July 9, 2018
Divorce and Self-Employment: Things You Should Know
Divorce, a problematic phase of life becomes more difficult if your partner is self-employed. There is a possibility that your self-employed partner may attempt to cloak his or her assets, which is one of the biggest concerns in such cases. Whereas, if you are a self-employed individual who wish to part ways with his/ her partner, then you must explore all the legal ways to protect your business. It is important that you know how to protect your interests if you are going through a divorce. In this article, we will list down what to expect and how to protect your interests.
Divorcing as a self-employed individual
Your financial health will be affected, if your partner claims that you earn more than you actually do. You need to be ready for it, because your business and your future depends on it. You need to follow the below mentioned divorce tips to protect your interests:
- Collect as many legally valid documents about your business and financial situation as you possibly can. Reliable and legally verifiable information is the key in divorce proceedings, so collect all the information you can.
- Seek professional help. You need to hire an accountant or auditor who can present accurate picture of your business.
Divorcing your self-employed spouse
As mentioned above, your self-employed partner may try to hide his/ her assets to give you less share than you legally deserve. To avoid such situations, you should determine the financial situation of your partner accurately. If you and your partner share a good relationship, then the chances of fraud are less but there always exist a possibility. Therefore, you need to follow the below mentioned points to protect your interest:
- Collect as many legally valid documents about your partner’s business and financial situation as you possibly can.
- Hire a forensic accountant or a business evaluate to find the true worth of your partner’s business.
If you live in the Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Harrisonburg areas and you are thinking of divorcing your self-employed partner, call Cravens & Noll at 804-330-9220 or fill out our online contact form to schedule an initial consultation. We can discuss your situation, your legal rights, the potential costs of a divorce and your best options for moving forward.
At Cravens & Noll, an experienced Virginia law firm, we are Your Lawyers For Life and have protected and served the rights of over 30,000 people just like you throughout Virginia across 4 Decades in Business. This is why we have been voted one of The Best Law Firms and The Best Attorney in Richmond by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
We know that every legal case is always…personal. No matter what you are facing right now our attorneys will provide the solutions you need, at a reasonable price. Whether divorce, personal injury, criminal charges, or bankruptcy. We work hard to be your lawyers for life. That means giving your individual case the one-on-one attention and care it deserves.
Our team of trusted and local lawyers will never give false expectations about the potential outcome of your case. You can count on a realistic assessment of your case, in order for you to make a sound decision.
With offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg, we will assist you with dedicated and professional legal advice. In times like this, you need answers, stability, and confidence. Our calculated approach quickly evaluates and stabilizes your situation immediately to prepare you for the legal matters ahead. Our goal as your attorney is that you feel immediate relief from the moment you contact us. We can meet with you face-to-face, by video, by telephone, or together in our office.
Contact our Virginia attorneys today for a consultation. At your appointment, we will ease the burden on your shoulders and provide you with options on how to proceed. Before taking a case, Cravens and Noll lawyers provide an initial consultation for clients.
May 29, 2018
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Divorce or Child Custody Attorney
Divorce and child custody cases can be highly emotional and deal with issues that are at the core of what most people hold dear. Who is my family? How do I care for and protect my children? How do I make sure that my children and I are treated fairly? What will my future family life be?
If you’re looking for an attorney, look for someone you can trust
If you’re seeking a divorce or child custody attorney in the Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Harrisonburg areas, you need to find someone you trust with handling these critical issues. Someone who not only knows the law but someone who knows how to handle highly stressful, emotional situations that come with a divorce and deciding which parent has what rights when it comes to child custody.
No matter what legal area you need help with, whether it’s because you’ve been injured in an accident, charged with a crime or getting divorced, you need to trust your attorney. You need to feel comfortable with the person and feel confident that person will fully represent your interests and protect your rights, whether when that’s during negotiations for an agreement between the parties or in court during a trial.
Questions worth asking
Here are some important questions you can ask to help narrow down whom you should work with in a divorce and/or child custody matter.
- Do you specialize in divorce and child custody?
- How much of your work is divorce and child custody cases?
- How many years have you been practicing law?
- How does your knowledge and experience fit with my needs as a client given the facts of my case?
