A. I sense your concern is about protecting your very young niece when in a setting without Mom’s supervision, particularly in view of the different genders and the fact that they are half siblings. Have the two children been living together before the divorce? Read the rest of the Divorce Expert’s answer…

Q. My wife and I are getting a divorce and we have worked everything out between ourselves. I am keeping property that I owned before the marriage. Now, before signing our agreement, my wife has gone to see a lawyer and the lawyer is asking me for a lot of financial information. Why does the lawyer want all of this information and what are they trying to do? ~Worried in Washington

A. I’m glad you wrote! This is how to de-code what is happening: 1) your wife wants to…Read the rest of Divorce Lawyer Donna Beck Weaver’s answer…

Q. I have been sober for 8 years, but my husband still drinks and he is verbally abusive, for which I go to counseling. We have been married for 10 years, lived together for 16 years and don’t have any children. We have come to such a stalemate and are in a very low-income, no job area in Utah. My question is this…Do I qualify for alimony? ~Unpaid in Utah

A. Kudos to you for your long sobriety! And kudos for pursuing your education. You have your “priorities on straight”, as my mother used to say. Your next wise moves are to analyze your financial picture so that you will understand the impact of making changes on the family front. This way, you get to be the chooser of your circumstances…Read the rest of the California Certified Family Law Specialist’s answer…

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Just Ask Dear Donna is a monthly column that is authored by Donna Beck Weaver (”Dear Donna”), a Los Angeles attorney with 30 years of family law experience. Dear Donna is the perfect person to answer your questions about the legal, financial and emotional aspects of divorce. Dear Donna is a veteran family law attorney and former litigator. A member of the prestigious American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Ms. Weaver is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Weaver practiced for more than a decade with the well-known Los Angeles family law litigation firm of Trope and Trope (Britney Spears’s former family law firm). Ms. Weaver left Trope and Trope to open a practice devoted to resolution of family law matters using innovative processes such as collaborative law and mediation.

This is not legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have legal questions that relate to your specific divorce. Technorati Tags: divorce, lawyer, divorce expert, donna beck weaver, trope trope, britney spears, law firm, ask a lawyer, legal answers, divorce questions, family attorney, divorced, marriage, alimony, spousal support, maintenance, alcohol and divorce, divorce and education, just ask dear donna, children and divorce, kids and divorce, women, woman, law

Alimony, spousal support and maintenance are not gender based and having children is not a prerequisite. Support is an income substitute that may be paid temporarily, for a limited term, long-term or in a lump sum. The legal right to receive support is not guaranteed, but may be established by agreement or a court order entered upon a finding that one spouse has the means and the other, the need. If you are in the early phases of your divorce, dissolution or legal separation and have not yet divided your assets, temporary support may be the appropriate financial relief to keep you afloat until the details of your case are resolved. The subject of support is often a very touchy subject and can be quite volatile, but it should not be avoided if it is a necessity. So, this week, your assignment is to learn more about Alimony, spousal support and maintenance or, if you have children, family support or unallocated alimony, then to speak with your lawyer and/or husband to determine if and when you can begin receiving payments. Alternatively, if you are the breadwinner in your relationship, you should also consider whether your husband is entitled to, or should receive financial assistance from you.

Technorati Tags: alimony, divorcesupport, spouse, support, pay, family support, spousal support, maintenance, paying support, receiving support, financial aid, wife, husband, family, children, separated, divorce, divorced, legal law