Overland Park Divorce Lawyer

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Understanding The Divorce Process In Overland Park, KS

Going through a divorce can be emotionally challenging and legally complex. If you find yourself facing this situation in Overland Park, Kansas, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of the divorce process to navigate it effectively. For more assistance, please contact us at The Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A.

1. Grounds for Divorce: Kansas is a no-fault divorce state, which means that you don’t have to prove fault or wrongdoing by either party to get a divorce. The only required grounds are incompatibility and inability to live together as husband and wife.
2. Residency Requirements: To file for divorce in Overland Park, or anywhere in Kansas, one or both spouses must have lived in the state for at least 60 days before filing.
3. Filing for Divorce: The divorce process typically begins with filing a Petition for Divorce in the appropriate district court in Johnson County, where Overland Park is located. The petition outlines the issues to be addressed, such as property division, child custody, support, and alimony.
4. Serving the Divorce Petition: After filing the petition, the non-filing spouse must be served with the divorce papers. This can be done through a process server or by certified mail. The spouse then has a specified time to respond to the petition.
5. Temporary Orders: During the divorce process, either spouse can request temporary orders for matters like child custody, support, and spousal maintenance. These orders are intended to maintain stability and address immediate needs while the divorce is pending.
6. Discovery: Both parties gather information and documents relevant to the divorce, including financial records, property valuations, and other relevant evidence. This process is known as “discovery.”
7. Negotiation and Settlement: Most divorce cases are settled out of court through negotiation, mediation, or collaborative law processes. These approaches can save time, money, and emotional stress. If the spouses can reach agreements on all issues, a settlement agreement is drafted and submitted to the court for approval.
8. Court Proceedings: If the parties are unable to agree on some or all issues, a court hearing may be necessary. The court will make decisions based on the evidence presented and applicable Kansas laws.
9. Property Division: Kansas follows the principle of equitable distribution, meaning that marital property is divided fairly but not necessarily equally. Factors such as each spouse’s financial contributions, non-monetary contributions, and future earning potential are considered.
10. Child Custody and Support: Child custody arrangements are determined based on the best interests of the child. Kansas encourages shared parental responsibilities unless it’s not in the child’s best interests. Child support is calculated based on state guidelines and factors such as income and custody arrangements.
11. Alimony (Spousal Maintenance): The court may award spousal maintenance based on factors like the length of the marriage, each spouse’s financial resources, and their ability to support themselves.
12. Finalizing the Divorce: Once all issues are resolved, whether through negotiation or court proceedings, a final divorce decree is issued by the court. This document legally ends the marriage and outlines the terms of the settlement or court orders.

How to Make the Divorce Process Less Stressful

Getting a divorce can definitely make your life more difficult for a while. However, you can do certain things to reduce your stress levels, such as:

Take care of your physical and mental health

Too many people who are going through a divorce neglect their physical and mental well-being. Unfortunately, not taking proper care of yourself can just add to your stress. Make sure to eat a nutritious diet, exercise regularly, and get proper rest. Do not resort to alcohol or drugs to cope with stress, as they can lead to further issues.

Be civil with your spouse

If you and your spouse ended things on bad terms, the idea of being civil with him or her may sound impossible. However, remaining civil can make your divorce less stressful. If you are feeling angry or upset one day, do not contact your spouse. Wait until you are in a calmer mood.

Hire an experienced lawyer

If you want to make your divorce as painless as possible, it is essential to have a skilled divorce lawyer on your side. A divorce lawyer in Overland Park, KS will help you with the paperwork, negotiate a fair settlement and prevent you from making costly mistakes.

Stay off social media

When you are going through a divorce, you may be tempted to vent your frustrations on Facebook and other social media sites. However, this can actually do more harm than good. Whatever you post on social media can be used against you in court. To avoid jeopardizing your case and increasing your stress, try to stay off social media.

Talk to a therapist

If you are not comfortable talking to family and friends about your divorce, consider seeing a professional therapist. A therapist doesn’t know you personally, so he or she can give you unbiased advice and won’t sugarcoat anything. He or she can help you work through your emotional issues during your divorce.

HOW TO MAKE THE DIVORCE PROCESS LESS STRESSFUL INFOGRAPHIC

How to Be Civil with Your Ex During a Divorce

As a divorce lawyer Overland Park, KS residents can confirm, many couples argue and fight while going through a divorce. Unfortunately, this can make an already difficult situation even tougher. It is best to remain cordial with your ex throughout the process.

Here are some tips for being civil with your ex during divorce:

1. Plan your interactions ahead of time – When you have to interact with your ex, it may be best to plan the conversation in advance. Doing so can allow you to stay on topic and reduce arguments. Consider writing down the topics you wish to discuss in a notebook. Also, you may want to decide on a distinct time for the conversation to end and inform your ex about it.
2. Don’t contact your ex when you are angry – Divorce can bring out a lot of emotions, especially anger. To avoid saying something you might regret later, don’t interact with your ex when you are angry. Instead, give yourself at least 24 hours to cool down. Once you are in a calm state, you will be able to express your feelings without getting too upset.
3. Talk to someone about your emotions – It is never a good idea to keep your emotions bottled up, especially during a divorce. If you do, you may eventually blow up, particularly towards your ex. Your Overland Park divorce lawyer may advise you to talk to a trusted family member or friend about how you feel. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to anyone in your life, you may want to speak with a professional therapist instead.
4. Avoid dwelling on the past – Too many divorcing couples make the mistake of dwelling on the past. This does not do any good. It’s much more useful to concentrate on the issue at hand. 
5. Be willing to compromise – Divorce is all about compromise. Very rarely does anyone get everything they want. That is why you should be willing to make compromises with your ex on different matters in your divorce, such as property division and child custody. Doing so can help streamline the process and reduce stress.
6. Apologize when you are wrong – If you say something unkind towards your ex or behave in an inappropriate way, take responsibility for your actions. It can go a long way. Doing so shows that you are a mature and rational person who is willing to own up to your mistakes. For instance, if you insulted your ex, you may want to say that you are sorry for saying something so hurtful and that you won’t do it again.
7. Hire the right divorce lawyer – If you want to keep your divorce civil and short, you need to work with the right Overland Park divorce lawyer. Explain to your lawyer from the beginning that you do not want a heated court battle. You would rather go the mediation route and remain civil.

