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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

In the wake of infant death / abandonment, moms need more information

Posted on September 09, 2010
In May 2010, I wrote about Michigan's Safe Haven law that allows mothers to drop off newborn infants anonymously at hospitals, fire departments, police stations. No questions are asked. In the wake of two recent news reports in the Record Eagle of infants who have been abandoned / who have died, I feel that we are not doing a good enough job in getting information to young mothers who need help...

Derry | The rest of the story

Posted on September 06, 2010
In two earlier posts, Scott Bassett and Kathleen Goetsch offered their differing views on the recently Relocation case, Derry v Derry, decided by the Michigan Court of Appeals this week. Both Scott and Kathleen offered to let me post "the rest of the story," which is their continued private discussion of the impact of relocations on families and children.

Formation of a binding settlement through E-Mail exchange

Posted on September 06, 2010
Wayne Scheiss has written a terrific article discussing how lawyers should and should not approach the use of email in their practices. The use of email is particularly important to those lawyers who have clients residing in other states in order to facilitate the prompt transmission of documents between lawyers and clients...

Relocations | Another view of the Derry decision

Posted on September 04, 2010
Another view of the Derry decision by Kathleen Goetsch: "I think one of the important things that we have to keep in mind - is that the United States is a very mobile nation. Families move routinely to either better their financial base or support base...

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Assistance for grandparents and others providing kinship care

Posted on September 02, 2010
The Guardianship Assistance Act took effect in Michigan in April 2009 to assist grandparents and other relatives providing kinship care for their grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. Basically, it provides for DHS to work with relatives so that foster care is avoided for children whose parents cannot provide for care for them...

Court of Appeals remands relocation case to trial court

Posted on September 02, 2010
In an interesting unpublished decision, the Court of Appeals, in a 2 to 1 decision, vacated Judge Halloran's (Wayne Co.) denial of a change of domicile request and remanded for a new hearing before a different judge. The majority (Cavanagh and Talbot) vacated the decision because "It appears that this determination was based primarily on the involvement of the paternal extended family and the minor child?s friends in his life in Michigan...

Second time around: Help for grandparents raising grandkids

Posted on September 01, 2010
Across the United States, more than 6 million children are being raised in households headed by grandparents and other relatives; 2.5 million children are in these households without any parents present. As the children's parents struggle with substance abuse, mental illness, incarceration, economic hardship, divorce, domestic violence, and other challenges, these caregivers provide a vital safety net to children inside and outside of the foster care system...

Does a custodial parent ever have to pay child support to the NCP?

Posted on August 31, 2010
Recently, someone asked me whether it was possible that a custodial parent might ever be ordered to pay child support to the non-custodial parent ["NCP"]. My answer was "Yes, that can occur under certain circumstances." Normally, it's a situation where there is a large disparity between the income of the custodial parent and the NCP.

How can limited or full guardians seek custody of children?

Posted on August 31, 2010
Sometimes grandparents and other third parties with limited or full guardianships seek custody of a child or children. It's important that they properly present their case. This blog article discusses the burden of proof for third parties, the presumption that children should be in the custody of their biological parent(s), and what kind of evidence is sufficient to overcome the presumption.

Wayne County Family Court | New procedures

Posted on August 30, 2010
Thanks to Dorothy Hague who points out that there is a new procedure for filing motions in Wayne County. She explains the new procedure: Get a copy of the Court Directives, most recent edition. Find out whether the FOC or...

How can you make sure that your property will pass to your children?

Posted on August 29, 2010
Sometimes folks wanting to do what they call "simple estate planning" may make a contract / agreement to make mutual wills. Ultimately these people intend that their mutual promise to devise real estate, bank accounts, and other property to particular people--generally their children--is carried out after the first of the couple passes away...

Wayne County Family Court | New procedures

Posted on August 28, 2010
Thanks to Dorothy Hague who points out that there is a new procedure for filing motions in Wayne County. She explains the new procedure here.

Parental kidnapping | Preventing international abduction

Posted on August 26, 2010
There are important resources available for parents who have complicated marital or post-divorce Pk situations to help them prevent international parental abductions, stop abductions in progress, locate children who have been abducted or who are wrongfully being retained in another country, bring an abductor to justice, recover children who have been abducted or are wrongfully retained in another country, and help them gain access to children being retained in another country...

Sudden Divorce Syndrome: Reality or Myth?

Posted on August 20, 2010
In an innovative approach to blogging, family law attorney Robert L. Mues of Dayton, Ohio has posted a multi-disciplinary article that looks at divorce from the point of view of the family lawyer and a family counselor, Donna Ferber. Their joint post is: Sudden Divorce Syndrome: Reality or Myth? which takes a close look at how males and females perceive the idea of the end of marriage as they knew it.

