What is a Caregiver Authorization?

A Caregiver Authorization is an alternative to going to court for a guardianship of a minor. It is a form that allows a parent to give a Caregiver the power to make medical and education decisions for a child. A Caregiver is someone the child lives with who is not a parent.

A Caregiver Authorization is different from a Guardianship in a few major ways:

1. It does not give the Caregiver custody of the child, only the right to make decisions.

2. It does not take away any powers from the parents, and the parents retain final decision making authority.

3. A Caregiver Authorization can be revoked by a parent via letter to the caregiver.

A Caregiver Authorization is good for two years or until a parent revokes it.

For more information regarding why you would use a Caregiver Authorization and how to complete it read the Massachusetts Caregiver Instructions provided by the Court.

Click here to obtain the Caregiver Authorization Form.

The 15 Most Expensive Divorces

There is very little that the average person can say they have in common with celebrities. We don't get chased by the paparazzi, we don't have personal chefs or personal trainers, and we can't get lost in our homes. But when it comes to celebrity marriages, they are just as likely (if not more likely) to end up in divorce court. Of course, when a celebrity, CEO or media mogul gets divorced the financial scale of their marital estates is very different than the average divorce case.

Below is a graph of the top 15 most expensive divorce payouts, ranging from 80 million to 1.7 billion dollars:

Sources:
Wikipedia List of Most Expensive Divorces
The Telegraph Article: Tiger Woods: the world's top ten highest divorce settlements
Burns & Associates: Top 15 Most Expensive Divorces Of All Time

Why I Hope You Never Call When I Give You My Business Card, But If You Do, I'm Here to Help

At Kelsey & Trask, we deal with helping individuals through difficult transitions, whether it be through bankruptcy or debt relief services, or through a divorce or paternity case. Most people hire us for reasons that they wished did not exist. Our business is helping people through situations that they have always wanted to avoid.


When I hand out my business card, I usually tell the recipient that I hope that they never have to call. It is not that I don't want to help people through difficult transitions, it is because I hope that these difficult transitions are not necessary. If, God forbid, you are faced with such a transition, let us help guide you to the next chapter of your life.

And It's All Your Fault! MA "Fault" Based Divorce #3: Imprisonment

This "fault"-based ground for divorce goes hand-in-hand with a finding of "guilty" in a criminal matter, followed by a sentence of five years or more in prison. It is not the amount of time that is actually served, but rather what the sentence is that matters. Proving this grounds for a fault divorce is generally straightforward.

Interestingly, if after a divorce, the imprisoned spouse is pardoned for his or her crime(s), the marriage is not restored.

As with most grounds for divorce, there is no advantage over "no fault" divorce. Proving that a spouse has been sentenced to five or more years in prison is slightly more difficult than meeting the evidentiary burden required in a "no fault" divorce (only that one spouse is able to tell the court that his or her marriage is irretrievably broken down with no chance of reconciliation).

Eat, Drink and Remarry

I often ask my Divorce clients to tell me how they visualize their life five years from now. This often helps focus clients on their goals, which helps us determine the best decisions to make in their divorce case. For instance, if a client doesn't see themselves living in this area five years from now, then I wouldn't recommend that they buy their spouse out of a marital home.

One question that comes up in many cases is the likelihood that a client might get remarried, which can have an obvious impact on divorce issues (such as alimony which typically ends upon remarriage).

Almost every Divorce client that enters my office is adamant that they will not get remarried. But the statistics disagree. In fact, 50 percent of divorced individuals remarry within five years. According to a study by the Department of Health and Human Services, the percentage was even higher in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Many clients don't want to hear about these statistics, but I think that one of my jobs as a Divorce attorney is to focus clients on the future. It is important for people going through a divorce to realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel and they should be thinking about life after divorce, not just life during a divorce.

Although, a Divorce client might not think a 50% chance that they'll remarry in five years is good news today, I think believing that love is still possible ultimately gives people hope and optimism about their future.

Can I claim Head of Household if My Ex Claims the Child as an Dependent?

Yes.

Here is the exact answer from the IRS FAQ website:

Question: For head of household filing status, do you have to claim a child as a dependent to qualify? 

Answer: In certain circumstances, you do not have to claim the child as a dependent to qualify for head of household filing status; for example, a custodial parent may be able to claim head of household filing status even if he or she released a claim to exemption for the child.

This means that in a divorce or paternity agreement you should designate if one parent will still have the right to qualify for Head of Household, even if the other parent is being given the dependency exemption.

For a further discussion on who gets the dependency exemptions in a divorce read our previous post: Child Tax Deductions: Who gets them in a Divorce?

What do Divorce and the World Cup have in common?

The answer is Goals! But not the goals you're thinking of.

I heard an interesting theory on why the United States will never compete with the top soccer teams in the world on ESPN Radio's The Herd with Colin Cowherd . Colin's theory is that kids in the U.S. have too many other options. The best athletes in the U.S., for the most part, grow up to play football or basketball or baseball. In contrast, the best athletes in other countries all grow up to play soccer.

The United States is an underdog in the World Cup because our best athletes don't play soccer (no offense to Landon Donovan but he's no Lebron James).

What does this have to with Divorce? Well, life is all about priorities and goals. U.S. athletics, parents, and children have not made soccer a priority and so, not surprisingly, we are not as competitive as countries where soccer is king.

A Divorce is also all about goals as well. The things that you choose to focus on and make the most important will be reflected in the outcome of your divorce. Are you focused on making sure that your children will experience the least negative impact possible, or are your focused on how much money you will have after the divorce? Are you focused on whose fault the divorce is, or are you focused on what your life will be like after the divorce?

Although, these types of questions are not legal questions, knowing your priorities can help you decide how your divorce case should proceed. I always ask my clients what their goals are, before I try to tell them what I can do in their divorce case. Because I need to know whether your goals are realistic, and also because your goals could change how I handle your case. If you don't tell your attorney or your mediator what is most important to you, don't be surprised if you are unhappy with the results of your divorce.

Similarly, don't be surprised when a country that makes soccer a priority wins the World Cup.