Divorce

Divorce is the most common type of family law matter. It’s usually accompanied by more than one family issue, such as child custody, child support, spousal support, and asset division. If you are going through a divorce, it is essential to enlist the assistance of a divorce lawyer. It is important to retain a divorce lawyer who knows the law and how it will affect your decisions and proceedings. Having the best lawyer for filing a divorce comes with many great privileges that our qualified divorce attorney in Charleston, WV, is prepared to discuss. All you must do is contact us and schedule a consultation!

High Net Worth Divorce

Some of the most complex divorces that exist are high net worth divorces. High net worth divorces require the expertise of a high net worth divorce lawyer who can help the spouses transition smoothly and effectively into the next phase of their lives. Since these types of divorces usually encompass large estates, property, and assets, it is crucial to hire a high net worth divorce lawyer who is seasoned in this area. With so much on the line, it is vital to secure and protect your assets and children throughout these proceedings. The best way to protect your best interests is to hire a skilled high net worth divorce lawyer. If you or an acquaintance is expecting a high net worth divorce, we share the advice that a high net worth divorce lawyer is imperative to a smooth transition.

Asset & Property Division

The process of sorting through and dividing all marital and nonmarital assets, property, and debts is a significant part of getting divorced. Before moving forward with a dissolution of marriage, it is wise to talk to a divorce lawyer about how to proceed. Asset and property division can prompt contentious disputes. These disputes are often accompanied by higher stress levels and rising emotions. The process can be even more complicated in high net worth divorces. The process of asset and property division, without the presence of an attorney, is likely to bring about unwanted stress during a time when separating spouses likely wish to be focused on minimizing stress. In addition to assisting with asset division, our fully equipped family lawyer from Charleston can help ensure that the division is equitable. It is important to find a qualified divorce attorney who can adequately assess your property. An accurate asset valuation can safeguard your right to fair property division.

What Does A Divorce Lawyer Do?

Whether or divorcing individuals can reach an agreement about any relevant issues, going through a divorce with a spouse can be a very difficult time in anyone’s life. Even if you and your spouse have decided to work together through a divorce, there will still be many complicated, tense legal issues that you will need to work through to reach an agreement. Without the help of an experienced attorney, this process can be overwhelming. The team at the Law Office of Scott E. Elswick is more than happy to schedule an initial consultation with you so that you can speak directly and candidly to an experienced legal professional about your situation. We understand that this can be a confusing time in your life, which is why we take the time to understand our clients’ needs and unique situations before we start to build a case for them. Based in Charleston, WV, our highly experienced divorce lawyer knows that this is a highly complex and emotionally difficult process. We have the compassion and skill that it’s going to take to meet your goals.

The various services provided by a divorce lawyer are going to make the process of divorce significantly less of a chore. Not only will our expert lawyer for filing divorce assist you in gathering financial records for your financial affidavit, but they will also help you understand the entire process so that you can get an equitable distribution of assets. Our divorce attorney can also assist in planning any changes to your retirement plan. Or even advise you on how to prevent potential evidence from being used against you, for example, social media presence is a common point of investigation.

Read more below about some general information regarding divorces in West Virginia, and contact us in Charleston, WV today to discuss the specifics of your situation. There are many different details and variables that we will need to understand to give you a better idea of what to expect throughout this process. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we will be able to begin our work together in a way that is productive, helpful, and maximizes your chances of a favorable outcome.

Filing For Divorce In Charleston, West Virginia

​The first steps towards filing for a divorce in West Virginia involve gathering all of the necessary documentation, completing all of the relevant paperwork, and submitting it to the Family Court. Depending on your family situation, you will need to complete paperwork about your finances, children, and dependents, as well as the divorce petition.

Once you have filed the paperwork, you will need to wait for your spouse to be served their copy of the divorce papers. Once served, you will need to prepare for your initial court date. During this time, you can decide whether it’s best to agree or ask the Court for resolution.​ Compiling all of the necessary documents from every source and then serving a copy of divorce papers is not necessarily helpful for minimizing stress during the draining process of divorce. We have been doing this in Charleston, WV, for many years. Let us relieve the burden of this transition so that you can save on peace of mind.

Steps For Divorce

To finalize a divorce, you will need to address issues such as the division of debts and assets, property division, spousal support payments (alimony), child custody, and child support payments. You have an opportunity to work directly with your spouse through mediation. In mediation, you and your spouse will work with a neutral third party to get through each of these subjects.

