Michigan

Extended Family Care | A Better Alternative than Foster Care?

Posted on March 31, 2011
An Op-Ed piece in the New York Times was brought to my attention today by Marshall, Michigan Family Lawyer Paula Alyward. The author, Daniel Bornstein explains that foster care for neglected and abused children is not working. It doesn't work for the children, it doesn't work for society.

How to Tell Your Children You are Divorcing

Posted on March 30, 2011
One of the most difficult parts of divorce for parents is "what do we tell the children?" Bottom line: You have to tell the children. Surely, you don't think they don't know? Experience shows that children know, children pick up on tensions, overhear arguments...

Celebrate Uniqueness | Autistic Savant | Human Camera

Posted on March 29, 2011
Steven Wiltshire from the United Kingdom is autistic. He is also a savant nicknamed "The Human Camera." See why below. I think you will rejoice in the joy his gift brings to him and to others.

Cyberbullying, Social Media | Impact on Children and Families

Posted on March 29, 2011
Cyberbullying is a major problem in many communities today. As earlier noted on this Blog, bullying can lead to depression and sometimes suicide in teens. Parents are advised to monitor their children's online behavior by the American Academy of Pediatrics...

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Texas May Consider "Loser Pays" Law Regarding Legal Fees

Posted on March 18, 2011
According to the New York Times, Texas is considering passage of a "loser pays" law that would force those who lose a lawsuit to pay the legal fees of the opponent. American jurisprudence has long used "The American Rule" [as opposed to "The English Rule"] and each party has paid his or her own legal fees and costs, with some exceptions...

First Children Return from Singapore under Hague Convention

Posted on March 16, 2011
There is a wrenching report on Karl Hindle's website today detailing the psychological damage done to children who are abducted by a parent and subjected to parental alienation. Karl has posted a message from Andrew Ko relating that he is finally flying his abducted twin sons home from Singapore...

Klooster v Charlevoix | Transfers that "Uncap" Real Estate for Reassessment

Posted on March 14, 2011
On March 10, 2011, the Michigan Supreme Court decided Klooster v Charlevoix, holding as follows: (1) A ?conveyance? for purposes of the GPTA does not require a written instrument, and (2) when a joint tenancy is terminated by the death of a cotenant, this event is within the joint-tenancy exception created by MCL 211...

IRS Resources for Divorced and Divorcing People

Posted on March 14, 2011
The IRS has released updated publications and forms that help divorced and divorcing people understand and deal with these issues: income tax filing status; the right to claim tax exemptions; how to protect against tax liabilities arising from FOC intercepts of tax refunds on joint returns when the intercept is for child support arrearages of only one spouse and some of the tax refund belongs to the other spouse; how to claim "innocent spouse" relief from liability caused by unreported income by the other spouse.

Reverse Mortgages | Dangers Disclosed by NY Times

Posted on March 12, 2011
In these troubled economic times, many older people must find a source of money. Taking out a reverse mortgage, if there's sufficient equity in the house, may seem (or may have seemed in the past year or so) a good idea. The New York Times today explains why many elderly people are losing their homes after the death of a spouse as a result.

Prenuptial Agreements on the Rise

Posted on March 11, 2011
According to a 2010 survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 73 percent of divorce lawyers reported increased demand for prenuptial agreements in the past five years. Middle-class couples were reported as most often seeking a prenuptial agreement.

David Goldman prevails in grandparenting time action

Posted on March 05, 2011
Judge Michael Guadagno of the Superior Court of New Jersey Chancery Division ? Family Part (Monmouth County) issued an opinion in the Goldman case in favor of David Goldman. Judge Guadagno dismissed the complaint of the Brazilian grandparents for grandparent visitation.

Acknowledgment of Parentage is not an "initial custody determination" | UCCJEA

Posted on March 01, 2011
An Acknowledgment of Parentage is not an "initial custody determination" within the meaning of the UCCJEA. Michigan?s Acknowledgment of Parentage statute clearly states that an agreed grant of initial custody is without prejudice to a separate determination of either parent?s custodial rights, leaving either parent able to seek a court order...

Prisoners telephone calls taped in NY | Used in DV cases

Posted on February 28, 2011
Prisoners? groups and defense lawyers are objecting, but New York City jails changed policy in 2007 to permit the tape recording of out-going telephone calls. Such tape recording was already routine in some New York State and federal prisons. The digital system was installed in some jails in 2008 and was completed in 2010 according to a spokesman for the city?s Correction Department...

Infertile Wife Held Not Parent of Husband's Surrogate Child

Posted on February 28, 2011
A New Jersey appeals court held recently in a ruling that harkens the landmark Baby M case that there is no constitutional or legal basis for recognizing an infertile wife as the mother of her husband's child born to a surrogate. The court said it did not deny the "intrinsic societal worth, emotional appeal, and compelling logic" of granting parenthood to the infertile wife, but said adoption remains the means chosen by the Legislature to create that status.

