My name is Erik Bergstrom. I’m a partner at Warner Angle, practicing in family law. With every case, I like to get to know my client, their particular situation, what their concerns are and what their goals are. That way we can form a more combined, joint approach to resolving their case. I think that clients who retain me appreciate an attorney who works closely with them and is in constant contact with them. I do believe that once clients meet with me, get an understanding of the law and the process of divorce, that they leave my office much more relieved and feel that somebody is looking out for their interests and is going to protect them through this trying time. I enjoy practicing family law because I like helping people who are going through a difficult time in their lives and going through a complicated and uncertain process. I feel that I’m very good at explaining matters to clients so that they have a clear understanding of what lies ahead and what the likely resolutions of their case might be.
I have handled and I enjoy handling the more complicated divorce cases. These often involve division of business interests, division of retirement accounts, valuation problems and the like. Whether your case is straight forward or complex, feel free to call me to schedule a consultation in my office. I’m happy to meet with you to review the issues in your case and explain the applicable law and the divorce procedures.
My name is Erik Bergstrom. I’m a partner at Warner Angle, practicing in family law. With every case, I like to get to know my client, their particular situation, what their concerns are and what their goals are. That way we can form a more combined, joint approach to resolving their case. I think that clients who retain me appreciate an attorney who works closely with them and is in constant contact with them. I do believe that once clients meet with me, get an understanding of the law and the process of divorce, that they leave my office much more relieved and feel that somebody is looking out for their interests and is going to protect them through this trying time. I enjoy practicing family law because I like helping people who are going through a difficult time in their lives and going through a complicated and uncertain process. I feel that I’m very good at explaining matters to clients so that they have a clear understanding of what lies ahead and what the likely resolutions of their case might be.
I have handled and I enjoy handling the more complicated divorce cases. These often involve division of business interests, division of retirement accounts, valuation problems and the like. Whether your case is straight forward or complex, feel free to call me to schedule a consultation in my office. I’m happy to meet with you to review the issues in your case and explain the applicable law and the divorce procedures.
In Arizona, all property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be community property, while all property owned prior to the marriage is the sole and separate property of that spouse. In a divorce, the court must allocate the separate property to the appropriate spouse and equitably divide all of the community property between both spouses.
If your retirement account was earned entirely during the marriage, then it is presumed to be community property and will be divided equitably, which basically means equally, if your retirement account was earned partially before marriage and partially during the marriage, then it has both a separate property and community property component. The division of these mixed accounts is much more difficult and often requires an expert, such a financial analyst or CPA, to calculate the separate and community portions of the account.
To implement the division of certain retirement accounts, a qualified domestic relations order, or a QDRO, may be required. Division of retirement accounts can be confusing and complicated, and it is recommended that you seek advice from an experienced attorney if these issues are present in your divorce case. If you would like more information, please contact me.
In Arizona, all property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be community property, while all property owned prior to the marriage is the sole and separate property of that spouse. In a divorce, the court must allocate the separate property to the appropriate spouse and equitably divide all of the community property between both spouses.
If your retirement account was earned entirely during the marriage, then it is presumed to be community property and will be divided equitably, which basically means equally, if your retirement account was earned partially before marriage and partially during the marriage, then it has both a separate property and community property component. The division of these mixed accounts is much more difficult and often requires an expert, such a financial analyst or CPA, to calculate the separate and community portions of the account.
To implement the division of certain retirement accounts, a qualified domestic relations order, or a QDRO, may be required. Division of retirement accounts can be confusing and complicated, and it is recommended that you seek advice from an experienced attorney if these issues are present in your divorce case. If you would like more information, please contact me.
A mandatory reporter is somebody who has a legal duty, as outlined in the statute, to report any reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child. That can be a parent, it could be a physician, it could be a caregiver. But, if your job or title appears in the statue, it’s something that you ought to look into personally to see that if you are a mandatory reporter, you do have a duty to report any neglect or abuse to CPS, or to a police officer. If you’d like more information about a mandatory reporter, please give me an email.
A mandatory reporter is somebody who has a legal duty, as outlined in the statute, to report any reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect of a child. That can be a parent, it could be a physician, it could be a caregiver. But, if your job or title appears in the statue, it’s something that you ought to look into personally to see that if you are a mandatory reporter, you do have a duty to report any neglect or abuse to CPS, or to a police officer. If you’d like more information about a mandatory reporter, please give me an email.
A person can get a legal separation the way he or she can get a divorce. All they have to do is file a petition for legal separation. And the only difference between a legal separation and a divorce in the final analysis is that in a legal separation, obviously you don’t get a divorce. Now, when people come to us we actually advise against it, except in very special cases.
For example, I had a case once where a 55-year old couple were splitting the blanket and were in complete agreement that they should have a legal separation because the wife had cancer and the husband was a top executive for Motorola.
