Family Law
Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law 
General family law information.
Post Frequency: 1.5/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 20:56:30 Recent Entries: 506
By Janet Langjahr, Esq.
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Support Collections Rise Dramatically Because State and County Cooperate to Train and Place Unemployed Deadbeat Parents and Ex-Spouses in Jobs
Posted on November 20, 2009Noncustodial parent and/or former spouse behind in child support or alimony payments? Well, Pennsylvania has come up with a proven, working solution. A county support enforcement agency cooperates with the state’s job-finding and job-training agency...
Tribe Thwarts American Indian Father?s Efforts to Gain Custody of Daughter in State Child Welfare Agency?s Care
Posted on November 19, 2009Mother gives Daughter up for adoption upon Daughter’s birth. Daughter has been in the custody of state child welfare agency for all of her two years. Father seeks custody of Daughter. Father is an American Indian. Father seeks to invoke the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which applies to children of American Indian heritage...
Worst Parental Dispute of All: Parents Ask Court to Decide Whether Baby Should Live or Die
Posted on November 17, 2009Mother and Father have 1 year old Baby. Mother and Father are separated. Baby has condition as a result of which his lungs constantly fill with fluid and then have to be suctioned out. Baby is in the hospital on a ventilator. Baby’s prognosis does not look good...
Baby Taken into Custody for Doing Drugs ? Protective Custody, That Is
Posted on November 16, 2009Police receive anonymous tip indicating that the odor associated with pot is emanating from a certain home. Police go to investigate. At the home, police find various drugs … and a Toddler. Police contact the local child welfare agency (Agency), which takes Toddler into protective custody...
Mother Abducts Children from Legal Guardian in UK to Morroco
Posted on November 15, 2009UK Grandmother is legal guardian of her two granddaughters (Girls). Girls’ Mother abducts the Girls to Morocco. Unlike the UK, Morocco is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Abduction. Now Mother won’t return Girls to the UK and Grandmother...
Father Goes a Little Too Far to Pay His Child Support
Posted on November 14, 2009Father stresses out about meeting his child support obligation of $1,000 per month. It’s not clear why. He has a job. Father is determined to pay his child support. So, to ensure that he has the funds … Father allegedly steals merchandise from his employer and sells it to others for cash...
Permanent Alimony ? On the Defensive, in Florida and Elsewhere
Posted on November 12, 2009Permanent alimony in Florida – and elsewhere – is getting old. So think a lot of people and so say a growing number of legislators. The recession, with so many layoffs, is just the straw that broke the paying spouse’s back. Many simply can’t afford to pay anymore...
Children Taken into Child Protective Custody After an Evening Drive with Mother of Some of Them
Posted on November 10, 2009Adults and children attend party in a park. Adults drink alcoholic beverages. One mother (Driver) reportedly admits to having three or four beers. Driver, with her four children, decides to take an evening drive, presumably home. Driver, it later turns out, has a suspended driver’s license...
US Court Orders Return to Mexico of Abducted Child Who is US Citizen for Child Custody Case There
Posted on November 09, 2009Husband and Wife separate after an alleged incident of domestic violence to keep the peace between them. Neither wants anything to threaten Wife obtaining legal residency status in the US. While Husband and Wife are separated, Wife and 5 year old Son live in Mexico, where both Wife and Husband are from...
Child Support Obligation Extends Beyond Termination of Parental Rights, in Alabama Anyway
Posted on November 08, 2009Children are taken into protective custody by the state. In time, biological parents’ (Parents) parental rights are terminated, freeing Children to potentially be adopted. So, after their parental rights are terminated, are Parents responsible for child support for Children? Well, Alabama’s Supreme Court has just ruled that they are...
Divorces at Different Ages Tend to Have Different Focuses
Posted on November 07, 2009When baby boomers or seniors divorce, the odds are much greater that the wife has mainly been a largely stay-at-home mother and homemaker who never seriously pursued a self-supporting career. In younger divorcing couples, the odds are greater that the wife has had a career of her own and has earned roughly as much as her [...
Florida Baby?s Mother?s Boyfriend on Trial for Murdering Baby
Posted on November 05, 2009Seventeen year old Florida Girlfriend has infant (Baby). Despite a difficult childhood, Girlfriend reportedly tries hard to be a good mother. Girlfriend has boyfriend (Boyfriend), who moves in with Baby and her. Girlfriend becomes afraid of Boyfriend...
Choosing the Right Religion ? Uh ? Parent for Primary Custody
Posted on November 04, 2009I previously posted on a case where a North Carolina court ordered children out of homeschooling and back into public school at least in part to compensate for the mother’s religious views. In a similar recent case, a girl was ordered out of homeschooling and into public school because of her “rigidity on faith”...
And Yet Another Child Support Worker Allegedly Steals Child Support Money
Posted on November 04, 2009Spanish-speaking men (and women) in Smith County, Texas take their money orders down to the probation department’s Spanish-speaking child support collections Worker. The Worker instructs them to leave certain fields blank, such as who the money order is made out to...
UK Wife Successfully Flees Turkish Husband and Alleged Abuser with Daughter Only to Be Ordered by UK Court to Return with Daughter to Turkey for Child Custody Case
Posted on November 02, 2009Turkish Husband and British Wife and baby Daughter live in Turkey … and UK. Couple are divorcing. Wife flees with Daughter from Turkey to UK via Greece. Wife obtains an order of protection in the UK upon learning that Husband is in London. Husband makes application for return of Daughter to Turkey under the Hague Convention on the Civil [...
Domestic Violence Still Flourishing, Twenty-Two Years After Introduction of Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Posted on October 31, 2009October was first recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month twenty-two years ago. Twenty-two years later, here in Florida, two different mothers and their respective children are murdered in domestic violence incidents. Both families have histories of domestic violence...
Child Support Enforcement Befriends Gambling Casinos?!
Posted on October 30, 2009Colorado has legal gambling casinos in several towns there. Father (or Mother) goes to a casino to play. And wins. Pretty big. At least $1,200. Maybe substantially more. Father (or Mother) gathers up their winning chips and goes to cash out. There’s a bit of a delay...
Proposed Legislation Would Make it Illegal Discrimination to Deny Custody (or Unsupervised Visitation) to a Medical Marijuana User Unless There is an Unreasonable Danger to Their Child
Posted on October 29, 2009Residents of Maine will be voting next week on proposed legislation intended to broaden and simplify usage of marijuana for medical purposes. What does that have to do with family law? Well, one of the proposed provisions prohibits discrimination against patients in child custody matters...
Victim of Domestic Violence is Jailed for Contempt ? for Fear of Testifying Against Alleged Abuser
Posted on October 28, 2009October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, as I’ve previously posted. A UK Husband allegedly pursued his fleeing Wife, each in their own respective cars. Husband rammed Wife’s car and then set it on fire. Husband was arrested and confined until trial...
US Lawyer Forms Israeli NonProfit to Support Return Under Hague Convention of Abducted Israeli Children
Posted on October 27, 2009US-resident Mother refuses to allow Son to visit Israel-resident Father and attend school there for a year. Both Israel and the US are parties to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Mother opposes, ironically citing a provision of the Hague Convention intended primarily for the benefit of fleeing victims of domestic violence...
Community Property Baseball Team: Husband Gets Half the Players (Chosen Blindly or Randomly, Of Course) and Wife Gets the Other Half?
Posted on October 26, 2009Some property acquired during a marriage is easier to split up than other property. One recently separated couple is learning that now. Wife has served as chief executive of a professional baseball team acquired during the long-term marriage. Since the split, Husband has allegedly purported to fire Wife … and assert sole ownership of the team...
Little MS Boy With Critical Internal Injuries Is Rescued from House with Five Adult Residents and Nine Other Children Taken Into Protective Custody
Posted on October 25, 2009Four women and one man live in Mississippi House with as many as ten Children. The House is filthy and blood-stained. The walls are covered by graffiti. Dirty clothes are in piles. The landlord reacts, “I’ve never seen human beings live like this...
Mother Gives Up Guardianship of Her Daughter ? So Daughter Can Have Health Insurance
Posted on October 24, 2009Mother and Father separate. Mother has primary timesharing with eight year old Daughter. Mother is a hairstylist earning a modest income. Mother had cancer as a child, but is healthy now. Mother cannot afford health insurance for herself because it is priced based on her childhood preexisting condtion...
Full-Time Job Does Not Necessarily Emancipate a Child Such That Parent?s Support Obligation Ends
Posted on October 22, 2009Preface: In New York State, parents are generally legally responsible for supporting their children until the children are twenty-one years old. New York State Son, who is under the age of twenty-one, has a full-time retail job. Despite Son’s employment, Mother currently helps Son pay his bills out of her own earnings [...
Panic Rooms Adapted to Sanctuary Rooms for Victims of Domestic Violence in Wales
Posted on October 21, 2009“Panic rooms”, rooms intended to be secure, even impregnable, were conceived to offer protection to homeowners in the event of a break-in by potentially violent intruders. The doors to the rooms are extra thick and strong, and can’t be kicked down...
Reality TV Divorce Misses the Boat ? and Husband is Charged with Bigamy
Posted on October 20, 2009Virginia Husband and Wife separate. They travel to California to appear on Court TV, intending to get their divorce. Ex-couple returns to Virginia. Life goes on. Several years later, Husband and Fiance obtain marriage license. Husband and Fiance marry...
New Parents Should Start By Planning for Their Children?s Future Care ? in the Event of Their Deaths
Posted on October 18, 2009Parents in an intact family should designate in each of their wills a guardian for their children in the event of both of their untimely deaths in a common accident. As soon as their first child is born. If not sooner. No matter the parents’ ages or current health statuses...
Mother Stabbed to Death During Custody Battle
Posted on October 17, 2009Wisconsin Mother and Texas Father have been involved in lengthy child custody case over 4 year old Son. Along the way, Father is held in contempt of court, with potential for jail time. Custody evaluations by Wisconsin and Texas social workers are very close to being filed with the court...
American Father Arrested and Detained in Japan for Kidnapping His Own Children, Of Whom US Court Awarded Him Sole Custody Due to Japanese Wife?s Abduction Of Them to Japan!
Posted on October 16, 2009Tennessee Husband and Japanese immigrant Wife have two children. Couple divorce. Wife is unhappy in Tennessee. She writes to Husband of her concerns that their children are “losing Japanese identity”. Over the course of a year, Husband repreatedly asks Tennessee court to prohibit Wife from removing children from the US...
Canada Embraces An Adaptation of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Uncontested Divorces
Posted on October 14, 2009In an effort to help more people achieve an uncontested divorce, a counseling center is offering mediation services with additional facilitation by social workers. Although referred to as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the use of therapists and social workers really transforms mediation into an approach closer to collaborative family law...
Look, Florida (and Other States): New York Legislates Automatic Protection of Marital Assets During Divorce Case
Posted on October 13, 2009New York has passed a law that Florida and other states might do well to consider modeling. The New York statute, in effect, prohibits either spouse from moving monies or other marital assets without court order or written consent of the other spouse...
Affluent Small Town Husband, Obsessed with Mistress, Allegedly Murders Wife
Posted on October 12, 2009Lancaster, PA. Small town USA. Wholesome. Close to Amish country. Where an affluent, 40-something member (Husband) of a successful funeral home-owning family lived with his Wife and four Children. The Man had a string of affairs, finally becoming obsessed with one of them (Mistress)...
Putting Marriage Off Until After Education Completed Is the Best Protection from Divorce According to New Study
Posted on October 10, 2009If you’re in an unhappy marriage and contemplating or confronted by the prospect of divorce, you may be past caring about the whys and whether it could have been predicted at the time of your marriage. But a recent study sheds light on precisely those factors...
UK Banker Allegedly Kills Wife Over Her Affairs (His Is OK, Of Course) and Feared Divorce Losses
Posted on October 08, 2009Husband is a senior banking executive. After fifteen years of marriage, Husband, Wife and Children appear to be living the good life. Except Husband is having an affair. And so is Wife. Two actually. But Husband is possessive and unwilling to lose what he has worked to obtain...
Agreeing on Living Together
Posted on October 08, 2009The agreement to live together should be about more than simply the major decision to live together. That’s probably the easy part. Both parties also need to consider all the issues surrounding living together. Who owns what? How will expenses be met? Debt anyone? Is either one supporting the other? [...
One Contrarian Commentator Advocates for Reinstatement of Politically Incorrect But Clarifying Legal Terms Like ?Child Custody? and ?Custodial Parent?
Posted on October 07, 2009Not so long ago in Florida, separating parents (and, if necessary, the courts) addressed “child custody”. The term “child custody” has since been banished from the Florida legal vocabulary and courts. In the words of one Canadian commentator, Florida has joined the ranks of “label-free” settlements of parental responsibility and timesharing regarding children...
UK Court Awards Wife and Kids Exclusive Use and Possession of Marital Residence and Bars Old Money, Multi-Millionaire Husband from His Ancestral Mansion ? and Harassing Wife
Posted on October 05, 2009Old money, multi-millionaire Husband, Wife and their five children live in “ancestral” mansion home in the UK for twenty-odd years. Couple divorce. Wife characterizes Husband as a controlling, critical bully, responsible for her depression...
In the Divorce Capital of the World (London), It?s Women?s Turns to Pay ?Manimony? ? and Thwart and Agitate
Posted on October 04, 2009In Europe, London has the dubious distinction of being the “divorce capital of the world”. Apparently, highly generous spousal support awards are very common in the UK, even in short term marriages. Traditionally, UK men were the ones paying out...
Father Arrested for Murder and Child Abuse Two Years After His Toddler Son Dies
Posted on October 04, 2009Two year old Son had developmental delays and a deformity of his head. Allegedly because Father shook him – twice – when he was just two months old. For that, Father was sentenced to four years of probation … after pleading guilty to felony child abuse...
Paternity Challenge to Avoid Child Support Cannot Be Raised Indefinitely in Maryland ? or Florida
Posted on October 01, 2009Husband and Wife are married for sixteen years. During the marriage, Husband has a vasectomy. Several years later in 1992, Wife gives birth to another child, Daughter. Husband treats Daughter as his own child in every way. During the divorce, Husband enters a settlement agreement with Wife on custody and child support for Daughter...
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is Wielded to Compel Little Girl with Heart Condition to Travel Back to Court on Spanish Island After Allegedly Being Ignored by Her Biological Father There for At Least Eight Months ? After He Allegedly Consented to Her Return to the UK
Posted on October 01, 2009Unmarried British Mother and Spanish Father have Daughter together. Daughter is born in UK. The family lives in Tenerife Island, Spain for over a year. Daughter has serious heart condition. Mother and Daughter return to the UK. According to Mother, Father encouraged them to return to the UK for family support...
New York Family Court Holds Child Welfare Agency in Contempt for Arbitrarily Retaining Baby in Foster Care for Nine Days Instead of Placing Her With Her Uncle as Ordered
Posted on September 29, 2009New York Mother of three suffers from depression. Baby is hospitalized for “failure to thrive”. Children, including Baby, are removed from Mother’s care. Court orders that Baby’s Uncle be investigated for possible placement of Baby with him...
Cooperative Divorce Law: Yet Another Path to a Florida Uncontested Divorce
Posted on September 27, 2009I’ve previously posted, more than once, about mediation, a very common route to a Florida uncontested divorce, and collaborative law, a trendy, generally higher-end path to a Florida uncontested divorce. A California attorney attaches yet another label to yet another path to an uncontested divorce: the cooperative divorce law approach...
Florida is Home to Three of the Ten US Counties with the Greatest Concentrations of Divorced Residents
Posted on September 26, 2009Newly released US Census statistics also reveal that three of the ten US counties where divorced residents are found in greatest numbers are right here in Florida. Those three Florida counties with the most divorced folks are Monroe, home of the (in)famous Keys, to our South Pinellas, home of Tampa / St...
Victims of Domestic Abuse in California Get Slammed Again ? By Gutted State Budget for Domestic Violence Services
Posted on September 26, 2009Victims of domestic violence in California are finding it less hospitable than ever to live there. Faced with severe budget deficits, the governor virtually eliminated the budget previously allocated to services to victims of domestic violence. The magnitude of the cutbacks far outstrips other struggling states...
In Which States is Divorce Most and Least Prevalent? The Answers May Surprise You.
Posted on September 24, 2009Newly released US Census statistics reveal the prevalence of divorce in each state’s population. Some of the statistics are somewhat surprising. For example, New York and New Jersey have two of the three lowest rates of divorce. Not surprisingly, Nevada leads the nation in divorced folks by a wide margin...
NH Woman Attacks Man and Police Unit With Hands, Knife, Glass ? and Teeth, in Domestic Violence Incident
Posted on September 22, 2009New Hampshire Girlfriend and Boyfriend are at home, apparently having a disagreement about something. Girlfriend allegedly pursues Boyfriend around the kitchen, brandishing a knife. Boyfriend calls the police for assistance. Police arrive. Girlfriend allegedly pushes and strikes one or more police officers with her hand and with glass...
Chinese Couple Separate Just Three Months into Their Marriage
Posted on September 20, 2009Chinese Husband and Wife meet online in November 2008. Husband and Wife marry in April 2009. But a month later, they are fighting. Over nothing. Frequently. Husband and Wife separate in August, with a six month re-evaluation plan. Already they miss each other...
When Bankruptcy Meets Divorce
Posted on September 20, 2009For divorcing couples who are overburdened with debt incurred during the marriage, the possibility of a bankruptcy filing by one spouse hangs over the other like a dark cloud. Each divorcing spouse may have a different income, credit standing, attitude toward repayment of debts and bankruptcy, degree of appeal to a creditor seeking to collect on [...
Yes, Your Florida Uncontested Divorce Really Can Begin with a Settlement Before Filing the Divorce Case
Posted on September 19, 2009Many people are baffled by the divorce process. At their initial consultation, some people question – and even obsess – over the sequence and timeline of the legal steps in the Florida divorce process. But the truth is, there’s more than one possible sequence of legal events on the road to a Florida divorce, even [...
Illinois High School Principal Pleads Guilty to Violating Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Posted on September 18, 2009Who has a domestic violence restraining order entered against them? Who violates an order of protection that has been entered against them? Not just the stereotypical abusers that many people may think of. In fact, it could be anyone. Take, for example, the principal of a high school in Illinois (Principal), a seemingly unlikely subject of an [...
File Immediately to Cap Florida Child Support Arrearages and Reduce Florida Child Support (or Alimony)
Posted on September 15, 2009Parent obligated to pay (Obligated Parent) loses their job. Maybe they find another job … but it pays less. Maybe they don’t. Obligated Parent falls behind on child support. Further and further behind. Obligated Parent just lets time go by and their obligations mount...
Parenting Coordinators Revisited for People Hoping for Florida Uncontested Divorces or Uncontested Child Custody Cases
Posted on September 14, 2009They’ve been around for a while. But they weren’t universally or wholeheartedly embraced. Parenting coordinators. But that will likely be changing next month. Due to a new statute. And the recently imposed requirement that a parenting plan be made in Florida divorces involving children and Florida paternity cases involving children of separating [...
Central Florida Police Officer Faces Criminal Domestic Battery Charges, is Confined and His Guns Confiscated; Florida Domestic Violence Restraining Order May Follow
Posted on September 13, 2009Central Florida Husband is reportedly having an affair about which Wife found out. Husband is a police officer. During an argument, Wife refers to Husband’s paramour by an unflattering name. Husband allegedly drags Wife out of bed into the kitchen, where he smashes her head against a granite countertop...
Improvising Helps in Collecting or Enforcing Child Support Obligations in Florida, as in Ohio
Posted on September 12, 2009Ohio Father is a sheriff. Father admits to spending many of his working hours on pornographic websites. Father’s employment is terminated. Father sues the County that employs him for discrimination in terminating him! Father’s employing County offers Father a $1,000 bone by way of settlement...
Local Divorce Complicated by Husband?s Participation in Federal Witness Protection Program
Posted on September 10, 2009Husband has close ties to mob family. Husband opts to testify against various alleged mob members in return for concessions in criminal charges against himself. Husband is in midst of a divorce, with one still-minor Daughter involved. Husband accuses Wife of not promoting “normal” relationships between Husband and their children...
So What Exactly is a ?Florida Uncontested Divorce??
Posted on September 10, 2009Obvious? Not so. So many Florida residents think (or, anyway, say) they have a “simple uncontested divorce“, often adding “there’s really nothing to fight about”. But that does not make a Florida divorce uncontested. Not even close...
Arizona Extends Protection of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders to Casual Dating Partners ? After the Deaths of Two Dating Minors
Posted on September 09, 2009Just a year and a half ago, police contacted an Arizona family to warn them that their minor Daughter’s Boyfriend had threatened to end her life and then commit suicide himself. Quite reasonably, the family immediately applied for a domestic violence restraining order or order of protection against the Boyfriend...
Two Divorced Florida Judiciary Members to Duke It Out in Court Over Alleged Child Support Appearages
Posted on September 07, 2009Child support disputes can erupt in the most unexpected places. Take two members of the Broward County judiciary. Divorced from each other for fifteen years. He has presided over many child support enforcement matters as a general magistrate and, well … he doesn’t go easy on deadbeat parents...
