Updates in Michigan Family Law: Michigan

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Michigan Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Michigan

Updates in Michigan Family Law

Updates in Michigan Family Law is a blawg written by Traverse City, Michigan family lawyer Jeanne M. Hannah. Jeanne explores developing Michigan law, and also the following topics of interest: divorce, custody, child support, paternity, domestic abuse, and adoption issues.\r\n\r\n

Post Frequency: 4.5/day

Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 12:07:04

Domestic violence by proxy?

Posted on September 26, 2009
The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence has promoted a new concept to distinguish mother's protective actions from what abusers do. It is called Domestic Violence by Proxy.

Multi-tasking | Increasing your productivity or not?

Posted on September 25, 2009
Multi-tasking -- increasing your productivity or not? I think not, but what is the cure for this addiction?

Texting while driving | Public service announcement

Posted on September 25, 2009
While researching the issue of texting while driving, I saw this public service announcement created in the UK. Believing this is something some parents might find educational (to say the least), I decided to include it in my blog. Imagine my surprise when I was not allowed to upload until I confirmed I am at least 18...

Joint Custody of Fido | Worth $40,000?

Posted on September 23, 2009
On Monday, a judge in Salem, N.J. ordered a former couple to share custody of Dexter, after the pair paid lawyers about $40,000 in fees in what was seen as a test case. The question is how should custody of family pets be decided after a divorce or breakup.

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Abatement of medicaid reimbursement if father marries mother

Posted on September 22, 2009
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently held that fathers who were ordered to reimburse the state when medicaid had paid for the birth of a child or children to an unmarried mother, are entitled to have those expenses abated (erased) if they later marry the mother, even if the orders were entered prior to a change in the law in 2004.

Change life insurance beneficiary after divorce

Posted on September 22, 2009
Another case has been decided by the Michigan court of appeals dealing with a challenge to a life insurance policy payout to the divorced spouse because the former spouse forgot to change his beneficiary after the divorce. In Brown v Wright, the judgment of divorce had the standard statutory provision: "Any of the rights of either party in any policy or contract of life, endowment or any insurance of the other as beneficiary or otherwise, is hereby extinguished unless specifically preserved by this Judgment...

H1N1 Update | Children and pregnant women

Posted on September 21, 2009
The first batch of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, to be shipped the first week of October, will likely be in the form of intranasal spray containing the live attenuated virus, CDC officials said in a press briefing Friday.

Social Websites becoming new tool for lawyers seeking information

Posted on September 21, 2009
Lawyers USA featured an article in late June about the types of information that can be found in social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. The article correctly states that these sites have opened up a potential treasure trove of legal evidence, especially in divorce cases where a person?s whereabouts, ?friends? and employment status are often relevant.

Court-mandated co-parenting classes | Another option?

Posted on September 10, 2009
Most Michigan family lawyers are familiar with the S.M.I.L.E. program [Start Making It Liveable for Everyone]. Most, if not all Michigan counties run S.M.I.L.E. and attendance is often mandatory.

Jeanne's Toolbox | LinkedIn, social networking for professionals

Posted on September 09, 2009
LinkedIn is a Social Networking Technology website enabling users to create a profile to summarize their professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Parents Partnering | Free parent advocacy leadership training

Posted on September 08, 2009
Do you have a client or clients who have children with special needs? This is an opportunity for these parents to become trained in advocacy for their children and the other children who are in their communities, schools and day care settings. Here are the details...

Of camps and day care | Kids 14 times more likely to get swine flu

Posted on September 05, 2009
"Mom, can I have a sip of your water?" This is a pretty easy question when you're talking to your young child, right? Wrong. Brigid Schulte, Washington Post Staff Writer wrote on Saturday, September 5, 2009 about how insidious the swine flu is, how susceptible to exposure and potential infection our children are ...

Parental kidnapping | Effective response

Posted on September 05, 2009
A seven-year-old boy, missing for almost two years has been found. According to an Associated Press story posted on September 5, 2009, armed with a warrant, police were able to search his grandmother?s two-story rural home in southern Illinois' Franklin County, about 120 miles southeast of St...

Jeanne's Toolbox - Free telephone information calls

Posted on September 02, 2009
What a great tip from Michael Morse today! It's really aggravating to have to pay to call Information to get a phone number when you're traveling and don't have access to the Internet to look up the number.

The importance of fathers | "My best friend"

Posted on August 29, 2009
No matter what you thought about Ted Kennedy, it has been obvious throughout this weekend of remembrance and honor, that Teddy was there for his children and he was there for John Kennedy's children and Bobby Kennedy's children.

Jeanne's Toolbox - Calculating time | deadlines

Posted on August 27, 2009
Nervous about that deadline for submitting your claim of appeal? Not sure if you have to have it file on Monday or Tuesday? Or are you nervous about when you have to get that motion filed and served on opposing counsel in order to be heard by the Court on the date you've secured from the court administrator? Take all the guesswork out of it...

Breaking up is hard to do

Posted on August 27, 2009
The discussion today is set to music . . . how does GF get rid of free-loading BF?

