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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

Responsible reproduction - give us a break!

Posted on February 21, 2009
I know I am not alone in being angry about any doctor who would facilitate Nadya Suleman' s conception of octuplets . . . especially when I think about the huge cost of this project. That cost will be born by taxpayers, of course. Why didn't we get choice about whether we wanted to take on that burden?

Insanity defense in "Clark Rockefeller" kidnapping case?

Posted on February 11, 2009
The Boston Globe reports on February 11, 2009 that negotiations for a plea bargain in a parental kidnapping case that captured national attention have collapsed. Christian Gerhartsreiter, AKA Clark Rockefeller, is charged with parental kidnapping, giving a false name to a police officer, and two assaults...

Services to help individuals facing foreclosure in Michigan

Posted on February 06, 2009
Ann Routt, Deputy Director of Legal Services of South Central Michigan in Ann Arbor has shared the following valuable information regarding services to help individuals facing foreclosure: Legal Services of South Central Michigan (LSSCM), through its Michigan Poverty Law Program (MPLP), has launched the Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Program.

Does a state court have exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over custody issues?

Posted on February 03, 2009
In today's mobile society where parents and children move from one state to another after a court has made a custody determination, the question often arises whether the state that made the initial child custody determination continues to have continuing exclusive jurisdiction over modifications of custody orders...

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Representing yourself in a divorce or custody case

Posted on January 27, 2009
So you want to represent yourself in a family law matter. Your case might involve something as simple as a mutual and respectfully dissolution of the marriage. But, it might involve division of assets and liabilities or, more complicated, disputes about child custody and parenting time...

Long distance parenting

Posted on January 04, 2009
Families today are experiencing separations that bear some similarities to those of divorced couples. The economy has forced some parents to live long distances from each other when relocation of the entire family is not possible. Two-career families are becoming a norm...

Abstinence isn't working to reduce teen pregnancy & STDs

Posted on December 29, 2008
Abstinency education isn't working, according to a recent study. According to the Washington Post, teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today...

HPV | Changing teenagers' futures in a heartbeat

Posted on December 22, 2008
I was recently struck by how easy it is for teen sex to change in a heartbeat the future of young women without a teenager even knowing what has happened until it is too late. I've written extensively about the dangers of teen sex and the rampant increase in incidence of HPV infection...

Model parenting plans help parents meet children's needs

Posted on December 20, 2008
If ever there were a time to discard the concept of "one size fits all," it's when parents or courts are fashioning parenting time schedules for minor children. Clearly, this is one instance where the same plan doesn't work for all children or for all families...

How divorced parents can help children survive the holidays

Posted on December 13, 2008
Many children of divorce feel caught in the middle of their parent?s battles during the holiday season. Holidays should be a time for kids to experience the love, joy and magic. Instead, many children are confused, frustrated, sad and angry. The holiday season may be more difficult than usual for children of divorced or separated families...

Virtual grandparenting visitation

Posted on November 28, 2008
The New York Times today focused on grandparents' webcam visits with their grandchildren?virtual tea parties and virtual hugs. For grandparents who live countries apart or just hundreds of miles apart, there can be real benefits when children and grandparents have access to a computer that is hooked up to a webcam...

Child support | Opening a window of opportunity?

Posted on November 26, 2008
In an unpublished opinion, a panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals decided on November 25, 2008 that child support would be payable on behalf of a child who was over the age of 18 and residing with a parent, even though that child might not be able to graduate from high school by the age of 19 1/2...

New IRS mileage allowances | Business use | Medical need | Charity

Posted on November 26, 2008
The IRS has announced that the optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) is 55� per mile for business travel after 2008. That?s 3.5� less than the 58.5� allowance for business mileage in the last six months of 2008...

Divorce in the midst of Michigan's unemployment & foreclosure mess

Posted on November 23, 2008
Families all over Michigan are struggling to keep their heads above water. I've just returned from the 7th Annual Family Law Institute, the premier family law conference of the year. The impact of Michigan?s failing economy on divorced and divorcing families was noted by many of the faculty.

Sperm donation | Should donors' anonymity be protected?

Posted on November 23, 2008
The Boston Globe reports on November 23, 2008 of rising demands for release of donor information from sperm banks so that children may identify their fathers. Sperm donation has traditionally been cloaked with anonymity, but many young people now challenge that...

What are the risks of parental kidnapping & how can you prevent it?

Posted on November 23, 2008
Given Michigan?s disastrous economy, families are increasingly mobile. The prospects of a parent removing children from Michigan in violation of a court order or in the absence of a court order have increased as a result. Parental kidnapping is a felony punishable by 1 year and 1 day in prison...

