wife and I have been married for 21 years.  We were high school sweethearts in Cranston, RI.  Throughout our marriage, I supported her and the kids and she’s always been a stay at home mom.  We are now going through a divorce and she just received an inheritance of over $200,000.  Am I entitled to 50%?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

No you are not entitled to a portion of her inheritance. Inherited property is specifically excluded from the marital estate by Rhode Island law. However, if she commingles the money into a joint account, you may be able to make some claim to it.

Cranston Divorce Attorney, Christopher Heberg serves individuals and families in the Providence, RI region including Cranston, Coventry, Cumberland, East Greenwich, East Providence, Johnston, Lincoln, North Kingstown, North Providence, Pawtucket, Riverside, Smithfield, Warwick, West Warwick, Warren, Woonsocket, Bristol and Barrington, Rhode Island.