On December 14, 2011, the Oregon Court of Appeals decided Loomis and Loomis.

In this case, the wife owned a 60% interest in a piece of property prior to the marriage, and acquired the other 40% interest during the marriage. The trial court awarded the entire property to the wife as a pre-marital asset and did not include it in the division of marital property in the divorce. The Court of Appeals found that the wife’s 60% interest acquired prior to the marriage was her separate property, and not a marital asset. It also stated that the prenuptial agreement signed by the parties overrode any interest the husband might have had in the appreciation on the wife’s 60% interest under ORS 107.105(1)(f) or the Kunze line of cases. However, the Court found that the 40% interest that the wife acquired during the marriage was a marital asset. The Court stated that this interest was subject to the ORS 107.105(1)(f) presumption of equal contribution, and that the wife did not rebut that presumption where the husband made some financial contribution to the purchase, he was making financial contributions to the couple’s joint finances, and the couple used the property for “joint marital endeavors.”

The entire opinion can be found here.

As a Portland Oregon divorce lawyer, I meet with many parents post divorce that have difficulty getting along with their ex-spouse.  One of the  most stressful events in life is divorce, and it makes sense that divorce would further damage  many parent’s ability to get along with the ex. Although the marital relationship ends, many ex-spouses would like to have an ongoing friendly relationship with their exes, especially where kids are involved. Not everyone can get along, and there are safety and metal health reasons that may make post divorce cooperation impossible.  From my perspective as a divorce lawyer, for divorced parents that could get along, cooperation and getting along has enormous benefits for your children. I believe that many divorced parents that end up using lawyers for modifications could have avoided the legal process in the first place by maintaining a good relationship with their ex.

Here are a few tips based on my 17 years of experience helping people during and after divorce:

1. Establish New Boundaries. Decide what things can and cannot be discussed. It is best for you to stay away from the topics of conflict until such time that you can calmly discuss them.
2. Compromise. “Agree to disagree.” This one can be tough because of pride and differences in opinion. When this happens, you need to focus and get back to the reason why you need to get along… your children. You should also acknowledge from the beginning that there will be inevitably differences in opinion. Then agree that when this happens, you should try not to talk while angry.  There should be a reasonable cooling period, and the try again.
3. Keep the promises. Once you and ex-spouse have compromised agreements, you need to keep those promises. If you agreed to take turns to pick up kids,  live up to that agreement.  Whether you followed through or not during the marriage, you need to now.
4. Continue to communicate. Communication is vital. The cold shoulder or silent treatment may have contributed to the breakdown of the marriage, and it is even more destructive to cooperation post-divorce.  You and your ex-spouse need to keep the lines of communication open even if it is awkward.
5. Consider Counseling. The Portland area has many extraordinary counselors who can help divorced couples with communication. I frequently refer people to counselors as part of our helping approach to divorce and because I believe that if successful,  it has enormous benefits for a client. If you or your ex are having difficulty with the above three points, consider getting into post divorce counseling to help with your communication issues.

Divorce is an opportunity to establish a new relationship with your ex that focuses on the children.  From my experience, parents that can focus on getting along and on the kids use lawyers less and are happier. Most importantly, there are enormous benefits for your children.

Are you in the process of a divorce and thinking if you will keep or change your last name? It is a simple process to do as part of a divorce, and harder if you decide to do it after the divorce is completed.

In Oregon at the time of divorce, the court can change the name of either spouse to a name the spouse held before the marriage.

Do you feel you need your former name for a fresh start? Do you have kids, and how will a name change affect the children at school and with their peers? Are you an established professional with goodwill attached to your current last name? There are a lot of considerations to go through in deciding what is the right choice for you.

If you decide to change your name, plan on spending substantial time working on it.

Here are some things that you need to do when you will change your last name:

1. Get new identification cards, such as drivers license or state ID card, social security, etc.
2. Inform people, agencies and organizations, and and companies of the change of name. You should let your bank, schools, doctors, postal office, insurance companies, business associates, family members, retirement accounts, and friends know.  Be ready for supporting documents when updating information.
3. Once you have completed #2, get a credit report to make sure your account information is showing accurately.
4. Update important papers, such as a will, advanced directive, power of attorney, motor vehicle tile, etc.