Clarksville Divorce Attorneys
We Know That Divorce Is Serious Business
Your choice of divorce lawyer is vital to your case. The Aldred Law Firm has the experience and expertise to successfully navigate you through your divorce. We have over thirty years of experience. There have been many recent changes in the Tennessee Code regarding family law and it is important to choose only an attorney who is knowledgeable about those changes.
One major recent change was in the way military retirement pay is calculated if a military service member elects to waive retirement pay to receive service-related disability benefits. Under Howell v. Howell, State courts cannot “reimburse” or “indemnify” a non-servicemember spouse for any retirement pay that was waived by the service member. Therefore, only the actual disposable retired pay at the time of retirement may be divided.
Another recent change has to do with relocation of a parent with the parties’ children. The law has changed so that the parent who wishes to relocate must file a Petition for Permission to Relocate with the Court. The other parent then has 30 days to file an Objection to Relocation with the Court. If the parties cannot agree on a new parenting plan a Best Interest Analysis must be conducted and the court will decide on custody and visitation and child support. This is a major change as in the past the parent who wished to relocate only had to notify the other parent with a certified letter and it was the non-relocating parents’ responsibility to file a Petition with the court. This change even applies to military members who are required to move due to a PCS or change of duty station and must be carefully navigated by an experienced attorney.
There are also new changes in the custody law regarding parental alienation. Parental Alienation is defined as “Any parental behavior that disturbs the child’s relationship with the other parent.” This includes refusing phone contact or visitation with the other parent, criticizing the other parent, restricting the other parent’s access to information about the child, encouraging conflict between the child and the other parent, blaming the other parent and much more. Parental Alienation now constitutes a material change of circumstances and a reason for the court to change custody.
There were major changes to the tax law in 2018 that may affect people getting divorced in 2018 or thereafter. The first major change is that alimony is no longer deductible to the payer or taxable to the payee for all alimony orders entered on or after January 1, 2019. Previously, alimony was tax deductible to the party paying it and taxable to the party getting it. The Second major change is regarding children. As of January 1, 2018, the personal child tax exemption is suspended. Although the parent claiming the child will no longer receive a $4,050 exemption per child, there still may be some tax benefits to claiming a child. For example, the child tax credit has been increased and available to taxpayers filing single or head of household
Our family law attorneys are extremely knowledgeable and have successfully fought for many non-custodial parents’ rights, grandparents’ rights, visitation, emergency child custody and have experience modifying parenting plans and child support as well as military retirement and alimony. We can help you keep or get custody of your child, keep or get alimony and military retirement and win your case. We would be happy answer your questions. Call us to schedule a consultation today!