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Resuming Your Maiden Name after Divorce

in Divorce

Going back to your maiden name after a divorce is a deeply personal choice.  Many people wonder if it’s the right thing to do or not. Truly, it’s up to you. People who decide to return to their maiden name or keep their married name always have a reason as to why.  Here’s some of the common reasons people choose to go back to their maiden name or keep their married name.

REASONS WOMEN GO BACK TO THEIR MAIDEN NAME

Some women choose to return to their maiden name because they like it better. Sometimes it just sounds better on the tongue or when it’s read. Cauthen or Cheever? Williams or Willis? Occasionally the maiden name just looks much better on paper.

Sometimes marriages end poorly.  Whether it just didn’t work out or was physically abusive, many women are eager to return to their maiden names because they don’t want the reminder of a painful past. Even if their maiden name is less appealing, they may be in a hurry to go back to quickly erase all evidence of their abusive spouse from their home.  Sometimes going back to your maiden name is all about freedom and starting anew. Women feel as if going back to their life before their failed marriage will make them feel whole again.

REASONS WOMEN KEEP A MARRIED NAME

Some women who have become mothers choose to retain their married names because they want to have the same last name as their children.  Many may also not want to have to deal with a statements and questions like, “Oh, you’re divorced” or “Why do you have a different last name than Billy or Suzie?” Sometimes, the choice to keep a married name may be made because you are known professionally by that name. For example, if a woman has built her whole career or her brand around her married last name, it may be too costly or risky to make the switch. Finally, the hassle of a name change alone can be the driving force behind staying put for some women, especially if they really don’t mind keeping their married name.  If you’re a woman who’s getting a divorce in Georgia and you wish to go back to your maiden name, the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove can explain how to do that as a part of your divorce before the divorce is finalized. If you need to speak with an attorney regarding the prospect of uncontested divorce please call our office today to schedule a free consultation with our experienced team of lawyers.

If You Need to File Bankruptcy, Don’t Wait

in Bankruptcy

If you are in financial trouble and you see no other way out, do not wait, speak to an attorney and if they recommend it, file bankruptcy immediately. The longer you put off the inevitable the more it will cost you. It will likely cost more in attorneys fees due to the increasing complexity of your case.  It will also cost you in terms of your credit score.  Yes, filing bankruptcy will have a negative impact on your credit, but it is just one factor in how they determine your overall creditworthiness. The longer you wait the lower you score will go, period. In some situations, it may be advisable to delay filing for a period of time. Most of the time though, once you know you need to file bankruptcy, don’t wait.

Matters of Importance

If you have been sent foreclosure paperwork and you have exhausted your other options, you are out of options and you must file to stave off the foreclosure. The same rings true with evictions, lawsuits, repossessions, and garnishments. Once you get the notice filing bankruptcy is the your last and best option. Filing bankruptcy immediately will mitigate the adverse actions of your creditors.

All of the aforementioned situations are matters of extreme importance. Competent bankruptcy lawyers will give you a breakdown of the bankruptcy timeline, including all the inflexible deadlines that must be met before and after you file. Your attorney is an expert in bankruptcy law; when they tell you that time is of the essence it is imperative to get them what they need so they may take action on your behalf as soon as possible.

Matters of Timing

In certain cases, it may benefit you if you wait to file until a certain date, your attorney would discuss this with you and explain why it is advantageous. An example of such a time would be, if your foreclosure is scheduled at a distant enough date, it may be financially savvy to delay your filing to include the coming months in your Chapter 13 plan.

In other instances, if you have taken on a large amount of debt recently or know that you will need to incur some debt in the coming weeks or months, it may be better to delay your filing until you can include those debts as well. You might also have recently made a significant transfer of property, which would affect the timeline of you filing for bankruptcy.

These situations are all less common issues. In the overwhelming majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, the sooner you file, the better.

If you’ve run out of options, don’t delay, file bankruptcy.

The faster your case gets filed the faster your credit will be able to heal. I simply can’t tell you how important credit can be in your life in today’s world. The sooner your debts are discharged, the sooner you can get back to focusing on the things in your life that actually matter. If you know bankruptcy is your only option, don’t procrastinate. Start the process immediately by calling the knowledgeable attorneys at Harmon and Gorove. They can start the process for you immediately.