Hague Convention | Return refused | Undertakings unavailable

Posted on August 27, 2009
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a highly significant ruling on the grave risk of harm defense to a Hague Convention international child abduction petition. Simcox v. Simcox. The decision discusses the role that undertakings should play in rulings that concern the defense against return of the child or children to the left-behind parent...

Infidelity of partner adversely affects males according to report

Posted on August 25, 2009
New research shows that men can be adversely affected in various ways after learning of infidelity on the part of wives or girlfriends notes family law blogger Ben Stevens.

Jeanne's Toolbox - Michael Morse on going paperless!

Posted on August 21, 2009
Someone recently sent me a copy of Michael Morse?s article ?Going Paperless: A Practical Guide.? Morse is enthusiastic about the potential to become 100% paperless. This article was written after Morse, the sole partner of Michael J. Morse, P.C., a 13-lawyer firm specializing in truck, motorcycle and auto accident cases, returned from the American Bar Association?s annual Tech Show.

International child abduction | "Chasing the Cyclone"

Posted on August 19, 2009
Peter Thomas, a left-behind parent and author of a newly released book titled "Chasing the Cyclone" says: One of the greatest difficulties all 'Chasing Parents' face, no matter who we are, David Goldman included, is the fact that once a child is removed from a country of legal jurisdiction, or illegally retained in another nation or here in the United States, a 'Chasing Parent' seeking to rescue and reunite with their child faces the most challenging, and sometimes, most deadly fight they will ever know...

Digital divorce?

Posted on August 17, 2009
Numerous reports have surfaced about digital divorces among Islamic couples. A man has only to say "I divorce you" three times and the couple is divorced. And using digital resources has been the "in" thing to do. Divorce by Test...

Be careful what you wish for: Parenting time pitfalls to avoid

Posted on August 16, 2009
In Brausch v Brausch, 283 Mich App 339; ___ NW2d ___ (2009), decided by the Michigan court of appeals on April 14, 2009, the Court of Appeals reaffirmed that child custody provisions in a judgment of divorce cannot be and will not be governed by contract privileges...

Blind spots | Parents, children and intimacy issues

Posted on August 11, 2009
I hear frequently and read in the Washington Post, Boston Globe and New York Times about teenagers who are dysfunctional in parent-child relationships, peer relationships, school performance, future planning, etc. because of constant input and output from I-pods and text-messaging -- a digital loop that excludes intimate relationships.

Gardasil concerns | Safe or not?

Posted on August 10, 2009
A client sent me a December 2007 article that I had somehow missed during my intensive look at the dangers of HPV (which are serious) and the possible value of vaccination with Merck's Gardasil. You may recall that many of my posts questioned Merck's heavy-handed marketing and lobbying strategies...

SmartDraw, the Swiss army knife of document making software

Posted on August 10, 2009
Welcome to SmartDraw, the Swiss army knife of document making software. Just like that nifty little knife, this utility program has a host of functions including graphs and charts, time lines, floor plans, maps, calendars, fliers and much more. Through the use of very elastic templates, you can customize your own models, or create your own image from scratch...

Domestic Violence | Rage against women

Posted on August 09, 2009
Recently Bob Herbert wrote on the New York Times Op-Ed page after describing numerous cases of mass slaughter of women by angry men: "[T]here would have been thunderous outrage if someone had separated potential victims by race or religion and then shot, say, only the blacks, or only the whites, or only the Jews...

When your spouse says "I don't love you anymore." Advice for clients

Posted on August 08, 2009
Laura A. Munson?s article ?Those Aren?t Fighting Words, Dear? in the Modern Love section of the New York Times on August 2nd just blew me away. I sent it to several clients?clients who really don?t want to be divorced, clients who love their spouses and are devastated at being told ?Let?s call it quits...

Child abuse | circa 2009

Posted on August 05, 2009
I am not sure how this video found its way to my email, but I find it very disturbing. Here's Melissa Catherine Smith-Means of Gaylesville, Alabama seen on a Verizon store's videotape dragging her toddler through the store by a leash. She was jailed for first degree child abuse...

The importance of being earnest | Custody & parenting time de novo reviews

Posted on August 04, 2009
It is very important that lawyers and laypersons filing objections to a referee's decision and recommendation for order and asking for a de novo review follow the procedures dictated by Michigan court rules. Sanctions that may well be awarded if parties do not follow procedures as dictated by Michigan's court rules.

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

John Ritter’s Family Takes $67 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit to Court
Jury selection in the wrongful death of actor John Ritter began in...

Emotional Costs of Medical Errors - Patient, Family, Physician
An editorial in The New England Journal of Medicine examines the i...

$1.2M Verdict for Family of Woman Who Died After Hernia Operation
Evidence showed that poor nursing care at Pennsylvania Hospital of...

Dead Man's Family Calls NY Malpractice Lawyer First Before Burying Him
THIS IS A TRUE STORYA call came in the other day. A hysterical wom...

Palestinian Family Finally Released From Prison
As an update to a previous post about the ridiculous imprisonment ...