Under New Hampshire law, an order to pay child support is set forth in a document called a Uniform Support Order. The Uniform Support Order (“USO”) will state how much child support the obligor parent must pay, whether the support must be paid to the recipient parent or the State of New Hampshire, and most importantly when the child support…
In 2004, the New Hampshire Legislature passed a statute which barred a divorce court from making a new order obligating a divorced parent to pay for a child’s college expenses. Numerous cases heard by the Supreme Court have held that the statute is not retroactive. In other words, decrees prior to the date of the statute’s passage in February of…
When parties are divorced, the trial court must equitably divide the marital property. Property is broadly defined as all tangible and intangible assets, real or personal, belonging to either or both of the parties regardless of whether title to the property is held in an individual’s name of jointly. A question has existed as to whether a lump sum personal…
Social Security Statements are often valuable evidence in divorce cases. While these are no longer mailed to individuals on an annual basis, they are still available online. If you do not already have an online account with Social Security, it is very easy to set one up. Simply go to http://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ and follow the steps at the bottom of the…
In a Final Divorce Decree, a family court may order the parties split a marital debt. For example, a family court may order that each party pay 50% of a joint tax debt. Such an order does not, however, prevent one party from seeking to discharge their obligations in bankruptcy. In the case of Mason and Mason, the wife attempted…
In calculating child support, a court must first determine each party’s gross monthly income. If a party is unemployed at the time the support is calculated, the trial court may inquire as to the reasons behind the unemployment. Where a party is voluntarily underemployed or unemployed, the court will calculate child support based on what the person is capable of…
Under New Hampshire law, child support is generally calculated by using both parties’ monthly gross income. While this number is fairly easily to calculate if both parties are W-2 wage earners, it is more complicated when one of the parties is self- employed. In October 2012, the New Hampshire Supreme Court clarified how a court calculates a child support obligation…
In the Matter of Martell and Martell, the New Hampshire Supreme Court reviewed the trial court’s award to the wife of more than 50% of the marital assets due to the husband’s risky stock investments. During the marriage, the husband lost over $1 Million in high-risk stock investments, thereby diminishing the value of the marital estate. Upon divorce, the trial…
In many divorce decrees, the parties are obligated to list real estate for sale. However, what it means to list a property for sale has never been defined until recently. In an unpublished decision dated August 6, 2012, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that listing a property for sale requires the seller to not only execute an Exclusive Listing…
Military personnel who are injured and/or who are forced to retire due to an illness often receive disability benefits from the military upon discharge. While the law protects the disability benefits from many creditors, the law does provide an exception when it comes to child support under the rationale that veterans should support their children. Accordingly, income received from veteran…