UPDATES IN MICHIGAN FAMILY LAW

Domestic violence | It's not just physical abuse

Yesterday John P. Tassinari shot his wife, Barbara, multiple times with two 45-caliber handguns in the driveway of their Quincy, Massachusetts home. She died at the scene. She left two children, one 10-year-old son from a prior relationship and a 1-year-old from her marriage to Tassinari.

John Tassinari was described as follows by Barbara's family:

Postnuptial agreement that encouraged separation declared void

Postnuptial and prenuptial agreements are becoming ever more popular. Guidance was provided from the Michigan Court of Appeals today for practitioners and laypersons contemplating entering into a postnuptial agreement. In Wright v Wright, Docket No 281918 decided on April 22, 2008, Plaintiff husband challenged the trial court's decision to void the postnuptial agreement. The court of appeals disagreed.

Here, both parties had consented the the agreement prepared by H's attorney. The couple was not separated at the time and had never separated during the marriage. H filed for divorce roughly eight
months after defendant signed the agreement.

Children diagnosed with ADHD

Occasionally I write about social issues such as the drugging of America's children and the dangers and prevalence of HPV. Thus an article about adverse effects of Ritalin and other stimulants prescribed to children diagnosed with ADHD caught my attention.

Physician's Watch states today that the American Heart Association proposes cardiac testing before prescribing stimulants to children with ADHD.

Unaccompanied minor rules: Children traveling alone

Elizabeth Sadowski posted the following helpful information on the State Bar's listserv on Friday. Summer is coming and many children will be traveling from the home of the custodial parent to the non-custodial parent's home for parenting time.

Liz says that "Policies for unaccompanied children differ among airlines, so you need to check the website for that particular carrier. " She did, however, post the rules for US Air and for Northwest Airlines.

Divorce Wars | Internet public airing of private facts

The Internet gives people a new forum for publicly airing their dirty linen. Tricia Walsh Smith, not your usual British housewife, is publishing personal and embarrassing facts about her marriage and divorce. She's angry that her husband won't offer her more than was agreed upon in a prenuptial agreement. She's not writing a Blog. Instead, she's gone to YouTube.

Domestic violence & Address confidentiality programs

Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors involving physical, sexual, economic and emotional abuse of an intimate partner for the purpose of establishing and maintaining power and control over the other partner. When batterers fear that they are losing control of their victims, the violence often escalates.  Research shows that victims of domestic violence are most at risk when they are attempting to leave the batterer. Access to a victim's address, telephone number, etc. can endanger a victim of domestic violence.

Judgment amended to correct error or omission

Michigan’s court of appeals decided in an unpublished opinion that the trial court committed error by not permitting Husband to amend a consent judgment of divorce to add language that the payments would terminate upon Wife’s death and would therefore qualify as deductible alimony.

In this case, as sometimes occurs, H was to make payments to W, taking advantage of Section 71(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Often property settlements are paid out in installments, and it is advantageous to shift income from the party in a higher tax bracket to the party with a lower tax rate.

International parental kidnapping | Can parent avoid return of child?

As many of my readers know, parental kidnapping is a topic of great interest to me. Thus when James Ryan of Plymouth Michigan sent me the decision handed down by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Simcox v Simcox, Case No. 07-3911 (December 28, 2007), I set it aside on my desktop to read and for comment. The case is important because it provides standards for lower courts to follow when assessing a Hague Convention petition for return of a child to the country of habitual residence when the defense is raised that return will pose a "grave risk of harm" to the child. The question is, of course, how should the court determine whether there is a "grave risk of harm?"

Divorce & Civility | Part III

The April 2008 issue of the American Bar Association Journal has an interesting article about civility, and citations to four recent decisions in which a trial court sanctioned opposing counsel for incivility. In one case, the infraction cited was the refusal of mail that had postage due of 39 cents and the filing of a motion to strike a second copy of the motion as untimely filed.

See Incivility: More courts are treating rudeness as a reason for sanctions, by Michael B. Keating. This is the 5th article on the web page.

Divorce and Military Families

The stress faced by military  families, frequent moves and deployments can spell disaster for military families. For you, as for most families, divorce can be a life tragedy. You and your spouse entered into marriage with plans for a happy and long future. Perhaps you have children who are young and vulnerable. Divorce can leave your children feeling afraid and uncertain about their future. It can also leave you feeling vulnerable and lost, particularly if you are far from home, without the support of friends and family.

A frequent question asked by military spouses is whether they have to file for divorce in the State where they are based and their children are living, or whether they can file in Michigan. This is particularly true when Michigan is the place they call "Home."