Using Headphones While Driving

in Personal Injury and Workers Comp

Often, automobile and truck accidents happen because someone was distracted while driving.  Driving while distracted is one of the most significant causes of accidents across the entire world.  This is mostly because there are tons of actions that fall into the distracted driving category. The actions most commonly associated with distracted driving is texting and using electronic devices to transmit data or make phone calls.  However, those are certainly not the only things that can cause distracted driving. Eating behind the wheel, changing the radio station, even reaching down to scratch an itch can distract someone. One of the things that most people don’t think about when it comes to distracted driving is the use of headphones.  People use them for a myriad of reasons but in the State of Georgia, you are not allowed to use any device that impairs your hearing or vision while operating a vehicle. This is spelled out in Ga. Code § 40-6-250. The statute does allow earbuds or headsets that are used for purposes of communicating hands free. Basically, the statute is meant to protect our roads from drivers who can’t hear what is going on around them. For example, drivers should be able to hear other vehicles’ horns in the event of an emergency. Drivers should also be able to hear sirens of approaching emergency vehicles in time to clear the way. There are a variety of instances in which it is imperative that a driver be able to hear their surroundings. Even people on bikes and pedestrians should think twice before traveling with earbuds or headphones that prevent hearing the environment around them. The ability to hear approaching motor vehicles may be the only way to prevent a serious, life-threatening bicycle or pedestrian accident.

Because we deal with victims of serious auto accidents every day, we understand the importance of safety on our streets and highways. It only takes one second of distraction to cause a serious accident that could change lives forever. If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of another person’s negligence in a automobile accident, contact the injury lawyers at Harmon and Gorove today for a free consultation.

The pluses and minuses of settling out of court

in Personal Injury and Workers Comp

Settling a personal injury or product liability case can happen a number of ways.  Some of those ways involve a trial, a jury and a courtroom while others do not. An out of court settlement basically states that the involved parties wish to avoid a long and costly trial where the outcome is unknown.  Often times, this happens when both parties and their lawyers (occasionally with the help of a mediator) negotiate a settlement that both parties feel is fair. The specific circumstances of each case is different and the preferences of the parties to the case certainly matter.  However, listening to an experienced personal injury attorney can help you make the decision as to whether you want to take a case to trial or you wish to accept an offer of settlement. Many cases are settled out of court in a fair manner because both parties ultimately accept the facts of the case.  However, we’ve come up with a good list of pros and cons for you to consider when you think about whether you should settle your case or take it to court.

Advantages:

  1. Fewer Costs. The cost of a jury trial can multiply quickly.  Between hiring experts, travel costs and display materials the fees add up fast.  This doesn’t include the higher attorney costs incurred as well. You could also miss a great deal of time away from work and be tied up for months or even years before seeing any real payoff in your case.  You could even end up in a worse financial position than you were in before the trial.
  2. Less Stress. The pressure of taking a case to trial isn’t just on the attorney, it’s also experienced by the client.  This stress can take a serious toll on people. An out of court settlement reduces that stress significantly.
  3. Privacy. Taking a case to court involves a great deal of disclosure and if privacy is a concern of yours, know that trial documents in a case that actually goes to trial are a matter of public record.  If there are potentially embarrassing things that you don’t want made public, you can keep a great deal of that out of the public eye by settling the case out of court.
  4. Finality. A lot of people do not realize that the outcome of a trial can be appealed by the losing party. However, when settling out of court, the final outcome usually can’t be appealed. Additionally, if a case does go to appeal, it will certainly drag the case out over a substantially longer time, which will only lead to more time between you getting the money you deserve and significantly higher legal expenses.

Disadvantages:

  1. Fear of Settling. Occasionally, you just can’t get the satisfaction you want out of settling a case.  This can lead to people being unfulfilled with the settlement for reasons that don’t even involve money.
  2. The Unknown. Perhaps one of the biggest negatives of taking a case all the way to a jury trial is the fact that a group of complete strangers will decide the outcome of your case.  You can NEVER predict a jury and anyone who tells you they can is lying and you shouldn’t hire them. With an experienced attorney they can however more easily predict a settlement.  A good PI attorney has experience in settling and trying cases. As the song, “The Gambler” goes, you gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. A good PI attorney knows.
  3. Purpose. Each case has its own unique merits and many lawsuits are filed for very personal reasons. Some cases involve circumstances that deserve to be made public for the good of the country as a whole or the challenging of a unjust law. If a case is settled out of court, the awareness of the issue can often go unnoticed.

At Harmon and Gorove, our attorneys have each client’s best interests in mind and will be transparent with advice given. Our lawyers have many years of experience in both trial cases and out of court settlements and will work with you to not only giving you peace of mind during the process, but will also work valiantly in making sure you achieve the justice that you deserve.

The Rings, After the Divorce

in Divorce

There are a lot of decisions that have to be made when a couple decides to divorce.  There are marital debts and the division of assets that must be discussed and negotiated.  What do we do with the wedding videos, pictures and other momentos? Do I hold on to the dress? Who gets the dog and who gets the cat?  I want the sofa and you want the bed. One of the things that often gets overlooked is what to do with the rings. The wedding rings hold a great deal of symbolism and quite possibly, monetary value.  

There are lots of options for dealing with now unwanted wedding rings and lots of questions as well.  Does the woman automatically hand her wedding rings back to her soon to be ex considering that he gave it to them.  Do exes keep the rings to give to their children one day when they get married? Do they go down to the nearest pawn shop or jewelry store and ry to get as much monetary value from them as possible.  Honestly, there’s no one right answer. What works for you may not be what someone else does and you have to make your own decision based on your personal feelings.