- What approach would you take in my case? Are you very aggressive when dealing with the other attorney or party or are you more inclined to try to work out an agreement?
- What would you expect of me as your client?
- What should I expect from you as my lawyer?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of my case?
- What outcome I should reasonably expect in my case?
- Do you handle just negotiations, just trial work or both?
- Will you personally be handling my case or will others work on it? If there are others, who are they and what will they do?
- Do you have the time to take on my case and give it the attention I need?
- How much should I expect this to cost? How much time will this take? What might make that cost and amount of time increase or decrease?
- Do you work on retainer?
- Is there an hourly rate in addition to that?
- What happens when my retainer runs out?
- What hourly rate will I be charged if I call and talk to a secretary or paralegal?
- What are the costs, other than your time, that I’ll need to pay?
- How quickly do you respond to phone calls and emails?
- Will you update me regularly about my case?
We earn our clients’ trust every day
Cravens & Noll represents clients in the Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Harrisonburg areas, in all aspects of divorce and child custody, including negotiation, mediation and taking a case to court. We give our clients the opportunity to explain their situation and concerns and talk about the goals they’re seeking.
We understand the emotional toll a divorce and child custody matters can take, in addition to the practical problems it may cause your work life and raising your kids. You can trust us with the legal issues you and your family face so you can focus on living your life and planning for the future. Call us today at (804) 330-9220 so we can schedule a free, initial consultation to discuss your current situation, the future you hope for and how we can help you attain it.
At Cravens & Noll, an experienced Virginia law firm, we are Your Lawyers For Life and have protected and served the rights of over 30,000 people just like you throughout Virginia across 4 Decades in Business. This is why we have been voted one of The Best Law Firms and The Best Attorney in Richmond by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
We know that every legal case is always…personal. No matter what you are facing right now our attorneys will provide the solutions you need, at a reasonable price. Whether divorce, personal injury, criminal charges, or bankruptcy. We work hard to be your lawyers for life. That means giving your individual case the one-on-one attention and care it deserves.
Our team of trusted and local lawyers will never give false expectations about the potential outcome of your case. You can count on a realistic assessment of your case, in order for you to make a sound decision.
With offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg, we will assist you with dedicated and professional legal advice. In times like this, you need answers, stability, and confidence. Our calculated approach quickly evaluates and stabilizes your situation immediately to prepare you for the legal matters ahead. Our goal as your attorney is that you feel immediate relief from the moment you contact us. We can meet with you face-to-face, by video, by telephone, or together in our office.
Contact our Virginia attorneys today for a consultation. At your appointment, we will ease the burden on your shoulders and provide you with options on how to proceed. Before taking a case, Cravens and Noll lawyers provide an initial consultation for clients.
May 15, 2018
What You Should Tell Your Divorce Lawyer When You First Meet
If you’re thinking about getting a divorce and live in the Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Harrisonburg areas, Cravens & Noll offers a free consultation so we can meet in person and talk about your needs and how we can help. This is a very important meeting for both sides because it gives you a chance to see if we’re a good fit for you and if you and your case are a good fit for us.
Honesty is the best policy
You’ll want information from us and we’ll give that to you as best as we can. We will also want information from you. Just as you want us to be honest, we want you to be honest too.
- We can’t help clients if they won’t tell us what’s actually going on.
- You may have made mistakes, done or said something you shouldn’t have or are embarrassed about something. It’s OK to tell us these things.
- We’re ethically obligated not to divulge what you tell us to others (unless you want us to).
- Given all the years we’ve helped people with divorces, all the clients and potential clients who’ve come through our doors, chances are pretty slim you’ll tell us something that we’ve never heard before.
- If something you’re hiding is important and your spouse breaks the news at a critical part in the divorce process and we’re unprepared, it won’t do you or us any good.
- Just as you can fire your attorney, as part of our representation agreement with our clients if you’re not being truthful with us, we might stop representing you too.
Information we may want from you
Some of the information that we could ask for during a consultation includes,
- The basic facts of your relationship, including how long you’ve known each other.
- Why you, your spouse, or both of you want to divorce. What your problems are, when they happened and why they haven’t been resolved.