Caught in the legal recession? ABA Journal Survey

Posted on November 18, 2008
The ABA Journal is surveying lawyers about the job market and the current state of the economy. We've been discussing this topic on the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Listserv. You can contribute to this survey online. It takes...

Home Alone | Is your child ready for this?

Posted on November 08, 2008
One question frequently asked by parents is ?How old should a child be before he can be left home alone?? Often, I?m asked this question when holidays are coming up and parents will be at work, but children won?t be in school. The question is asked even more frequently as summer vacation approaches.

New York same-sex custody case

Posted on October 09, 2008
New York County Supreme Court Justice Harold B. Beeler has allowed NY Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye's dissent in the 1991 case of Alison D. v. Virginia M. To guide his steps in ruling that a woman should have a hearing to attempt to establish that she is a ?de facto parent? of the child born to her former same-sex domestic partner, who was also her New York City registered domestic partner and her Vermont civil union partner.

Must an engagement ring be returned?

Posted on October 05, 2008
Who gets the engagement ring if the marriage doesn't occur? In Michigan, the court of appeals held in Meyer v. Mitnick that the ring was a "conditional gift" and if the marriage does not occur, then the ring has to be returned to the donor.

Joint custody awarded to same-sex partner

Posted on October 05, 2008
A district judge on Monday ruled in favor of a Turah, Montana woman who sought parental rights to children adopted by her former same-sex partner. . . "To discriminate further against Ms. Kulstad because of her sexual preference in this day and age is no different than telling a person to go to the back of the bus because of her skin color," Judge Ed McLean wrote.

How to choose a divorce or custody lawyer

Posted on October 01, 2008
Finding a good divorce lawyer may not be easy, but once it is apparent that divorce is inevitable, It is essential that you do so. Word of mouth is often a good first step. Talk to those you know who?ve been through a divorce. Ask your friends or family who reside in the same geographical area for a recommendation...

Hague Convention | Does it work for the left-behind parent?

Posted on September 24, 2008
Recovering children who have been abducted by one parent and taken to another country are legion. The Hague Convention is often helpful is recovering a child or children. But sometimes other countries do not comply -- even countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention...

When does a state have exclusive, continuing jurisdiction?

Posted on September 19, 2008
In today's mobile society, the question often arises whether the state that made the initial child custody determination continues to have exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over modification of custody orders. The Michigan Court of Appeal ("COA") recently answered this question, relying upon decisions from Oregon and California for assistance.

Childhood schizophrenia treatments questioned

Posted on September 16, 2008
I do not usually write so frequently about social issues, but the troubling news about off-label prescription of powerful medications for children diagnosed with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder just keeps coming. Because many friends, relatives, and clients have children with those diagnoses I am compelled to alert parents to news that should cause them to seek a second opinion before agreeing with a child's treating physician or psychiatrist that an anti-psychotic is the drug of choice.

FDA approves Gardasil to prevent vulvar and vaginal cancers

Posted on September 15, 2008
Many of my regular readers know that I post often about social issues, in particular teen pregnancy and the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. Two strains of it (16 & 18) cause virtually 100% of all cervical cancers.

Teen pregnancy | Abstinence education not an option

Posted on September 14, 2008
Teen pregnancy is becoming a huge issue as birth rates once again rise and as the percentages of first births to unmarried mothers increases after a hiatus between 1991 and 2006. An op-ed piece by June Carbone of University of Missouri-Kansas City and Naomi Cahn of George Washington University, both family law professors, was published in STLtoday...

Sealed divorce files?

Posted on September 13, 2008
In the high profile case involving "Clark Rockefeller" and his parental kidnapping of his daughter, Reigh Boss, the Boston Globe today revealed that the court having jurisdiction over the Clark Rockefeller divorce case will unseal certain select documents from that file and is considering the release of other documents...

Native American Mother may withdraw consent to guardianship

Posted on September 12, 2008
Michigan's court of appeals decided yesterday that the Indian Child Welfare Act applies to foster care placement of an Indian child, guardianships, and consent for adoption. The court held that when a mother withdraws her consent to the action prior to termination of her parental rights, the trial court must dismiss the action and return the child to the Indian parent whenever the child is an enrolled member of a tribe regardless whether the placement is voluntary.

New York to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages

Posted on September 04, 2008
A New York court has upheld an Executive Order signed by New York Governor David Paterson that requires government agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the state.

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