Kansas Divorce Attorneys

Home » Kansas Family Law Process » Kansas Divorce Attorneys

When a marriage is no longer sustainable, couples seeking to divorce find themselves at a crossroads. At Joseph, Hollander & Craft, our Kansas divorce attorneys work with our clients to create a fair distribution of assets, reasonable child custody agreements, and future financial payments that work for your family. Our goal is to help couples divorce with respect and dignity. Our full-service family law firm has five locations to serve you.

What Can a Kansas Divorce Lawyer Do for Me?

Every marriage is different. The end of each unique marriage may look different too. Our experienced family law attorneys are essential to help you choose the legal process best suited to your needs. If you are considering what next step to take, a Kansas divorce lawyer from Joseph, Hollander & Craft can assist with:

• Annulment: A marriage may be eligible for annulment if it is void or voidable. Voidable marriages include (a) marriages induced by fraud; and (b) marriages induced by mistake of fact sufficient to justify rescission of the marriage contract.
• Legal Separation: In a legal separation, couples can live separately with court orders in place that govern the division of property, child custody, and financial support.
• Uncontested Divorce: When both spouses want to divorce and agree regarding all issues to be decided (financial and familial), a divorce is considered uncontested.
• Contested Divorce: If divorcing spouses disagree about any issue (property division, spousal maintenance, child support, child custody, or parenting time), it is considered a contested divorce.
• Collaborative Divorce: If both partners are willing to work with each other to establish the terms of a divorce, a collaborative divorce may be an effective way to handle the proceedings outside of court, saving time and money.
• Spousal Support: Spousal support is a monetary payment given from one ex-spouse to another. Whether a spousal support award is appropriate in any given case requires consideration of the specific facts at issue, such as the financial circumstances of each party, income-earning capacity, standard of living, and the length of the marriage.
• Asset Division: Division of assets can be a time-consuming factor in certain divorce cases, especially if the couple has numerous accounts, investments, properties, trust agreements, and/or beneficiaries.
• Premarital Agreements: In addition to preparing and advising on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, we regularly enforce valid agreements and dispute unenforceable agreements in divorce proceedings.
• Paternity Actions: Many couples have children together without marrying. A paternity action may be required to establish formal orders with respect to the shared children of that relationship.

Additional Family Law Services for Kansas Clients

When children are involved in a divorce or separation or when unmarried parents need to formalize certain rights and obligations, court orders will be required to establish visitation, custody, and child support.

• Child Support: Each parent has a responsibility to financial support his or her children. In Kansas, each parent pays a proportional share of the obligation based on their income.
• Child Custody: Child custody refers to the parenting responsibilities each parent has with regarding to a child. A court will determine (or approve an agreement of the parties regarding) legal custody, residency, and visitation / parenting time.
• Order Modifications: Modifications to child support and child custody arrangements may be needed due to changes in a child’s or a parent’s life. While courts will consider parents’ agreements, modifications to court orders need to be formally approved by the court.

No matter what type of family law service you need, the law firm of Joseph, Hollander, & Craft is here to assist.

Special Considerations for Business Owners Seeking Divorce

When a business owner faces divorce a natural concern is what will happen to their business. Owners may fear losing what has taken them years to build or may become fearful that their soon-to-be former spouse may attempt to sabotage their business.

When the Business Is Family Owned

Some separations involve spouses who co-own a business or a couple who is involved with a family-owned business. There are many options available.

• Buyouts: One spouse may buy out the interest of the other, separating them from the business and placing sole ownership in the hands of one spouse.
• Sale of the business: Some situations may require the sale of the business and an equitable distribution of the business’s assets.
• Continue to run the business together: In some cases, the two divorcing spouses may be able to continue running the business together.

Certain protective agreements, like Buy-Sell Agreements, Irrevocable Trust Agreements, and Premarital Agreements may also be created to ensure the health of the business should the owners’ marriage dissolve.

You may want to have your business attorney consult your divorce attorney regarding these issues to ensure the unique circumstances of your business are considered in your divorce proceedings. The business attorney can also prepare necessary documents to effectuate the portions of a settlement agreement or divorce court order regarding business ownership.

Who Conducts the Business Valuation?

A professional business valuation appraiser will conduct the business valuation. The appraiser can be selected mutually by both parties, or each party may hire a separate appraiser. The standard of value that will be used is “fair market value,” meaning the business will be valued at the price a reasonable third-party buyer would be willing to pay for it.

Once the value of a business has been determined, the parties will need to propose how the value of that asset should factor into the overall division of marital assets or allocation of spousal maintenance. If the parties do not agree, the decision will be left to the court.

Kansas Divorce Attorneys FAQs

As one of the preeminent divorce law firms in Kansas, we’re asked many questions about the process. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions we receive.

Can We Keep Our Divorce Private?