All things considered, what are my options?

The feelings you have about your wedding rings are very personal.  Some people may look back and remember, “the good times” in the relationship.  Some people, especially those with children may want to hold on to the ring(s) to pass down to children due to sentimental value.  On the other hand, if your marriage was tumultuous, stressful or even abusive, you may have no desire whatsoever to hold on to a reminder of just how tough things were.  

Here are some possible options for what to do with your rings:

  • You can always give the ring back to your spouse.
  • You may save the rings and give them to your children when they decide to get married.
  • You can sell the rings and use the money to make some positive steps like paying off debt, investing in yourself, or buying something special.
  • You can have the ring melted down and used to created a new piece of jewelry.
  • You can sell the rings and donate the money to charity, especially if you were in an abusive relationship.

Even if the rings remind you of a bad marriage, it doesn’t mean you should toss them into the nearest body of water. They’re likely worth some money, so it’s more productive to sell them and use the money for something positive.

If you find your marriage is struggling and you and your spouse have decided to end it, give the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove a call today to discuss how we can help you file an uncontested divorce to end your marriage in an amicable and cost effective way.

Protecting Assets in Bankruptcy

in Bankruptcy

Many people believe that bankruptcy is a sign of hitting rock bottom but they would be wrong.  Bankruptcy is a tool in the law that can be used to actually protect assets and wealth from creditors.  Many famous and wealthy people have filed and survived bankruptcy with many emerging from bankruptcy and building an even greater net worth than they had prior to filing. While you may not be a celebrity or even extremely wealthy, bankruptcy bankruptcy can be a useful financial tool to help you get back on track. Yes, being financially depleted and bankruptcy often go hand in hand but It doesn’t have to be that way.  In other words, you don’t have to wait till you’re broke in order to file bankruptcy. In fact, it would probably be a better financial decision to file before you hit rock bottom.

Don’t wipe out your savings to stave off bankruptcy

Nearly 60 percent of Americans have saved less than one thousand dollars for an emergency. It is a side effect of the rising cost of living and the stagnation of wages in this country. If you’re one of the lucky people who actually do have a savingings, it would be highly advisable to file for bankruptcy before you wipe that savings out. In many cases a good bankruptcy lawyer will be able to find a way to protect most or all of your savings, especially savings you have in retirement accounts.  Any payments you make to creditors that would otherwise be discharged in a Chapter 7 are effectively just a donation to that creditor. Beyond that, even if you wanted to pay your creditor, any payments made to a specific creditor within a certain period of time of a bankruptcy filing can also be “clawed back” by a bankruptcy trustee which negates what you were doing to begin with.

DO NOT use your retirement funds

Your retirement account is a nest egg that you and/or your spouse has been building for decades. There are extremely few circumstances where it would be advisable for you to use your retirement account to pay down short term debts.  Virtually every retirement account in use today can be exempted from the bankruptcy which means you get to retain the value of that account for its intended purpose, your retirement.  Generally speaking, it makes much more financial sense to file bankruptcy to liquidate your retirement savings.

Don’t sell off your assets

The majority of Harmon and Gorove’s clients are able to keep most or all of their assets. Harmon and Gorove’s attorneys work hard to protect your assets from the trustee and creditors. Selling your assets to pay off creditors isn’t something that you have to do in most cases.  The attorneys at Harmon and Gorove work hard to make sure that your assets stay your assets. Protecting your assets in bankruptcy does require a good deal of expertise and planning, especially if you have a good deal of assets. If you have a significant number of liquid assets or rarer assets like a cash value life insurance policy or a pending lawsuit in which you could recover money, talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. Timelines are important in bankruptcy and anything you do to delay could cause you to lose irreplaceable assets. You should always be upfront with your lawyer about what assets you have, knowing beforehand is imperative to your ability to retain your assets.

Don’t ever give up

Bankruptcy provides many people with a clean slate.  Scrambling to sell off your assets or using up your savings isn’t using your money wisely, it’s panicking and making decisions that can change your life for the worse. Most people can see the need for a bankruptcy on the horizon. The warning signs are usually there long before people hit rock bottom. If you’re facing debts that seem insurmountable you should consider speaking with an experienced bankruptcy attorney before you get to the end of your rope. The staff of Harmon and Gorove are highly trained in exemption planning and asset protection.

Don’t wait

When your Bankruptcy is concluded, you will want to have as many tools to restart your financial life as possible. Keeping your retirement account, cash savings, homes and automobiles will provide you a new and fresh means of getting ahead after a bankruptcy. If you wipe out your assets before you file bankruptcy, the fresh start that bankruptcy provides won’t be as effective and won’t give you the advantages you need to get ahead.  Contact the attorneys at Harmon and Gorove today to see how we can help you get rid of your debts and get you started down a new path to financial success.