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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

Home Alone | When is it appropriate?

Posted on June 13, 2009
Questions frequently arise during the course of a divorce about about how old one must be in Michigan to be a babysitter, about how old a child must be in Michigan before she can be left alone without a babysitter or daycare, and about whether older siblings can babysit for younger ones...

Crockeller "Guilty" in parental kidnapping says Boston jury

Posted on June 12, 2009
The Boston Globe posted breaking news today - the guilty verdict of the jury in the Clark Rockefeller kidnapping case. The Globe reports that the jury rejected Crockefeller's insanity defense and found him guilty of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter Reigh Boss last year...

Parents, children - falling through the cracks?

Posted on May 22, 2009
The economy is having a profound effect on families - especially single-parent families struggling with survival. Today's news brought me the story of an Albuquerque, New Mexico mother who suffocated her adorable 3-year-old child. She then buried him in the...

Significant increase in unwed births reported by CDC

Posted on May 22, 2009
An alarming statistic was revealed on May 15, 2009. According to the Center for Disease Control, about 40% of all babies born alive in the United States are born to unmarried mothers.

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Child sexual abuse | High quality tools for use in detection & proof

Posted on May 20, 2009
Do you believe or does your client believe that a child has been sexually abused? A most important first step is to seek out capable, qualified and highly trained professional help. Your first call should be to a Child Protection Services. You should not attempt to elicit the details yourself...

Child abuse & neglect | Effect of worsening economy

Posted on May 11, 2009
Today's economy and growing unemployment put huge strains on families. Some of these families may have been under pressure before the economic slowdown. Increasingly, family practitioners are seeing more cases involving domestic abuse and neglect of children...

GPS equipment to monitor stalkers?

Posted on May 09, 2009
Reporter Ariana Green reports in the May 9, 2009 issue of the New York Times that twelve states have adopted legislation allowing the use of global positioning devices to track and monitor persons against whom personal protection orders have been issued.

Who Does She Think She Is?

Posted on May 01, 2009
Celebrate the creativity of women. "Who does she think she is?" is a documentary that follows the lives of several working female artists. These women have vastly different backgrounds and circumstances, but share the challenges that women must overcome while they attempt to balance an art career with motherhood.

Where are the "common decency police" when you really need them?

Posted on April 28, 2009
Should parties make public the messy details about their divorce? In this day of blogs, MySpace and YouTube, this question comes up more often than you'd think. April 22nd?s New Jersey paper Asbury Park Press contains an article about an attorney, John Paragano, who allegedly posted a video of his estranged wife Diana Prior on a MySpace page.

I am not making this up . . .

Posted on April 26, 2009
Here's a link to some of the strangest divorce stories I have ever seen. And you know I've blogged a few . . . strange ones, I mean. No wonder my home office has my web site URL as my "home address" in the yellow pages

May it please the court & Maira Kalman

Posted on April 24, 2009
Maira Kalman publishes a blog on the New York Times web site titled In the Pursuit of Happiness. Her blog features many colorful and original drawings and painting. Her ideas are fresh, provocative, artistic, and a bright spot on a gloomy day. Today she wrote about the law and her admiration for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Should a personal protection order restrain speech?

Posted on April 24, 2009
Can and should a trial court granted a request for a personal protection order (?PPO?) that prohibits a person from stalking another by continuing email or phone contact and also from writing or communicating slanderous statements with the other's employer, community, & associates?

Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt

Posted on April 18, 2009
This has been the week that has demonstrated the incredible power of the Internet. Susan Boyle. Oh my! Susan Boyle. Yes, Susan's a plain Jane, but oh what an inner beauty, what an awesome voice, what spunk and what a...

Name change in judgment of divorce | Checklist for clients

Posted on April 09, 2009
Many females choose to have their maiden name restored to them in a judgment of divorce. Since a woman may have this name change without cost and without filing a formal name change petition in the probate court, it's important to offer this opportunity...

Domestic violence | Planning for safety during divorce

Posted on April 08, 2009
April 8, 2009: Research shows that the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic abuse is when he or she is trying to separate from or leave the other party. Sadly, an extreme example of this was seen late yesterday in Alabama. Below you will find links to articles telling you how to make a safety plan if you are a victim of domestic abuse...

Foreclosure specialists capitalizing on homeowners' misfortunes?

Posted on April 06, 2009
Recently on the Family Law Listserv participants discussed how long people can remain rent-free in their homes after foreclosure. The length of time varies from one property to the next, depending upon the amount of acreage and often contractual issues...

