Asheville Legal Blog

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.

You may deserve a portion of your ex's pension

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Friday, May 29, 2020.

If you're getting divorced, you need to carefully consider all of the assets to which you have a right. One of the assets that is easiest to forget and yet potentially very valuable is your ex's pension or work-sponsored retirement fund.

In cases where your ex earned that retirement plan during your marriage, it may be viewed as a marital asset. What makes this easy to overlook is that your ex may not yet be getting payments. The employer controls the plan until their worker's retirement. Some individuals do not even realize that their spouse has a retirement plan and do not fully understand the benefits they receive at work.

Divorce can be peaceful

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in family law on Thursday, May 14, 2020.

Sometimes on TV and in the movies we see estranged spouses refusing to respond to divorce filings, arguing about their future or threatening to never let their spouse see the kids again. Yes, these high-tension divorce cases do happen, but don't assume it has to be that way. Your divorce can be a much more peaceful affair.

One way to do this is by using mediation, rather than going to court. A mediator is a third party who is not involved in the split and can guide you through it. However, they don't make any rulings like a judge would. They help the two of you come to decisions on your own so that you still control the divorce process.

Predictive policing is touted as being fair -- but is it?

On behalf of Bull & Reinhardt, PLLC posted in criminal defense on Friday, May 1, 2020.

Predictive policing using artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly controversial, but proponents tout it as anything but. They say that having a computer predict where crime will happen means there cannot be any bias in the system. The computer just uses numbers. It just uses data. When they send officers to the hot spots that it identifies, they claim that is the fairest way to decide where to run these patrols.

However, there are those who say this isn't true at all. They say that it just makes the bias worse.

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