Documents filed in district court–including divorce filings–are public records. Unless you obtain specific approval from the judge to file your paperwork under seal, your case records will be available for general access by the public. Reasons why a court may grant records to be sealed include:

• Safety of children who may be involved in the divorce
• Protection of proprietary business information

Even if your divorce paperwork is not sealed, however, that does not mean the public will have access to all details about your life. Minors will be referred to by initials only. Social Security numbers and bank accounts will be redacted.

The more agreements can be reached out of court, the more the filed documents can be structured to limit the details. One of the simplest ways to keep the details of your divorce private is to refrain from speaking about it with anyone other than your attorney and other professionals who have a duty to maintain confidentiality. Some couples jointly agree–informally or in writing–to this limitation.

What Are the Tax Ramifications of Divorce?

Once you are divorced, you will file your taxes differently. Your filing status will change, and how you and your ex claim any dependents, deductions, and credits will also change.

If payment of expenses related to your divorce requires a withdrawal from a retirement account, like a 401(k), you may owe taxes related to that withdrawal. But a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) allows retirement funds to to be rolled over to a spouse’s retirement plan tax free.

A transfer of property ordered by a divorce decree usually will not be treated as a taxable gain or loss, but it may need to be reported on a gift tax return.

Considerations to be aware of if you or your ex are contemplating selling the marital home include capital gain exclusions under IRC Section 121 (up to $500,000 for a joint sale or $250,000 for a sale by one party) and the graduated tax rate applicable to capital gains taxes (meaning the total capital gains tax owed could vary depending on whether the home is sold jointly pre-divorce or post-divorce by the spouse with a lower income).

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the taxation of spousal maintenance (alimony) payments so that payments are no longer deductible to the payor or taxable income to the recipient for any divorce finalized in 2019 or later.

Working with a CPA during your divorce can help address tax concerns.

On What Grounds Can I File For Divorce?

There are three grounds for divorce in Kansas:

• Incompatibility
• Failure to perform a material marital duty or obligation
• Incompatibility because of mental illness or mental incapacity of one or both spouses.

Incompatibility is the most common reason cited for divorce in Kansas.

How Long Will I Need to Wait to File for Divorce?

You do not have to wait to file for divorce in Kansas, but you will have to wait at least 60 days after filing to obtain a final decree (unless a judge accelerates your case due to an emergency or safety issue). It is important to remember that most divorces take longer than 60 days from filing to decree. It is typical for the process to take several months, with the total length depending on a combination of factors, such as:

• the scope of issues to be resolved (e.g., it may take more time to equitably divide a larger marital estate than a smaller marital estate or property governed by a prenuptial agreement; a divorce involving children may take longer than a divorce involving no children)
• how cooperative each party is in providing necessary information (e.g., financial information; information regarding children’s health, education, and activities)
• how many issues are in dispute and the the extent to which the issues are disputed
• the judge’s caseload and availability to review the case file and hold hearings on disputed issues

Can My Spouse Come After the Family Trust?

If the trust property is deemed marital property, both spouses may be entitled to a portion of it. This may be the case if a spouse has control of the trust or the right to revoke or amend the trust or if the trust holds property belonging to both spouses. Depending on how the trust is structured and the law that governs it, your spouse may also be entitled to property held in trust for your benefit.

Can a Divorce Affect My Professional License?

Divorce litigation will not directly impact your professional licensure, but details that emerge during a divorce can can have a profound impact on your license. For example, allegations of criminal conduct or substance abuse may arise in divorce proceedings, and those allegations can put your professional license in jeopardy. Likewise, if your spouse files on the grounds that you are mentally incapacitated, there may be a potential that your license and career could be negatively impacted. Having a trusted Kansas licensure defense lawyer on your side can help protect your professional interests in a divorce proceeding.

Do You Have a Kansas Divorce Lawyer Near Me?

Joseph, Hollander & Craft has locations across the state of Kansas to help you with your family law needs.

• Lawrence. Our Lawrence office is located at 5200 Bob Billings Parkway, Suite #201, in the northwest corner of the intersection of Legends Drive and Bob Billings Parkway, near DeVictor Park, with easy access to Highway 40.
• Overland Park. Our Overland Park office serves clients in OP, as well as Leawood, Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, Prairie Village, and all of Johnson County; it is located at 10104 West 105th Street, just southwest of Skate City.
• Topeka. Our Topeka office is located at 1508 Southwest Topeka Boulevard, in the Monroe neighborhood.
• Wichita. Located at 500 North Market Street, our Wichita office is a just blocks away from the Sedgwick County Courthouse.

We maintain an additional office in Kansas City, MO, to serve the greater Kansas City Metro Area.

If you aren’t able to make it to one of our offices, please contact us via email or phone so that we can schedule a consultation with you. Choosing an attorney to handle your divorce matter is personal and should not be based solely on advertisements. Our divorce attorneys in Kansas are attentive, professional, and expeditious in handling your divorce so that you can move forward.