News & Resources

In the next few weeks we will be reviewing the changes to the Iowa Code regarding new laws, or amendments to existing laws, that occurred during this legislative session.  This alert addresses the mandatory parenting class and potential awards of attorney’s fees and court costs for contempt actions relative to support. Relative to the mandatory parenting class, divorcing parties have, for several years, been required to take a mandatory approved parenting class as part of their divorce […]

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings allow attorneys to complete anonymous peer reviews where they rate fellow lawyers on a 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) scale in five categories: Legal Knowledge, Analytical Capabilities, Judgment, Communication Ability and Legal Experience. Attorneys also answer whether or not they believe the lawyer they are reviewing has very high ethical standards. An AV Preeminent is the highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies that a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank […]

  Many people who go through a divorce, and are awarded primary physical care of their children (i.e. the children live primarily with one person and have visitation with the other), sometimes face a potential move/relocation to another area of the state. The question then arises, “Can the custody of my children be modified due to my move?” The answer is maybe. In Iowa there is a law that states that if the custodial parent […]

  When a spouse decides that divorce is the option he/she is going to pursue, a consultation with an attorney is the initial step.  Numerous items are discussed during this initial meeting and paperwork is given to the individual to complete so that the necessary documents to initiate a divorce proceeding can be completed.  After receipt of the documentation, a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is prepared and reviewed with the initiating spouse.  The Petition […]

In certain cases, there can be a spouse who has not worked for a period of time who states, for child support and alimony purposes, that he/she has “no income”.  That may technically be the case, but, legally the buck does not necessarily stop there.  The court has stated that a person’s earning capacity can be attributed to him/her when he/she is not working.  The Iowa Supreme Court stated that, however, “[b]efore using earning capacity […]

When a divorce happens, the custody of the children is one of the most important decisions made by the court.  The court can grant primary physical care to one parent, where that parent creates the “primary” home for the child and the other parent has visitation.  The court can also grant joint physical care of the minor children to both parents, where the children reside equally on a shared basis with both parents.  To change […]

In many divorce cases, alimony (which is also sometimes called “spousal support”) is awarded.  The concept of alimony is to award money from one spouse to the another during the pendency of the proceedings pursuant to an order of the court or after the entry of the Decree.  Alimony has to be court ordered to be tax deductible. In Iowa, there are three types of alimony: reimbursement, rehabilitative and traditional alimony.  Each serves a different […]

The question frequently arises this time of year when a couple is going through a divorce: “How do we file our taxes this year?”  It is important to know that for two individuals to file a joint return, they must have been married on December 31 of the year for which the return will be filed.  If the parties are divorced before December 31, they are no longer considered married and cannot file a joint […]

In a divorce where there are children involved, the allocation of the annual dependency exemption for tax purposes is always discussed.  The IRS has taken the position that the allocation of the exemption should go to the spouse that has custody of the child(ren).  The court can, however, reallocate the exemption in a divorce proceeding.  Based on the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1997 the exemption now also has other “rights” of use […]

Communication after a divorce, for the sake of the minor child(ren), is essential.  Particularly, the way that communication is handled, creates the framework for co-parenting success or failure.  The parental role, and how each party relates to one another, should focus not on the adults but the best interest of the child(ren).  Each parent may have different views of parenting but respect becomes a paramount issue.   All areas of concern relative to the child(ren) are […]