- Whether you really want a divorce or whether you might want try to find a way to repair your relationship.
- What your goals are, what you want the results to be, in getting a divorce.
- What you would like to tell us about your spouse and what you think your spouse would say about you.
- Whether one or both of you are substance abusers or have addictive habits like gambling which impacted your relationship or finances.
- Whether you or your spouse suffer a disability making it difficult or impossible to hold a job and earn a living.
- Whether the two of you have children with each other and whether one or both of you have children from prior relationships.
- The ages of your children and whether they have any disabilities.
- Whether one of you put off furthering your education or put a premature end to a career to care for your children or support the other spouse in his or her career.
- Whether there is any domestic violence going on currently or if there was any in the past.
- Both of your incomes and how they’re earned.
- What kinds of assets and debts you have, whether you own a house, information about retirement savings or pensions one or both of you may qualify for.
- Whether one or both of you own businesses or whether the two of you own the same business.
- Whether you are trying to hide or shield any assets from the divorce or if you believe your spouse may be doing so.
- Whether one or both of you are in the military or will qualify for a military pension.
Contact us and schedule a free consultation
Cravens & Noll represents clients in the Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and Harrisonburg areas in all aspects of divorce, including negotiation, mediation and taking a case to court. We give our clients the opportunity to explain their situation and concerns and talk about the goals they’re seeking.
We understand the emotional toll a divorce can take, in addition to the practical problems it may cause your work life and raising your kids. You can trust us with the legal issues you and your family face so you can focus on living your life and planning for the future. Call us today at (804) 330-9220 so we can schedule a free, initial consultation to discuss your current situation, the future you hope for and how we can help you attain it.
At Cravens & Noll, an experienced Virginia law firm, we are Your Lawyers For Life and have protected and served the rights of over 30,000 people just like you throughout Virginia across 4 Decades in Business. This is why we have been voted one of The Best Law Firms and The Best Attorney in Richmond by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
We know that every legal case is always…personal. No matter what you are facing right now our attorneys will provide the solutions you need, at a reasonable price. Whether divorce, personal injury, criminal charges, or bankruptcy. We work hard to be your lawyers for life. That means giving your individual case the one-on-one attention and care it deserves.
Our team of trusted and local lawyers will never give false expectations about the potential outcome of your case. You can count on a realistic assessment of your case, in order for you to make a sound decision.
With offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg, we will assist you with dedicated and professional legal advice. In times like this, you need answers, stability, and confidence. Our calculated approach quickly evaluates and stabilizes your situation immediately to prepare you for the legal matters ahead. Our goal as your attorney is that you feel immediate relief from the moment you contact us. We can meet with you face-to-face, by video, by telephone, or together in our office.
Contact our Virginia attorneys today for a consultation. At your appointment, we will ease the burden on your shoulders and provide you with options on how to proceed. Before taking a case, Cravens and Noll lawyers provide an initial consultation for clients.
July 12, 2016
Adultery is Still a Player In Virginia Divorce Courts
Adultery still a defense to Spousal Support:
Virginia Court of Appeals Reverses Spousal Support Award for Adulterous Wife.
In the recent case of Mundy v. Mundy, the Virginia Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling granting spousal support to an adulterous wife. Mundy v. Mundy, 66 Va. App. 177, 184 (Va. Ct. App. 2016) Although the husband earned $850,000.00 per year, and the wife did not work outside the home, the court of appeals determined that given wife’s admission, and the lower courts finding, that Mrs. Mundy had committed adultery with “multiple” sexual partners, that the denial of spousal support would not be a “manifest injustice” under VA Code §20-201.1 (B).
This is in line with a line of cases beginning with Bandas v. Bandas, wherein an attorney husband was found to pay spousal support to his adulterous wife because of the relative inequities of income would produce a “manifest injustice” economically to deny her spousal support. Bandas v. Bandas, 16 Va. App. 427, 434 (Va. Ct. App. 1993)
What we can take from this new case is that adultery is still a player (no pun intended) on the divorce battlefield. Clearly, the circumstances of the adultery, multiple partners, and the relative lack of fault on the part of the husband in the dissolution of the marriage are factors the courts in Virginia will still reply upon.
