Month: December 2024

December 2024

What Must Be Included In My Parenting Plan?

December 30, 2024 / Children, Divorce Made Simple

The Nebraska Parenting Act requires that a parenting plan is created for legal issues involving the custody of a child. While parents may choose to include a number of different agreements in their plan, there are some provisions that are required to be included. Below are 10 items which must be included in a parenting plan: Legal and Physical Custody. Your plan must state who has legal custody (the authority to make fundamental decisions on behalf of the child) and who has physical custody. Examples of some arrangements include the parents have joint legal custody while dad has physical custody,

Crabby Patty Consequences: From Cocoa to Cops

December 19, 2024 / Doing Divorce

I was so impressed. My youngest daughter brought five of her friend’s home after school to start winter break with a secret Santa gift exchange. They arrived to my gentle warning to be quiet and respectful for the first hour while my office was still in business. I barely heard a peep. I was so proud of my youngest for following directions (for once) and making this small party such a pleasant experience. Come five o’clock I picked up pizza, brought out grapes and drinks, and praised the group for their excellent behavior. Soon I was filling up disposable hot

3 Mistakes to Avoid During Your Divorce

December 16, 2024 / Divorce Made Simple, Divorce Tips

In an effort to transition through your divorce relatively unscathed — both financially and emotionally – you will need to take an active role in attempting to keep things civil. In other words, you have a role to play in maintaining the civility in your divorce. Long gone are the days when divorce was all about assigning fault and sorting out who’s the winner and who’s the loser. The goal for divorce today is fairness and equitable treatment for both parties — and if children are involved, keeping their interests paramount. One of the best ways to avoid making the

The Christmas Crash

December 12, 2024 / Doing Divorce

I remember a year I had big expectations and along with them, a big discovery when they were decidedly dashed. My daughters, my mom, and I, set off on what I declared to be a great family adventure. We were going to romantically tromp through a tree farm and cut down our own magical Christmas tree. And we did… sort of. In reality, the trees were pre-cut and Sophia sighed at the lack of snow on the ground. We tried our best to ignore the frosty wind making our faces and fingers hurt while we searched for the perfect tree.

How to Legally Change Your Name in Nebraska

December 9, 2024 / Divorce Made Simple, Legal Process

If you are preparing for or are in the process of getting a divorce, you will want to consider whether or not to restore your former name. Nebraska has a fairly easy process for accomplishing this as part of your divorce process. If you want to have your former (maiden) name restored, you should take the following steps: Request the change in your initial filing. If you are initiating the divorce action, ask your attorney to include a request for restoration of your maiden name in your initial complaint. If your spouse initiated the divorce, be sure that your answer

Quality Time Correction

December 5, 2024 / Doing Divorce

I couldn’t wait. It was likely going to be our own version of a Hallmark Christmas movie. But this one would be about a mother and her teenage daughters having the most magical Christmas time ever. No plot twists were allowed that would involve a hardship to overcome. My daughters and I were off to Chicago for two days to sight-see, shop, and spend time at a German Christmas market. To ante up the expectation, for calendar reasons, this was to be my only weekend with the girls until after Christmas. This needed to be good. The first night we