If you are unable to reach an agreement, your next option may be to leave these issues up to the courts to decide. Many people do not like this option, as it takes the power away from them and allows a judge to decide what happens in their personal lives. This is a very reasonable concern that our highly knowledgeable divorce lawyer will do everything in their power to prevent. If you want to ensure that you will reach an agreement, contact us in Charleston, WV, today.

Divorce and Annulments

The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that an annulment makes it so that the marriage never happened in the first place. They can both be intensely emotional events because they involve two people who know each other very well splitting up from each other. Some divorces can be civil and amicable, but many others involve a lot of hatred and hostility as each party airs their grievances and frustrations with each other whenever they get the chance. It can get even worse if children are involved because separating from marriage with children involved can be even more emotionally taxing. If there are children involved in your divorce or annulment, it is instrumental to have a divorce or annulment attorney on your side.

Our Charleston annulment attorney can serve as middlemen and go-betweens for each party as they negotiate the terms of their divorce. Even with the aid of experienced divorce attorneys, a divorce can be unpredictable and when it is fair and equitable to both parties, at least one of the parties will be unsatisfied with the outcome. This can often be because of the grounds for divorce, which are the legal reasons for divorce and they can be fault or no-fault. A fault divorce is when one of the spouses did something that caused the divorce, such as abuse or adultery. No-fault divorce is when couples drift apart due to irreconcilable differences or the breakdown of the marriage. 

Various areas that need to be worked out during a divorce include the following:

Division of Property

When a couple gets divorced, the courts will divide all of the marital assets acquired during the marriage. Separate property is the property that each person owned before the marriage or was given specifically to them during the marriage, so they are allowed to keep it once the marriage ends. Marital property refers to the assets acquired by the couple during their marriage and can be separated into real property like the house, vehicles, or jewelry, and intangible property like income and dividends.

The way the property is divided depends on whether the couple lives in a state that follows equitable distribution or community property. Equitable distribution means that the property is divided between the couple based on the facts of the case. Community property states attempt to divide the property on a 50-50 basis. Most states, including West Virginia, use equitable distribution, meaning that the judge will divide property based on what they feel is fair based on the circumstances of the case.

Alimony

Also called spousal support, alimony allows the spouse who is the lower earner or who was unemployed during the marriage to maintain their lifestyle until they can earn a steady income. The amount, frequency, and duration of spousal support depend on various factors such as the length of the marriage, the physical and emotional health of each spouse, and the ability of the spouse to pay the required amount. A judge will take all of these factors into consideration, as well as a few others when deciding on the alimony payments. To result in a favorable outcome, the guidance of an experienced divorce alimony lawyer makes a significant impact. Luckily, the best divorce alimony lawyer for reaching a satisfactory agreement is located here in Charleston, WV.

Child Custody

Child custody is technically part of many divorce proceedings but is a big enough legal issue that it deserves to be considered separately. This can be an emotional issue for both the parents and the children involved, but the courts will always make the best interests of the children their top priority. That means the courts will usually try to appoint joint custody since it is usually good for the child to have a strong relationship with both of their parents. The exception is if a parent is abusive or derelict in their parenting duties. If you have reason to believe that your child should be in your custody and want to do everything in your power to secure child custody, you need Scott Elswick, the best lawyer for filing a divorce.

In some cases, a parent will get sole custody of their child, in which case the courts will have to work out a visitation schedule for the non-custodial parent. Child support is also an important issue in child custody cases because parents are legally obligated to support their children. The amount of support that a non-custodial parent must provide for their child depends on a variety of factors but each state has a child support worksheet to help simplify the decision. Factors that are taken into account include the income of the parents, the education needs of the child, health insurance for the child, and more.

The penalty for not paying child support payments can be severe, but parents that have trouble paying can try to modify the child support arrangement. Modification of existing child custody and child support arrangements is a big part of family law since the circumstances of the divorced couple and their children are always changing. If an arrangement needs to be modified, then the party requesting the modification should contact an attorney before taking their case to the courts. As you can see, there are a lot of details in divorce that come with potential consequences. For explaining every single one of these details and each step in the process, we are here to guide and support you. If you are facing a divorce, there is no question that our many years of experience navigating divorce courts in Charleston, WV, will highly benefit you.

Contact Us Today

Our work in the West Virginia family courts will be a tremendous asset to you as you try to make sense of this next chapter of your life. We will be able to help you navigate this process with as little stress as possible, and help you understand each of the steps you will need to take to complete your divorce. We understand that this is a complicated time for you, and will do all that we can to help you towards a positive outcome as our client.

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