Different Things to Consider in a Divorce

When two people get divorced a lot of times there are more things taking place than just the divorce. If the divorcing couple happens to have children then the children will be affected as well by the divorce. It’s important to take the children’s considerations into account when a divorce is being discussed and ultimately followed through with. Child custody is something that will need to be determined in order to figure out which of the parents will receive custody and under what terms. In some cases, one parent will receive full custody and in other cases, each parent may receive joint custody. The terms of a custody agreement may also see the child split time between the care of both parents. One parent may be responsible for taking care of the child for most weeks while the other parent may get the child every weekend or a different set of days. 

How Child Custody is Determined in a Divorce

Child custody will take many things into account in order to determine which parent will receive which level of custody of the child. One thing that is looked at is which parent the child wishes to live with. Another thing that will be observed is how much time each parent has been proven to spend with the child. If it appears that one parent is not around very often then the court may determine that this parent isn’t a loving parent even if in reality they are. Child custody is determined by how things appear in a lot of child custody cases. The court system puts a strong emphasis on which parent cares for the child mostly and which one seems to be there for them. If a couple is planning on getting a divorce and is already separated then if one parent has already moved away from the area then a court will most likely not view this parent as one who truly cares for their kids or wishes to be a part of their lives. For assistance with divorce and other family matters like child custody in a divorce, turn to The Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A today to get help from an Overland Park divorce lawyer. Our firm has helped many people get through their divorces.

Child Support and Alimony

To follow up on child custody there also is child support and alimony that generally come about in a divorce proceeding. Child support will see a parent paying the other parent a certain amount of money to meet the child’s needs. Alimony is similar in that a payment is made to cover the other spouse’s needs. These amounts needing to be paid will vary on different circumstances like who has child custody and also the financial situation and income of each spouse. For assistance with alimony payments or to determine child support reach out to an Overland Park, KS divorce lawyer to learn more about how The Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A can help. 

Lifestyle Clauses and Prenuptial Agreements

An Overland Park, KS divorce lawyer knows that one of the best ways to avoid a long, drawn-out divorce battle is to have a prenuptial agreement in place before you even say, “I do.” Most couples planning to get married tend to dismiss prenuptial agreements as tools for the super-wealthy that they do not need to concern themselves with.

While it is true that prenups are often useful for protecting people taking a large amount of assets into a marriage, there are also other ways that they can be beneficial. One way that has gained popularity over the past few years is the introduction of lifestyle clauses into these agreements. Unlike ordinary prenuptial agreement clauses that deal with what can happen in the event of divorce, these clauses take advantage of the Kansas prenuptial agreement law to set out certain behaviors that the spouses agree to abide by.

What exactly is a lifestyle clause?

Lifestyle clauses are contractual clauses in which the engaged couple promises to abide by certain rules for the duration of the marriage, usually with some financial penalty in case a spouse violates the clause. These clauses can cover a lot of ground, and do not necessarily have to apply to both spouses equally. These clauses can penalize spouses for infidelity, set a number of children for the marriage, or even deal with more minute issues.

What are some examples of lifestyle clauses?

Some of the most common lifestyle clauses that an Overland divorce lawyer can include in the prenuptial agreements drawn up at our law firm include:

• How the couple’s children will be raised, i.e. what schools they will attend or what religion they will be raised in?
• How much time the couple must spend with either set of in-laws?
• How often spouses can go out with their friends?
• How often the spouses will have sex?
• How much weight a spouse is allowed to gain?

Are there any potential legal drawbacks to lifestyle clauses?

Of course, with such a wide array of potentially intrusive options, there are some possible concerns that people considering the implementation of these contracts should keep in mind.

One of the biggest concerns for these types of clauses is whether the court will enforce them. These clauses are reasonably new, and it is possible that a court may not think it is good public policy to hold spouses to some of the more drastic or personal clauses. Beyond that, courts will also likely look for a high degree of clarity when enforcing these contracts, so it is important that the spouses’ rights and responsibilities be set out in an unambiguous way.

Are there any other issues that can arise with lifestyle clauses?

There is also the potential for these clauses to negatively affect a relationship. Overly intrusive lifestyle clauses can breed resentment between the spouses, and it also has the potential to make the entire relationship feel as if it is nothing more than a business deal. While this can be a downside, the benefit can be that the negotiation of the prenuptial agreement and lifestyle clauses brings out significant differences between the couple that could have ultimately made a successful marriage impossible and the need for each to find a skilled Overland Park divorce lawyer.

Schedule a consultation with a divorce lawyer in Overland Park, KS from The Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A. today.