Immediate Decisions
Once a divorce has started, some immediate decisions need to be made. This includes issues about children, finances and residences. There are various issues that can be resolved temporarily before the divorce is final. This can be accomplished through negotiations or ultimately a Court hearing. These are referred to as “temporary matters” or resolving an issue on a “temporary basis”. The word “temporary” is intended to refer to the time frame between filing the divorce with the District Court and the conclusion of the divorce. The issues generally resolved on a temporary basis include temporary custody of minor children, temporary parenting time, child support, spousal support, restraining orders, and excluding one of the parties from the marital residence.
A Motion must be filed and a hearing scheduled with the court, to have the court consider and decide any issue on a temporary basis. Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant in the case must be advised of the hearing, and must have a sufficient notice of the hearing under the Rules of Court. Live testimony from witnesses is generally not permitted at a temporary hearing. Evidence is submitted through the use of written Affidavits. Affidavits must be in a particular form and comply with the local Court’s rules. Affidavits must be based on personal knowledge and cannot contain “hearsay”. There are a number of methods by which our attorneys will obtain Affidavits, to support or defend the particular issues that are before the court. Many times, we will create a list of people with you who have potentially important information. You and your attorney will then discuss whom to contact for Affidavits, and the specific information that should be put into each person’s Affidavit. In some cases, people who provide Affidavits begin the process by writing out a letter to the attorney. We will then contact the witness to assist with expanding any areas in that letter which need more detail. The attorney then will put the Affidavit in the correct form, edited grammatically, and will request that the individual review a draft to insure that it is entirely accurate. Any final changes or modifications requested by the witness are then completed. Once the Affidavit is in final form, the witness will sign the document under oath and in the presence of a public notary. Each and every Affidavit, including the client’s Affidavit, can be composed and completed in this fashion. There are also times when clients or witnesses are more comfortable working with the attorney in the office to have us help with the drafting of the entire Affidavit. This can be time consuming; but for some people, it can be the most effective method of obtaining Affidavits. In that instance, the attorney drafts the Affidavit as we interview the client or witness, then has the individual review it and executes the document-- all in one single visit to the office.
One issue to be handled at the temporary hearing may be temporary alimony. ‘Spousal support’ and ‘alimony’ is the same thing. Nebraska statues provide that the court should consider a number of factors when considering an award of alimony. These include the difference in earnings, the length of the marriage, and the interruption of careers or educational opportunities to raise children. Those same factors are considered in determining alimony awards at the final hearing, as well. There are no hard and fast rules for determining whether the Court will award temporary alimony and if so, in what amount. One such analysis can be characterized as the expense model. The other model we use in assessment is an income model or approach. The former has an emphasis on your monthly needs and is more often implemented when there is a significant cash flow issue based on you or your spouse’s combined income. The Income approach is a more advantageous analysis when cash flow isn’t as significant, although there may be a deficiency. A combination of these analysis’ may also be used, depending on the facts of your case. In order to assess a temporary alimony issue, we review your reasonable and necessary monthly living expenses. We would review several years tax returns. Once all relevant financial information is reviewed, several different analysis’ can be used to assist in developing a plan for negotiations and/or a proposal for the Court’s consideration. No matter what label is used, alimony, spousal support, payment of spouse expenses, what we are really doing is developing a Court ordered budget for you and your spouse to use while the divorce is pending. It is not unusual that there just isn’t enough income to meet everyone’s monthly needs. We will help prioritize your needs. Certainly, the minor children’s financial needs must be handled. Significant assets, such as real estate and vehicles must be preserved. Marital bills should be timely paid to maintain your credit rating. If this is not possible, we will assist with appropriate communication to creditors and/or credit reporting agencies.
A Motion must be filed and a hearing scheduled with the court, to have the court consider and decide any issue on a temporary basis. Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant in the case must be advised of the hearing, and must have a sufficient notice of the hearing under the Rules of Court. Live testimony from witnesses is generally not permitted at a temporary hearing. Evidence is submitted through the use of written Affidavits. Affidavits must be in a particular form and comply with the local Court’s rules. Affidavits must be based on personal knowledge and cannot contain “hearsay”. There are a number of methods by which our attorneys will obtain Affidavits, to support or defend the particular issues that are before the court. Many times, we will create a list of people with you who have potentially important information. You and your attorney will then discuss whom to contact for Affidavits, and the specific information that should be put into each person’s Affidavit. In some cases, people who provide Affidavits begin the process by writing out a letter to the attorney. We will then contact the witness to assist with expanding any areas in that letter which need more detail. The attorney then will put the Affidavit in the correct form, edited grammatically, and will request that the individual review a draft to insure that it is entirely accurate. Any final changes or modifications requested by the witness are then completed. Once the Affidavit is in final form, the witness will sign the document under oath and in the presence of a public notary. Each and every Affidavit, including the client’s Affidavit, can be composed and completed in this fashion. There are also times when clients or witnesses are more comfortable working with the attorney in the office to have us help with the drafting of the entire Affidavit. This can be time consuming; but for some people, it can be the most effective method of obtaining Affidavits. In that instance, the attorney drafts the Affidavit as we interview the client or witness, then has the individual review it and executes the document-- all in one single visit to the office.
One issue to be handled at the temporary hearing may be temporary alimony. ‘Spousal support’ and ‘alimony’ is the same thing. Nebraska statues provide that the court should consider a number of factors when considering an award of alimony. These include the difference in earnings, the length of the marriage, and the interruption of careers or educational opportunities to raise children. Those same factors are considered in determining alimony awards at the final hearing, as well. There are no hard and fast rules for determining whether the Court will award temporary alimony and if so, in what amount. One such analysis can be characterized as the expense model. The other model we use in assessment is an income model or approach. The former has an emphasis on your monthly needs and is more often implemented when there is a significant cash flow issue based on you or your spouse’s combined income. The Income approach is a more advantageous analysis when cash flow isn’t as significant, although there may be a deficiency. A combination of these analysis’ may also be used, depending on the facts of your case. In order to assess a temporary alimony issue, we review your reasonable and necessary monthly living expenses. We would review several years tax returns. Once all relevant financial information is reviewed, several different analysis’ can be used to assist in developing a plan for negotiations and/or a proposal for the Court’s consideration. No matter what label is used, alimony, spousal support, payment of spouse expenses, what we are really doing is developing a Court ordered budget for you and your spouse to use while the divorce is pending. It is not unusual that there just isn’t enough income to meet everyone’s monthly needs. We will help prioritize your needs. Certainly, the minor children’s financial needs must be handled. Significant assets, such as real estate and vehicles must be preserved. Marital bills should be timely paid to maintain your credit rating. If this is not possible, we will assist with appropriate communication to creditors and/or credit reporting agencies.
