Selling or Refinancing Your Marital Home During Divorce

This is the second contribution from local mortgage professional and licensed realtor Natalie DeLeo.  In this guest post, Natalie points out three things to consider when you are selling or refinancing your marital home in the divorce context.1.  How do the terms "upside down" or "underwater" play into your decisions relative to your marital home?Lower property values can affect your decision on what to do about your martial home.  For many people, the marital home is the largest asset they own.  Most couples cannot afford to own and operate two households: the soon-to-be former marital home, plus another home that one spouse moves into during the separation process that is divorce. If the value of your marital home is less...

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Posted in: attorney,divorce,lawyer,mortgage,real estate,real estate appraiser,short sale,tenants in common,underwater,upside down

New Social Class Division: Married vs Single Parent

We here at the Law Blogger are truly amazed at how often the New York Times carries above-the-fold front page stories that involve families from our neck of the woods.  The latest example is a story in last Sunday's NYT that proposed an entirely new social classification, not based on race or gender, but on one's marital status.The premise of the article is that a correlation exists between one's net worth and one's marital status, particularly among women; married two-parent households tend to do better economically than single parent households. Beyond just stating the obvious, the article profiled two local families: a married couple located in Livingston County, and a single mother living in Ann Arbor.  The NYT cited to statistics...

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Posted in: Ann Arbor,divorce,Jason DeParl,Livingston County,marriage,New York Times,single parent

SCOTUS Ends Term With Historic Decisions

Chief Justice John RobertsOn the penultimate business day in June, the United States Supreme Court concluded its term with the announcement of its historic decision in National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius; the Obamacare case that tested the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.  As unlikely a jurist as could be found, a visibly uncomfortable Chief Justice John Roberts, announced that Obamacare was upheld in a 5-4 opinion that he authored.The ACA was upheld on the somewhat questionable grounds of Congress' power to levy a tax.  More than a few legal scholars characterize the so-called "individual mandate" requiring individuals to secure health insurance or pay a penalty, as Congress levying a punishment, not...

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Posted in: Chief Justice John Roberts,Fifth Amendment.,Fourth Amendment,Law Professor Robert Sedler,SCOTUS,Sixth Amendment