UN: Women Get the Financial Shaft in Divorce Worldwide
Posted on September 07, 2009Although they may not have much else in common, women get the financial shaft worldwide in divorce according to studies by the United Nations (UN). The UN has a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). A UN committee is reviewing its provisions regarding divorce as it impacts women economically...
Father Accuses Mother of Abducting Children from New York, But Nothing is Clear to New York Authorities Until New York Can Wangle Custody Orders from Texas
Posted on September 06, 2009New York State issues Amber Alert for two missing children based on Father’s allegation that Mother, a Texas woman, abducted them. Mother is taken into custody in Virginia. Now she awaits extradition. Problem is, the New York state prosecutor’s office has no proof other than Father’s word that Father has sole custody of the children...
Uncontested Divorce Is Not Necessarily Simple or Fast, But It is Less Expensive and Acrimonious
Posted on September 04, 2009Contrary to what most people think, uncontested divorce doesn’t necessarily mean instant divorce or simple divorce. In fact, it can often take quite a while before parties can come to agreement on all issues. And that is precisely what must happen before a divorce can be considered “uncontested”...
Long Island Husband Alleges He Stabbed Wife to Death in Self-Defense
Posted on September 04, 2009Long Island, New York law enforcement officers have been to Long Island Husband’s and Wife’s home several times over domestic complaints. Wife obtains domestic violence restraining order against Husband. Husband is also charged with second degree harassment arising from the same events...
Mother Returns from Iraq to Ignored Parenting Plan and Court Battle for Visitation with Her Baby
Posted on September 03, 2009New Jersey Mother and Father have Daughter. Mother is deployed to Iraq for nearly a year. Daughter is in Father’s care during Mother’s deployment. Before Mother departs for Iraq, with the assistance of the military, Mother and Father devise a parenting plan for her return...
Mediating Your Way to an Uncontested Divorce
Posted on September 02, 2009In theory, everyone wants an uncontested divorce. In reality, that may not be so easy to achieve. The most common means to an uncontested divorce is a process called mediation. Here in Palm Beach County, Florida, mediation is mandatory before trial...
Arkansas Man Subject to Domestic Violence Restraining Order Violates It By Allegedly Shooting Neighbor?s Dog
Posted on August 31, 2009Arkansas Man has a domestic violence restraining order (or order of protection) against him. As is customary, the injunction for protection against domestic violence bars Man from keeping guns. Man discovers neighbor’s dog on his property. Neither Man nor his own dogs are afraid of the neighbor’s dog...
Another Father Denied Access to His Child Abducted to Brazil, Despite Hague Convention
Posted on August 30, 2009A British college instructor (Father) hasn’t seen his Daughter in fourteen years. Her Mother allegedly abducted her from the UK to Brazil at that time. Brazil is a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction...
August is National Child Support Enforcement Month
Posted on August 28, 2009Before it draws to a close, it should be noted that August is our national Child Support Enforcement Month. Local and statewide child support enforcement agencies are celebrating their mission, their increasingly innovative and resourceful efforts to maximize collections of child support, their accomplishments and the contributions of parents...
Collaborative Divorce is One Path to an Uncontested Divorce ? But Not the Only One
Posted on August 27, 2009A group of Michigan professionals are rallying around one particular path to an uncontested divorce. It’s called collaborative divorce. In collaborative divorce, both spouses commit to pursuing an amicable resolution without the necessity of litigating...
Illinois Husband Allegedly Murders Wife, Then Commits Suicide, After Unchecked History of Domestic Violence
Posted on August 26, 2009Illinois Husband and Wife had been together for thirty years. Wife’s Sister is a domestic violence victims’ advocate, who helps others to escape abusive relationships. Wife and Husband were estranged, with a significant history of domestic violence reportedly behind them...
NY: Non-Custodial Parent Who is Medical Doctor May Adjust Daughter?s Medication Dosage on Reasonable Good Faith Basis Without Being in Contempt
Posted on August 25, 2009New York state Mother and Father, a medical doctor / psychiatrist, have a Daughter together. But mother has sole custody of Daughter. Under New York law, that means that Mother, in general, has sole medical decision-making authority for Daughter. During timesharing with Daughter, Father adjusts Daughter’s dosage of medication downward...
Illinois Man?s Alleged Abuse of Substances Triggers Domestic Violence Resulting in Order of Protection and Jail - And Treatment for Anger Issues and Substance Abuse
Posted on August 24, 2009Illinois Man allegedly abuses both alcohol and drugs. While under the influence in two past incidents, Man allegedly pressed a knife to his girlfriend’s (Woman) neck, and shoved and choked her. Couple separate when Man relapses again. In another episode of violence, Woman calls police...
Where Should Your Child Go to School? If You Want a Judge to Decide, You?d Better Ask Early
Posted on August 23, 2009Separated parents sometimes can’t agree on parenting issues. Most issues can be resolved by mediation or litigation … whenever. But some have deadlines. Take school. Selection. School starts when it starts. Even if the parents are going through a custody case...
Seriously Mentally Ill Child? Go Directly to Jail ? Do Not Pass Go
Posted on August 22, 2009Two-thirds of juvenile correctional facilities inmates suffer from at least one mental health diagnosis. Many such children are confined in such facilities because their families are unable to find affordable mental health treatment for them in their communities...
England: One Stop Domestic Violence Courts with Judges Who Award Custody and Divorce, Sentence to Jail and Enter Orders of Protection, Potentially All at the Same Time
Posted on August 21, 2009England is one-upping the increasingly common unified family court system. In unified family courts, such as in Florida, the goal is for all cases involving a single family to ultimately be assigned to the same judge, be the case criminal, juvenile dependency, divorce or paternity, or criminal...
Child Abducted to Italy ? Taken into Child Protective Custody There ? and Withheld from Father in US
Posted on August 20, 2009New York Father and Italian immigrant Mother battle for custody of Son. Mother accuses Father of child abuse. But police and psychologists see things differently. Mother is diagnosed with various psychological disorders and is found to have alienated Son from Father...
Federal Policy Cracks Open Door for Certain Victims of Domestic Violence to Win Asylum in the US
Posted on August 18, 2009Asylum will be available to foreign victims of domestic violence who show 1. that domestic violence is socially acceptable in their own country such that safety would always elude them there and 2. that their social standing in their own country is inferior to their abuser’s...
Colorado Kids Placed in Child Protective Custody Because Parents Called Poison Control Center ? Even Though Drug Test on Children was Negative
Posted on August 17, 2009Colorado Husband and Wife have two young children. Couple fear two year old Boy might have ingested some medication, after finding part of a pill on the floor. Couple call a local Poison Control Center (Center), allegedly not for the first time. The Center recommends keeping an eye on the Boy and taking him to the [...
After Being Arrested for Violating Order of Protection, Illinois Man Allegedly Hires Hit Man to Kill His Ex-Wife
Posted on August 16, 2009Illinois Woman obtains order of protection or injunction for protection against domestic violence against her ex-Husband, Man. Man violates restraining order and is jailed. While in jail, Man allegedly forms plan to hire hit man to kill Woman. Man allegedly offers undercover police officer money to kill Woman...
TN Mother Shoots Father in Presence of Children and Thereby Hands Father Custody
Posted on August 14, 2009Tennessee Father and Mother are divorced. Father and Mother have two daughters together. Mother allegedly shoots Father in the leg. In the presence of their two daughters. If for no other reason, Father wins temporary custody of their two daughters...
Pick Your Poison: Divorce Can Hurt Your Health ? But So Can a Bad Marriage
Posted on August 14, 2009If you’ve ever wondered whether or how divorce (or death of a spouse) affect a person’s health, a recently published study on mature singles sheds some light on the subject. The study finds that the Single Again population experiences a lasting decline in health and/or mobility, even if they marry again...
International Child Abductions: Most Incidents Are By Parents -Usually Mothers ?
Posted on August 12, 2009Abductions of children across international borders continue to increase. In the UK, the number of such cases (and some cases involve more than one child) has risen from 488 in 2006 to 554 in 2008. It is likely that not all abductions are properly reported...
Parental Alienation: Organizations and Resources
Posted on August 10, 2009Parental Alienation. Syndrome. Or not. Whether one accepts it as a legitimate diagnosis of a psychological condition or not, there can be little doubt that the term describes a pattern of behavior that some parents actively engage in. Willfully or unwittingly...
New York Man?s Alleged Killing of Puppy Earns Him Restraining Order from Ex-Girlfriend
Posted on August 10, 2009New York state boyfriend (Man) and girlfriend (Woman) break up. Man allegedly kicks Woman’s puppy to death. Man says it was “looking at me like it didn’t like me.” Man is charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals. Man eventually pleads guilty to disorderly conduct and agrees to make financial restitution to Woman, take anger management classes and undergo [...
TN Husband Arrested for Violating Order of Protection ? Twice in Thirty Minutes
Posted on August 09, 2009Tennessee Wife obtains order of protection against Husband. Husband violates restraining order by going to Wife’s house. Husband is arrested for violating injunction for protection against domestic violence. Police free Husband. Less than half an hour later, Husband returns to Wife’s home...
Financial Advice in Divorce
Posted on August 01, 2009A financial advisor dispenses some financial advice to guide those going through a divorce: get a handle on your finances - hire a professional if cost-effective and necessary split assets equitably - take relative degrees of liquidity of various assets into account divide and conquer your debts - block incurring further debt on joint accounts pay attention to taxes [...
Criminal Stalking Prosecution Follows Repeated Violations of Order of Protection ? in Illinois
Posted on July 31, 2009Wife obtains injunction for protection against domestic violence, or order of protection, against Husband. Husband violates restraining order by repeatedly stalking Wife. Husband admits to stalking Wife and loitering near her home. Husband may be sentenced to up to five years’ incarceration for aggravated stalking...
American Children Abducted Abroad: Their Parents Can Labor for Years to Bring Them Back Home ? Without Success
Posted on July 30, 2009Two hundred thousand American children are abducted from the US each year, most often by a parent or extended family member. Such abductions are federal crimes. But in too many of those cases, the child ends up being raised in a country foreign to them by the abducting family member...
Illinois Man Sentenced to Five Years for Making Three Hundred Calls to a Woman in Violation of an Order of Protection ? While Already Incarcerated
Posted on July 29, 2009Illinois Man is incarcerated for about a year for a violation of an injunction for protection against domestic violence, or order of protection. Man has history of other criminal charges of domestic battery and other violations of restraining orders against other victims...
Global Positioning ? in Divorce
Posted on July 28, 2009Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are proliferating, and not just for guiding drivers. As I’ve previously posted, some states use them to track movements of people subject to orders of protection. And in some states, one divorcing spouse is increasingly likely to be planting one in or on the other spouse’s car...
Ex-Boyfriend Gets 99 Years for Sledgehammer Attack That Steals Ex-Girlfriend?s Bright Future
Posted on July 27, 2009Three years ago, a then 20 year old South Florida Man purchased a sledgehammer. After his girlfriend (Woman), a then 19 year old aspiring dancer and singer, arrived, the Man bludgeoned her in the face and head over and over again. The Woman survived, despite extensive brain injuries...
Oops ? Don?t Forget to Consider the Various Tax Impacts in Property Division
Posted on July 26, 2009Equitable distribution or property division can be deceptive. In Florida, and other states, the law presumes a fifty-fifty split of assets and debts. But even where that is the agreed upon goal, the devil is in the details. Some proposals can look like an even split right down to the penny...
Economic Abuse is Domestic Abuse
Posted on July 25, 2009Domestic abuse conjures images of physical violence. That is abuse. But it’s far from the only form that domestic abuse takes. Domestic abuse is, fundamentally, about power and control as much, if not more, than violence. One way to maintain absolute power and control in a relationship is to hold the purse strings, all of them...
PA: The Good News: Divorce Rates are Falling, The Bad News: Fewer People are Getting Married ? Later
Posted on July 22, 2009In Pennsylvania, divorce rates have dropped by more than ten (10%) percent in the last decade or so. In some counties in the state, the decline was even sharper, as much as twenty-five (25%) percent. Are we doing something very right to account for the reduction in divorces? Well, yes and no...
Murder by Domestic Violence Generally Heats Up to a Boil Over Years
Posted on July 21, 2009In Brevard County, Florida, over half of the women killed by intimate partners had in the last three years turned to the police or the domestic violence courts for assistance, in the form of arrests or restraining orders. In many of those cases, the abuse victim did not follow through, recanting or simply not appearing in [...
Oregon Mother Wins Custody Award from Greek Court ? But Still Awaits Enforcement or Husband?s Cooperation with Son?s Return to US under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
Posted on July 19, 2009Oregon Wife and Greek immigrant Husband marry. Husband and Wife have Son. Husband and Wife raise Son with awareness of his dual heritage. Husband and Wife travel with Son to Greece for his baptism and when Husband’s father passes away. In September of 2008, when Son is two years old, Husband takes Son to Greece to visit extended family [...
Central Florida Husband Found Dead After Shooting Wife, Before Order of Protection Served on Him
Posted on July 19, 2009Wife files a petition for injunction for protection against domestic violence for a restraining order against Husband. Husband is not yet served with order of protection against him. Husband had moved out of marital home. But was there one Saturday evening, trying to break in...
Introduction to the Adoption Process
Posted on July 18, 2009Adoption can be a complex legal process and a costly social process. It can also be the answer to a couple’s prayers. There are several types of adoptions: domestic private, through an agency or direct domestic foster care international private foreign or domestic special needs Eachy type of adoption typically imposes different costs and expense, offers different potential tax benefits [...
Executive Branch Establishes a White House Post on Domestic Violence
Posted on July 17, 2009No matter what we as a society throw at it, domestic violence remains an intractable problem. Impacting perhaps twenty-five percent of women in the US. So the President is appointing a White House advisor on domestic violence. The appointee is tasked with reaching across agencies to better coordinate governmental action...
Reprise: The Children?s Bill of Rights
Posted on July 14, 2009As part of a series of articles about divorce, the Tampa Bay Examiner takes the opportunity to reprint one version of the Children’s Bill of Rights. There are many versions, that express similar sentiments in somewhat different ways. Any version is worth every separating parent’s review: The right to be treated as important human beings, [...
LA County to Implement Centralized Computer Systems Sharing Information Among Agencies in Hopes of Saving Abused Children?s Lives
Posted on July 13, 2009Although not unique in this respect, Los Angelenos recognize that too many deaths of children from abandonment, abuse or neglect could have been - but weren’t - avoided, as a result of lack of communication between agencies. Now, county officials are finally calling for sharing of information between county agencies, including potential red flags in criminal, [...
Maryland Adds a Second Center for Foster Kids to Have Supervised Visits with Biological Family
Posted on July 12, 2009Maryland recently added a second facility for children in foster care to have visitation with their biological parents and siblings - under supervision of social workers. The facility is actually a house, minus televisions, computers and similar modern distractions found in most homes...
Biological Father Severely Beats Seven Year Old Son ? On Father?s Day ? and Boy Later Dies
Posted on July 11, 2009Seven year old boy (Son) lives with his Grandmother in Alabama. Massachusetts biological Father wants visitation with Son. Father goes to court seeking visitation. Father reportedly wants to build a relationship with Son. It is unclear whether a court ever grants visitation or any custodial rights to Father...
Are Visitation Rights Assignable? Yes, In Tennessee, If You?re in the Military
Posted on July 10, 2009Tennessee has gone one better on a trend toward protecting custodial and visitation rights of parents deployed in the military. Under a brand new law, a parent deployed for at least ninety days can assign his or her visitation rights to a relative, subject to the court’s authority to veto the surrogate’s visitation if it is [...
Illinois Man Faces Multiple Charges for Alleged Sexual Assault on Mentally Handicapped Young Woman and Violation of Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Posted on July 09, 2009Mentally disabled young Woman lives with her Mother. Twenty year old Man pursues “relationship” with Woman. Mother seeks and obtains an order of protection against Man for benefit of Woman. That reportedly does not stop Man. After being served with the domestic violence restraining order, Man allegedly lures Woman to his parents’ home and sexually assaults her...
Arizona Boy Goes Missing During Court Ordered Visitation with Father
Posted on July 08, 2009Arizona Mother has sole custody of nine year old Son. Father takes Son for a week of visitation as per court order. In the past, Father has taken Son to Hawaii, a place that Father has said he would like to live. At the end of the permitted weeklong visitation, Father and Son fail to return … even [...
Wife Who Had Been Shot by Husband and Who Had Had Order of Protection against Him is Murdered ?
Posted on July 06, 2009Husband and Wife have one child together, Son. In 1997, Husband, a police officer at the time, allegedly shot Wife in the hand while they were arguing. In 2001, Wife obtained an injunction for protection against domestic violence, or order of protection, against Husband...
South Carolina Man Awarded Sole Custody As Psychological Parent of Child Not Related to Him Biologically
Posted on July 04, 2009South Carolina Man and Woman live together. Woman has a Son. Man acts like any good father would toward Son. Drives him to school. Roots for him at his ball games. Attends parent-teacher conferences. Etc., etc. One thing is missing … A paternity test does not bear out a biological connection between Man and [...
Securities and Exchange Commission Takes an Interest in a Divorce
Posted on July 03, 2009Husband and Wife divorce. Husband used to work for large software company. Husband’s financial disclosure in divorce reveals two large payments and anticipates a further large payment from a so-called hedge fund. Wife seeks a share of such monies...
If You Want Speedy Justice, Head for Criminal Court, Not Family Court
Posted on July 02, 2009In the criminal courts, the defendant can insist on speedy justice. Not so the litigants in family court, which often operates in a virtual time warp. Husband and Wife live in North Carolina. They have two children. Wife files for divorce. North Carolina Court grants permission for Wife to relocate to Rhode Island, but allows for visitation by [...
Turkey: Husband Must Compensate His Wife for His ?Social Violence?
Posted on July 01, 2009Turkish Man living in France seeks to marry and bring a Turkish Woman to live with him in France. Only that particular Woman had been accepted to college and has her heart set on attending. So the Man promises the Woman that she will be able to go to university after the marriage...
Before You Tie the Knot Again, Be Sure to Review Your New Love Interest?s ? Credit Report
Posted on June 30, 2009Financial columnists recommend the less than romantic activity of reviewing each other’s credit reports before tying the knot again. Overlooked or forgotten accounts with an ex-spouse can rear their ugly heads even after a divorce. Times two can make for a double whammy...
Prosecutors Seek to Intervene in and Block Yet Another Allegedly Phony Divorce Intended to Protect Assets
Posted on June 29, 2009Husband and Wife married twenty-seven years. Husband, former CEO of corporation, convicted of accounting fraud. Husband ordered to pay over $3 billion as restitution. Divorce filed. Uncontested. In divorce settlement, Husband sells home to Wife for $10...
Ways in Which Parents Sometimes Draw Children into Divorce, Intentionally or Not
Posted on June 28, 2009Consciously or unconsciouly, one or both parents in divorce sometimes draw their children into the following roles: Spy on the Other Parent Side-Taker against the Other Parent Messengers to the Other Parent Partner or Confidante Household Finances Stretcher Teenager Peer Spoiled as Compensation Pawns in Visitation and Custody Battles Captive Audience to Disparagement of Other Parent Tool Wielded to Manipulate or Control the Other Parent [...
New York Court Enters Injunction for Protection against Domestic Violence, or Order of Protection, against Incarcerated Father Who Allegedly Stabbed His Son in the Chest
Posted on June 27, 2009New York state Husband and Wife have four children together. Husband sustained a brain injury in a car accident several years ago and has a “mental health history”. Wife files for divorce and child custody. Husband allegedly stabs Son in the chest during a “domestic incident” at home...
New York Mother?s Voodoo Ritual Places Daughter in Foster Care with Serious Burns and Permanent Scarring
Posted on June 25, 2009Haitian immigrant Mother thinks 6 year old Daughter is possessed by evil spirits. Mother resolves to rid Daughter of them. With a voodoo ritual. Mother allegedly pours rum on the floor in a circle surrounding Daughter and then pours some more on Daughter’s head and then … sets fire to Daughter...
Washington State Mother Abducts Son to India, Leaving Father with No Contact for Nearly a Year
Posted on June 24, 2009Washington state Mother and Father, both Indian immigrants, marry and have Son. As part of their divorce, the Court permits Son to travel to India with either parent. Mother allegedly takes three year old Son to India. Nearly a year ago. And Mother and Son reportedly have not returned to the US since...
Can a Big Corporation Go to Court to Dismiss a Couple?s Divorce?
Posted on June 23, 2009Wisconsin couple files for divorce. Big Corporation seeks to intervene in, or step into, the case… To dismiss the couple’s divorce. The presiding trial judge has one preliminary question before the Court will listen to the Corporation’s arguments for dismissal: does the Corporation have standing to insinuate itself into the case? Standing is a legal term that ponders [...
