If you are involved or potentially about to be involved in a child custody battle, one number that you will want to keep at the forefront is 121. The number is significant for one reason specifically: a shared parenting credit cannot be acquired by the non-custodial parent without your child staying overnight in excess of more 120 nights per year, making it all the more important to make sure that you seek consultation from an elite Tulsa divorce lawyer.

What is Shared Parenting Credit and how can a Tulsa divorce lawyer help?

While it ultimately is up to the judge to decide whether the non-custodial parent receives shared parenting credit, the parent stands a much greater chance of getting the credit if he or she retains a proven Tulsa divorce lawyer with extensive experience in trying child custody and shared parenting cases.

The importance of acquiring shared parenting credit is that it provides the non-custodial parent with a reduction in the amount of child support they will have to pay that is based on a percentage from a variety of factors, including annual income and the amount of overnights with the child. If the parent does receive shared credit, but fails to meet the 121 overnight threshold, they might have to reimburse the custodial parent for the difference between regular the child support and the shared parent credit amount. CLICK HERE to learn more about shared parent credit.

Experience the Fry & Elder Difference

For over 40 years, Robert G “Hap” Fry has been an elite Tulsa divorce lawyer, who’s practice focuses on high-conflict, high-resolution child custody case. He is one of only 19 attorneys in the state of Oklahoma to be honored as a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Fry was also named as the Lawyer of the Year for Family Law in Tulsa for 2016 by Best Lawyers®  and he has been selected as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer every year since 2007.

Powered by his accolades and accomplishments, Fry & Elder has distinguished itself both locally and nationally as a premier family law firm. The U.S. News & World Report has selected Fry & Elder to its exclusive list of Best Law Firms from 2014-2016.

In addition to Fry, firm attorneys James R. Elder, M. Shane Henry and Aaron D. Bundy all have each garnered the prestigious AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®. Fellow trial lawyer T. Luke Barteaux, along with Henry and Bundy, has been selected as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star™.

Fry & Elder’s team of accomplished attorneys also features Lorena Rivas, who is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), while Katie Egan is licensed to practice in Oklahoma, New York and Connecticut. Mellissa Fell rounds out the staff of attorneys. Her practice focuses on taking a “concierge attorney” approach.

If you have questions or concerns about shared parenting credit or any other family law matter, contact Fry & Elder today to speak with an elite and experienced Tulsa divorce lawyer.

For many, the tax season is already up on us – the filing deadline is April 18 – but before it completely consumes the rest of us up, the Tulsa divorce lawyers of Fry & Elder wish to give you a few pointers on how you can better manage the challenge of filing your taxes if you are going through a divorce.

Know you filing status

How you file your taxes this year will be based on what your marital status was on Dec. 31, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. If your ex and you were divorced by this time then you will file for separate returns. However, if you two were just separated at this time and had not yet formally divorced, you do have the option of filing a joint return, which you might want to consider. There are benefits though that come with filing as the head of the household – such as being put into a more forgiving tax bracket and also receiving a larger standard deduction.

Understand the exemptions for dependents

If your child has lived with you for the greater duration of the past year than with your ex, you can claim him or her as a dependent on this year’s tax return, as you are deemed the child’s custodial parent. Non-custodial parents can only claim their children as dependents if the custodial parent signs a waiver notifying the courts that he or she will not claim custodial parent status. Whichever parent does claim a qualifying child as a dependent on their tax return will be able to reduce their 2016 taxable income by $4,050. The amount was $4,000 in 2015.

Factoring in medical expenses

If you are the parent who has paid your child’s medical expenses after the divorce, those expenses can be included in your medical expense deduction. This is true regardless of whether or not your ex is the custodial parent and has claimed a dependency exemption.

Home sales

In regards to the sale of a house, typically the law will allow you to avoid tax on the first $250,000 gain of your primary home, permitted you have lived there for at least two of the past five years. Couples who are still married and file jointly can exclude up to $500,000.

Why a team of knowledgeable Tulsa divorce lawyers can help you

Going through a divorce is complicated enough, factoring all of the tax innuendos compounds the process even more. Fortunately, the Tulsa divorce lawyers at Fry & Elder are well versed in the most complex family law matters. The firm has achieved in elite national reputation, as evidence by it being named to the U.S. News & World Report’s exclusive list of Best Law Firms from 2014-2016.

Robert G  “Hap” Fry is AV-rated divorce attorney, who was recognized by the leading legal publication Best Lawyers® as its Lawyer of the Year for Family Law in Tulsa for 2016. Additionally, Fry is one of only 19 attorneys in the state of Oklahoma who is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.  

Fry & Elder attorneys James R. Elder, M. Shane Henry and Aaron D. Bundy also are each AV-rated trial lawyers, with Henry, Bundy and T. Luke Barteaux also being recognized as Super Lawyers® Rising Stars™. Whether you have a family law, criminal law, immigration law or personal injury law issue, contact Fry & Elder today to speak with a proven Tulsa trial lawyer.

An experienced Tulsa divorce attorney knows that divorce can happen at any point during a marriage, but a segment of the population where divorce is on the rise might be a surprise to many. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) released the results of a survey in which 61 percent of the nation’s top divorce lawyers said there have been a spike in divorces for couples 50 and over. Not long after AAML’s report, NPR backed that up with a 2014 article and broadcast that stated that “Americans over 50 are twice as likely to get divorced as people of that age were 20 years ago.” The Tulsa divorce attorneys of Fry & Elder are aware of this trend and are experienced in handling divorce for older couples. Here a few things our divorce attorneys would like you to know about what is now referred to as “Gray Divorce.”

Why the increase in divorce for older couples?

It is difficult to say because all relationships are different and present their own unique set of circumstances. There have been some studies that suggest that the spike could be tied to the fact that many older people might be on their second or third marriage, but other studies indicate that over half of gray divorces occur between couples in their first marriage. This is might be attributed to the fact that life expectancy is higher than in years past and also because women are more financially independent and stable.  Another theory on why older couples are going through divorce is because in some instances raising children together may be biggest thing a couple has in common. When the children grow up and move out that shared interest and investment also leaves to an extent. Growing expectations of how and what a successful marriage is probably is an additional factor in why older couples are growing apart at a more accelerated rate.

How can an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney help?

At the Tulsa family law firm of Fry & Elder, we cater and tailor to each individual’s specific needs, making sure that each case is given the attention and legal expertise it commands. Our team of family law attorneys are some of the most decorated in both the state and the nation. Robert G “Hap” Fry Jr. has been selected by the leading legal publication Best Lawyers® as its Lawyer of the Year for Family Law in Tulsa for 2016, and he has been listed by the same publication as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer every year since 2007 to validate himself as an accomplished and experienced Tulsa divorce attorney.

Fellow Fry & Elder divorce lawyers James R. Elder, M. Shane Henry, Aaron D. Bundy and T. Luke Bartueax also have collected their share of accolades. Elder, Henry and Bundy, along with Fry have each garnered the prestigious AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, which is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. Henry, Bundy and Barteaux also have been selected as Super Lawyers® Rising Stars™.  

Collectively, the group has helped Fry & Elder achieve national recognition with the firm being recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s Best Law Firms from 2014-2016. If you are experiencing any marital problems and are thinking about divorce, contact Fry & Elder today to consult with an acclaimed and experienced Tulsa divorce attorney.