I. UNDERSTANDING OUR ROLE IN YOUR DIVORCE This legal guide is intended to answer some of your general questions pertaining to the divorce process in New Hampshire. It is not meant to be a complete legal guide. Every case is unique, and your situation may vary from this information. PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS at any time. You or your spouse may…
Frequently, when a victim of domestic violence files a petition under RSA 173-B there is a chance that the local police, if they are alerted to the event, will bring criminal charges against the respondent. If such a situation occurs, there is a strong likelihood that the domestic violence trial will take place before the criminal trial. Respondents faced with…
JURISDICTION AND VENUEIn an action for divorce, the Petitioner is the person who initiates the divorce process. The Respondent is the person who answers the lawsuit once it has brought. In order for a New Hampshire court to have the power to grant a divorce, it must first have jurisdiction over both the Petitioner and the Respondent. Jurisdiction exists only…
Trusts are often set up by individuals to protect their loves ones from getting a gift payment outright. It could be that the creator of the trust (called a settlor or grantor in the law) wants the trustee to use his discretion in proving trust income or principal to the beneficiary when the trustee determines the beneficiary needs that money.…
On May 12, 2015, the New Hampshire Supreme Court, in the case of In re: PB, issued a decision clarifying when grandparents can petition for visitation rights with grandchildren. In the PB case, after the child’s parents died in 2012, the child was adopted by his mother’s sister. The child’s grandparents asked a court for visitation rights arguing that they…
When an employee believes he was wrongfully fired, he may have state or federal statutory claims he may proceed with in court, such as claims of employment discrimination and retaliation. In those cases, he may assert, as part of his damages, emotional distress. However, if the facts surrounding the firing do not support such a statutory claim, the employee’s options…
Unwed couples may live together for many years, have children together, and share property. It could be that one or both of them had a divorce in the past, are widowed, or one of them may receive more benefits from a prior spouse’s retirement plan, pension, or other benefits so long as he or she does not remarry. However, upon…
Contrary to many people’s impressions, New Hampshire law does not require proving adultery by photographic or videotape evidence. If this were so, adultery cases would be virtually non-existent. Instead, New Hampshire law recognizes that circumstantial evidence often times provides credible, reliable facts for a court to determine whether the marriage was irretrievably broken down due to adultery. Accordingly, the law…
A recent New Hampshire federal trial court decision discusses the limits a disgruntled employee has in bringing claims against her co-employees and boss. In the case of Lorettann Gascard v. Franklin Pierce University, et al, Professor Gascard, a faculty member of the University, sued it and the Dean as well as other individuals claiming employment discrimination in violation of federal…
Common law marriage is recognized under New Hampshire law in very limited circumstances pursuant to a New Hampshire statute, RSA 457:39, and only applies when one of the people in the relationship has died and the other claims their spousal share of the decedent’s assets. In order for the survivor to be successful in a common law spouse claim, he…