Did You Know...That You Can Delegate Your Visitation When You Deploy?

            New legislation went into effect July 1, 2011 in Virginia, allowing a court to delegate the visitation rights of a military parent who has been deployed on active duty to a family member, including the stepparent that enjoys a “close and substantial relationship” with the child.

            The Court may enter an order granting all or a portion of a non-custodial parent’s visitation to a family member, if you had visitation rights with the child prior to your deployment or may provide visitation to such family member, if you had physical custody of the child prior to your deployment and the non-deploying parent or a family member of the non-deploying parent is awarded physical custody during your deployment.

            The order delegating or providing visitation rights to a family member pursuant to this law does not create a separate right to visitation in the family member to whom visitation rights are delegated or provided.  You may at any time, and non-deploying parent or guardian may upon a showing of a material change in circumstances, petition to rescind the order.  The delegated visitation to the family member is terminated by operation of law once you send written notice of your return.

            No longer do the bonds that your child has established with other family members, including stepparents, need be broken because of your deployments!

Changes you need to make to your important documents to effectuate your Separation Agreement.

You are not done with your divorce related tasks just because you and your spouse have signed a Separation Agreement.  There are many important documents that need to be reviewed and revised after the Separation Agreement is signed to effectuate the terms of your agreement.  These can include life and health insurance policies, pension documents, Deeds, Wills and other important legal documents.  Failure to make the changes to these documents contemplated by your Separation Agreement can have serious consequences.  The 4^th Circuit Court of Virginia has refused to enforce waivers contained in a Separation Agreement – even after the Separation Agreement became part of a Final Decree of Divorce -- because the insured did not change her beneficiary designation before she died.  This resulted in her ex-husband being permitted to keep the life insurance proceeds paid out by wife’s ERISA-approved plan despite his signing of a separation agreement waiving any claim to benefits from wife.

            In Boyd v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the wife had worked for an airline before her untimely death.  Her employee life insurance plan allowed her to change her beneficiary at any time by sending a signed, dated written request to the carrier.  The plan made clear that the carrier would disburse benefits to her estate, but it did not specify any procedure for beneficiaries to follow in order to waive their claims to benefits.  Wife and husband separated six years after wife designated husband as her beneficiary on her plan.  During the following divorce, a South Carolina Court entered their separation and property settlement agreement, which included the waiver “the right to receive proceeds, funds or property as a beneficiary under any life insurance policies.”  However, the wife never changed the name of the beneficiary and the plan’s carrier paid the proceeds to husband.  The appellants filed suit, and later, this appeal.

            The 4^th Circuit has made it very clear that plan documents, not the divorce decree, are controlling on disbursements under a pension plan.  So don’t forget to change YOUR beneficiaries!

Keeping Your Legal Fees and Expenses Under Control

            Fees are a sensitive area to discuss for both the client and the lawyer.  However to ensure that your case is provided the attention it deserves and that you are comfortable about the basis for the agreed upon fee, it is important that you are informed about the types of fees and expenses you are likely to incur.

            Below are 5 tips to keeping your legal fees under control:

·         Utilize a counselor, if needed.  It will be less expensive for you to seek emotional counseling and be able to vent it you seek a licensed professional counselor.  Seeking counseling does not negatively affect your case.  In fact, the courts have actually come to look favorably on those who are seeking to help themselves.

·         Plan your phone calls.  Remember you are being billed for your time with a lawyer over the phone.  Make a list of questions that you have prior to calling and check the items off as they are answered.

·         Establish a relationship with office staff.  The office staff is there to serve you.  If you simply need information regarding your case, it is more efficient and less expensive for you to utilize the non-attorney staff, who should know when the attorney’s input is needed to answer your questions.

·         Utilize the firm website.  If the firm has a website, use it.  In today’s world, many firms have taken the time to develop and continually maintain a website.  Utilizing their website, may answer many of your questions regarding the general operation of the firm or even general legal questions.

·         Be cooperative.  To best serve you, your attorney needs to know everything that is asked as it relates to your case.  It may difficult or even embarrassing at times, but by divulging to your attorney, they can best protect you and may be able to prevent the other side from revealing in open court or in a deposition points that you wish to remain confidential.  Remember your communications with your attorney are confidential, meaning that what you tell us within bounds is legally protected information unless you state otherwise.