New York Stalker Doesn?t Get the Message ? Again
Posted on June 22, 2009An upstate New York Man doesn’t get the message. On one occasion, the Man was found at a Woman’s home with a knife. Man was sentenced to 2 years’ incarceration for stalking the Woman and criminal contempt for violating a no contact order...
Psychiatric Drugs Prescribed for Children ? Are They Killing Them?
Posted on June 21, 2009According to a lawsuit filed by a Florida teenager’s mother, the athletic boy died of a heart attack … brought on by prescription psychiatric medications. Allegedly, too many of them, including one to alleviate side effects of the others...
Texas Mother, Feared to Have Abducted Daughter Out of Country, Ordered to Produce Child in Texas Court
Posted on June 20, 2009A Texas surgeon (Mother) has been ordered to produce her eight year old Daughter in a Texas court. The Mother is feared to have left the country with the Daughter. Mother is now wanted on a state charge of interference with child custody and a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution...
Father?s Day: The Time to Heal Estrangements Between Fathers and Children
Posted on June 19, 2009As Father’s Day approaches, a pro-marriage nonprofit association encourages fathers and children alike to look beyond parental alienation or past hurts and reach out for understanding and reconciliation at this time. They have even written some sample overtures for use between fathers and children, to facilitate the process...
Drive Carefully ? Or Risk Jail for Not Paying Child Support
Posted on June 18, 2009The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) pulled over a Florida driver recently. And hit pay dirt for two Massachusetts mothers. FHP “ran him” and found a Massachusetts warrant out for the man’s arrest. The man took off from Massachusetts, leaving behind two children from two different relationships, for whom he has allegedly paid no support for six years...
Child Neglect: Where is the Line in the Sand Drawn?
Posted on June 16, 2009A child welfare agency is breathing down their necks, threatening to remove their children. They aren’t beating or starving their children. Or leaving them unattended. Why then? The agency calls it medical neglect. In one recent high profile case, hardly the first such case, the family refuses conventional medical treatment for religious reasons...
Israeli Court Revokes Alimony Because Recipient Cheated on Spouse During Marriage
Posted on June 14, 2009Israeli Husband and Wife divorce. Husband was unfaithful to Wife. Husband is ordered to pay Wife alimony. Fast forward six years. Husband returns to court. With videotape. Of Wife and another man having sexual relations. Prior to entry of the divorce...
Wisconsin Police Officer Successfully Sued for Giving Victim?s Address to Abuser Subject to Injunction for Protection against Domestic Violence
Posted on June 12, 2009Imagine. Woman gets injunction for protection against domestic violence, or order of protection, against her ex-husband (Abuser). Woman moves away to another city in the hopes of avoiding Abuser altogether. Woman remarries and begins new life. Abuser contacts police...
Minnesota Boy Removed from Parents? Home for Two Years ? But Without Termination of Parental Rights ? Because Their First Child was Murdered ? But the Murderer is Not Known
Posted on June 11, 2009Minnesota Boy removed from parents’ home and placed in foster care on a child welfare agency petition alleging that Boy needed protection or services. Over two years later, still no resolution to Boy’s case. Boy’s parents have had only supervised visitation with Boy since case began two years ago...
Two Nations Simultaneously Contemplating Signing the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
Posted on June 09, 2009The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which determines which country has jurisdiction in international child custody disputes, appears to be enjoying something of a resurgence. Two long holdouts against entering the Convention are reportedly … considering signing it...
Pilots Allegedly Divorce to Collect Pension Benefits ? and Then Remarry
Posted on June 08, 2009Pension plans can be complicated things. Documented in thick manuals filled with arcane rules. In the case of Continental Airlines’ pension plan, one such rule permits divorced, retired spouses to collect retirement benefits attributable to pilots still in active service...
Wedding Cakes: Move Over and Make Way for ? Divorce Cakes
Posted on June 05, 2009A bakery in neighboring Broward County, Florida recently added a new treat to its menu: divorce cakes. Divorce cakes help to “celebrate” - what else? - divorce. Ironically, divorce cakes taste the same as wedding cakes. But they look a little different...
Progressive? Advanced Study and Training in Child Abuse Emerges
Posted on June 04, 2009A new medical specialty emerges: child abuse pediatrics. A physican can now study a concentrated curriculum and become board-certified in child abuse. Unfortunately, there is much need for forensic experts in physical and sexual abuse of children. Could the burn (or other inury) have been an accident? Was the child sexually abused? Forensic child abuse pediatrics holds the answers to [...
Unemployment Benefits Increasingly Stretched to Cover Child Support Obligations
Posted on June 03, 2009Child support is typically paid from the noncustodial parent’s salary. In Asheville, North Carolina, that is no longer as true as it used to be. Increasingly, child support is being funded by the noncustodial parent’s … unemployment benefits...
Foster Care: It?s Really About Supporting and Reuniting Families?
Posted on June 01, 2009Sometimes people become foster parents when they are in search of children to adopt. But, sometimes, they just want to help other families get through a difficult time and then reunite. One Utah couple is in the latter category. They actually mentor the parents whose children are in their foster care...
Justice Isn?t Cheap, Especially in British Columbia, Canada ?
Posted on May 31, 2009In British Columbia, Canada, divorce and custody litigation - or, for that matter, any litigation - can be really expensive. It’s not the legal fees, as some might leap to conclude. It’s the court clerk fees, which are substantially higher than elsewhere in Canada...
Nebraska Allegedly Passes Statute So It Can Ignore Canadian Custody Orders ? Nebraska Residents Don?t Like
Posted on May 30, 2009One might not think of a legal dispute over jurisdiction with our neighbor to the north as being an international jurisdiction battle. But … Canadian Husband and American Wife live in British Columbia. Couple divorce. Husband is awarded sole custody of Daughter by Canadian court...
Grandparents Still Fighting for Visitation with Grandchildren Nine Years After Daughter?s Death
Posted on May 29, 2009Husband and Wife marry. Husband and Wife have Children. West Virginia Grandparents see Children. Wife dies. Husband inherits Wife’s custody of Children. Grandparents don’t see Children. Ever. For nine years and counting. Grandparents appeal to the courts for visitation with Children...
Global Positioning Devices Find Unexpected Use Protecting People Who Have Domestic Violence Restraining Orders against Their Abusers
Posted on May 28, 2009Injunctions for Protection against Domestic Violence. Orders of Protection. A rose by any other name. Court orders all. Literally, pieces of paper. According to a Justice Department study, more than 3 million people are stalked in a single year. In Massachusetts, one-quarter of all restraining orders in effect each year are violated...
Intermediate Appeals Court in Florida Recognizes Washington State Adoption by Gay Couple and Parental Rights Flowing from It
Posted on May 26, 2009Florida does not allow adoptions by a homosexual couple. Washington state does. A lesbian couple living in Washington state each give birth to a child. And each partner adopts the other’s biological child as permitted under Washington law. Lesbian couple relocates to Florida...
Despite History and Threats of Further Domestic Violence, British Wife Who Fled to Australia Seeking Safety is Ordered to Return Children to England for Custody Determination
Posted on May 25, 2009Husband is convicted of sexually assaulting Wife. Wife is terrified that Husband will kill her. Husband allegedly threatens to dismember her. Wife flees to Australia with their two Children. But the Australian courts rule that England has child custody jurisdiction under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction...
Going Through a Stressful Divorce? Go Break Stuff ?. Somewhere Appropriate, Of Course
Posted on May 24, 2009It is almost cliche that divorce is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. It certainly was for a California veterinarian. She channeled her stress productively though. She fantasized about a haven where she could break things. And, born of her fantasy came … Sarah’s Smash Shack...
Alabama Petitions for Orders of Protection Go High Tech
Posted on May 23, 2009Alabama takes domestic violence seriously, with a progessive new infrastructure. Now, victims of domestic violence can prepare their petitions for an injunction for protection against domestic violence on any internet-connected computer. From there, the data in the petition is electronically transmitted via the internet to law enforcement...
Mother Wanted for Kidnapping Her Child from Grandparents, His Legal Custodians
Posted on May 22, 2009Mother, Grandparents and 3 year old Child go to mall. Mother and Child become separated from Grandparents. Mother and Child leave mall. Amber Alert goes out. Grandparents have legal custody of Child. Mother is only allowed supervised visitation with Child...
Detroit Judge: Guilty of Criminal Non-Payment of Support! You are Hereby Sentenced to ? Watch Daytime Television Talk Shows
Posted on May 21, 2009In Detroit, felony non-payment of child support is truly at the noncustodial parent’s peril. The punishment for criminal non-support includes … court-ordered television. Really. A Detroit criminal court judge requires monthly viewing of a daytime television talk show as a condition of probation for felony non-payment of support...
A North Carolina County Reduces the Need for Foster Care Through Preventative, Early Intervention
Posted on May 20, 2009In one North Carolina county, the number of children in foster care has gone down, pretty dramatically, over the last several years. How did they accomplish it? The child welfare agency there has been experimenting with several preventative, early intervention programs, using government and charitable funds grants...
The New Way to Settle An Argument with Your Spouse in Florida: Taser Gun
Posted on May 19, 2009Central Florida Husband and Wife, a nurse, are going through a divorce three years into their marriage. Wife reportedly enters Husband’s home to collect things, expecting him to be away. Husband drives a truck, and had previously purchased a taser gun, reportedly for protection from Wife (and, possibly, others, while on the road on his truck)...
Older Brother Seeks Custody of Younger Brothers Amidst Parents? Custody Battle Which Escalates into Court-Ordered Treatment for Parental Alienation, Months of Foster Care and Court?s No Contact Order with Older Brother and Father, All Against Psychiatrist?s Recommendation
Posted on May 18, 2009Canadian Husband and Wife separate and later divorce. Wife gets custody of their three Boys, who are all close with each other. About 10 years after Husband and Wife’s separation, Boys choose to move in with Husband. Boys are about 10, 12 and 17 years old at that time...
Florida Husband Avoids Paying Alimony By Moving to Indonesia Until ? Invited to a Florida Wedding
Posted on May 17, 2009Florida Husband and Wife divorce. Husband is ordered to pay Wife alimony. Husband moves to Indonesia. Husband allegedly stops paying support. Indonesia apparently does not honor or enforce US court orders on support. Husband’s support arrears are reportedly close to $200,000...
Contempt of Court: It?s Not Reserved Just for Criminal Types
Posted on May 16, 2009Seventy year old New Mexico Father is behind on child support, to the tune of $13,500. Father is held in contempt of court. As punishment for his contempt, Father is sentenced to up to three months of incarceration. Who is the insolent Father who appears to have no respect for the Court’s child support order or the law? [...
Repeat International Abductions Between France and Former Soviet Union ? And Understanding Father Still Favors Timesharing for Mother Abroad
Posted on May 15, 2009Russian Mother and French Father divorce in France, where they have been living. French court awards custody of their then 1 year old Child to Father. Mother returns to former Soviet Union. Child is reportedly abducted back and forth multiple times over last two years since divorce, most recently allegedly by Mother, to former Soviet Union...
Military Father Takes Baby From Mother and Then Baby Dies of Blunt Force Trauma While With Him
Posted on May 14, 2009Mother and Father have Baby. Mother lives in North Carolina with Baby. Father, a member of the armed forces, removes Baby and brings Baby to live with him on base in California. Implication is that Baby may be at risk with Mother. There is no information as to whether a court ever determined custody or whether Mother [...
Mexican Born Mother Allegedly Removes American Children From Father in Georgia and Takes Them to Mexico
Posted on May 12, 2009Georgia Mother and Father separate. Mother reports Father for child abuse. Mother’s allegations are determined to be unfounded. Father is awarded sole custody of their two Children in divorce. While she has visitation with the Children, Mother reportedly flees...
Adoptive Mothers Wish the Birth Mothers of Their Children Happy Mother?s Day
Posted on May 11, 2009Today, mothers celebrate Mother’s Day with their children. A foster mother and adoptive mother is among them. While she is celebrating Mother’s Day, she also celebrates the selflessness of the birth mothers of her adopted children. And she wishes those birth mothers a Happy Mother’s Day as well...
Nebraska Activists Push for Presumption of Equal Timesharing by Both Parents
Posted on May 10, 2009Some Nebraska legislators are working to change the state’s child custody laws. Current law is couched in terms of the best interests of the children. But some say that test leads to conflict … and the court unnecessarily inquiring into which parent is the better parent...
The Other Epidemic ? The One That People are Uncomfortable Talking About ? Domestic Violence
Posted on May 09, 2009There’s an epidemic sweeping parts of Florida, maybe more. It’s not swine flu. It’s domestic violence. One of the areas in which it is most pervasive is Orange County, in central Florida. Ironically, Disney territory. Not only poor areas...
Skip the Fine Print at Your Own Peril .. and Expense
Posted on May 06, 2009Woman alleges that North Carolina Man is father of her child and should pay child support. Man is certain he is not the father and willingly submits to DNA paternity test. Test results arrive in Man’s mail. Cover letter concludes that Man is the father...
Will I Be Divorced When I Grow Up?
Posted on May 05, 2009Will a spouse’s marriage last, or end in divorce? Research psychologists from DePauw University think they can predict with some degree of accuracy. It all depends on the spouse’s smile … when he or she was a child. Specifically, the frequency and intensity of the smile in youth...
Noncustodial Parents Make Payments for Child Support ? Child Support Worker Allegedly Misappropriates Them
Posted on May 04, 2009Deja vu. A Maryland man working for the state’s child support enforcement agency collected more than just a paycheck. He also had child support checks made out to his own wife … and deposited them into his account. Over a seven year period...
Days Before His Divorce Trial, Husband Allegedly Kills His Two Children, His Trial Witness Sister and Then Himself
Posted on May 03, 2009Husband and Wife’s divorce trial was just a few days away. But no one saw anything amiss. There was no history of police reports of domestic violence at their home during their twenty-two year marriage. But Wife alleged both physical and emotional abuse in her divorce filings...
Internet Visitation Bridges Distance
Posted on May 02, 2009It works for grandparents and extended family members. It also works for parents who, for whatever reason, are far away from where their kids are. It’s virtual visitation via the internet. Thanks to widespread high speed internet access, parents can do practically anything with their kids via web conferencing...
Long Divorced Spouse Can Claim Retirement Benefits Through Former Spouse
Posted on May 01, 2009Husband and Wife divorce. Twenty-five years later, Wife approaches retirement. Far-off-in-the-future social security benefits are not typically addressed in divorces, and many people are confused about or ignorant of their eventual entitlement. Wife lets it be known that she is contemplating seeking to collect social security benefits by claiming through Husband...
In Many States, Adoption Isn?t Just for Kids ?
Posted on April 30, 2009Father has custody of Daughter. Father marries Stepmother. Stepmother is only mother Daughter has known since she was three or younger. Daughter is now 32. Stepmother recently became ill. Daughter decides to formalize what she feels. Stepmother adopts Daughter...
Adoptive Mother Arrested for Allegedly Gradually Beating Child to Death
Posted on April 29, 2009A 2 year old central Florida Child was slowly beaten to death … allegedly by her adoptive Mother. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) believes that Mother must have been mentally ill, although never diagnosed. Mother was arrested on first degree murder and child abuse and neglect...
Child Welfare Agency Treads Where Juvenile Justice System Can?t, Holding Seven Year Old Hundreds of Miles from Home for Years
Posted on April 26, 2009A disturbing case … Pennsylvania man’s home is burned down … with him in it. Neighbor-witness accuses seven year old Boy. Police interrogate Boy - and eventually secure confession. But Boy is too young to prosecute under Pennsylvania law...
Child Support Collection Agent Allegedly Steals and Sells Personal Information of People in the Child Support System
Posted on April 25, 2009Very commonly, child support is paid to a state agency acting as intermediary between the noncustodial parent and the custodial parent. This system serves as a buffer between parents and generally works well. But it is not without its flaws. An employee of a private company under contract to collect child support for the state has been indicted [...
Illegal Immigrants At Risk of Termination of Parental Rights
Posted on April 24, 2009Numerous illegal immigrants work in a food processing company in Missouri. Immigration authorities conduct a raid there. 136 illegal immigrants are taken into custody. One Mother is sentenced to jail, with deportation likely to follow. American couple seeks to adopt Mother’s Baby...
Canadian Court Holds Mother in Contempt for Alienating Children from Father and Reinforces Message with $35,000 Fine
Posted on April 22, 2009Canadian Mother allegedly alienates Children from Father, her ex-husband. Ontario Superior Court then enters a “series” of orders intended to repair the relationship between Father and Children. Mother does not comply with Court’s orders...
WV Mother?s Daughter in Child Protective Custody While Mother Awaits Disposition of Child Abuse Charges
Posted on April 21, 2009Mother is late for court. Mother asks for visitation with her Daughter. Judge denies her request for visitation. And lectures Mother about being on time for court. Hearing is rescheduled. Mother is accused of burning the word “wimp” into the flesh of Daughter’s neck...
Husband and Wife Stay Together For Dogs ? Eight Years After Divorce
Posted on April 20, 2009Husband and Wife divorce. Husband and Wife have six, count ‘em, six dogs. Husband and Wife cannot bear to split dogs up. Each is more attached to the dogs than to each other. Husband and Wife - and, of course, the dogs - continue to share a New York City apartment … and a bed...
Michigan Man Jailed for Non-Payment for Six Years of Support of Over Half a Million Dollars ? for Fourteen Children
Posted on April 19, 2009A Michigan man is behind on his child support obligations. $530,000. He hasn’t made any payments in six years. Stopped over a bad taillight on his Mercedes Benz, the man is now in jail. And there he will remain for 90 days, unless he comes up with almost $28,000...
Fatal Domestic Violence Plays Out at Central Florida Shooting Range
Posted on April 18, 2009Domestic violence may take many forms, some quite unexpected. A central Florida Mother and her adult Son go to a shooting range to practice their marksmanship together. One minute, everything is fine. They are socializing with each other and others...
?Grandfamilies? On Brink of Forced Breakups Due to Prolonged Unemployment
Posted on April 17, 2009I have posted more than once recently about the impact of the recession on noncustodial parents struggling with child support obligations. Their situations are tough, but parents will not lose custody of or access to their children due to unemployment...
One Ohio County is Latest to Offer Classes to Kids on How to Cope with Separating Parents
Posted on April 16, 2009Many states require separating parents to take a class on co-parenting after separation. But some locales, recognizing an unmet need, are offering, even requiring, that children attend a class to help them deal with their parents’ separation. Many children have difficulty talking to anyone, even their parents, about how they feel about the separation and the changes [...
Oklahoma Abuser Batters Spouse to Death ? After Years of Abuse
Posted on April 15, 2009Battering Spouse in Oklahoma reportedly abuses Battered Spouse and their children for years. Both Battered Spouse and Battering Spouse are alcoholics, which escalates the battering. Battered Spouse obtains several orders of protection from Battering Spouse over time...
A Therapist?s Tips to Reduce the Stress of Exchanges and Visitation
Posted on April 13, 2009A therapist offers mothers her tips for reducing the stress related to exchanges and their child’s visitation with his or her father. Always focus on your child. Make sure the other parent is kept posted on recommendations from school as to services appropriate for your child...
Noncustodial Parents Seeking Modifications of Child Support Because of Job Losses or Anticipated Job Losses; Custodial Parents Seeking Enforcement of Current Obligations
Posted on April 11, 2009Among the hardest hit by the recession are … children of separated parents. The reality of rising unemployment and underemployment on the one hand. And the fear of impending layoffs or other job loss on the other hand. Family courts everywhere are busy with noncustodial parents seeking downward modifications of child support, even while custodial parents are seeking [...
Birth Mother Loses Parental Rights and Seeks Visitation with Children She Kidnapped .. After Giving Them Up for Adoption
Posted on April 09, 2009Florida birth Mother gives her twin babies (Twins) up for adoption. Mother maintains she signed adoption papers under duress resulting from sleep deprivation. Twins are adopted by North Carolina couple. Adoption is open, according to contract, with Mother being involved with the Twins after the adoption...
Virginia Mother Allegedly Attempts to Murder Father Who Was Awarded Sole Custody of Their Daughter
Posted on April 08, 2009Virginia Mother and Father conceive a Child. Mother and Father split up before Father learns of pregnancy. Years pass. Mother introduces Child to Father. Father is now married to another woman. Father seeks visitation. Mother and Father engage in bitter court battle...
Illegal Immigrants at Risk of Pickup During Visitation with Related Children in Child Protective Custody
Posted on April 07, 2009Illegal immigrants planning to visit children in protective custody may want to think twice first. A grandmother visiting her baby grandson was picked up by immigration agents on an outstanding deportation warrant. It seems that social workers advised immigration officials of the time and place of the scheduled visitation...
Finally ? A Separating Parents? Class For The Parents Who Never Tied the Knot
Posted on April 06, 2009It’s very common for divorcing parents to be ordered to attend a parenting class for divorcing parents. Never-married parents may be required to attend the same class, but they frequently feel that it “doesn’t apply to them”...
