News & Resources

Online Mandatory Parenting Classes Offered during COVID-19 A new Supervisory Order was entered April 2, 2020, allowing the District Courts of the State of Iowa to approve attendance at online parenting courses in compliance with the Iowa laws mandating completion of a parenting course for cases involving child custody or visitation. Several District Court Chief Judges have issued Orders permitting parties to utilize online parenting classes in order to comply with the statutory requirement. These […]

CHILD CUSTODY, CARE OR VISITATION DURING COVID-19 Many people have asked questions regarding how to handle the child related provisions of their previously filed Court Order regarding custody, care and visitation during the current COVID-19 situation. On Saturday, March 28, 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a Supervisory Order regarding this matter. The Iowa Supreme Court has stated that prior orders regarding custody, visitation or care schedules that are related to school/summer schedules shall be […]

On behalf of our Team at Simpson Legal Group, LLC, our hearts go out to all of those impacted by COVID-19.  Our Team focus, as always, is on the health and safety of our employees and clientele, while providing excellent legal services.   We recognize that the situation is changing rapidly, and, in an effort to do our part in slowing the spread of the virus, we have decided to take on a different approach […]

How to Prepare Yourself to File for Divorce:  Part 1 In this two- part series, we focus on your (1) your children and (2) your finances.  Part 1 –  Children If you find yourself in a position of facing a divorce, you may be wondering what the next appropriate steps are to protect yourself or possibly your children. Unbeknownst to many, there are steps one can take to protect themselves even before filing for divorce.  […]

Social media has been continually evolving and transforming into an outlet for people to share anything and everything about their lives. Posting on social media can be a way to connect with others, however, it is crucial to understand that anything said or posted on social media may be used against you in your divorce proceeding. Now, more than ever, attorneys are using social media posts as evidence in divorce proceedings.  Typically, it is recommended that clients completely refrain from posting on social media for numerous reasons. Social media […]

ARTICLE 3: NEW TAX LAW: IMPACT OF THE CHILD TAX CREDIT AND DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION UNDER THE NEW LAW Previously, in divorce proceedings, the question of which parent would claim the children for tax purposes had been a contested issue. The reason – the exemption was financially beneficial for the parent that received it. For example, the dependency exemption for a “qualifying child” in 2017 was $4,050, which equated to a significant exemption for the recipient. Typically, […]

Who will get the marital home is always an area of contention in divorce proceedings.  And paying for the home is also a large consideration.  Sometimes, the tax credits received from retaining the home comes into play in determining whether either party will retain it.  In prior years, mortgage interest and property taxes were deductions available to the parties during the marriage.  Beginning in 2019, the tax laws will change and reduce the deductibility of […]

ARTICLE 1 – NEW TAX LAW IMPACT ON ALIMONY On January 1, 2019, many new tax laws will go into effect.  These laws will have a direct impact on divorcing couples.  There appears to be four (4) major areas where the tax laws will change which every divorcing person needs to be aware of before moving forward with their divorce proceedings.  These changes are to alimony, the marital home, child related tax credits and prenuptial/post-nuptial […]

Health insurance is an important part of determining a child support obligation in the state of Iowa under the child support guidelines. It is, therefore, essential to determine who will carry the insurance, and how the cost regarding the health insurance will be allocated. You must further understand if the health insurance coverage is a state sponsored plan, such as hawk-I, or a private health insurance plan, to ensure that the proper child support calculation […]

The drafters of the revised child support guidelines felt it was necessary to more completely define actual child care expenses in the Revised Iowa Child Support Guidelines.  They did so in Rule 9.11A.  First, the drafters defined what are “child care expenses” by saying that this term means expenses for the children in the pending case that are reasonably necessary for the parent to work, attend school or training activities, or conduct a job search.  […]