Motorola has an outstanding medical plan and so she couldn’t get that kind of coverage if they were to get a divorce because insurance companies are not going to ensure anybody after the divorce. She couldn’t continue to carry his insurance. She could have what we call COBRA, it’s an expensive temporary application for a short period of time, but that’s one reason why obviously you’d decide to have a legal separation. Could be religious. Catholics, they often don’t want a divorce.
Only in special situations do we advise it because they don’t work out, unless it’s something serious like that. They’re going to come back in less than a year probably and tell the judge they want to change it to a divorce. But, it’s one of the things people can always come talk to us about and have up front information before they start trying to make decisions.
By: CD Owens
A person can get a legal separation the way he or she can get a divorce. All they have to do is file a petition for legal separation. And the only difference between a legal separation and a divorce in the final analysis is that in a legal separation, obviously you don’t get a divorce. Now, when people come to us we actually advise against it, except in very special cases.
For example, I had a case once where a 55-year old couple were splitting the blanket and were in complete agreement that they should have a legal separation because the wife had cancer and the husband was a top executive for Motorola.
Motorola has an outstanding medical plan and so she couldn’t get that kind of coverage if they were to get a divorce because insurance companies are not going to ensure anybody after the divorce. She couldn’t continue to carry his insurance. She could have what we call COBRA, it’s an expensive temporary application for a short period of time, but that’s one reason why obviously you’d decide to have a legal separation. Could be religious. Catholics, they often don’t want a divorce.
Only in special situations do we advise it because they don’t work out, unless it’s something serious like that. They’re going to come back in less than a year probably and tell the judge they want to change it to a divorce. But, it’s one of the things people can always come talk to us about and have up front information before they start trying to make decisions.
By: CD Owens
In a divorce without minor children, you will file a petition for dissolution of your marriage and request a division of community assets and debts, an affirmation of your sole and separate property, an award of spousal maintenance if applicable, and perhaps, reimbursement for your attorney’s fees and costs.
If your divorce involves minor children, then your petition will ask the court to additionally determine child custody, which is now called legal decision making, parenting time and child support. You file your petition with the superior court in the county where you reside and serve a copy on your spouse.
The soonest you can get divorced in Arizona is (60) sixty days from the date your spouse is served. If your spouse does not file a response in the proper time frame, you can request that your spouse be defaulted and proceed to a default hearing before the court. If your spouse files a response, your case can be resolved by two options; agreement or trial.
If you reach an agreement, a consent decree can be prepared and signed by both parties and then submitted to the court for the judge’s signature and there is no need to appear in court for a trial. If you cannot reach an agreement, the court will set the unresolved issues for trial. If you want me to explain in detail the divorce process, please call me at Warner Angle, (602) 264-7101 to schedule a complimentary consultation. I look forward to meeting with you.
In a divorce without minor children, you will file a petition for dissolution of your marriage and request a division of community assets and debts, an affirmation of your sole and separate property, an award of spousal maintenance if applicable, and perhaps, reimbursement for your attorney’s fees and costs.
If your divorce involves minor children, then your petition will ask the court to additionally determine child custody, which is now called legal decision making, parenting time and child support. You file your petition with the superior court in the county where you reside and serve a copy on your spouse.
The soonest you can get divorced in Arizona is (60) sixty days from the date your spouse is served. If your spouse does not file a response in the proper time frame, you can request that your spouse be defaulted and proceed to a default hearing before the court. If your spouse files a response, your case can be resolved by two options; agreement or trial.
If you reach an agreement, a consent decree can be prepared and signed by both parties and then submitted to the court for the judge’s signature and there is no need to appear in court for a trial. If you cannot reach an agreement, the court will set the unresolved issues for trial. If you want me to explain in detail the divorce process, please call me at Warner Angle, (602) 264-7101 to schedule a complimentary consultation. I look forward to meeting with you.
Alimony is referred to in Arizona as spousal support or spousal maintenance. The parent that receives alimony must report those payments as taxable income on his or her federal and state tax returns. A spouse that pays alimony must report those payments as a deduction on their federal and state tax returns. However, the parties can agree to treat alimony differently, as far as it’s taxability. They can agree to treat it is part of a property settlement or as part of an equalization. In that instance, there is no reporting of alimony on either party’s tax returns at all. If you have any questions about alimony and the taxability of it, please contact me at Hildebrand Law. The phone number is (480) 305-8300. Thank you.
Alimony is referred to in Arizona as spousal support or spousal maintenance. The parent that receives alimony must report those payments as taxable income on his or her federal and state tax returns. A spouse that pays alimony must report those payments as a deduction on their federal and state tax returns. However, the parties can agree to treat alimony differently, as far as it’s taxability. They can agree to treat it is part of a property settlement or as part of an equalization. In that instance, there is no reporting of alimony on either party’s tax returns at all. If you have any questions about alimony and the taxability of it, please contact me at Hildebrand Law. The phone number is (480) 305-8300. Thank you.
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