Illinois Mother Who Lost Custody of Her Children to Father Finds Father?s Body at His Home
Posted on April 02, 2009Illinois Father and Mother split up. They have two children together. Mother wins sole custody, having accused Father of abusing her and the children and having obtained short-lived protective orders against Father during their divorce case. But Father later wrested custody away from Mother, because Mother allegedly moved the children to a house without heat, electricity or running [...
US Asserts Jurisdiction over Mexican Girl Allegedly Abducted to US Years Ago, Where Mexican Father Waited Over Four Years to File for Child?s Return and Child is Now Well Settled in US
Posted on March 31, 2009Mexican Mother and Father live in the US for a number of years before Father is deported. Their daughter (Daughter) is born in Mexico in 1996. When Mother and Father separate in 2001, Mother returns to the US. Mother alleges that Father committed domestic violence...
Wealthy Canadian Blames His Ex For Getting Him Slapped with Large Temporary Child Support Award
Posted on March 30, 2009A divorced Canadian man (”Father”) could apparently write the book on irritating the judge presiding over his case. Father and his former wife (”Mother”) have a 5 year old child together (”Daughter”). Mother took Father to court to increase Father’s child support payments...
After the Breakup, Who Gets ? the Embryos?
Posted on March 29, 2009An 18 year New Zealand relationship has come to an end. Leaving in its wake four frozen embryos produced as a result of fertility treatments. The Woman wants the embryos to be born, either to her or to another woman. The Man is apparently opposed. Although no further legal action regarding the embryos is planned, the Woman is attempting [...
Husband Convicted of Raping Wife Granted New Trial Because, in Large Part, of Exclusion of Defense Evidence of Child Custody Dispute Between Husband and Wife
Posted on March 29, 2009Maine Husband and Wife are engaged in child custody battle. Wife accuses Husband of raping and sodomizing her, charged as multiple counts of gross sexual assault. Defense counsel wants to introduce the custody dispute into evidence as a motive for Wife to falsely accuse Husband of sexually assaulting her...
NC Judge Orders Successfully Performing Homeschooled Children Back to Public School for Broader Exposure and Challenge to Their Mother?s Religious Training
Posted on March 27, 2009North Carolina Husband and Wife have three preteen Children. In 2005, Wife begins homeschooling Children. Children reportedly enjoy homeschooling and perform two years above their respective grades in standardized tests. If it ain’t broke … ? Well, Husband and Wife are in the midst of a divorce...
With More Than Sixty Percent of People Ordered to Pay Child Support Not Complying, NYC Finally Turns Its Attention to Child Support Enforcement
Posted on March 27, 2009In more than sixty percent of the child custody cases in Staten Island, a borough of New York City, the noncustodial parent does not pay their court-ordered child support. Sixty percent. In many of these cases, the custodial parent and children are pushed into poverty and draw on public assistance and services...
Proposed Texas Divorce Class: Tax on Divorce or Economic Stimulus?
Posted on March 25, 2009A bill pending in the Texas legislature would, if passed, mandate that divorcing couples with children, who are pursuing a “no fault divorce”, take a 10 hour class in the nature of marriage counseling. The class might cost as much as $200 per hour...
Domestic Violence Isn?t Always Between Romantic Couples
Posted on March 24, 2009Husband and Wife are in second marriage (two years) for each. Husband has children with his Ex. Wife and Ex don’t get along. To put it mildly. Ex, and Husband’s two children with her, all have separate orders of protection against Wife...
Kentucky Father Caught in Mexico After Allegedly Abducting Baby Daughter There
Posted on March 23, 2009Mother and Father have two year old baby Daughter. Father allegedly takes Daughter out for a walk. And disappears. Again. Father is reportedly caught … in Mexico, thanks to a phone call. Daughter is back with Mother and her fiance in Kentucky...
Happiness and Divorce: Is There a Correlation?
Posted on March 22, 2009Portland, Oregon is the “unhappiest city in America”. In case you are wondering. So opines BusinessWeek magazine. Based on numerous statistics. For example, of the fifty largest metropolitan areas in the nation, Portland ranks fourth in divorces...
Arizona May Resurrect Fault in Divorce, But Not as a Ground
Posted on March 20, 2009The concept of “fault” has become nearly obsolete in divorce law throughout the United States. But one state, Arizona, may be resurrecting it, at least to a degree, after a thirty year hiatus. A bill may allow fault to be proven and weighed in property division, alimony and even child support...
NY Mother Suffers Gruesome Death from Apparent Domestic Violence
Posted on March 19, 2009Woman has 4 year old child. Woman’s body is found on roof of her apartment building. Woman’s body’s arms and legs are chopped off. Woman’s throat is slashed. Woman’s body is burned. Suspect is arrested in her murder … her Boyfriend...
Months after Mother Killed and Daughter Injured in Drunk Driving Accident, Father Seeking Custody is Allegedly Arrested for Driving Drunk
Posted on March 18, 2009Florida Mother is killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Five year old Daughter is seriously injured in the same accident. Grandmother has been caring for Daughter since the September 2008 accident, but Father, who had been living in Texas, has had temporary shared legal custody...
Father?s Disappearance with Children Largely Ignored by Law Enforcement ? Until Father Tries to Cross the Border to Canada ? Twice
Posted on March 16, 2009Mother and Father have two young children, the oldest autistic with special needs. After the parents separate, the Father fails to return the children from a weekend visit. Eight months ago. The divorce isn’t even final yet. Father keeps changing attorneys or missing court, so Mother is unable to communicate amicably about their children...
SC: Yet Another Effort to Protect Parental Rights of Parents Serving in the Military
Posted on March 14, 2009The issue of parents in the military suffering adverse rulings in family courts at home while they are away on deployment just doesn’t quit. The latest state to enter the fray is South Carolina, with its pending Military Parent Equal Protection Act...
Mother Who Gave Up Her Parental Rights Due to Looming, Extended Imprisonment Seeks Restoration of Custody of Daughter Who Was Allegedly Abused by Her Adoptive Parent
Posted on March 12, 2009Mother is sentenced to ten year prison term for robbery conviction. Mother, believing she has no other option, reluctantly relinquishes her parental rights to her 4 year old Daughter. Woman adopts Daughter. Woman allegedly abuses Daughter. More than once...
Canadian Supreme Court Rescinds Separation Agreement as Unconsionable Due to Wife?s Temporary Mental Infirmity and Husband?s Material Nondisclosure of Assets
Posted on March 10, 2009Husband and Wife of twenty-seven year marriage split up. Each gets a lawyer. Against Wife’s counsel’s advice, they enter a separation or postnuptial agreement. The couple owns a home, a dairy farm, land and vehicles, among other things...
Muslim Immigrant Beheads Wife During Their Divorce
Posted on March 08, 2009Immigrant Muslim Husband and Wife are divorcing. Husband founded TV station with mission of portraying Muslims as peace-loving. Husband reportedly became violent with Wife. Wife obtains order of protection barring Husband from marital home. Husband allegedly murders Wife … by beheading her … at the TV station...
Father Attempts to Grab Child, Allegedly Relying on Ohio Court Order Reportedly in Conflict with and Stayed by Florida Court Order
Posted on March 08, 2009Mother lives in Florida and Father lives in Ohio. Daughter is with Mother at time of events in question. Father flies to Florida and allegedly physically collects Daughter and forces her into his car. Father has a change of car waiting and uses second car to take Daughter to airport...
Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children in a Nutshell
Posted on March 07, 2009Lancaster County, Pennsylvania courts already have teams of professionals assigned to every child who is abandoned, abused or neglected. Lawyer, caseworker, judge, etc. But there is one specialist missing that the County feels is needed. In Pennsylvania, that specialist is a unique, trained volunteer called a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)...
Unilateral Relocation for a Job May Cost a Custodial Parent Custody - and Substantial Legal Fees
Posted on March 04, 2009American Mother Accused by Father of Abducting Baby Daughter from Denmark
Posted on February 25, 2009It isn’t just non-Americans who are accused of abducting their children across international borders. The case below suggests a different scenario entirely. American Mother and Danish Father live with their two year old baby Daughter in Denmark...
Canada: Parental Alienation: Is It Appropriate for a Court to Order Intense, In-Patient ?Rehab? at a Distant, Secure Facility?
Posted on February 24, 2009In Canada, claims of parental alienation are taken extremely seriously. So much so, that at least one commentator has noted a judicial “fad” of ordering alleged child victims of it to a US clinic for cure. Parental alienation remains very controversial...
What?s the Best Timesharing Schedule for the Family Dog? Possibly, None
Posted on February 22, 2009Anyone who has a pet knows that the pet is part of the family. When couples break up, their children typically still spend time with each parent, including time on the parent’s turf. But what about the family dog or dogs? Believe it or not, it’s a lot more complicated with a dog...
Wisconsin Father Gets Five Year Sentence for Not Paying Child Support for Six Years
Posted on February 21, 2009Wisconsin Father divorces in 1995. Father ordered to pay child support for his 2 year old. Father enters plea agreement with prosecutor’s office over his failure to pay support for years. Agreement places Father on probation and defers prosecution...
Niagara Falls: Yesterday Honeymoons, Today ? Rising Domestic Violence
Posted on February 21, 2009Most of us associate Niagara Falls with honeymoons. But that’s not what people who live there are thinking about lately. Domestic violence is on the rise in the county, both in frequency and severity. In one recent incident, a mother was allegedly both stabbed and shot by her ex-boyfriend - after she obtained an [...
NH: Under Bill, Judges Are To Consider Whether Bail Requirement Will Doom Child(ren) of a Single Parent Defendant to Foster Care at Taxpayer Expense
Posted on February 19, 2009In the same spirit as that of the unified family court as it is implemented in Florida and certain other states, New Hampshire is on the verge of passing a bill that is on the cusp of criminal and family law. The proposed legislation would introduce as a consideration for the judge presiding over bail [...
Dow Jones Heir?s Child Support Obligations Are Increased Dramatically After His True Income and Assets Come Out
Posted on February 17, 2009Husband and Wife divorce in 1997. Husband is ordered to pay child support of $512 per month for Daughter. Now, a court has ordered Husband to pay about $5,000 more in monthly child support than was previously ordered. The court has also ordered retroactive support of $160,000 to adjust support for prior years...
Mother Allegedly Leaves Small Children Home Alone To Go to Bar and Liquor Store ? on Two Different Occasions ? Two Weeks Apart
Posted on February 16, 2009Mother allegedly leaves her 6 year old and 2 year old home alone at night. To go looking for her boyfriend at a bar. Mother is arrested. Mother pleads guilty to child endangerment. Just two weeks later, Mother allegedly leaves 6 year old and 2 year old home alone at night again...
Minnesota Pleased with Early Results in Pilot Program to Resolve Custody Issues Amicably Outside Court
Posted on February 15, 2009Minnesota is experimenting with a program to reduce litigation over child custody. Early Case Management and Early Neutral Evaluation are the cornerstones of the pilot program. In the program, parents begin working with professionals to amicably resolve child issues early in the case...
New York State Husband Goes Missing, and Disabled Wife and Children Struggle Because Court Withholds Child Support
Posted on February 14, 2009Husband and Wife have two children. Wife has medical condition which prevents her from working. Husband takes off on a fishing trip one day in April of 2006 … and appears to disappear from the face of the earth. Wife seeks financial assistance in court...
A Canadian Participant Rates Collaborative Divorce as ? Not Cheap
Posted on February 12, 2009Collaborative divorce has been enthusiastically embraced by many attorneys and other professionals serving people going through divorces. Its primary virtues are touted as: nonadversarial less costly than litigation Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on the particular case and parties...
International Custody Case Hard to Follow
Posted on February 11, 2009This case is almost as hard to follow as a sleight of hand trick. Daughter, an American citizen, is in Mexico, with nonrelatives. That’s been the case for four years of the five year old’s life. Her Father and Mother are US citizens in the US, although not together...
Retired Ex-Husband Accused of Killing Ex-Wife Over Divorce Award Which He Felt Judge ?Stole? from Him
Posted on February 09, 2009Retired NY police officer (Husband) is on trial for murder … of his former Wife. He allegedly killed her in 2007, while she was waiting to pick up their now 27 year old Daughter from a Park and Ride location. The couple separated in 1999 and their divorce was finalized in 2003...
Montana Indian Tribe Implements Tribal Child Support System Offering Traditional Tribal Enforcement Mechnanisms
Posted on February 09, 2009A Montana Indian Reservation is following the lead of reservations in Washington state, Wyoming and Oklahoma and will be implementing their own child support legal systems independent of nontribal legal systems. All they are waiting for is final comments from the Indian population for federal funding to kick in and then the Tribe [...
Australian Father Gives Himself the Sad, Final Word on Daughter?s Custody
Posted on February 08, 2009Australian Father and Mother battle over custody of their three children. They are in court two days in a row. The next day, Father allegedly stands on a bridge and throws 4 year old Daughter over the side of it, into a river. The couple’s other two children may be in the car during the incident...
For Your Next Appeal, Consult a ? Musician
Posted on February 06, 2009A Wisconsin Father recently won an appeal to the state’s intermediate level appellate court. His victory saved him from having to pay out nearly $4,000 in legal fees. The case is somewhat noteworthy because the Father represented himself, without an attorney...
NJ: One Parent Should Not Have to Pay Alimony to The Other if the Other Kills Their Child
Posted on February 06, 2009New Jersey Husband and Wife divorce. Husband is ordered to pay alimony, as well as child support for Son. Wife and teenaged Son argue. Wife is angry and drunk. Wife allegedly beats Son … to death. Wife is sentenced to three years’ incarceration for Son’s death...
Quebec?s Denial of Property Interests and Partner Support Claims To Cohabitants Under Challenge in Test Case Against Billionaire Father
Posted on February 02, 2009Canadian billionaire Father cohabits with much younger immigrant woman, Mother, for 10 years. They have three children together. They are not married. Father pays $35,000 Canadian per month in child support. Mother wants more. Challenging Quebec province and other Canadian law that denies property division and alimony to common law partners or mere cohabitants, Mother sues for both...
Introduction to Mediation
Posted on February 02, 2009It sounds as though Peoria is discovering the benefits of mediation in appropriate cases. Although very common in the context of divorce, most divorcing parties are unaware of mediation or unclear as to what it is. Mediation is not trial or arbitration...
UT: California Court Has Jurisdiction over Child Support Where Mother and Child Live in Utah, Because Father is Away from Utah on Active Duty Stationed in California
Posted on February 01, 2009Husband and Wife are from Utah. Husband has been in the military, stationed in California, for some time now. The parties divorced while Husband was stationed in California and the divorce was entered in California. Wife returned with their child to live in Utah...
Wife and Navy Colleagues Are Charged with Murdering Her Husband In Child Custody Dispute
Posted on January 29, 2009California Husband and Wife have a 4 year old Daughter together. Husband and Wife divorce. Wife is a US Navy Seabee. Visitation exchanges are nasty. An audio recording reveals Wife insisting that Husband’s car seat is not installed properly...
Boy Ordered Returned to Father in US Under Hague Convention Found and Expected to Return to US Three Years Later
Posted on January 27, 2009Chinese Father. Israeli Mother. Son appears to be American. And home was United States. Until Mother takes Son to Israel. And stays there. For three years. Mother’s version of events: Father raped her, and Son is the product of that rape...
Division of Marital Assets and Debts Can Sometimes Get Very Complicated
Posted on January 26, 2009A couple’s finances can sometimes get pretty complicated during divorce. Take an Indianapolis couple as an example. Husband and Wife operate an investment company together. Presumably anticipating Wife filing for divorce the next day, Husband and his reported girlfriend, board his private plane, bound for Florida...
One Big, Not So Happy Family Gets Into the Domestic Violence Act in a Big Way
Posted on January 24, 2009Husband and Wife split up. Battle over custody of their 2 year old Daughter ensues. Husband is awarded temporary primary residential custody of Daughter. Husband’s 91 year old Grandmother owns a house. Wife and Wife’s mother are in Grandmother’s house when Husband arrives to check on Grandmother...
South Dakota Supreme Court Awards Child Custody Based On ? Child Support, Mostly, In One Case Anyway
Posted on January 23, 2009South Dakota Mother and Father split up before 5 year old Son is born. Couple fight over custody and child support. Mother is awarded temporary primary custody of Son, and Father is ordered to pay monthly temporary child support of $150. Later the amount is upped to $363...
Ditched Husband Countersues for Return of Kidney He Previously Donated to His Wife
Posted on January 22, 2009In divorces, people sometimes fight over the most unexpected things. And so it is in a New York divorce dragging on since 2005. Husband and Wife have three children together, ranging in age from 8 to 14 years. Husband contends that Wife is interfering with his visitation with the children...
OH Criminal Judge Seeks to Apply Forfeited Assets to Back Child Support
Posted on January 21, 2009Father owes $7,500 in back child support. Bad enough. Then he is arrested on a drug charge - again. With more than $15,000 in cash and jewelry on his person. And half that amount in illegal drugs. Criminal court Judge is not happy with Father. State seizes Father’s cash and jewelry...
Nebraska Court Rejects Relocation / Custody Tactic: Bugging Child?s Teddy Bear
Posted on January 20, 2009Nebraska couple divorce. Their Daughter is now 4 years old. Mother files motion to relocate with Daughter to another state. Daughter’s therapist learns from Mother that there is a recording device in Daughter’s teddy bear. The recorder was reportedly placed in the teddy bear by the Mother, or someone on her behalf...
In Pennsylvania, Non-Custodial Parents Are Proactive About Child Support Obligations Because of Their Unemployment
Posted on January 19, 2009In Pennsylvania, unemployment has been slowly rising for some time. In fact, unemployment compensation is expected to start running out for significant numbers of non-custodial parents this spring. The unemployed increasingly worry about their child support obligations...
Distant Grandparent Seeks Guardianship of Little Girl After Her Second Parent Dies While Raising Her with Active Involvement by Both of His Parents
Posted on January 18, 2009Husband and Wife have baby Daughter. Marriage deteriorates. Divorce is filed. Wife is killed in car accident. Divorce stops. Wife’s will expresses Wife’s wishes that her mother, Daughter’s grandmother, raise Daughter if something were to happen to her...
Father Allegedly Murders Baby Boy Intending to Avoid Child Support Arrearage
Posted on January 16, 2009Unmarried New Orleans Mother and Father separate. Two year old Son lives with Mother. Father chooses to have no contact with Son. Court reportedly orders Father to pay child support arrearages of $4,000 for Son. Father suddenly decides to exercise visitation with Son...
Canadian Family Court Judge Rules in Favor of Chinese Gangster?s Wife in Their Divorce
Posted on January 15, 2009Married Chinese couple immigrate to Canada. Sort of. Husband actually still spends most of his time in China. But Wife and Son live in Canada. Husband is reportedly part of Chinese mob. Husband is incarcerated in China for what may be a very long time...
Illinois Gives Its Orders of Protection Strong Teeth
Posted on January 15, 2009With 2009, a new era begins in Illinois orders of protection. A new state statute requires counties to provide 24 x 7 surveillance of anyone subject to an order of protection anytime the court orders it. The means: global position satellite technology...
In Iowa, Child Support Can Be Hit or Miss
Posted on January 13, 2009Iowa Mother is supposed to receive child support. Father apparently pays child support. Iowa collects the child support from Father. And … deposits it into the wrong mother’s account. For four years. Iowa also allegedly adds insult to injury in two distinct ways...
AR: Grandparent Rights Depend on Parental Rights
Posted on January 12, 2009Family court can be hard on grandparents these days. But so can juvenile dependency court. When a parent’s parental rights are terminated, a grandparent’s derivative grandparental rights are terminated too in many cases. Sometimes even if the grandparents once had temporary custody of the grandchildren...
Federal Appeals Court Allows Child Sexual Abuse Case Against Florida?s Department of Children and Families
Posted on January 11, 2009Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) places three youngsters aged five and under with a foster family. A sexually aggressive teenager was already placed with the same foster family. The youngsters were allegedly sexually abused by the teenager, and still DCF reportedly took no action to remove the youngsters from the home...
NJ: Parental Alienation May Result in a Judgment for Damages to the Other Parent for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Posted on January 10, 2009Parental alienation. It’s become a hot button buzz phrase. It’s also been widely discredited and rejected. Yet it can influence which parent is awarded custody … at least in some states, in some judges’ courtrooms. But what of false claims? It’s hard to prove that something didn’t happen...
Not Your Typical Post-Divorce Proceedings ?
Posted on January 10, 2009Couple divorce. Ex-husband adopts ex-wife’s persona on internet … 1,577 times. Ex-husband uploads nude photos of former wife to internet. New York Court enters order of protection ordering ex-husband to attend counseling and to cease pretending to be his former wife on the internet and to cease uploading nude photos of her on the internet...
The New Post-Divorce Parental Timesharing Pact Becoming More Common
Posted on January 08, 2009More and more couples (although still a fairly small percentage) are agreeing to equal timesharing or near-equal timesharing following divorce or separation. These arrangements can be more complicated for all concerned and introduce more interactions and, therefore, potential conflict, between parents...
