Month: October 2019

October 2019

How to Tell If You Are a Victim of Domestic Abuse

October 22, 2019 / Divorce Made Simple, Domestic Violence

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men who report having suffered from domestic abuse by a partner. Domestic abuse is not only physical; you can also be victimized by emotional abuse — name-calling, criticism, harassment, threats, stalking, and other behavior meant to intimidate and control. If you think you may be a victim of domestic abuse, see if any of these five warning signs apply to you: Your partner constantly checks up on you. Abusers prefer to isolate their victims, so if you are feeling cut off from friends

Why Your #METOO Matters

October 18, 2019 / NEXT: An Empowerment Series

Her dark hair hung over her face as she furiously took notes. She barely spoke the entire semester. But she heard my “Me too.” My lecture that week in my Women and the Law course was on domestic violence. I wanted these future lawyers to have an understanding beyond the legal definition of “credible threat” and which documents to file at the courthouse. I wanted them to see that “Why didn’t she leave?” was the wrong question. I also wanted to answer it. We argued about the garlic in the guacamole. He backed me up against the kitchen wall.

What is a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)?

October 15, 2019 / Divorce Made Simple

When it comes to property division in a divorce, there are often retirement or pension plans that are on the table to be split between the divorcing spouses. Splitting a qualified retirement plan or pension plan in a divorce requires the preparation of a QDRO (qualified domestic relations order). A QDRO allows for the division of qualified plan assets in a tax-deferred manner for the receiving spouse, and provides that spouse with 60 days in which to roll it over into an IRA without penalty. If you want to take some money out for divorce expenses, you can make a

Hurt My Child?

October 12, 2019 / NEXT: An Empowerment Series

I always note the day. Each year on the first Monday of October the United States Supreme Court begins its session. A wave of anxiety annually washes over me as I think of how lives and futures of countless Americans will be changed by decisions placed in the hands of nine people. I have fretted over affirmative action for colleges, reproductive rights for rural women, and how hard the court might make the rules for any sexual harassment victim to get justice. Five years ago, when the freedom to marry for same sex couples case—Obergefell v. Hodges—- was to be

Cokie

October 4, 2019 / NEXT: An Empowerment Series

I was sitting in the hospital waiting room. My friend was getting a new hip and I was happy to await the news of a successful surgery. I’d been doing my best to ignore the latest daily bad news of our country running nonstop on the big screen television when my phone alert popped up. “Oh no,” I said aloud to no one. The television suddenly had my full attention. I stood up to read the news ticker at the bottom of the screen—-Breaking News: Cokie Roberts Dead at 75. I go weeks without turning on my television in my