St. Louis Divorce & Family Law Blog by Stange Law Firm, PC

A recent law provides a new approach for judges facing disputes over who gets the family pet. The Insurance Information Institute says that 67% of U.S. households have pets, citing the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey. With the commonality of divorce, what will happen to a beloved pet when a marriage ends can be an agonizing question for many, especially when children who love that dog or cat are involved. But its not just the kids who are passionate about pets. With high student loan debt and other financial challenges, many young adults are putting off parenthood and focusing their

Family limited partnership interests can be a significant issue in high asset divorce cases.  Whether through equitable division, or states that still engage in some form of community property, dividing interests in family limited partnerships in divorce can present challenges.  The Internal Revenue Service can also look negatively upon Family Limited Partnerships in certain circumstances. To read more on this topic, you can also read another similar article by Kirk C. Stange titled: Family Limited Partnerships and Divorce. a. Tax Consequences of the Division   Creating a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) yields tax benefits and non-tax benefits. As far as

Often, the largest asset in a case where one spouse owns a business is the business itself in divorce, and often the biggest assets of that business are not liquid. Marital property and debt is to be divided in accordance with the law in your particular state. However, in a general sense, in a dissolution of marriage action, assets and debts have to be divided in a just manner or as set forth by the laws in your state. In order to achieve a just division, it is vital to have a business properly valuated to achieve that end. Common

Divorce is an emotional and financial roller coaster and estate planning may not be one of your priorities, but if steps are not taken to update your estate plan, your assets could be distributed to those you would not expect, even your ex. Here are some steps you can take to insure that your estate plan reflects your current status and wishes. Create New Will – Sometimes it is wise to revoke your old will and make a new one. If you don’t have a will, now is the time to do so. Also, if you have a living trust

Dealing with divorce in Saint Louis County is one of the hardest experiences a person may have to go through. When there is a great deal of money and property involved, it can be even more difficult as one spouse may try to hide assets or intimidate the other spouse into accepting less than they may be entitled to. It is important for a spouse to make a complete list of the marital property, determine the value of that property and then negotiate for a fair distribution of the couple’s assets. Listing marital property The first thing that a spouse

Are you concerned that your spouse failed to tell you about assets during your dissolution process? If you are, you should consult with an experienced family law attorney in the area. A lawyer can help you uncover assets that were not revealed during the discovery process. To begin, a seasoned lawyer will request important documents, including tax statements, bank papers, pay stubs and other pertinent information. With your attorney’s help, you may uncover a plethora of hidden assets. There a few steps that can help you get to the bottom of the issue. First, you will need to retain all

Pre-nup Agreements: Avoiding the Top Mistakes Kirk C. Stange * Special thanks to Primrose Mungwari & Emily Donaldson for helping prepare these materials. 1. Failure to Uncover Critical Financial Information Broadly, the overall goal of any prenuptial agreement is to define the terms and conditions of property and debt division, spousal support, and how attorneys’ fees should be paid if the marriage of the parties’ ends in a dissolution or legal separation. “Premarital agreement” means an agreement between individuals who intend to marry which affirms, modifies, or waives a marital right or obligation during the marriage or at separation, marital

In high asset divorce matters, the division of trust assets can be a significant issue.  In complex cases, trust decanting can be an important issue in which parties should be aware of the concept.The purpose of decanting includes the ability to address change in circumstances; protect tax treatment of a trust; modifying administrative provisions, such as restriction on investment powers; granting a beneficiary a special power of appointment; reducing administrative costs; altering trusteeship provisions or appointing fiduciaries; extending the termination date of as trust; converting a non-grantor trust to a grantor trust or the reverse; changing a trust governing law;

Illinois spouses who are getting divorced should learn how to protect themselves and their credit before they agree to let their partner keep the marital home. It is not uncommon for a marital home to be the single biggest asset that a Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma couple has. A home can also be something to which people assign a lot of emotional value. When the spouses end up making the choice to get divorced, it only stands to reason that the decision about what to do with the house can be complicated. Selling the home is a common scenario

Anybody that has pets understands how special they are to a family. Pets are loved, give love and, at times, truly are a member of the family. Because of this attachment that many feel with their animals, when a couple divorces or breaks up, which spouse gets custody of the pet can be hotly contested. A 2006 survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers revealed that 25 percent of attorneys noted an increase in pet custody issues – 90 percent of the disputes were over the family dog. While many families consider the family pets children, they are not

Missouri, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma both follow equitable distribution models of property distribution in divorce proceedings. However, analyzing how community property and equitable distribution work, and the differences, is helpful for parties going through a divorce.In states with community property, community property is defined as “all property acquired by the spouses during the marriage belongs not to either spouse individually but to a third entity, marital community.”[1] The fact that the legal title rests within the community; there is no future expectancy, which rests upon divorce or death. The community holds a real legal title interest.[2] When a divorce or