Pennsylvania Federal Court Refuses to Award What it Considers Excessive Fees in International Child Custody Case
Posted on January 06, 2009International child custody cases can be costly. But there’s costly and then there’s really costly. Where does the line get drawn? Well, one law firm, which has a satellite office here in Palm Beach county, found out the hard way. After prevailing in an international child custody case, the firm sought to recover attorney’s fees from the losing opposing [...
Dating Violence Escalating ? Among Teenagers
Posted on January 06, 2009Teenagers. Dating. Holding hands. Murdering the objects of their affections … A 20 year old man was convicted of stabbing and dismembering his girlfriend’s body in Indianapolis. In Texas, a 15 year old girl was stabbed to death at school and an 18 year old girl was shot and killed there...
Pennsylvania Mother Arrested After Abducting Her Girls to Live on the Beach in Florida - Then Abandoning One
Posted on January 04, 2009Pennsylvania couple divorce. Mother gets custody of young girls. Then Mother stops sending girls to school. Mother loses custody of girls. Girls go into foster care. Mother abducts the girls outside of their school in mid-October. And brings them here to South Florida...
Abandoned Baby in Ohio Finally Placed in Father?s Custody
Posted on January 02, 2009Ohio Mother and Father have affair and conceive Baby. Relationship apparently breaks up. After Baby’s birth, Mother leaves Baby at a church in June without Father’s knowledge. This abandonment does not comply with Ohio’s safe havens laws...
NJ Man With Legal Custody of Son Can?t Get Brazilian Stepfather to Honor Court Orders Under Hague Convention to Which Brazil is Party
Posted on December 31, 2008Brazilian Wife and New Jersey Husband have a Son in US and raise him in US for four years. Then Wife takes Son to Brazil for a visit. And doesn’t return. Wife remarries in Brazil - without ever divorcing Husband. More recently, Wife dies while still in Brazil...
Florida is Reported to Lead the Nation in Child Abuse
Posted on December 30, 2008Florida reportedly has the sad and disgraceful distinction of having the highest rate of child abuse of any state in the nation. Twice the national average. While Palm Beach County is allegedly not as bad as the rest of the state, that seems little cause for cheer...
The Wisconsin Case of the Disappearing Child Support Payment
Posted on December 29, 2008Parents separate. Father is required to pay child support. Court order is entered garnishing child support from Father’s wages from arms-length, third-party employer. Father’s pay stubs reflect deduction of child support from Father’s pay before he receives it...
Grandparents Lose Baby to Foster Care for Giving Baby Pacifier ? Over Her Mother?s Protest
Posted on December 27, 2008Washington State teen Mother and Baby live with Baby’s Grandparents. Grandparents care for Baby. Then Mother moves out with Baby. Baby loses significant weight, and doctor reports neglect to Child Protective Services. Baby is placed with Grandparents...
Custodial Parent from Idaho is Believed to Have Abducted Son to Mexico for Reasons Unknown
Posted on December 26, 2008Idaho Mother has custody of her Son. Father lives in Idaho too. According to Father, Mother has passports for herself and Son, copies of their birth certificates and the proceeds of the sale of a home she owned in Nevada. And now, about six months after their divorce, for reasons unknown, Mother is suspected to have [...
The Christmas Family Gathering Doesn?t Necessarily Have to End with the Divorce ?
Posted on December 25, 2008After a divorce, parents typically divvy up the holidays with the kids on an alternating basis from year to year. But some divorced families manage to all share the holidays together, with big family gatherings including not only exes but ex-inlaws...
WI Ex-Wife Charged with Felony Custodial Interference for Not Returning Child After Scheduled Visitation
Posted on December 24, 2008Couple divorce. Ex-Husband gets custody of their little Girl. Ex-Wife has Girl for visitation. Ex-Wife fails to return Girl as scheduled. Ex-Husband calls police. Ex-Husband reports that Ex-Wife has not shown up at her job for three weeks. Ex-Husband also reports that he believes Ex-Wife is “off her meds”...
Holidays Not So Happy for Growing Number of Victims of Domestic Violence
Posted on December 24, 2008For some, this holiday season is not so happy. Domestic violence and domestic abuse typically spike at this time of year. Days off lead to more togetherness, breeding more tension. Greater consumption of alcohol during the season doesn’t help either...
Alimony Terminates Because Ex-Wife is Deemed to Cohabitate with Cellmate Under Florida Settlement Agreement
Posted on December 22, 2008Couple divorce. Under settlement agreement, Husband pays alimony to Wife until Wife remarries or cohabitates with someone for over three months. Wife is sentenced to prison for DUI. Wife has female cellmate. Husband pursues termination of alimony based on Wife’s “cohabitation” with her cellmate...
AR: Biological Father Who Failed to File Marriage Certificate After Wedding, Ignored Paternity Action Against Him and Didn?t Pay Child Support Has No Standing to Challenge Child?s Adoption by Mother?s Next Husband Even Though Mother Never Divorced Father
Posted on December 21, 2008Arkansas man (Father) and woman (Mother) obtain marriage license and have a church wedding. For whatever the reason, the minister doesn’t sign the license and it is not filed with the county. Mother and Father have Baby. Mother and Father break up eight years after wedding...
Florida Biological Siblings Separated in Foster Care Although One Family Will Take Them All
Posted on December 20, 2008Little Girl in foster care in Florida is adopted. Baby Boy is placed into foster care with different foster parents and they want to adopt him. Boy and Girl are biological brother and sister. State policy is to try to keep biological siblings in foster care together...
Australian Mother Seeks Return of Son from India to Australia
Posted on December 19, 2008Australian Wife and Indian Husband have a Son together. They divorce. Ex-Husband plans to take couple’s Son to India for a visit. Ex-Wife’s mother plans to accompany Son and Ex-Husband on trip. Shortly after arriving in Mumbai, Ex-Husband takes Son out and Ex-Wife’s mother is served in an Indian child custody action...
NJ Appeals Court Throws Out Alimony Reduction Ordered Because of Alimony Recipient?s Attorney?s Failure to Timely Respond to the Motion to Reduce Alimony Because of Attorney?s Medical Condition
Posted on December 18, 2008Ex-husband physician pays unemployed sixty-five year old woman almost three thousand dollars per month in alimony under court order. Ex-husband repeatedly files motions to reduce his alimony obligation. NJ rules require that alimony recipient file a response to other party’s motion to reduce alimony...
Mandatory Child Abuse Reporter Suffers Consequences of Delaying Reporting Allegations of Abuse to Pursue His Own Investigation First
Posted on December 16, 2008Under Missouri (and many other states’) law, a school principal must report suspected abuse of a child. Student complains to Missouri principal of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated on her by a teacher. Principal undertakes investigation of facts prior to reporting abuse, allegedly based on past incidents calling student’s credibility into question...
South Carolina Father Arrested for Violating Custody Order By Removing Children From State (and Keeping Them Beyond His Allowed Timesharing)
Posted on December 15, 2008South Carolina Father has visitation with his Children. The parenting order clearly states that Father is required to exercise his visitation within the state of South Carolina (in fact, within the county). So what does Father do? Father takes Children to Alabama to visit with relatives - and fails to return Children when ordered to do [...
Japan Cautiously Willing to Entertain Citizenship for Babies Born in Japan of Unmarried Japanese Men
Posted on December 15, 2008Unmarried Japanese citizen and foreign national conceive and have Baby in Japan. Is the Baby a Japanese citizen? Until recently, the answer would be no - unless the Japanese father acknowledges the Baby before its birth - or the father marries the mother before the Baby’s twentieth birthday...
Romanian Father Abducts Child to Romania, Mother Abducts Child Back to Norway
Posted on December 13, 2008Romanian Father and Norwegian Mother marry and have Child together in Norway. Couple divorce and Mother is awarded primary residential custody of Child. Father doesn’t think she is up to the job though. So Father allegedly abducts Child to Romania...
Reading, Writing and ? Calculating Child Support Payments
Posted on December 12, 2008Texas had a higher rate of teen pregnancy than the national average. And unmarried fathers often weren’t involved with their kids. In an effort to remedy both problems, Texas added Parenting and Paternity Awareness to its high school curriculum this year...
Police Allow Man Subject to Order of Protection to Enter His Past Victim?s Home - with Rifle
Posted on December 12, 2008Elderly man (Husband) shoots rifle off in yard of a Home. Police officers arrive. Officers tell Husband to cease firing his gun. Officers leave Husband to enter the Home with the rifle. Later, Wife returns to the Home. Husband fires the rifle at Wife, twice, but misses her both times...
What Country Takes the Longest to Establish Paternity?
Posted on December 10, 2008Sweden just may win the prize. In at least one Swedish case, establishing paternity takes 14 years … and counting. In Sweden, an unmarried mother is supposed to report her out-of-wedlock child’s birth to a social welfare administrative board (Board), so that it can determine the child’s father and implement child support...
Even in Paradise, Sometimes It Falls to Grandparents to Raise Grandchildren
Posted on December 09, 2008A 70 year old Hawaiian Grandmother is raising her teenaged and preteenaged adopted grandson, and her grandniece and grandnephews, of whom she is legal guardian. Because their parents are unable to do the job. Making matters worse, this Grandmother recently suffered a stroke that left her dependent on a wheelchair to get around...
South African Husband Allegedly Kills Wife ? for Wanting a Divorce ? Because it Was that Time of the Month
Posted on December 08, 2008South African Husband doesn’t want divorce. Wife does, and requests that Husband leave the marital home. Husband tires to press adult daughter to talk Wife out of divorce - or into waiting. Husband finally agrees to divorce. Husband has gun in pocket during final conversation with Wife...
Israel Orders American Children Returned to Mother in US Under Hague Convention
Posted on December 07, 2008Israeli Husband and American Wife marry. Husband and Wife have two Daughters together and live in US. Husband and Wife divorce. Husband and Wife have shared parenting but Husband is the primary residential parent and Wife has visitation. Husband absconds with Daughters to Israel - allegedly to evade a criminal trial in the US on [...
Florida Father?s Parental Rights Terminated Without Actual Notice and Son is Severely Abused in Foster Care
Posted on December 05, 2008Florida Father’s parental rights to Son are terminated, without his knowledge. Because Father’s name is common, DCF doesn’t try very hard to find him and notify him, which is required by law. The only notification that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) gives him is through a notice published in the legal classifieds section of the [...
ND?s Fugitive Dismissal Rule Precludes Appeal By Abducting Mother Who Skipped Out on Modification of Custody Trial
Posted on December 04, 2008Mother and two Children all live in North Dakota, as does Father. Mother has custody and Father has visitation. Mother is found in contempt of court for denying Father access to Children. Mother absconds with Children to Indian reservation in South Dakota - and fails to appear at modification of custody hearing in North Dakota...
Father of Milwaukee Kids Apparently Prefers Doing Time to Paying Child Support
Posted on December 02, 2008Father of Milwaukee children allegedly doesn’t pay child support for some time. Approximately $128,000 worth of child support. Father goes to jail. For a time. Then Father gets released on probation. One of the conditions of his probation is … that he pay his support … or go back to jail...
Orders of Protection Are Entered Against Women and Violated by Women Too
Posted on December 01, 2008Upstate New York Man gets order of protection against former girlfriend (Woman). But, as is too often the case, it allegedly does not deter Woman. Woman maneuvers Man into a bathroom and threatens him. Woman is arrested for criminal contempt of an order of protection and a civil violation of harassment...
Indian Mother Living in UK Seeks Return of Children from Grandparents in India
Posted on November 30, 2008Indian Mother and Father live in UK with their four and six year old Children. Children go back to India to live with Father’s parents, Grandparents. Mother says Father sent them there. Grandparents say Mother brought them there. Mother files in both India and UK to get the Children back with her...
GA Judge Raises Amount of Child Support After Husband Laid Off in Employer Downsizing
Posted on November 28, 2008Georgia couple split up. Older Son goes to live with Husband. Younger Daughter goes to live with Wife. Couple agrees on child support amount of about $275 per month. Husband pays. Husband loses job of twelve years when employer downsizes. Husband vigorously seeks new job...
Embryo ?Adoption?
Posted on November 27, 2008Couples who go through in vitro fertilization typically have unused embryos left after achieving a successful pregnancy. Unused embryos may be frozen, destroyed, donated for research or … “put up for adoption”. Meaning, they can be donated to other couples who are infertile, thawed out and implanted in a would-be mother’s womb...
Canada: Prenup Unfair and Unenforceable Because Wealthy Spouse Did Not Disclose Value of Assets
Posted on November 26, 2008Husband and Wife decide to marry. Husband insists on prenup - or else. Confusing prenup is quickly patched together with three different lawyers. Under prenup, Wife waives everything. No property division in event of divorce. No alimony in event of divorce...
Florida Bigamy: No Contest ? No Worries ? Good Deal
Posted on November 25, 2008Florida Husband marries his first wife in 1960. In the 1980s, Husband marries his second wife. In 2000, Husband divorces his second wife. And marries his third wife, the lawyer who represented him in his divorce from his second wife. Husband pleads guilty to federal bank fraud charges and is sentenced to twenty-seven [...
Irish Father Seeks Return of Son to Ireland after Mother Allegedly Abducts Son to England
Posted on November 23, 2008Mother and Father live in Ireland with Son. Mother and Father break up. Mother allegedly abducts Son to Britain. Father brings an application for Son’s return to Ireland under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction...
Customized Software Anticipated to Improve Child Welfare Agencies? Performances
Posted on November 22, 2008How do massive child welfare agencies make decisions in children’s best interests - and keep track of them? Like so many other people and entities, they use software to assist them. A California “social enterprise management software” company and the California-based Children’s Research Center, a nonprofit social research organization, have announced a “partnership” with the goal of [...
Illinois Town Experiences Doubling of Domestic Violence Incidents in Current Poor Economy
Posted on November 21, 2008An Illinois police force reports being summoned to people’s homes on domestic disputes twice as frequently this year as last. The prosecutor’s office there similarly reports prosecuting twice as many misdemeanor domestic violence cases (less serious assaults and violations of orders of protection) now as in the past...
Swedish Mother Allegedly Abducts Her Sons During Her Court-Ordered Visitation under Hague Convention
Posted on November 19, 2008Sons live primarily with Australian Father. Swedish Mother has two court-ordered visits with Sons per year in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Sons advise Father that Mother does not intend to return Sons to Father in Australia...
Child Abuse: The Importance of Accurate Diagnosis
Posted on November 18, 2008Child abuse researchers urge more study to improve diagnostic success. Child abuse can be difficult to detect. The cost of missing it is high to the unaided child victim. But the cost of mistaken-diagnoses is also high to those wrongly accused or jailed, and those wrongly ostracized...
Idaho Biological Father Loses Parental Rights Because of Failure to Register with Putative Father Registry Before Child Was Adopted
Posted on November 17, 2008Idaho Father and Mother get pregnant. Father and Mother get engaged. Six months into the pregnancy, Mother calls the engagement off, breaks up with Father and cuts Father out of her life completely. Father claims to contact state department of health and welfare to find out how to protect his rights to his child...
Virtual Divorce in Japan Provokes Virtual Murder ? and Very Real Criminal Charges
Posted on November 16, 2008A Japanese man divorces his wife without warning. The Wife is enraged - and kills him … sort of. The marriage and divorce took place in a Korean video game which the Japanese man and woman both played in online. The murder was virtual, of the character the man played online...
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Celebrates Adopting Foster Children on National Adoption Day - Today - and Every Day
Posted on November 15, 2008Today is National Adoption Day. In fact, the entire month of November is National Adoption Month. As part of his legacy, an adoptee’s foundation offers a Foster Care Adoption Awareness Toolkit to agencies, civic and religous groups, corporations, teachers and others...
You?re Never Too Old for Divorce ?
Posted on November 14, 2008Couple meet when woman works as picker on man’s potato farm. They marry. Nineteen years later, when Wife is sixty years old, Wife accuses her wealthy husband of cheating on her. Husband is apparently offended. Husband asks for divorce - at ninety-one years old...
Really Alternative Dispute Resolution ?
Posted on November 14, 2008Police showed up at a home where a Mother and Father were engaged in a physical fight over a custody dispute. The police informed both parents that their disagreement would have to be resolved in court, which is another way of saying that law enforcement personnel can’t settle things between them...
Schools Are Starting to Take on Interpreting and Enforcing Parental Timesharing Rights, under The Guise of Securing Children
Posted on November 12, 2008Two years ago, a noncustodial Michigan parent snatched a child from school. Now, would-be visitors trying to gain entrance into at least one Michigan school find it nearly as difficult as getting into a courthouse. School visitors are “managed” by a dedicated computerized terminal running “visitor management” software...
Family Drive Triggers Caregivers? Arrests and Temporary Loss of Child Custody
Posted on November 11, 2008It began as an ordinary family outing in the car. Aunt was driving the car. Mother was a passenger. An off-duty police officer appeared out of the blue and found eight year old Boy on the hood of Aunt’s car … while the vehicle was moving...
E-Mails Sent From Government and Personal Computers Figure Prominently in a Child Custody Litigation in Tennessee, But Whose E-Mails are They?
Posted on November 10, 2008Mother and Father divorce. Each remarries. But they are both still jockeying for custody of their two kids. Follow closely. E-mails sent from Mother’s new husband’s e-mail account contain religious slurs and threats against Mother … and the kids...
Child Kidnapping Generally a Family Affair, Commonly Quickly Foiled ? Unless The Child is Abducted Abroad, Especially to Non-Hague Convention Countries
Posted on November 09, 2008A Chicago area child was recently abducted by her father - who allegedly planned to take her to Jordan. Had the father succeeded, the baby girl would likely not have returned home to the US - or seen her US family members again. Jordan is not a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil [...
Jeweler Confesses to Killing Mother of His Children in Midst of Their Divorce
Posted on November 08, 2008Affluent suburban New York couple appear to have it all. Husband owns a high end jewelry store. Wife is a nutritionist in suburban schools. Married 18 years, the couple have a 12 year old daughter and a 14 year old boy. Then something changes. The couple is getting a divorce...
Indian Husband Attempts Suicide Hoping to Avoid Having to Pay Alimony
Posted on November 07, 2008Sadly, it is not unheard of for one spouse to murder (or attempt to murder) the other spouse in an effort to avoid paying spousal support or child support. I have posted on more than a few such stories. A strange variation on that theme comes out of India...
Brazilian-Chinese Boy May Become Subject of Second International Child Custody Battle After Landing in Foster Care in Brazil After Losing One Loved One After Another, In Two Different Countries
Posted on November 06, 2008Brazilian Mother and Chinese Father have Child together in Brazil. They all live in Brazil. Until Mother dies when Child is about 4 years old. Then Father takes Child with him back to China. Then Father dies. Child’s Chinese uncle takes him in...
Man Convicted of Strangling His Ex Girlfriend in Front of Their Baby Boy ? Before Completing Probation for His Previous Assault On Her
Posted on November 05, 2008A 22 year old Minnesota man has been convicted of strangling his 19 year old ex-girlfriend … in front of their 2 year old son. For his murder weapon, the man constructed a noose from shoelaces - and allegedly killed her because the young woman was a half an hour late picking him up [...
Oregon Indian Tribe Member Challenges Legalization By Tribe?s Six Person Governing Body of Same Sex Marriages and Domestic Partnerships
Posted on November 03, 2008Oregon’s Coquille Indian Tribe’s Tribal Council, the six person governing body for the Tribe, recently passsed an Ordinance allowing domestic partnerships and same sex marriages with a member of the Tribe. Now, one Tribe member is challenging the approved Ordinance and petitioning to have the Ordinance put to a vote by all Tribe members, numbering approximately [...
Legally Incompetent Ohio Mother May Face Charges of Custodial Interference for Taking Daughter Out of School without Father?s Consent or Compliance with School?s ?Check Out? Procedure
Posted on November 02, 2008Ohio Husband and Wife have Daughter together. Husband and Wife are divorced. Wife is held by a court to be legally incompetent. Husband is awarded (what sounds like sole) custody of Daughter. Husband lists Wife as Daughter’s other parent in school records and furnishes school information regarding Wife’s status as incompetent...
South Florida Ex Husband with Equal Timesharing Allegedly Murders Ex-Wife?s New Husband in Front of Kids
Posted on November 01, 2008Husband and Wife have twins together. Couple later divorces. Wife remarries. Wife happy. Husband leaves job, allegedly so he can’ t pay child support. Husband seeks order of protection against Wife, claiming she threatened him. The judge doesn’t buy it...
New York: Cohabitation is ? in the Eye of the Beholder
Posted on October 30, 2008When does the obligation to pay alimony end? That depends on many factors. More and more, it is the intention of legislators, courts and divorcing couples that the alimony obligation end when the receiving spouse enters a marriage-like relationship, even if it lacks the ceremonial formality of marriage per se...
Father?s Probation for Allegedly Kidnapping His Daughter Reinstated for Failing to Comply with Conditions
Posted on October 29, 2008Minnesota Father allegedly kidnapped daughter from child protective custody. Sentence: probation, requiring 40 hours of community service, undergoing a chemical dependency evaluation, undergoing a psychological evaluation, making restitution of costs of Amber Alert...