Your client?s money | New mortgages & re-financing

Posted on April 04, 2009
According to Ron Lieber writing for the Times, recently some of the biggest companies in real estate have decided to stop working with brokers. He says that "Chase won?t lend to brokers? clients anymore" and that ?the PMI Group, one of the biggest companies in the mortgage insurance business, flat out refuses to underwrite any policies on loans that started with a broker...

Iowa supreme court voids law prohibiting same-sex marriage

Posted on April 04, 2009
On Friday, April 4th the Iowa Supreme Court held unconstitutional a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman. As a result, same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Iowa by the end of the month. The court?s decision was unanimous decision. Iowa is the first state in America?s heartland to allow same-sex marriage.

Advising Clients Facing Foreclosure

Posted on April 01, 2009
In today?s economy, more and more homeowners face foreclosure. Often, these homeowners seek advice and assistance from scam operators who hold themselves out to be ?foreclosure experts.? A new industry of companies has sprung up which purports to assist distressed homeowners in exchange for a fee...

Joint debt | Disabling use of vehicle when ex won't pay as ordered

Posted on March 29, 2009
On March 25th, Jonathan Welsh wrote in the Wall Street Journal about devices used by dealerships, financing companies and leasing companies to disable vehicles if the drivers are behind in their payments. Rob Robertson of Austin, Texas, a member of the ABA Family Law Listserv, wrote today with this thought: how long will it be before we see this technology used in a divorce situation?

Modification of alimony / spousal support | The need for precise language

Posted on March 27, 2009
On March 26th, the court of appeals reversed a trial court's decision to enter a judgment of divorce that included conditions regarding termination that were not included in the settlement placed on the record. This case illustrates how important it is to fully state the parties' agreement on the record in open court and to avoid making assumptions that "what we usually expect" as conditions for termination of alimony will also belong in the judgment.

Relocation motions where parents share custody

Posted on March 27, 2009
Another relocation case was recently decided by the court of appeals, Skeins v Mead (March 17, 2009) Docket No. 287426. In this case, the parents shared joint legal and physical custody of the child, alternating custody on a weekly basis.

Domestic violence and judicial protection

Posted on March 25, 2009
On March 25, 2009, a judge in Broward County Florida took a very proactive approach to a domestic violence case. Apparently, a man had been brought to the courtroom in handcuffs. Likely, he'd been arrested for domestic violence and had spent the night in jail...

Medicaid's role in health care reform | A client's concerns in today's economy

Posted on March 22, 2009
Children in families served by family lawyers often have only Medicaid coverage for health care. The Center for Children and Families released a report on March 21, 2009 about Medicaid's role in health care reform. According to the agency, Medicaid is a cornerstone of the U...

Shaken baby cases on the increase

Posted on March 19, 2009
Massachusetts child abuse specialists say that cases of ?shaken baby syndrome? which can cause devastating brain injury to infants have at least doubled in the last few months. They attribute the increase in frequency to economic stress on families in this challenging economy...

Can a dad be ordered to pay support if he's been deprived of a relationship?

Posted on March 15, 2009
Today a reader asks if a biological father who has been deprived of establishing a parent-child relationship with his child by the mother who is hiding behind her marriage to another man, might later have a child support liability. The answer to the question is yes, there is a risk that this might occur.

Parentage - When Mom is married to another man

Posted on March 14, 2009
As many of my readers know, I have written extensively on the topic of parentage issues involving cases where the mother is married to another man. In cases where a child is conceived or born while married to another, the husband is presumed by Michigan law to be the natural child of the husband...

Who gets to keep the family Pet? Custody of Fido

Posted on March 11, 2009
Enough about custody fights over children. How about a dispute about who gets to keep the dog? On March 10, 2009, the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division has approved for publication a decision in a case involving custody of the family dog.

Spousal support | Modifiable or not?

Posted on March 10, 2009
In an appropriate case, spousal support may be ordered by a judge in a divorce case. Normally court-ordered spousal support will be modifiable. Most cases settle before trial, though. Some parties divorcing may agree to spousal support. If their settlement agreement and/or divorce agreement doesn't specify that the spousal support is non-modifiable, then Michigan law provides that upon proof of changed circumstances, one of the parties can file a motion in court to raise or lower the amount, or to terminate the support altogether.

Michigan court to oversee a custody dispute in same sex relationship

Posted on February 21, 2009
On February 20, 2009, the Michigan court of appeals said that ?Courts can oversee a custody dispute between lesbian parents who adopted in Illinois even though Michigan doesn't formally recognize gay relationships, the state Court of Appeals said in a decision released Friday.

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