Asheville Legal Blog

What you can learn from a trial separation

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.

If you're thinking about getting divorced but you're not quite ready to do it yet, you may want to consider a trial separation. This is where couples live apart for a short time -- much in the same way that many young couples cohabitate before marriage. They want to test out the new living situation before committing to it.

You can learn a lot from a trial separation. For one thing, it gives you a chance to put the emotional side of the split on hold and think rationally about what you want. If you're considering divorce after an argument with your spouse, for instance, it gives you time to cool down, consider what the argument really meant and decide what is best for your future.

How do supervised custody exchanges work?

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Monday, August 31, 2020.

Every time you and your co-parent hand off your child to the other one, you seem to get into an ugly fight. Your child witnesses it, your neighbors hear it and it leaves everyone – particularly your child – anxious or depressed. Supervised custody exchanges may be the answer.

Supervised exchanges (also known as safe exchanges or monitored exchanges) are sometimes ordered by the court because a judge believes they're necessary. Sometimes one or both parents will request the court to order that child custody exchanges be supervised. In other cases, parents decide without involving the court that they're better off letting one or more third parties get involved in the exchanges so they don't have to encounter each other.

Why graffiti can have serious consequences in North Carolina

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in criminal defense on Thursday, August 20, 2020.

You may think that your teen's graffiti is simply an artistic expression. If they're bored, there are worse things they could be doing, right? The problem is that if their graffiti is on property that doesn't belong to you or on property they don't have the owner's permission to alter, it's considered vandalism under North Carolina law. That's a property crime, which can have serious consequences.

Depending on where they draw the graffiti, they could be subject to some laws specific to North Carolina. For example, North Carolina has a law that protects "monuments, memorials, and works of art." That includes all statues and monuments. No matter how you may feel about them and what they represent, they are considered "objects of remembrance" under the law. If you attempt to alter or remove them -- including putting graffiti or other messages on them -- you risk criminal charges.

Your parents' divorce can impact your own marriage in 2 ways

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Thursday, August 6, 2020.

The conventional wisdom about "children of divorce" is that they're more likely to get divorced themselves. Indeed, studies have found that divorce rates are higher for people with divorced parents than for those with married parents.

Why is this? Speculation looks at many potential reasons, and every situation is different, so it's hard to say for sure. One reason could be that parents set an example by getting divorced, so children are more likely to follow that example. In some cases, it could also be that unhappily married couples stay together for fear of what their married parents think, whereas those with divorced parents wouldn't have this concern.

What should you know about hidden assets in divorce?

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC on Monday, August 3, 2020.

People who are going through a divorce have to split up the property they've amassed during the marriage. This might seem like a straightforward process, but there are instances in which one person tries to hide assets from the other in an effort to walk away with a better deal.

Hidden assets can alter the property division process and turn into an unfair situation. Because of this, it's imperative that anyone who has reason to believe their ex is hiding something take the time to find out what's going on.

Avoiding common car accident causes

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Friday, July 24, 2020.

If you want to avoid getting into a car accident, the first step is to understand why these accidents happen. You can then avoid behaviors proven to lead to them. Often, you can identify risky behavior long before it actually causes a crash.

For instance, one of the biggest reasons for modern car accidents is distracted driving. You can get distracted by the GPS, a text message, your passengers or the radio -- just to name a few examples. If you understand this and keep your focus on the road, you're far safer.

Is gray divorce really new?

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Tuesday, July 7, 2020.

You have probably heard that gray divorce -- people who are 50 and older getting a divorce -- is on the rise. The reason given is often that it's a fairly new phenomenon, so the rate is increasing when other age groups have seen their rates level off. But is this true?

The reality is that gray divorce is certainly not a new idea. One legal professional claimed that these divorce cases had been showing up in her own practice for at least 20 years. The rate may still be going up, but this is not some brand new idea.

If police don't have a warrant, do you have to open the door?

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in criminal defense on Wednesday, June 24, 2020.

If the police show up at your house with a warrant to search it, they will likely knock on the door, inform you of the warrant and tell you to open up. You are legally obligated to do so since they got the warrant from a judge, and police can, in many cases, force entry if you refuse.

But what if they do not have a warrant? Getting one takes time and can be difficult. The first step for many officers is simply to ask if they can come in and talk to you and/or take a look around. You can ask them if they have a warrant, and they have to be honest with you. If they tell you that they do not, do you need to open the door?

Divorce as a teacher can be particularly challenging

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC on Monday, June 8, 2020.

If you are a teacher by profession, you'll be used to prioritizing the needs of your students, and always looking after their well-being. A teaching career means that you always need to be present at your job and you'll need to effectively separate your private life from your working life. It can be difficult to continue to thrive in a demanding work environment such as a classroom when you are going through the stresses of a divorce.

If you are facing the possibility of a divorce and you work as a teacher, you face a unique set of challenges. Therefore, it's important that you focus on these specific challenges so that you can devise solutions and move through the divorce process positively. The following are some of the key challenges that you're likely to face as a teacher going through a divorce.

Who's responsible for fireworks injuries?

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in personal injury on Monday, June 8, 2020.

It seems like just about every Fourth of July we hear about a massive fireworks display somewhere in the country that went horribly wrong and caused multiple serious injuries and even fatalities. In fact, these catastrophic incidents are rare.

Multiple fireworks-related injuries do occur every Fourth of July, however. An average of 9,000-plus people are injured and four are killed by fireworks annually. Most of these injuries occur in backyard accidents.

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