Mandatory Divorce Parenting Courses Withstand Challenge in Connecticut
Posted on October 28, 2008Connecticut, like Florida, has a mandatory parenting course for divorcing parents. A Connecticut resident challenged the requirement as an unconstitutional infringement on the fundamental right of parenting one’s children as one sees fit. The challenger also attacked the requirement as unreasonable, because it is required equally of good parents and bad parents alike...
CA Husband Arrested for Beating Wife in Front of Their Children and Neighbors
Posted on October 26, 2008California Husband and Wife have two young daughters. Husband puts daughters in family pickup truck. Husband allegedly assaults Wife in full view of neighbors - and daughters. Husband drags Wife to pickup truck. Whereabouts of Wife and daughters were unknown...
Mother?s Parental Rights At Risk of Termination for Abusing and Abandoning Adopted Child
Posted on October 26, 2008A Michigan mother, hearing of Nebraska’s liberally drafted “safe haven law”, allegedly traveled there to abandon her 13 year old adopted son, with impunity. The mother reportedly abused the boy the entire time the couple had custody of him...
Israeli Husband Seeks Return of Children Wrongfully Retained in Australia after Consent to Relocate Revoked
Posted on October 25, 2008Israeli Husband and Australian Wife live with their four boys (Boys) in Israel. Wife takes Boys to Australia, where her parents live. Wife claims that Husband abandoned his family financially and emotionally, in favor of a girlfriend. Without Husband, Wife felt she needed family support and, she claims, Husband agreed to her relocation with [...
Houston Woman Accused of Kidnapping Five Evacuated New Orleans Children ? Who She Allegedly Took in for Three Years
Posted on October 24, 2008Evacuated Hurricane Katrina mother and her five kids from New Orleans end up living in Houston. Houston woman allegedly takes them all in. New Orleans biological mother claims Houston woman refused to return the children to her when requested. Houston woman claims she has raised the children for the past three years - with little financial [...
Spectre of Divorce May Promote Saving - and Working
Posted on October 22, 2008Whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing may depend on how the economy is and which economic expert you are speaking to. But a study suggests that the spectre of divorce may promote saving - and working. The study analyzes savings patterns in Ireland both before and after divorce was made legal there in 1996...
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Fifty Families Expected to Utilize Supervision Services in a Small Colorado Town
Posted on October 21, 2008During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Steamboat Springs, Colorado’s Advocates Against Battering and Abuse have erected human silhouettes outside the local courthouse, depicting victims of domestic violence. The organization also started a supervised visitation and exchange program over the summer...
Michigan Court Holds Woman in Contempt for Blocking Access to Children of Her Sister, Who Was Allegedly Murdered by Their Father
Posted on October 21, 2008Michigan Husband and Wife have Children together. Husband allegedly murders Wife. Husband is sentenced to prison for … a very long time. Children are adopted by Wife’s sister and her husband. Husband’s Arizona mother seeks to exercise her court-ordered visitation with Children...
Childhood Victim of Domestic Violence Rebounds and Educates Others On Moving Beyond Abuse
Posted on October 20, 2008Child’s home was oppressive with domestic violence. Child’s most vivid childhood memories are of huddling with her mother and sister. When she was five, her mother fled, leaving her and her sister with the abuser. The abuser redirected his focus on the girls...
Under Nebraska Law, Sex Offender Guaranteed Due Process in Termination of Parental Rights to Offspring From Rape of a Minor
Posted on October 19, 2008Nebraska Father repeatedly rapes thirteen year old Girl (daughter of his girlfriend). Girl conceives Child. Girl gives birth to Child. Girl voluntarily gives Child up to foster care, intending for him to be adopted. Foster family seeks to adopt Child...
Child Welfare Agency Swoops Into Hospital Nursery to Snatch Newborn Baby Girl from Private Adoption ? and Place Her Into Foster Home Instead
Posted on October 19, 2008A California Mother is known to the local child welfare agency as a drug user. Mother has had other children taken into protective custody and placed into foster care. Mother wants to avoid that happening to coming Baby. Mother arranges for this Baby to be adopted through a private adoption...
The Lengths Some Will Go to Hoping to Avoid Child Support ?
Posted on October 18, 2008Canadian immigrant Father is ordered to pay child support. Father prefers not to pay child support. Father allegedly attempts to change his identity to evade child support obligations. Father is charged with fraud. And bigamy. And impersonation by forging citizenship papers...
Tennessee Court?s Charge to Determine Best Interests of Children is Complex in Unusual Child Custody Case
Posted on October 18, 2008Tennesee Husband and Wife have two young boys. Schoolteacher-intern Wife had affair with former student. Husband was convicted of shooting and killing Wife’s former student. Husband was convicted of reckless homicide. Sentencing is pending...
Oregon Decides Who Decides What Happens to Divorcing Couple?s Frozen Embryos
Posted on October 14, 2008Couple seeks help in conceiving child. Couple has six embryos, frozen, in reserve. Couple make agreement with embryo storage facility that provides that Wife has final say over what becomes of the embryos. Then couple decides to divorce. So, what happens to the embryos? Husband wants to donate them to some other couple in need...
Tennessee Determined to Collect Child Support - Even from the Wrong People
Posted on October 14, 2008Some custodial parents get absolutely nowhere trying to collect child support. And they might have the impression that their state could not care less. Not so of the state of Tennessee. A Tennessee mother sought child support from the alleged father of her baby...
Troubled Economy Sparks Child Abuse, Especially Sexual Abuse
Posted on October 13, 2008Big corporations, their shareholders and employees aren’t the only ones hurt by the shaky economy. Nor are small businesses, their owners and employees. In San Antonio, community resources are noting other increasing casualties of the financial markets: there is reportedly a marked rise in the incidence of child abuse - especially child sexual abuse...
US Mother of Children Allegedly Abducted to Brazil by Their Father Waits and Waits for Action to Bring Them Home
Posted on October 12, 2008Massachusetts family court awards visitation to Father. Mother and children move to New Hampshire. Father picks up kids in New Hampshire for visitation - but doesn’t return them. Massachusetts court says it can do nothing. Father allegedly absconded with children to Brazil, using bogus birth certificates for the children and a reportedly forged letter from [...
Report of Child Neglect Made by ? Mother?s Drug Dealer
Posted on October 11, 2008A Canadian woman is fighting termination of her parental rights to her 8 and 10 year old daughters. The children are in child protective custody while their mother serves time on the charge of “corrupting children”. The kids were reportedly found sleeping on the floor next to a litter box in a home in which there was [...
Judge Imprisons Deadbeat Dad Rather Than Allow Credit for Funds Offered By Employer and Setting Him Free
Posted on October 10, 2008Florida Father imprisoned for one year for nonpayment of almost $30,000 of child support. After being sentenced, Father agreed to pay $5,000 and his employer agreed to pay the balance of his back support, to get Father back on the job. The child’s mother had no objection...
Stepfather Faces Kidnapping Charges Stemming From Picking His Stepchild Up from School for Starters
Posted on October 09, 2008When there’s a custody dispute, usually it’s between the parents of the child. But not always. Sometimes its the grandparents who are battling with one of the parents. And there are still more possibilities - in fact. Probably very long shots under the law...
Cambodia?s Version of an Amicable, Court-Free Divorce
Posted on October 08, 2008Some Cambodians are dissatisfied with their divorce courts - even more so than people in this country are with ours. A Cambodian Husband decided to divorce his Wife, because he didn’t feel that she tended to his care during an illness. They decided to try to circumvent the courts as much as possible in their separation...
Father Resolves to Block Child?s Relocation, No Matter What it Takes - Even Murder
Posted on October 06, 2008Canadian Husband and Wife separate. But it doesn’t go smoothly. Husband gets idea that Wife wants to relocate with couple’s Son. Wife insists she promised to remain in the same area. According to friends of Husband, he is a “nice guy”...
Men Stake Out Crane to Draw Attention to Perceived Unfairness to Fathers in Certain States? Family Courts
Posted on October 05, 2008Two men took a stand on a crane on Ohio State University’s campus in support of fathers’ rights in child custody disputes. Dressed as superheroes, they called on Ohio’s and California’s governors to start investigations into their states’ respective family court systems...
Wife Who Allegedly Took Husband?s Winning Lottery Ticket is Facing Civil Suit and Criminal Charges as well as Divorce
Posted on October 05, 2008Older Canadian couple married ten years. Husband is two decades older than Wife. Husband buys lottery ticket. Winning ticket will pay out $3.5 million Canadian. Husband alleges Wife stole his winning ticket, gave it to her daughter and received a substantial gift from her daughter from the winnings...
Quebec Judge Argues His Wife Isn?t Entitled to Half of His Pension Under Equitable Distribution Type Legal Framework
Posted on October 03, 2008Quebec couple married for twelve years, after living together for seven years. Husband is more than 20 years older than Wife. Husband is a judge. Wife is a perpetual student, working temporary and/or part-time jobs from time to time during the marriage...
How to Protect Your Credit Rating in Divorce
Posted on October 03, 2008Once the divorce is out in the open, sometimes activity on the credit cards of one or both spouses suddenly escalates. This can happen due to one spouse’s lack of cash to live on. It can also happen due to the malice of a spouse. Or any number of other reasons… Both spouses’ [...
You?re Never Too Old to Divorce
Posted on October 01, 2008An elderly Singaporean Husband wants a divorce from his Wife - after more than twenty-five years of marriage. Husband alleges that his Wife has engaged in “unreasonable behaviour, distrust and irresponsibility”, mostly pertaining to money...
SC Mother Served with Summons for 12 Years Past Due Child Support - 63 Cents - Or Else
Posted on September 30, 2008South Carolina Mother served with summons for child support. Past due child support. Twelve years, to be precise. Children are long since grown. But that doesn’t void the legal duty to pay. The entire arrearage. All 63 cents of it. Or else...
WI: Stepparent Does Not Stand in Non-Custodial Spouse Parent?s Shoes With Regard to Visitation Rights
Posted on September 29, 2008Wisconsin ex-husband, Father, is deployed in military. Father “assigns” his visitation time to his new wife, Stepmother. Ex-Wife and Mother refuses to allow Stepmother to have Father’s full extended summer visitation period. But Stepmother is willing to allow Stepmother some visitation in Father’s absence...
Former Florida Husband Held in Contempt for Complying with Court?s Order. Technically.
Posted on September 28, 2008A Florida family court awards Wife $5,000 as a lump sum payment from Husband. Husband is angry. Husband knows he must comply with letter of order. But decides to play fast and loose with the spirit of the order, for maximum effect. So Husband pays, in full - with wheel barrels full of pennies...
In-Laws Refuse to Return Couple?s Pets to Widowed Daughter-in-Law Despite Court Order
Posted on September 27, 2008New couple move into (guest) house on Husband’s parent’s property. Couple adopt two pet dogs. Four years later, Wife moves out and gets an apartment. Wife leaves pets with Husband, but visits them often. Couple files for divorce. The family court orders Husband not to dispose of any marital property or the couple’s pets...
Mildly Mentally Retarded Bio Parents Beware: Your Kids are More Likely to Be Removed than from Parents Who Have Already Abandoned, Abused or Neglected Their Children
Posted on September 25, 2008A Canadian couple just lost their sixth child to Child Protective Services. They haven’t abandoned, abused or neglected any of their children. They haven’t had the chance. Each child has been taken into protective custody shortly after birth...
Army Colonel Cheats on Paternity Test to Avoid Court-Ordered Support, Is Convicted for His Fraud, Then Tries to Reduce His Payments Due to The Reduction of His Income Because of His Convictions
Posted on September 24, 2008Army colonel did not want to pay court-ordered child support beyond his small voluntary payments. How badly did he not want to pay additional child support? Badly enough to allegedly engage in fraud in the paternity testing process, specifically, having someone else take the paternity test for him...
Tragic Sudden Death of UK Mother in India Strands Her Two Babies with Indian Biological Father of One Baby While Grandmother Awaits Return in UK
Posted on September 22, 2008Young UK Mother has two babies, ages one and two years old, one from a previous relationship and one with her fiance, an Indian national. Mother and kids move to remote area of India with now-husband. They are pursuing an “alternative lifestyle”...
South Florida Man Killed By Police Before Temporary Order of Protection Made Permanent
Posted on September 22, 2008A Broward County judge entered a temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence against a South Florida Husband who allegedly entered his Wife’s home and searched the house she shared with their three sons, machete in hand, for a phantom boyfriend...
UK To Begin Teaching Child Support System in Elementary Schools
Posted on September 21, 2008Delinquency in child support is a huge problem in this country. And in the UK too. In the UK in 2005, there were 330,000 cases in arrears, to the extent of 3 billion UK pounds. So the Brits came up with a hoped-for solution to stem the tide. A new class in elementary school that will teach [...
MN Mother?s Last Resort in Custody Battle: Fraudulent Custody Order
Posted on September 19, 2008Minnesota Mother goes to Wisconsin and reports Father to police for having their five kids with him wrongfully. Mother produces a 2005 court order awarding her custody of the children. Police go to the Father’s home to investigate at about 11pm...
Absent Abandonment, Abuse or Neglect of a Child, Should the State Sit in Judgment, Second-Guessing a Parent?s Decision as to What is in that Parent?s Child?s Best Interests?
Posted on September 18, 2008Issue presented: absent abandonment, abuse or neglect of a child, should the state sit in judgment, second-guessing a parent’s decision as to what is in that parent’s child’s best interests? Some recent Canadian court decisions: “The case involved a separated father who had been granted custody of his 12-year-old daughter...
MI and FL: Random Dispositions for Failing to Report Child Abuse
Posted on September 17, 2008In Mississippi: Stepfather is convicted of allegedly abusing two year old Mississippi Baby, including biting him, and is sentenced to twenty years in prison. Baby received medical treatment after the abuse, thanks only to Grandmother’s intervention - over Baby’s Mother’s objections...
How to Find Hidden Assets in Divorce
Posted on September 16, 2008When the marriage starts heading south, it’s time to start paying attention to the finances - especially for spouses who never paid attention before. With some spouses, the window of opportunity to prove the existence of assets and that they are marital will close rapidly...
Convicted New York Murderess Seeks Jailhouse Visitation with Five Year Old Child
Posted on September 14, 2008New York Mother and her mother, Grandmother, battle for custody of Child. Father is not in the picture at the time. Mother allegedly murders Grandmother. Mother is convicted of the killing and sentenced to twenty-five years to life. During the criminal investigation, Father discovers he is Child’s Father...
Oklahoma Program Helps Deadbeat Noncustodial Parents Become Employable and Find and Keep Jobs to Pay Support
Posted on September 13, 2008One Oklahoma county is testing a new approach to child support enforcement. Separate the noncustodial parents who don’t want to pay from the noncustodial parents who do want to pay but can’t, because they don’t have a job. For the noncustodial parents who fall into the second category, a Court Liaison works with local organizations [...
PA: Bench Warrant Issued for Mother Who Retained Child After Extended Summer Visitation
Posted on September 12, 2008Pennsylvania Father and Mother divorce. Father gets primary custody of Child, who is now five years old. Mother takes her extended summer vacation time with Child. At the end of her visitation, Mother is supposed to drop Child off at paternal grandparents’ home in Ohio...
UK Husband Convicted of Murder After Wife?s Request that He Move out of the Marital Residence Due to Affair
Posted on September 12, 2008UK Husband had been a forensic accountant. Just the type of expert professional who might have made his career “following the money” and testifying in divorce cases. Only this time, the matter at hand wasn’t someone else’s divorce...
Marriage Certificate, Then Premarital Testing for ? the Divorce Gene?
Posted on September 11, 2008Swedish scientists have isolated what has been dubbed The Divorce Gene. Of course, the presence of the so-called Divorce Gene doesn’t guarantee that the person with the gene will get a divorce. But there is a statistical correlation between the presence of the gene and the brain chemistry’s influence in weakening or countering bonding...
North Carolina Grandparents Lobby for Grandparent Visitation Rights Statutes
Posted on September 09, 2008Grandmother often took Grandchildren into her home to watch them and visit with them. Grandmother had argument with oldest daughter and son-in-law in November of 2005. Since then, Grandmother has been denied any contact with Grandchildren. This is not the most common scenario under which grandparents lose access to grandchildren...
Abducting Parent Confesses Guilt Abroad Based on Misinterpretation of Consequences of Hague Convention
Posted on September 08, 2008Gay male Manhattan couple adopt Baby together, using a surrogate mother. Couple splits up before very long. Court awards rotating joint physical custody. Dad is awarded the weekends. Pop is awarded the weekdays. Not satisfied, Dad allegedly procures a fake driver’s license - using Pop’s information...
MN Family Court Judge Accused of Ethical Violation for Appointing His Lawyer As Mediator in Cases on His Docket, Allegedly in Return for Partial Writedown of His Own Divorce Legal Bill
Posted on September 07, 2008Minnesota judge goes through divorce. By the end, he owes his attorneys over $100,000. Judge reportedly begins appointing attorney with his divorce law firm to mediate cases on his docket. Nineteen to be precise. The judge had never appointed this attorney to mediate cases on his docket before his own divorce case...
Sometimes Men Are the Victims of Domestic Violence Too ?
Posted on September 05, 2008What are the odds? In Anderson County, South Carolina one recent Saturday, police responded to the scene where a woman allegedly poured lighter fluid on her husband - because he criticized her for pawning some household items. The man declined to press charges...
Disabled Mother?s Parental Rights Reinstated Where She Can?t Comply with Case Plan Through No Fault of Her Own
Posted on September 03, 2008Florida Mother is disabled. Mother takes prescription drugs for pain from her disability. Department of Children and Families removes Child, places her with maternal grandparents and establishes case plan for Mother to regain custody of Child. The case plan requires Mother to obtain a medical evaluation from the University of Miami (U of M) ‘’to explore [...
Pilot Program in Volusia Offers Intensive In-Home Services As Alternative to Foster Care
Posted on September 02, 2008A pilot program in Volusia County, Florida allows thirty-five children to remain home with their families instead of being removed as a result of abuse or neglect. The new Family In-Home Recovery Support Team (FIRST) program concentrates on providing intensive in-home services to just seventeen families at this time...
Shocking Aftermath of an Unsuccessful Mediation
Posted on September 01, 2008Georgia Husband and Wife prepare for second marriage each. They make a prenuptial agreement. Wife waives claims to alimony, the marital home and other assets in the agreement. Fast forward several years. Divorce case begins. The Court awards temporary alimony to Wife and shared temporary possession of the marital home to both...
It?s Not Your Mother?s Prenup
Posted on August 31, 2008They used to be primarily about how property would be divided in the event of divorce - or death of a spouse. And perhaps alimony and attorney’s fees in the event of a divorce. In the old days. Modern prenups have gotten more expansive … and creative...
Technology Threatens ?Traditional? Affairs
Posted on August 31, 2008Although they remain one of the most common reasons for breakups of relationships, affairs may just be going out of style. Not so much because people no longer want to have them. But more because they are getting harder and harder to carry on in secret, at least for any length of time...
Marital Settlement of Former City Manager Includes Splitting Profits with Wife from Selling Story of His Life with Sex Change
Posted on August 31, 2008Man marries woman. Couple has child. Man becomes city manager of a Florida town. Man has sex change operation. Man-turned-woman gets discharged from city manager job. Couple begins divorce. Couple reaches agreement under which former husband pays former wife alimony and child support...
Mistakes Men - And Women - Make in Divorce - and Usually Regret, Later
Posted on August 29, 2008An attorney who concentrates on representing only men offers the following mistakes that men make in divorce. Truth is, women can and do make the same mistakes. They are not (generally) legal mistakes per se, but rather tactical mistakes that both men and women usually come to regret - in time...
Global Positioning Devices Find New Use as Domestic Abusers? Detection Alert System
Posted on August 28, 2008Abuse victims can obtain orders of protection, called injunctions for protection against domestic violence in Florida. The purpose of these orders is to deter further violence. And to facilitate a swift and appropriate remedy for any violations of the order...
Multi-Millionaire Winner in Divorce Court Challenges Her Legal Fees - Unsuccessfully
Posted on August 27, 2008A Canadian Wife recently challenged her divorce attorney’s invoice in Canadian court. That’s a pretty extraordinary thing to do. And, not surprisingly, she wasn’t successful in it. After a thorough review of the record, which took more than 10 days, the British Columbia Court of Appeal found the attorney’s invoice was reasonable under all of the [...
Husband Kidnaps and Tortures Wife Intending to Avoid Property Division and Alimony
Posted on August 26, 2008California Husband wanted a divorce. A special kind of divorce. Outside the courts … He did not want to divide the marital assets with Wife. Or to pay her alimony. He wanted everything for himself. But he had put everything in Wife’s name...
Father Confesses to Murdering His Children After Maryland Court Awards Unsupervised Visitation Despite Psychiatric Diagnoses and Threats
Posted on August 25, 2008Maryland Husband is charged with murdering his three children, ranging in ages from 2 to 6. For five months, Husband, who confessed to the murders, has tried to change his defense counsel’s plea to guilty, and now has requested to represent himself...
