Category: Myths
Divorce Myths: My ex will have to pay for my attorney fees.
Based on questions we hear from clients, there is a lot of confusion about who ultimately has to pay for attorney fees. The belief that the opposing party will have to pay some of your…
Who gets to claim the child tax exemption?
Clients often come to me asking whether they or their ex-spouse/unmarried parent of their child can claim their joint child as a dependents for tax purposes and receive the dependent tax exemption. They often think…
Divorce Myth: Your spouse can block a divorce by objecting to it.
A “myth” we come across with surprising frequency is that you need your spouses’ consent to get a divorce. As an Oregon divorce and family law lawyer, I am repeatedly surprised by the number of…
Divorce Myths: Everything must go before we are divorced!
A surprisingly common “divorce myth” we hear in our practice is that division of property must happen before the couple is divorced. There is no such rule! The court’s power to divide property after a…
Divorce Myths: Divorce always takes a long time.
Some divorces do take many months, or over a year, but this is a result of the process and conflicts and not mandated by the divorce statutes. The length of your case usually depends on…
Divorce Myths: Is my future spouse’s bad credit contagious?
Short answer: No, but you need to plan. A common “divorce myth” we hear in our practice is a client’s concern that his or her spouse’s bad credit will affect their credit on marriage. The…
Divorce Myths: The court can protect my credit after divorce.
A common myth we come across in our practice is that the court has the power to protect a client’s credit if the ex spouse doesn’t pay an obligation they were ordered to pay under…
(Un)Common Divorce Myth: Court-Appointed Counsel
I had no idea people thought they were entitled to court-appointed counsel in anything other than criminal cases until I spoke with a friend who is a domestic relations clerk. He jokes that he must…
Common Divorce Myth: Courts Always Keep Kids Together
There is a fair amount of truth to this myth, actually. Placement of children in a dissolution action (and in any custody proceeding) is based on the “best interest of the child,” and often keeping…
Common Divorce Myth: You only get spousal support if you don’t have a job
Yesterday I stopped by the family law facilitation office at the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro. The person I wanted to speak with there had a room full of people waiting to be helped, so…