Cravens and Noll, an experienced Virginia law firm, takes great pride in the trust our clients place in our counsel. Before taking a case, Cravens and Noll lawyers provide free consultations for clients call (804) 330-9220 to schedule.
At Cravens & Noll, an experienced Virginia law firm, we are Your Lawyers For Life and have protected and served the rights of over 30,000 people just like you throughout Virginia across 4 Decades in Business. This is why we have been voted one of The Best Law Firms and The Best Attorney in Richmond by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
We know that every legal case is always…personal. No matter what you are facing right now our attorneys will provide the solutions you need, at a reasonable price. Whether divorce, personal injury, criminal charges, or bankruptcy. We work hard to be your lawyers for life. That means giving your individual case the one-on-one attention and care it deserves.
Our team of trusted and local lawyers will never give false expectations about the potential outcome of your case. You can count on a realistic assessment of your case, in order for you to make a sound decision.
With offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg, we will assist you with dedicated and professional legal advice. In times like this, you need answers, stability, and confidence. Our calculated approach quickly evaluates and stabilizes your situation immediately to prepare you for the legal matters ahead. Our goal as your attorney is that you feel immediate relief from the moment you contact us. We can meet with you face-to-face, by video, by telephone, or together in our office.
Contact our Virginia attorneys today for a consultation. At your appointment, we will ease the burden on your shoulders and provide you with options on how to proceed. Before taking a case, Cravens and Noll lawyers provide an initial consultation for clients.
August 5, 2013
The pros and cons of using social media during divorce
It now seems like Americans fall into two categories in respect to social media. One set believes that social media affects their communication in such negative ways that they simply choose not to engage in its use. The other camp seems to use social media with great regularity. Both approaches are understandable, as there are both significant benefits and significant pitfalls associated with the use of social media.
When individuals are navigating divorce proceedings, social media can be similarly beneficial or harmful, depending on how each person chooses to use these communication tools. On the one hand, social media use can be tracked by opposing legal counsel and used against a person in court. This phenomenon has led many family law attorneys to counsel their clients to shut down their social media accounts for the remainder of the process.
However, if individuals use social media responsibly, it can be a tool for healing during divorce. A recent study published by experts at UCSC and Lancaster University indicates that much of Americans’ lives are captured on the social media accounts of individuals who access them regularly. Choosing to either keep reminders of a former spouse on social media accounts or to delete all memories can be a tough emotional choice to make. However, once that choice is made, it can be cathartic to either delete photos and other reminders or make peace with their continued presence.
No matter what route you choose, if you are navigating a divorce you must either shut down your social media accounts or use them responsibly as you move forward. Whatever choices you make can either hurt you or truly help you in your legal and emotional processes.
Source: Huffington Post, “In Your Facebook! The Role of Social Media in Making Breaking Up Both Harder and Easier,” Susan Pease Gadoua, July 29, 2013
At Cravens & Noll, an experienced Virginia law firm, we are Your Lawyers For Life and have protected and served the rights of over 30,000 people just like you throughout Virginia across 4 Decades in Business. This is why we have been voted one of The Best Law Firms and The Best Attorney in Richmond by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
We know that every legal case is always…personal. No matter what you are facing right now our attorneys will provide the solutions you need, at a reasonable price. Whether divorce, personal injury, criminal charges, or bankruptcy. We work hard to be your lawyers for life. That means giving your individual case the one-on-one attention and care it deserves.
Our team of trusted and local lawyers will never give false expectations about the potential outcome of your case. You can count on a realistic assessment of your case, in order for you to make a sound decision.
With offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg, we will assist you with dedicated and professional legal advice. In times like this, you need answers, stability, and confidence. Our calculated approach quickly evaluates and stabilizes your situation immediately to prepare you for the legal matters ahead. Our goal as your attorney is that you feel immediate relief from the moment you contact us. We can meet with you face-to-face, by video, by telephone, or together in our office.
Contact our Virginia attorneys today for a consultation. At your appointment, we will ease the burden on your shoulders and provide you with options on how to proceed. Before taking a case, Cravens and Noll lawyers provide an initial consultation for clients.