OH: Statutory Rape Child-Victim Ordered to Pay Child Support to His Rapist, While His Parents Seek Custody of Baby
Posted on August 24, 2008Nineteen year old woman (Mother) and a fifteen year old boy (Boy) have sex, and a Baby is conceived. The Mother is under a grand jury indictment for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, which could lead to incarceration for a year and one-half as well as having to register as a sex offender...
A Modern Fault: Financial Infidelity
Posted on August 23, 2008A spouse wants to be able to spend money without having to account to or justify the expenditure to the other spouse. How to accomplish it? Either hidden savings or hidden credit cards. According to surveys, anywhere from 40% to over 80% of couples have money secrets from each other or lie to each other about spending and/or [...
Rotating Physical Custody or Equal Timesharing: Good for Noncustodial Parent. What About Kids?
Posted on August 22, 2008Parents of a preschool child live several states apart. How do they timeshare? One possibility … The preschooler “rotates” from one parent’s home to the other’s, on a monthly basis. That is possible (if not beneficial) before the child begins school...
And the Guys Have It ? Too ? Divorce, That Is
Posted on August 21, 2008There’s a lot more to divorce than the legal aspects of it, of course. For the other aspects, there are a lot of books out there. By women. For women. So one Connecticut man decided it was time for a book by a man - for men. And so he took a [...
Older Indian Man Kills Wife to Marry Teenager
Posted on August 19, 2008Thirty-five year old Indian house-painter has affair with teen-aged girl. He decides to marry her. Problem: He is already married to a woman of his own age. Wife leaves Husband due to affair, returning to her parents’ home. Husband asks for divorce and presents divorce papers to Wife to sign...
Pending Bill in Congress Could Provide Support for Foster Kids to Extended Family Members
Posted on August 18, 2008The foster care system falls far short of our society’s needs and expectations. But measures are afoot to help improve it. Some of the improvements relate to kinship foster care, child care provided to dependent children by extended family members instead of strangers...
Indian Court Upholds Placement of Virtually Kidnapped Boy with Hindu ?Foster? Family Over Biological Muslim Family
Posted on August 17, 2008Baby disappeared during religious riots in India in 2002, which left approximately 1,000 people dead. Baby’s Muslim family eventually gave him up for dead. Recently, Baby’s family discovered that he was still alive. A Hindu police officer had allegedly found Baby and more or less gave him to relatives to raise as their own child...
India: Who Gets Baby Carried By Surrogate After Biological Parents Divorce?
Posted on August 16, 2008India has a small but thriving industry. Surrogate mothering. For poor, uneducated Indian women, being a surrogate is a way to earn the equivalent of $4 or $5,000. And then the biological parents adopt the child. But sometimes, things go wrong. For example, a Japanese couple hired an Indian surrogate mother to carry their baby to term...
Protection against Cancellation of Medical Insurance after Divorce
Posted on August 16, 2008Ex-Husband has custody of Child. Ex-Wife is ordered to maintain medical insurance for Child. Child seriously injured in bad accident. Dad discovers that Child’s insurance lapsed several weeks before. Finding out that your child’s or your insurance coverage has been canceled or modified just when you need it most is a nightmare...
Senior Divorce Turns Near-Fatal Times Three
Posted on August 15, 2008Elderly couple married twenty years. Wife files for divorce. Wife obtains restraining order against 75 year old Husband. Case drags on. Husband unhappy. Husband sets Wife’s house on fire, starting it in the attached garage. Husband posts sign on the fence blaming “family court” for the fire...
Irish Court Orders Return of Boy to Poland Following Abduction by Mother
Posted on August 12, 2008Boy lives in Poland with Mother, Grandfather and Grandmother, after Father dies. Mother moves out of area and leaves Boy with Grandparents, visiting only occasionally. Court temporarily restricts Mother’s parental rights and awards custody to Grandmother...
International Debt: That Term Includes ? Child Support
Posted on August 10, 2008International debt. The term conjures up notions of international balance of trade. But it can have another meaning entirely. International child support debt. What’s that? That’s when a nation’s children are owed support by foreigners...
MN: Want Custody? Abuse Women and Children ?
Posted on August 07, 2008Flash backward: Minnesota court finds that Husband physically abused Wife. Husband and Wife’s seven year old girl reveals to therapist that she is being physically abused by her father and that she doesn’t feel safe with him. Girl reports the same thing to court-appointed investigators / advocates for her...
American Court Orders International Vacation ? From Which Kids Don?t Return to US
Posted on August 06, 2008American Wife and Belgian Husband separate. Wife allows children to travel to Belgium to spend the entire summer of 2006 there with Husband. Husband keeps children in Belgium beyond date they were supposed to return. Further, Husband, filed for - and won - sole custody of the children in a Belgian court...
One Adopted Child is Dead, Another Appears Abused ? Several Adopted or Foster Siblings Removed into State Protective Custody
Posted on August 04, 2008A 12 year old Illinois boy recently died, apparently, from beatings. His 16 year old brother’s face is scarred and his arm is in a sling. The cause of their injuries? Likely, child abuse, according to reports. By whom? Allegedly, their adoptive parents - who still had eight minor children in their home [...
Florida?s New Post-Separation Co-Parenting Law
Posted on August 03, 2008On October 1, Florida’s new law governing co-parenting after separation goes into effect. The new law represents a major rewrite. At least as far as definitions and terminology. No longer will the terms custody or primary residential parent or similar terms be used...
Child Support: It?s Doesn?t Just Come Up in Child Custody Cases Between Family Members
Posted on August 02, 2008Some minor children were arrested on charges of killing swans and geese in a Kansas zoo. These are felony charges, including animal cruelty. The youths are in juvenile justice detention and could remain there for some time. Accordingly, the government has requested that the parents of the juveniles pay child support to save the taxpayers the [...
What Happens to the Higher Education Degree Earned During the Marriage in a Divorce?
Posted on August 01, 2008Work your fingers to the bone supporting the family while your spouse goes to school to eventually bring more bacon home to the family. … Then get dumped when your spouse finally receives his or her sheepskin. It’s a classic drama that plays out over and over again...
Financial Planning for Blended Families
Posted on July 31, 2008After the divorce. Before the remarriage. Second and subsequent marriages are more likely to fail than first marriages. At the same time, each spouse in a second marriage is more likely to enter the union with assets, debts - and children. Making things more complicated...
Multiple Deployments to Iraq Challenge Military Marriages and Kids
Posted on July 30, 2008The war in Iraq has been putting a strain on soldiers’ marriages. Over fifteen percent of all soldiers in Iraq plan to divorce their spouses. The rates are dramatically higher among those on subsequent deployments, in proportion to their number of deployments and the length of their tours of duty...
New York Orders of Protection Extended to ? Pekin Ducks
Posted on July 28, 2008A Long Island Duck, of the Pekin variety - along with its owner, has been granted an order of protection by a Long Island court. The order will remain in effect until 2016 - longer than many orders of protection protecting human victims of domestic violence...
Japanese Family Law Throwback to Another Era
Posted on July 27, 2008Japan may be a modern country technologically. But not legally, according to reports. In approximately 80% of divorce and paternity cases in Japan, the father loses all parental rights, excluding the “right” to pay child support. In the remainder of cases, it is the mother who is stripped of her parental rights...
Briton Publishes Divorce Settlement on Web to End Hostile Speculation
Posted on July 25, 2008A wealthy British advertising executive and publisher, husband and father, divorced his wife. And, according to him, the rumors started. He abandoned them, leaving them with nothing, and so on. Rightly or wrongly, he believes he has been maligned, criticized, scorned … speculated about...
Application. Divorce Final Judgment. Mortgage Application Package Complete.
Posted on July 24, 2008Your divorce is finally final. Now you can move on with your life. Maybe you’d like to start over with a new condo or house. You find the perfect place. You begin working with a mortgage broker. In the course of your chit-chat, you mention you were just divorced...
Abducted Florida Baby Dies in Panama with Father
Posted on July 22, 2008Husband and Wife meet right here in Southeast Florida. Wife confides that she is an illegal immigrant. Husband and Wife marry. Husband sponsors Wife for a green card. Marriage breaks down. Husband asks for postnuptial agreement. His apparent intention was that it serve as a divorce settlement...
Credit Crunch 2008: This is the Time to Divorce, According to the Statistics
Posted on July 21, 2008Couples with at least $10 million in assets are flocking to divorce courts this year. The reason? They are feeling the pinch of the credit crunch and generally weak economy. In New York State, the situation has fueled the biggest spike in divorce filings in nearly thirty years...
Father of the Bride Accused of Murdering the Bride
Posted on July 20, 2008Extended Pakistani family live in Atlanta. Father arranges marriage of Daughter. Daughter wants out of marriage. Daughter files for divorce. Father very upset. So … Father allegedly strangles Daughter with a bungee cord… Father is charged with murder, but maintains his innocence...
Malta: Child Abducted by Mother From Turkish Habitual Residence To Remain in Malta Anyway
Posted on July 19, 2008Maltese Wife, Turkish Husband and their 6 year old daughter lived in Turkey. Wife told Husband she wanted to return to Malta. Husband then blocked Wife’s access to the Child and applied to the Turkish Family Court for temporary custody of the Child...
New York State Finally Enacting Broader Legal Protections against Domestic Abuse
Posted on July 18, 2008New York remains the last state in the union to require fault-based grounds for a contested divorce. So it should come as no surprise that, in order to issue an order of protection against domestic violence, New York state has required the parties to be currently or previously married, parents of a common child or blood [...
Strategic Divorce
Posted on July 17, 2008They probably had to commit perjury to get their divorce. Their marriage isn?t irretrievably broken. They don?t have irreconcilable differences. But they probably had to swear that one or the other applies. Because they desperately need a divorce...
High Tech Debit Cards + Low Tech Custodial Parents = Child Support Mess. Oops.
Posted on July 16, 2008Ohio is pretty high tech. The child support enforcement agency doesn’t just mail out child support checks to custodial parents. Instead it either directly deposits the monies into the parent’s bank account or adds the monies to a debit card for the parent...
Malaysia: Make Sure You?re Really Married Before You File for Divorce
Posted on July 15, 2008A Malaysian woman filed for divorce. Problem: No record of her marriage. Case dismissed. Modified statement of problem: Marriage certificate potentially invalid on grounds of fraud. The woman’s attorney said these contentions were formalities and that she will refile...
Supreme Court Ruling May Threaten Victims of Domestic Violence, Among Others
Posted on July 13, 2008A New York State man stands accused in federal court of lying on an application for a background check to purchase a gun. The alleged lie was his denial that he was subject to an order of protection. Under federal statute, it is a felony for a person subject to a protective order [...
Ohio Judge Reprimanded for Not Advancing His Cases Fast Enough
Posted on July 13, 2008An Ohio judge was reprimanded for not advancing his cases rapidly enough. One childless couple’s case was on the judge’s docket for two and one-half years - before being handed off to a general magistrate for trial. And the Wife specifically wanted the case tried to a judge, not a general magistrate...
A Very Nasty Florida Divorce
Posted on July 12, 2008Local Boca Raton area couple divorced in 2001. As part of an agreement between them, Husband paid Wife an extra $1.5 million on the condition that she not fight him for custody of their children. There were also provisions to block Wife from fleeing the jurisdiction with their children...
Ouch ? Divorce Undone
Posted on July 11, 2008Oklahoma couple gets a divorce. Then divorce is, uh, canceled. It was an uncontested divorce. That means the parties had agreed on everything. Those are typically informal affairs, hurried along before the presiding judge. In this instance, only one party, with counsel, appeared at the hearing, the pronouns contained in the papers misled or [...
GA: Rent from Award of Permanent Possession of Real Estate Must Be Divided
Posted on July 10, 2008Georgia couple divorce. Couple had owned real estate held in both names. The final judgment awarded the Wife permanent possession of the property and she paid the mortgage from that point on. But, for whatever reason, the Court did not address ultimate ownership of the property, and neither did the parties...
Federal Immigration Law vs. State Visitation and Support Law: Which Prevails?
Posted on July 09, 2008Mother and Father separate. Child, a US citizen, lives with Mother and spends weekends with Father. Federal government brings deportation proceedings against Father for multiple driving convictions. How do immigration court and family court impact each other? There are reportedly few guidelines for judges or parties when immigration law and family law collide with each other head-on...
Latest Divorce Tactic: YouTube
Posted on July 08, 2008Celebrity couple: Wife an actress, Husband an elderly, established theater producer. According to Wife, Husband threatened to cut her off financially and evict her from her apartment. Having inadequate resources to combat that until the divorce was final, she videotaped herself airing the couple’s dirty laundry, docudramatizing his alleged threats as well as other intimate [...
Divorce and Life (or Estate) Planning Should Go Hand-in-Hand
Posted on July 06, 2008Divorce represents one of the occasions in a person’s life when they should give some consideration to life (or estate) planning documents. Admittedly, it may not be your first thought. But, after one of you files for divorce, do you want your spouse to be the one to make decisions about your medical [...
A Really Long, Frustrating Florida Divorce
Posted on July 05, 2008How long does a divorce take? It depends … Couple marries in 1984. Marriage is a successful partnership of complementary business skills. Couple prospers. In 1990, Wife in car accident. Husband reportedly drags them down into debt. Couple separates and, in 1995, files for divorce...
NY Family Court Judge Reprimanded for Criticizing Incarcerated Parents for Seeking Custody of Their Kids
Posted on July 05, 2008An experienced upstate New York family court judge has reportedly been reprimanded as a result of an anonymous complaint. The Commission on Judicial Conduct, a judicial review board, reviewed hundreds of hours of transcripts of the judge’s cases over a fourteen year period and found three cases where the judge’s conduct was deemed objectionable - although [...
Dividing Retirement Accounts, The Right Way
Posted on July 04, 2008Pensions which are marital property may be divided as part of the marital settlement. But there is a right way and a wrong way to accomplish that. The right way is to use a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (”QDRO”). QDROs can be complex...
Placement of Children with Out-of-State Relatives May Take Months - or a Year
Posted on July 03, 2008When social services removes children from a home, placing the children with relatives is generally preferable to foster care. Home studies and background checks of nearby relatives typically take place in a matter of days. But what if the children live near a state border, and their nearby relatives live in another state? Or [...
Myth: Dads Can?t Win Custody
Posted on July 02, 2008Seven year old Florida girl. Father and Mother were never married, didn’t even date. Since girl’s birth, Father and Mother have taken turns reporting one another to social services and seeking restraining orders against each other. Each parent has refused to return the child after timesharing with her...
Australia Cracks Down on Child Support Cheats
Posted on July 02, 2008Child support arrearages in Australia top $1 billion. And the arrearages are growing at the alarming rate of $50 million a year. In a desperate effort to stem the tide, Australia is going to take a closer look at separated parents suspected of understating their income information...
CO: Gambling Windfalls To Be Intercepted for Child Support Arrearages
Posted on July 01, 2008How many noncustodial parents in Colorado who are behind in their child support payments are blowing money at the track or in casinos? More than a few, judging by the actions of the Colorado legislature. From now on, winnings that are subject to income tax withholding will also be subject to interception for child support arrearages...
Psychologists: Marriages Between FirstBorn or Only Children Are More Likely to End in Divorce
Posted on July 01, 2008Psychologists believe that birth order of both spouses plays a significant role in the success of a marriage. The best marriages are believed to be between oldest sisters and youngest brothers. Why? Because, in a nutshell, oldest sisters are accustomed to being mommies and youngest brothers are accustomed to being babied...
SD Shelters Turning Victims Away in Contracting Economy?
Posted on June 30, 2008Woman physically abused by partner. Woman goes to battered domestic victims’ shelter. Woman turned away because shelter exhausted its funding … Sound far-fetched? Some victims of domestic abuse, such as the representative composite Woman above, are reportedly already being turned away by some shelters in South Dakota due to lack of accommodations, resources or support services, resulting from cuts [...
NE Court Denies Post-Divorce Request for Life Insurance to Secure Alimony
Posted on June 29, 2008Well-off Nebraska couple divorce. Husband ordered to pay substantial alimony ($12,500 per month for 106 months) plus substantial child support ($5,000 per month). Husband purchased a $1 million life insurance policy for the benefit of his children, although it is not clear whether that was court-ordered...
Egypt Ignores Maryland Custody Orders for Years on End
Posted on June 28, 2008Maryland courts awarded Father custody of the older of two children and Mother custody of the younger child. Later, that Maryland court awarded Father custody of the younger child too. About seven years ago, Mother allegedly abducted the two children to Egypt...
Canadian Children Taken Into Protective Custody To Save Them From ? Parents? Offensive Political Views
Posted on June 26, 2008Canadian child protective services removed a seven year old girl and a two year old boy from their parents’ home - because the girl was sent to school with a swastika painted on her arm and other Nazi-like graffiti on her body. Authorities were also somewhat concerned about possible drug and alcohol abuse and [...
Domestic Violence Strikes All Kinds, Everywhere
Posted on June 25, 2008Domestic violence can impact anyone, anywhere. In one Oklahoma town, victims have been married to doctors, lawyers, bankers, businessmen, ministers, and police officers. Sometimes children of the victims witness the violence. A tanking economy can produce stresses that trigger domestic violence, especially among economic victims of a contracting economy...
Children Wander Onto Interstate Entrance Ramp While Parents Drink in Separate Bars
Posted on June 24, 2008Couple have four children, ages 4, 3 (twins) and 1 years old. At about 8pm, Husband allegedly left children, alone, to pick Wife up at a bar. Wife refused to leave with him, however. So what did Husband do? He reportedly headed for a different bar with a friend...
Children Wander Onto Interstate Entrance Ramp While Parents Drink in Separate Bars
Posted on June 23, 2008Couple have four children, ages 4, 3 (twins) and 1 years old. At about 8pm, Husband allegedly left children, alone, to pick Wife up at a bar. Wife refused to leave with him, however. So what did Husband do? He reportedly headed for a different bar with a friend...
Economic Stimulus Payments Intended to Spur Economy Intercepted for Child Support Arrearages
Posted on June 22, 2008About $170 billion in economic stimulus payments were earmarked for taxpayers to promote consumer spending and stimulate the weak economy. That was the plan. But tax refunds and the like may be intercepted before they reach the taxpayer to pay off support obligations of the taxpayer...
Does State Court or Indian Tribal Court Have Jurisdiction over Divorce of Couple Living on Reservation?
Posted on June 21, 2008American Indian father and non-Indian mother living on an Indian reservation seek a divorce. Wife files first in the non-Indian state court of South Dakota. The next day, the Husband files in the American Indian tribal court. Which court has jurisdiction, the Indian tribal court or the South Dakota state court? To make things interesting, the American [...
Already Married and Divorced ? At 10 Years Old
Posted on June 21, 2008In Yemen, the minimum lawful age to marry at is 15 years old - and more than half of all girls are married before they turn 18 years old. Tribal customs often permit marriage earlier than the minimum legal age. A Yemeni couple with sixteen children opted to marry their daughter off at just 10 [...
Sometimes Divorce Isn?t Really Necessary ? But Some May Desire It Anyway
Posted on June 20, 2008A Washington state woman is undoubtedly the envy of many spouses contemplating divorce. Her husband simply up and disappeared one day - about four months ago. In some instances, the disappearance might eliminate the need for a divorce entirely. Instead, the missing spouse could eventually be declared dead...
To Work or Not to Work? That is Sometimes the Question.
Posted on June 18, 2008In lengthier marriages where one partner has been a stay-at-home spouse and parent for most of the marriage, the homebound spouse often asks: should I look to get a job now that I know my spouse and I are going to divorce? There are differing schools of thought on this important question...
Australia: Conceal or Mislead the Court about Marital Assets at Your Own Peril
Posted on June 18, 2008An elderly Australian businessman may harbor some regrets about allegedly defrauding the Family Court and concealing or misrepresenting assets. The man reportedly characterized himself in court papers as a “supervisor” who earns $30,000. According to his much younger wife, he commands a $100 million fortune...
Don?t Kill the Messenger ? or the Process Server
Posted on June 04, 2008There have been countless incidents of one spouse murdering another during a divorce. But a Colorado husband allegedly went one better. A process server came to his home one evening to serve him with divorce papers - and a domestic violence restraining order...
Canadian Court Hints It Will Order Return of Baby to Australia, Despite Court?s Fears For Baby?s Safety If He?s Not Placed into Foster Care Instead of with the Left-Behind Parent
Posted on June 02, 2008Canadian woman takes up with Australian man. Couple has son in Australia and family lives there. A year and one-half later, Mother leaves Australia with son, claiming to fear Father’s abuse. Now, Mother is seven months pregnant - and also has another child by another father...
Inter-County Bureaucracy, Bureaucracy and Cruel Irony
Posted on June 01, 2008In April, a Wisconsin social services agency concluded that two siblings were safe and no further action was warranted. On May 8th, a Wisconsin County filed for support for the two siblings. On May 22nd, the Father filed to divorce the Mother. A hearing in the divorce was set for June 18th...