Service members | Deployments, custody & parenting time

Posted on August 19, 2010
Many state legislatures have recently enacted or proposed legislation to help divorced or separated military service members maintain their parent-child relationships with their children during and after deployments. These laws (or proposed laws) are meant to restore to service members returning from a deployment the relationship he or she had with his or her children prior to deployment.

Facebook or Fakebook?

Posted on August 18, 2010
FacebookIn the Cultural Studies section of the New York Times, Katie Roiphe wrote on August 13, 2010 about the cultural phenomenon that is Facebook. Facebook and other social networking websites are changing the way people communicate--not for the better.

Same-sex marriage | The decision in Perry v Schwartzenegger

Posted on August 17, 2010
In a fascinating Op-ed piece in the New York Times on August 12, 2010, Linda Greenberg analyzes the decision in Perry v Schwartzenegger, the recent California appellate decision overturning Proposition 8 that outlawed same-sex marriage in California.

FBI & Facebook | Privacy concerns?

Posted on August 16, 2010
The Justice Department released a presentation entitled "Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Facebook Wall Networking Sites." The slides, which were prepared by two lawyers from the agency's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, detail several social media companies' data retention practices and responses to law enforcement requests.

Is re-marriage of a parent grounds to change custody?

Posted on August 15, 2010
In a recent unpublished case, Michigan's court of appeals ("COA") held that the marriage of the parties' custodial parent to a man with a past criminal record was not a proper cause or a change in circumstances that would give the father a right to a change in custody of the parties' two minor children.

Legislation introduced in Michigan to protect fathers' rights

Posted on August 14, 2010
On July 21, 2010, Representative Lori introduced a bill in the Michigan legislature that would amend the Paternity Act so that some biological fathers will be able to protect their parental rights. The proposed law would allow biological fathers the right to file an action to establish paternity of a child born to a married woman under certain circumstances...

What's a "geotag?" | To protect yourself and your family, you want to know

Posted on August 14, 2010
Am I a privacy freak? Yes, without a doubt. I've abandoned the social networking sites folks had recommended as "good for business." You won't see me on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. You won't see casual snapshots of my "kids" (two Siamese sisters) that I took with a smartphone on my blogs or websites...

Updates in Michigan Family Law recognized

Posted on August 13, 2010
I was very pleased to see Laura Mancini's article "Family Law Resources," published in the July 2010 issue of the Michigan Bar Journal. Mancini recognized, in the category of Electronic Resources, Updates in Michigan Family Law. You may read the entire article here.

Registering a "foreign" custody order for modification purposes

Posted on August 04, 2010
I am often asked whether a parent can modify a custody or parenting time order that has been made by a court in a state other than Michigan. As with most family law matters, the answer is "It depends upon the unique facts of your case." The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act ["UCCJEA"] is a jurisdictional, procedural statute...

Staying married, living separately | Pros & Cons

Posted on August 03, 2010
The New York Times published an interesting article today about people who opt to stay married for 25 to 40 years or longer. What?s odd about that? The article is about folks who stay married but live separately. Some continue...

Parental abduction: A victim speaks

Posted on July 22, 2010
Recently, I received an email from a woman who had been kidnapped by her father in 1961. She described the psychological damage and the destruction of the family structure that can be so damaging to a child who has been kidnapped by a parent. She invited me to share our conversation with my readers.

Survey of judges indicates unrepresented litigants are hurting their cases

Posted on July 16, 2010
The weak economy has increased the number of litigants representing themselves in foreclosures, domestic relations, consumer issues and non-foreclosure housing matters according to a survey of nearly 1,200 state trial judges around the country.

Pilot programs for informal divorce process

Posted on July 15, 2010
According to the Detroit Free Press, two Michigan counties will try an informal divorce process. This will involve the judge meeting informally with the parties to discuss recommendations for child custody and parenting time.

iPhone 4 -- Consumer Reports won't recommend

Posted on July 14, 2010
My sons swear by anything Apple. I have a lot of lawyer friends who love their iPhones. But CNN reports that Consumer Reports will not recommend the iPhone 4. Check out CNN News to find out why. Hint: Now I...

Calculator to figure the inventory fee for probate estate

Posted on July 14, 2010
If you have the occasion to file an estate for probate, there is a handy calculator on the website of the Kalamazoo County Probate Court Website. You may access it here.

Treatment of workers compensation benefits in property division

Posted on July 14, 2010
In Cunningham v Cunningham, released on July 13, 2010 by the Michigan Court of Appeals, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that certain proceeds from a worker?s compensation award were marital and not separate property despite the fact that the injury occurred prior to the marriage.

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