Kenly North Carolina Legal Blog

You may not think it's a big deal to say negative things about your estranged spouse to your children. The truth is that doing so can be extremely harmful to your relationship with your kids and cause strain in other aspects of your divorce. Children are aware that they are made up of half of each parent. They know that they come from their mom and dad.

Imagine how you would feel if you suddenly heard that half of you was all bad. You'd be angry. Imagine hearing that someone you love hates someone who is also very important to you. You'd be conflicted.

When you're planning your estate and thinking about the future, one of the things you may decide you want to do is to pass on your jewelry to your children. You may have valuable pieces combined with heirlooms and costume jewelry, all of which will need a home after you pass.

As the owner of the jewelry today, you have a few options. One is to allow the executor of the estate to dole out the jewelry after you pass away. Another option is to talk to those who may have an interest in the jewelry and ask which pieces they'd like to have. You can then gift it directly to them before your passing or opt to leave it to them in your will.

If you want to sell your home as quickly as possible -- and for as high a price as possible -- one strategy to help you do so is to "stage" your home. There are professional real estate stagers who can assist with this process, but, in some cases, you can also do an excellent job of staging on your own. Essentially, staging involves setting up your home and decorating it in a way that makes it attractive to potential buyers.

Here are eight tips to help you stage your home the right way:

There is a lot that goes into creating an estate plan. If you have children under the age of 18, it's critical to name a guardian. This is the person who will raise your children should you and your spouse pass on.

Since this is such a big decision, it's one that requires your full and undivided attention. Furthermore, you don't want to put it off, as doing so will only add more stress to your life.