HPV causes 64 percent of oral, head and neck cancers

Posted on February 27, 2011
We used to talk about HPV being the cause of over 99% of all cervical cancers. However, researchers studying the human papillomavirus now say that in the United States HPV causes 64 percent of oral, head and neck cancers and that vaccines may be able to prevent it.

Grandparents denied GP visitation in Goldman case

Posted on February 22, 2011
Sean Goldman case: In this action filed by the maternal grandparents seeking visitation with their grandson pursuant to the NJ grandparent visitation statute, after they rejected the conditions set by the child's father for visitation, the court dismisses the complaint.

Advising clients to repair their credit rating

Posted on February 21, 2011
Repairing a bad credit rating: Family lawyers are familiar with the credit problems that our divorce clients have. Many of our clients are over-extended with consumer debt. some have lost their jobs. many are behind in payments and are overwhelmed by mounting debt...

Wi-Fi Users Threatened by New Hacking Tools

Posted on February 18, 2011
How often do you sit in a local coffee shop or at an airport or at the local courthouse and access free (or not free) Wi-Fi on your laptop or smartphone? No worries? The New York Times reports on February...

ABA | CLE on Cloud Computing

Posted on February 17, 2011
Cloud computing is one of the hottest trends in legal technology. Rather than installing and running software on your local computer, your software and data is hosted by a third party and made available over the Internet. While this new approach to cloud computing offers many benefits, lawyers in particular need to be aware of security and privacy related "best practices" prior to entrusting confidential client data to "the cloud...

Military Families | Deployment | Gates now supports law to protect child custody

Posted on February 17, 2011
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has reversed the Pentagon?s course and now supports legislation that would prevent service members from losing custody of their children solely because of deployment, reversing the department?s position on the issue.

Can a father file a pre-birth custody action?

Posted on February 01, 2011
May a putative father protect his parental rights to an unborn child when the mother moves to another state prior to birth by filing a pre-birth custody action? As I've earlier written, the best way a putative father can protect against a mother giving a child up for adoption without his knowledge or consent is to file an intent to claim paternity.

Inexpensive Internet Long-distance Calling

Posted on January 29, 2011
The New York Times Tech writer has written a terrific explanation of the many options for inexpensive Internet long-distance calling. Who knew that there are so many?

Subpoena Online Services, Financial Institutions

Posted on January 21, 2011
Subpoena Here's another resource for discovery purposes. There are not plentiful choices here, but addresses for the legal department accepting subpoenas for PayPal, Craig's List, some credit card companies, etc. can be found at the Blog Subpoena Info for Attorneys.

Boolean Search | A Powerful Research Skill

Posted on January 19, 2011
My experience on Law Review at Detroit College of Law allowed me free and unlimited access to Lexis / Nexis and I took full advantage of it to develop and hone Boolean research skills. Let me give you an example...

Established Custodial Environment with Both Parents | A Factual Inquiry

Posted on January 18, 2011
In Landon v Sheldon, a paternity case decided by the Court of Appeals on December 21, 2010, the trial court found that an established custodial environment existed solely with defendant mother. This seriously impacted the father's burden of proof and resulted in a custody award to the mother...

Michigan Residency for Divorce

Posted on January 14, 2011
In Kar v Nanda, ___ Mich App ____ (2011), the Michigan Court of Appeals [?COA?] on January 13, 2011, held that a person residing in Michigan as a student at a university who intended to remain in Michigan to complete an advanced degree, but then intended to return to her native country of India, was a ?resident of Michigan? and was ?residing in Michigan? for the purposes of subject matter jurisdiction.

Adultery in the Marital Bedroom | A No-no

Posted on January 13, 2011
Marriage.bed An article in the New York Times yesterday gives new meaning to the phrase "Don't Try this at Home!" Several lawyers and marriage counselors around the country are quoted.

PDF Documents | Watermarks for Protection

Posted on January 12, 2011
After I'd published an article about using a PDF Printer in December 2010 about how to save webpages such as Facebook pages, or documents sent to clients or other lawyers, he emailed me about the use of watermarks I had recommended but never used. I decided to look up Microsoft's Help Page on watermarks and learned a lot...

Parent One, Parent Two | Passport reform

Posted on January 11, 2011
The Washington Post quoted official sources in the State Department on January 7th as stating that U.S. passport application forms will be made "gender neutral" by removing references to mother and father in favor of language that describes one's parentage somewhat less tenderly as Parent One and Parent Two, "in recognition of different types of families...

Google Voice | Features

Posted on January 10, 2011
I'm learning more about Google Voice every day, especially as I anticipate attending the Family Law Section's Winter Conference in Antigua in February. My cellular service is provided by Verizon and I don't want to change because my cell phone coverage is so excellent in my home / office location...

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