Southport Connecticut Family Law Blog

If you and your spouse in Connecticut have chosen to separate, one of the things you should consider revising is your estate plan. Even if you are not sure whether or not you will divorce or when you might divorce, there are no doubt some decisions you would rather not leave to your estranged spouse. 

Forbes recommends that you carefully investigate what aspects of your estate plan you are legally able to update while separated but still legally married as some things can only be changed once you are divorced. Among the things that you may be able to change once you are separated are your durable power of attorney and medical advance directive. The former is the document that names another person as having the ability to manage your financial affairs on your behalf. The latter allows another person to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so.

It has been more than three full years now since the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the nation. In that time, however, gay and lesbian couples have still encountered many challenges when it comes to finding ways to become parents and ways to establish legal parentage for both parents.

Some of the challenges faced by a same-sex couple are based in biology, forcing people to seek alternative methods of reproduction as two women or two men simply cannot produce a child naturally. Other challenges, however, are brought about by societal mindsets or administrative roadblocks. As reported earlier this year by NBC News, many states are continuing to support actions that either make it harder or completely prevent gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. Connecticut, however, has taken steps in the opposite direction and is opening its arms to parents regardless of sexual orientation. The latest move focuses on children who are under the care of the state and in need of either being adopted or living with a foster family.

For some couples in Connecticut, the last several weeks of 2018 might look very different than anyone could have ever imagined. Instead of rushing to the mall, enjoying holiday festivities and working to salvage a marriage being primary activities, rushing to get divorced might be the focus. Generally speaking, divorces are not rushed nor are they the primary focus during holiday seasons but an upcoming change to the tax code is making this an unusual year indeed.

In just a matter of weeks, a divorced couple might find themselves paying more in income tax on alimony than they would if they completed their divorce in 2018 according to Bloomberg. This increased cost of alimony is thanks to the new tax law that shifts the burden of paying federal income tax on spousal support away from the recipient to the payor. Because the person who pays alimony is most often in a higher tax bracket than the person who receives spousal support, the amount of tax to be paid on the same amount of money would theoretically increase. 

Connecticut residents have more options for starting a family these days than ever before. Between different types of artificial conception, parents of all sorts can have children much more easily than in the past. However, these new methods of conception also create legal questions, such as asking who the legal guardian of your child is.

FindLaw examines different artificial conception methods, including artificial insemination. Artificial insemination is a process in which sperm is directly inserted into the fallopian tubes, cervix, or uterus of the partner that wishes to become pregnant. In this way, it not only allows for a couple to bypass issues with the fallopian tubes, but it can also make up for any issues with the sperm quality.