Today the New Hampshire house passed HB 267, legislation that puts a cap on the interest rate for small loans given out by payday and title lenders. As on January 1, 2009, the date that the bill becomes effective, lenders may not charge more than 36% annualized. The bill also limits the eligibility of borrowers by restricting the number of times that a borrower can utlize a payday loan.

Although these types of loans can be a valuable way to manage an emergency, the loans can create a cycle of debt that the borrower can not break free from. Especially during a divorce, as pressure mounts to make ends meet, it is important to make good choices in the type of debt that you incur. Whether you are using a credit card, a payday loan, or a loan from your 401(k), read the fine print and make sure you understand the ramifications of the debt that you are taking on and the fees and costs that are associated with the debt.

A guardian ad litem, often referred to as a "GAL," is a person appointed by the court to represent the best interests of an individual. Unlike a guardian, a GAL does not manage the affairs of of persons, nor do they act as their attorney.  

In a divorce or parenting petition proceedings, the GAL is usually appointed to represent the best interests of the children. The court charges the GAL with the responsibility of investigating designated issues and making recommendations to the court. Issues can include parenting responsibility, parenting schedules, ability of either parent, influence of significant others, and special needs of the children. The GAL is a valuable tool for the court since the GAL can gather a lot of information to provide to the court and aid in making a decision regarding parenting rights and responsibilities.

For more information on Guardian ad Litems, the New Hampshire guardian ad litem board has useful information on their site.

Besides baseball and daffodils, spring is also the time for college financial aid applications. A recent post from Jennifer Weisberg Millner on the NJ Family Legal Blog regarding the responsibility of parents for their children’s college expenses highlighted how different laws are from state to state. Although parents in New Jersey may be ordered to pay for their children’s college tuition and expenses, in New Hampshire, no court order shall require a parent to pay for educational expenses beyond high school. However, under the NH Supreme Court’s decision in Donovan, a court may enforce orders made prior to February 2, 2004 (the date that the law went into effect) that required a parent to to pay for college.

Divorce is a time of great financial stress on a family. Throughout the process, the family often maintains separate households, has debts that need to be paid, and then also need to pay an attorney. Before you hire an attorney, you should have a clear understanding of the fees that you will be charged, as well as what expenses you will be responsible for. It is always best to sign a fee agreement, which will outline the fees, expenses and retainers.

Family law attorneys and their staff generally charge by the hour in increments such as every six minutes. You will be billed for any time spent on your case, including meetings, emails, drafting pleadings and correspondence, telephone calls, hearing preparation, travel and waiting time at court. Hourly rates vary widely, depending mostly on experience. Family law attorneys cannot charge contingent fees where they are paid by a percentage of an amount recovered (for example a portion of a child support arrearage).

A client will often be asked to provide a retainer, which is a sum of money paid up front to secure payment of any fees that are incurred. A retainer will range from very small ($500) to very large ($10,000) depending on the attorney that you hire and the level of complexity of your case. Although most retainers or the unused portion of the retainer are refundable, sometimes the retainer is not refundable.

Finally, attorneys will charge for a variety of expenses, including filing fees, sheriff fees, long distance phone calls, fax fees, copies, postage and mileage. Generally, if the fee relates to your case, whether it be a $21.00 fee from the sheriff for serving papers or a $500.00 fee from a stenographer for a deposition, you will be charged for the expense.

 

A very concerning issue for many people facing divorce is what will happen to the family pet. Currently, the law recognizes pets as property which will be divided in a final divorce decree pursuant to RSA 458:16-a. Property distribution factors were recently discussed here. A court is more likely to permanently award a pet to one of the parties rather than ordering a "shared parenting" arrangement. On the one hand, the law is not able to recognize that pets have strong emotional ties and separation from that pet will be much more detrimental to a family member than the loss of a kitchen table or a television. On the other hand, enforcing a court order with a "shared parenting" schedule and calls for division of vet and doggie daycare expenses could place an additional burden on the all ready over-worked courts.

Attorney Danny Meeks, who publishes the Pet Trust Law Blog, recently wrote about these issues in a posting called  "Is your pet a family member subject to ‘shared parenting.’" Attorney Meeks sited interesting pending legislation in Massachusetts that would grant court’s the authority to restrain a party from a pet in a temporary domestic violence restraining order.

A civil union is a domestic relationship that provides state-based legal rights, responsibilities and benefits to couples of the same sex. On January 1, 2008, New Hampshire became the fourth state enact laws that recognize civil unions. A civil union entitles the parties to “all the rights and subject to all the obligations and responsibilities provided for in state law that apply to parties who are joined together [in a marriage] pursuant to RSA 457." Some of these rights and obligations include:
· inheritance rights and intestate succession;
· wills, survivorships, or other incidents of the acquisition;
· access to courts under family and divorce law;
· health and auto insurance benefits;
· state family medical and bereavement leave benefits;
· protection against discrimination based on marital status;
· medical decision making powers and hospital visitation rights;
· workers’ compensation dependency benefits;
· standing for wrongful death and loss of consortium claims
· crime victims’ rights;
· marital privileges in court proceedings; and
· vital records

New Hampshire law grants courts the authority to order an equitable distribution of property between parties. Although the law presumes that an equal distribution is also an equitable distribution, the court may decide that equitable is not equal when one or more of several factors are present. Some of the factors include the 1) the duration of the marriage, 2) the opportunity of each party for future acquisition of capital assets and income, 3) the need of the custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence for the benefit of the children, 4) tax consequences of the property settlement, 5) expectations of retirement assets and 6) the fault of either party. The law includes fifteen different factors, including the broad final factor of “any other factor that the court deems relevant.” Click here to read all of the factors listed in the property settlement law.