Kuala Lumpur Organization Wants More Infrastructure to Proactively Protect Kids in Divorces
Posted on June 01, 2008Kuala Lumpur’s Association against Parental Alienation recommends that all parents planning to divorce benefit from early intervention by the maximum breadth of the legal system. The Association favors a panel of experts working with each family throughout a divorce case to protect kids from alienation, among other things...
Israeli Prenups: To Block Extortion for Consent to Religious Divorce
Posted on May 31, 2008Prenups have been gaining popularity over the last number of years, just because more people want to work out property rights before going into marriage. But in Israel, religious Jewish women’s organizations are actively campaigning to make prenups as universal as marriage certificates...
And Yet Another Reason to Get a Divorce
Posted on May 30, 2008A spouse may seek a divorce for many different reasons. In states with no-fault divorce, like Florida, the reasons usually don’t matter to anyone other than the spouses, and are not likely to be specified in the legal case. But the spouse seeking the divorce almost always feels compelled to furnish a reason to their [...
Domestic Violence ? By Seasoned Salt
Posted on May 29, 2008A 16 year old Florida girl has been charged with a domestic violence crime and is being held in juvenile detention. She allegedly admitted to putting seasoned salt into her mother’s food. How is that a crime? Apparently, her mother is allergic to seasoned salt, among other things...
Adoption within One?s Race: Is it Worth the Wait - in Foster Care?
Posted on May 27, 2008It seems that the answer depends on who is answering the question. A report just released, and endorsed by several associations, concludes that it is worth the extra wait for minority foster children. The reasons cited were that minority children adopted into white families “face special challenges” and that “white parents need preparation and training for what [...
Alimony: There?s a Brave New World Emerging
Posted on May 26, 2008Show me a former spouse writing an alimony check, and I’ll show you a griping former spouse. Some things never change. But other things do. For example, in our brave new world, sometimes the wife earns more than the husband. In fact, in approximately one-third of marriages these days...
Parental Child Abduction: The Destination Isn?t Always Abroad
Posted on May 25, 2008Many separating / separated parents fully appreciate the danger of abduction of their children abroad. Perhaps to their foreign-born ex’s homeland, someplace where he or she will have a legal advantage in child custody proceedings. Most separating / separated parents do not perceive such a danger within the US today...
A Modern Spin on Marriage Counseling
Posted on May 24, 2008Couple is having marital difficulties. One spouse, most often (but not always) the wife, suggests marriage counseling. The other spouse, most often (but not always) the husband, refuses. Or goes along - but refuses to participate meaningfully. He (or she, as the case may be) doesn’t want to discuss his (or her) innermost feelings with [...
FL?s Marchman Act: Technically Not a Family Law Proceeding But ?
Posted on May 23, 2008Florida’s Marchman Act. A statutory scheme to compel an assessment for substance abuse and, if warranted, treatment. It doesn’t sound as though it has anything to do with divorce or family law. But, unfortunately, surprisingly often, it does...
California Considers Revising Methodology Behind Custody Determinations
Posted on March 17, 2008California has an interesting child custody bill pending. Proponents of the bill would leave more of the burden of putting forth evidence on custody directly on the parties - and more of the burden of determining custody on judges, based on that evidence...
IN: Don?t Fall Behind in Paying Your Child Support
Posted on March 16, 2008One area of the law where states differ dramatically is in child support enforcement. An Indiana man accumulated $120,000 in child support arrearages. That’s a felony in Indiana, for which he was charged with three counts. That man was sentenced to nine (9) years in prison for non-payment of child support...
Likelihood of Divorce Among US Residents Based on Religious Affiliation
Posted on March 15, 2008More marriage and divorce statistics. According to the Pew Forum, among US residents, of all religions, followers of Hindu are the most likely to be married and the least likely to be divorced. However, the sampling of Hindus was the smallest, so that was where the greatest margin of error existed...
Another Columbine Averted in Daytona Beach, Florida
Posted on March 15, 2008Three Florida children were caught a week ago in the alleged planning stages of a school shooting incident such as at Columbine. The three thirteen year olds were reportedly arrested yesterday for conspiracy to commit murder, a felony. The plot was uncovered through electronics: text messages, webpages, etc...
FaceBook As Evidence in Divorce: Coming Soon, Predict UK Attorneys
Posted on March 13, 2008UK attorneys are looking slightly into the future to predict that evidence collected from social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace will be admitted in divorce cases. Absolutely. Just as happened with e-mails and online chats before social networking sites sprang up...
MS Judge Faces Contempt of Court Over Non-Payment of Child Support
Posted on March 12, 2008The place is Mississippi. A local man, a judge and city attorney, reportedly faces contempt of court for failing to pay past due child support of $1,500. The man contends that he can’t afford to pay it and that it is an unreasonably high amount of child support, more suited to a Hollywood celebrity than a local [...
Military Divorce Rate Steady Overall But Military Women?s Divorce Rate High and Rising
Posted on March 11, 2008According to the Pentagon, only 3.3% of military couples divorce. The military attribute this to large amounts of support that the military provides to military couples. Some find the numbers surprising considering the currently prolonged, stressful separations during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan...
India Makes Divorce Court More Convenient
Posted on March 10, 2008No more is it true that “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. No need. At least in India. Now, if an Indian living abroad wants easier options, he’s got them. A Delhi court has agreed to allow a New Jersey resident to appear at his divorce hearing(s) via video conference...
Florida Youngster Killed Despite Numerous Reports of Abuse
Posted on March 09, 2008The Florida Department of Children and Families receives about 1,000 reports of abuse per month in Lee County that must be investigated. Investigations must begin within twenty-four hours, three if a child is believed to be in imminent danger. An investigation takes at least 4 hours of interviews with the child, the person reporting the abuse, family [...
Domestic Violence Fought With Educational Theater
Posted on March 09, 2008Nothing else has stamped out domestic violence yet. One relatively recent, creative approach established in Massachusetts: educational theater. Theater with a message. Plays depicting different types of domestic abuse (sexual, violent, verbal, etc...
Utah Reopens Legislative Door to Custody or Visitation Rights for Unrelated Persons
Posted on March 08, 2008Once upon a time, non-parents might have visitation or even custody rights, most commonly grandparents. Then the US Supreme Court ruled that such third party rights trampled the rights of parents, which should be superior - provided the parents are fit parents...
VA Woman Faces Jail For Not Being Able to Sell or Refinance Husband?s Name Off Marital Home
Posted on March 08, 2008In many divorce cases, the most thorny property division question is: what to do with the marital home? That is especially likely in a depressed real estate market like the current one. One commonly agreed to option is for the spouse who wants to remain in the house to refinance the other spouse’s name off [...
New Yorker Appeals Ruling Permitting Ex to Move Out of State With Pet of the Marriage
Posted on March 07, 2008A millionaire and his wife are pitted against each other in an ongoing custody battle … over their dog. The “father”, who has no children, has spent over $60,000 to win custody of the pooch. At first, the couple engaged in roughly equal timesharing, by agreement...
CA Juvenile Dependency Courts: Too Many Cases, Too Little Time ?
Posted on March 01, 2008When children are taken into foster care due to alleged abandonment, abuse or neglect, it sets in motion a series of events, including various hearings in juvenile dependency court. Juvenile dependency court is unlike any other court. Many of the families of removed children are indigent...
India Takes No Action for American Child Abducted to India
Posted on February 25, 2008A father has not seen his son for more than a year. The boy’s mother took the boy on a vacation to India. And never returned. India is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. And India does not view child abduction as a crime...
State of Our Marital Unions
Posted on February 22, 2008About half of American marriages end in divorce. But they tend to last a bit longer today (8 years) than in the past (7 years). Teen marriages, the most susceptible to failure, have declined. Most couples are tending to marry a bit later in life. About two-thirds of all American breakups are initiated by the wife...
Historic Divorce Capital of the Nation, South Dakota, Seeks Recognition
Posted on February 21, 2008One state stands out in American history as “divorce capital of the nation” around the turn of the 20th century: South Dakota. At one point, the state’s residency requirement was just three months and several different grounds for divorce were available...
Canadian Man Seeks to Avoid Penalty for Blocking Religious Divorce
Posted on February 19, 2008Last month I posted Canada to Enforce Premarital Agreements Crossing into Religious Issues. In that case, the Canadian Supreme Court ordered a man to pay his ex-wife nearly $50,ooo for making her wait 15 years for a religious divorce - in violation of their prenuptial agreement...
Hawaii Cracks Down on Deadbeat Noncustodial Parents
Posted on February 17, 2008Hawaii, which has a poor track record of collecting delinquent child support, has decided to crack down on deadbeat noncustodial parents. The state has hired a paralegal and an investigator and is currently building and prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases for chronic nonpayment of child support with insufficient justification...
Is It Exercise of Religion Or Is It Parenting As In Custody?
Posted on February 14, 2008The family court’s mission is to make child custody determinations based on the best interests of the child. But some aspects of child rearing are not black and white and, arguably, not purely parenting decisions. Take religion. An informal case survey suggests that custody battles are on the rise and that religion is increasingly [...
Cohabitation Agreements Important for Unmarried Seniors - as Well as Others
Posted on February 13, 2008Here in South Florida, we have a lot of unmarried senior couples, in “second-time around” relationships, cohabiting with each other. The reasons for not remarrying vary. Although Florida is not a common law marriage state, bare cohabiting can leave some important things up in the air - or up to a judge...
Former Florida Husband Stiffs Dying Wife for Alimony
Posted on February 12, 2008Florida Husband (former attorney) ordered to pay alimony. Ex-Wife diagnosed with terminal cancer. Ex-Husband reportedly stops paying alimony. Upon requests for payment, ex-Husband allegedly asked “aren’t you dead yet?” Ex-wife needs alimony for medicine, housing, etc...
Missing TN Boys? Custody May Be Shared By Father Accused of Murdering Mother?s Teenaged Boyfriend and Drunken Mother Who Gravitates Toward Boys
Posted on February 11, 2008A Tennessee husband was just granted a divorce and shared custody of his kids under unusual circumstances. His wife was not present. She, allegedly struggling with a drinking problem, had an affair with her 17 year old student, after having another affair with a woman...
Orlando Battered Women?s Shelter Expands to Meet Its Mission
Posted on February 10, 2008One hundred and one Florida women died of it in the first six months of 2007. Domestic violence. About forty-five of the women fleeing it and sixty-five of their children in central Florida end up in a shelter for safety. One Orlando shelter is building a children’s after-care center, a school and a daycare center...
Little Girl Remains in Turkey Despite Numerous Orders for Her Return to Israel Home
Posted on February 08, 2008French-Israeli father. Turkish mother. Child had triple citizenship, but was born and raised in Israel. Mother and child depart for Turkey to spend a holiday with Mother’s parents in 2004. And stay there. Permanently. An Israeli court promptly orders the return of the child to Israel under the Hague Convention in the Civil Aspects of International Child [...
Two PA Grandmothers Share Parental Responsibility and Rotating Physical Custody
Posted on February 07, 2008A four year old Pennsylvania girl is the subject of an order awarding joint, rotating custody of her. The child will move from one custodian to another every seven days. Not typical, but not unheard of either. What is unusual is who the alternating custodians are: the child’s two maternal grandmothers...
Convict Husband Allegedly Hides Assets and Delays Divorce for Years
Posted on February 05, 2008An Oregon man is building up a criminal record. And that is putting the brakes on his divorce. Over the last eight years since his divorce case was filed, the husband has allegedly been attempting to hide assets from his wife. Upon learning of the supposed fraud, the wife renounced a settlement agreement...
It?s Not the Divorce That Hurt?s the Kids ? It?s the War Afterwards
Posted on February 03, 2008Divorce doesn’t hurt children. Post-divorce conflict between parents does. A recent study concludes that children of amicable divorces are significantly better adjusted than children of high conflict divorces. Insults, anger and disparagement in front of the children is all harmful to them...
SD Re-Evaluates Child Custody Laws
Posted on February 01, 2008Some legislators in South Dakota are working to revamp much of the state’s child custody laws that reportedly are not serving the divorced parents of the state, or their children, well. Their stated goal is to focus on the best interests of kids...
And the Pets Have It ?
Posted on January 31, 2008A Michigan senator believes divorce runs roughshod, without any consideration - over pets. Under the current law of most states, pets are relegated to personal property status. “You want Rover? … I’ll take the silverware then. Deal...
Illegal Immigrants Often Take Abuse in Silence
Posted on January 29, 2008Dallas, Texas has more than its share of human trafficking in illegal aliens smuggled into this country against their will. Of the approximately 16,000 victims of fraud, force, coercion and abuse per year, about twenty percent wind up in Texas. These illegal immigrants are often victims of domestic violence and abuse...
Arizona?s Child Protection Services Under Scrutiny, So Records Going Public
Posted on January 27, 2008The Arizona Daily Star brought a lawsuit to compel Arizona’s Child Protective Services (CPS) to disclose records in two cases culminating in the deaths of three children. In Arizona, as in many states, including Florida, juvenile dependency cases are sealed and confidential...
CA to Post First Free Public Website Identifying Convicted Perpetrators of Domestic Violence
Posted on January 26, 2008California legislators are considering passing a bill that would pave the way for the state to establish the first free, publicly accessible website in the nation to identify perpetrators convicted of domestic violence, specifically, at least one felony or two misdemeanors...
Legally Disabled Parties to Family Court Cases May Be Entitled to Excessive Continuances on Grounds Unrelated to Their Case
Posted on January 25, 2008Continuances are a fact of life in the legal system, for many reasons. But, in some cases, things really get out of hand. And judges usually don’t like it. Take this California case. Many court appearances and many continuances. The wife had two types of cancer and suffered from bipolar disorder...
Discipline or Abuse? Take a Guess
Posted on January 23, 2008It is not uncommon for a parent to ask how far they may go in punishing a rebellious, defiant child - what therapists often call an “oppositional” child. For example, a NYC Father beat his 7 year old stepchild (Child) as physical punishment for her misbehavior...
Juvenile Detention: The Solution or The Problem Behind Offenses by Youths?
Posted on January 21, 2008Juvenile detention costs New York City taxpayers $200,000 per year per youth. In dollars. There are other, social costs. Juvenile detention may be viewed as the proverbial fork in the road, where young people are more likely to veer off on the path toward a life of repeat offender crimes...
MO: Child Support Sometimes Owed Regardless of DNA
Posted on January 21, 2008Missouri Husband and wife separate. Fourteen months later, wife gives birth to a child. Husband and wife advise Missouri’s child support enforcement agency that Husband is not the biological father of the baby. But since the couple was still legally married, the state declared Husband to be the father and liable for child support...
MO: Gastric Bypass Your Way to Child Custody and Adoption
Posted on January 20, 2008Baby is taken into protective custody by Missouri. Baby is placed with Biological Cousin and his wife. They provide a loving home and seek to adopt Baby. State removes Baby from Biological Cousin and places Baby with unrelated couple. Generally, children’s welfare agencies prefer to place children with suitable relatives rather than strangers...
UK Mom Wrongly Jailed Over Crib Deaths Seeks Divorce and Custody of Surviving Child
Posted on January 17, 2008UK Mother is incarcerated for four plus years for murdering her babies, based on subsequently discredited medical testimony. In actuality, the babies died of crib death. Since Mother’s arrest, Father has had sole custody of surviving minor child, Daughter...
Divorce Complaint to ? the Health Department
Posted on January 17, 2008An Ohio divorce recently turned ugly. One popular tactic engaged in by couples is “ratting the other spouse out”. That’s what happened in this case. The Husband allegedly reported the Wife to … the Health Department. For keeping some chickens in their home (he still lives there), specifically, the couple’s child’s room...
Long Time Foster Family May Lose Out on Adopting Because Biological Father Decides to Drop Back into Child?s Life - At Least, For the Moment
Posted on January 16, 2008Florida Baby’s biological mother is incarcerated for trafficking in narcotics and prostitution. Baby’s biological father left the state when Baby was just three weeks old. Baby was placed in foster care with a loving family, the only family she has since known...
Deadbeat Dad Deported From Canada and Jailed for Nonpayment of Half a Million Dollars in Child Support
Posted on January 14, 2008Father doesn’t want to pay child support. How badly? So badly that he reportedly fled the US for Canada. How much does he owe? Allegedly, almost $500,000. What distinction did that earn him? A spot on the Ten Most Wanted list for nonpayment of child support...
Canada to Enforce Premarital Agreements Crossing into Religious Issues
Posted on January 12, 2008The Canadian Supreme Court recently ruled that a premarital agreement is a binding contract and that the Court has the power and obligation to enforce it - even where it has religious implications. In the case at hand, a premarital agreement provided that, in the event the couple’s marriage broke down, the husband was to seek [...
To Divorce or Not to Divorce, That is the Question
Posted on January 11, 2008Ten years ago a young Australian man wrote a book setting out all the questions and issues to consider before deciding to marry someone. Using his own book as the determinant of whether to marry a young Utah woman, the young man opted to marry her. The book garnered the young man significant media attention and launched [...
The Unintended Side Effects on Kids of Child Support
Posted on January 11, 2008Payment - or non-payment - of child support may affect children in ways that go beyond money and are, sometimes, unintended. For noncustodial parents who are struggling to meet their legal obligations, it may mean children making do with less during visitation - and the rest of the time too...
Postcards from Splitsville
Posted on January 09, 2008Postcards from Splitsville. It sounds like a joke. But it’s actually about a very serious subject … A tool for helping kids (and adults) cope with divorce - and express their true feelings in a safe, supportive environment. All as part of an eight week divorce recovery workshop started in Arizona for kids three and up...
OH: Penalty for Bigamy? Get a Divorce Already ?
Posted on January 06, 2008Ohio man is convicted of bigamy. Man is sentenced to probation - and ordered to get a divorce from one of his three wives within six months. Man fails to get divorce. Man is arrested for probation violation. Man is confined to house arrest. Man is again ordered to get divorce...
Nevada Judge Held to Have Abused Discretion in Unilaterally and Summarily Sealing Former Judge?s Child Support Case Records and Issuing Gag Order
Posted on January 06, 2008Florida has had at least its fair share of scandal over sealing of court records in violation of the law and open public records policy of this state. But we’re not alone. A Nevada judge ordered that a child support case against another, former Nevada judge be sealed - unilaterally and summarily - and also [...
Norway?s Children?s Ombudsman: Commuting Between Separated Parents? Homes Is Bad for Most Children
Posted on January 05, 2008In recent years, the national (and international) trend has been one of increased tolerance of the notion of rotating custody, or timesharing that is more evenly distributed among parents than in traditional visitation schedules. That is why the situation in Norway is so noteworthy...
Family Courts: Commercial Free Drama
Posted on January 04, 2008A journalist for the Miami Herald observes that Miami-Dade’s family court is loaded with courtroom dramas. The court processes some 4,500 child custody cases a year, most of them in its juvenile dependency division. Those aren’t divorce or paternity cases...
Georgia Overhauls It?s Child Custody Laws
Posted on January 03, 2008Neighboring Georgia has just revamped its child custody statutory framework with the goal of streamlining its procedures. The Georgia legislature attributed the changes to a desire to spare kids drawn-out, traumatic custody battles. Odds are, the desire to spare family court judges and the judicial system’s infrastructure from the same was just as powerful a motivation...
FL: Child Abuse Peaks into January
Posted on January 01, 2008Child abuse occurs most frequently during November, December and January, according to the University of Miami Child Protection Team, which sees 1,500 cases per year. Recent horrific incidents include a woman allegedly stabbing her autistic nephew in the eyes and a mother allegedly beating her one year old baby to the extent of twelve broken bones...
Be Careful What You Wish For ?
Posted on December 31, 2007Massachusetts man buys lottery ticket. Man wins $1 million lottery. All is good in his universe. Until … Man gets charged with violating terms of his probation on bank robbery charges. Not his first probation violation. Then man is served with contempt of court papers for failure to pay almost $40,000 in back alimony and child support...
Despite Rulings Unfavorable to Oregon Foster Parents, Mediation Goes Their Way for Adoption
Posted on December 30, 2007Four month old baby removed from parents’ home by social services. Baby placed with foster family. Biological parents’ parental rights are terminated. Foster family wants to adopt Baby, who is a dual citizen of the USA and Mexico. Twenty two months later, Baby’s biological grandmother in Mexico seeks to adopt him...
WI: Immigrant Spouse Loses Legal Status Because Partner?s Birth Certificate Was Amended to Same Gender After Genitalia Surgery for Health Reasons
Posted on December 30, 2007Immigrant woman marries American from Wisconsin. Due to birth defects, for most of the American’s life, this individual could have been denominated either a male or a female. But the original birth certificate designated this individual a male...
The Stress of Festivities Causes Child Abuse
Posted on December 29, 2007The holidays aren’t over yet. And during the time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, one largely hidden statistic on the rise is: child abuse. Throughout the season of good cheer, parents are under much more stress than usual. And that stress leads to abuse of children...
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