Gregory L Gudger
Attorney At Law
503-228-1170
Justice, Integrity, Tenacity
Divorce and Family Law
Families break up in America; that is a fact of life. Partners to a marriage or domestic partnership sometimes grow apart, rather than together; sometimes one partner doesn't grow at all. Sometimes partners, for whatever reason, just change their minds about where they want to be, and who they want to be with. That can be unfortunate, but it is also quite natural. It is not always a matter of "fault".
Divorce lawyers help a party negotiate that separation, help the client establish the new reality and prepare them to move on with the rest of their lives. Because emotion is the glue which binds two people initially, the fact that it did not bond eternally can make the separation process difficult. Because it is bonded by emotion, separation hurts.
- Divorce
- Family Law
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- Protect Your Assets
Gregory L Gudger © 2012
Investments in a relationship also includes real and personal property acquired during the marriage. A spouse is generally entitled to one-half of the value of assets acquired during the course of the relationship: that includes properties, businesses, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, and any other asset that has financial value. In the case of property owned by ne spouse prior to the marriage, the marital portion of that asset basically equals one-half of the increase in the value of the asset since the day of marriage. In the case of a business, if the non-business holder spouse made any contribution to the business--direct or indirect--it is subject to division between the parties as a marital asset. For a business to be appropriately divided, your lawyer can secure the services of a business valuator who can use one of three different methods to conduct the valuation. When possible, courts prefer the work of such professionals to assist them in making an informed decision about dividing the business.
A stay-at-home spouse may not make a direct contribution to the business, but the fact that the spouse maintains a home for the business holder so that the business holder does not have to be concerned about taking care of the domestic front is what I call an indirect contribution, thereby making the business a dividable asset.
In the case of retirement accounts, your attorney may secure the services of an attorney who specializes in Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO ("QUADROS") to appropriately discern the marital portion of retirement plans, etc. for the court to divide.
I will make sure that the court is provided with any and all information it needs to divide marital asset to secure your full investment in the relationship.
Division Of Assets
Gregory L Gudger, Attorney At Law
3800 NE Sandy Blvd., Suite 107, Portland, Oregon 97232
Articles
Lawyers must work to help a client manage that hurt, which can stand in the way of establishing that new reality-- that new foundation-- needed to move on. Divorce can be like a hurricane that destroys your home. Once the hurt of the initial loss subsides, the client has to got to rebuild, or sit amidst the rubble, without aim or ambition for life, until some construction crew moves you out of the way to make room for others who wish to rebuild. Lawyers help you rebuild, starting with the most important and fundamental building block...you.
If there were children born of the marriage, the client has to make sure their altered reality is managed and reconstructed as well. They are generally the living, breathing product of love of two people. Both sides of a divorce have the right and responsibility to make sure the children are not merely victims of the inclement relationship; they should be nurtured and prepared for making their own productive reality. They are a part of both parties, hence the need for both to participate in their development, they are not property of one parent or the other, nor are they to be used as such. Such use affects how they will treat others; they don't need to be taught how to make someone else mistakes, or carry someone elses pain.
