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Family Law

Parenting Plan Modification: Changing Custody Versus Changing the Parenting Schedule

Francis King February 22, 2017

Williamson v. Lamm is an instructive example of how the standard applicable to determining whether a material change in circumstances has occurred with regard to a residential parenting schedule is different from that for determining whether such a change has occurred with regard to child custody. Williamson involved an equal time permanent parenting plan with the mother designated as the

Do Not Wait: Raise Your Concerns Timely or Risk the Run of the Status of Limitations

Alex Grager February 11, 2017

“Too often in our family law practice we are confronted with the problem of a non-disclosing spouse. Most typically, this is a self-employed spouse or a spouse who runs his or her own business.” All civil litigators must contend with the issue of the statute of limitations. Few things are worse than telling a client with a viable claim, “I

Key Questions and Considerations in Spousal Maintenance Cases

Kathleen Newman January 11, 2017

Family Law attorneys have been waiting impatiently for the release of the Minnesota Supreme Court decision in the case of Curtis v. Curtis. The decision, which was filed Nov. 16, 2016, represents the first decision by the Supreme Court in a long while on a substantive spousal maintenance issue and while it addresses the tax issue raised by the district

Donaldson v. Donaldson: Court of Appeals Vacates Alimony Award

Francis King December 29, 2016

“The decision presents an instructive example of how a reversal may be obtained, when a trial court’s alimony award is not supported by sufficient factual findings.” Appellate court reversals of trial courts’ alimony awards are rare. The determination whether to make such an award is highly fact-driven and, in most cases, the trial court will write an alimony decision that

Parentage Actions for the Unmarried

Joshua Rogers December 16, 2016

In this issue, I will be addressing parentage actions related to children born out of wedlock. Actions to establish paternity are controlled by Tenn. Code Ann. §36-2- 301 et seq. In Tennessee, most actions to establish paternity are brought in the juvenile court. However, a petition to establish parentage can be brought in the circuit or chancery court, as the

5 Reasons Your Client Should Have a Premarital Agreement

Matthew Skarin December 6, 2016

In recent past, the words premarital agreement or “prenup” admittedly held a negative connotation, implying the parties are contemplating their relationship’s inevitable end before they’ve entered the sacred bond of marriage. In this modern age, premarital agreements aren’t so much about planning for divorce, as they are a way of establishing the parties’ expectations during their marriage. For this reason,

Family Law Practice in a Values-Based Culture

Mitchell Reichman October 23, 2016

Once most non-family law attorneys find out my specialty, they say “I would never do what you do!” Given that they’re on the outside looking in, it is easy to understand why so many lawyers feel that way. For those of us who have found our calling in helping people achieve sufficiently successful outcomes to thrive after the end of

Recent Grandparent Visitation Decision Signals Changing Perception of Family Unit

Lucy Vartanian October 19, 2016

As you may recall from your constitutional law class in law school, the history of grandparent visitation rights is convoluted and deeply seeded in what is “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests … the interest of parents in the care, custody and control of their children.” Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000). Due to the seminal holding

Sentimental Value and Division of Marital Property

Catherine Pavur October 11, 2016

Old photographs, family antiques and the autographed basketball. Sentimental value plays our heartstrings, but does it help clients get their special items at divorce? The short answer is generally no. North Carolina’s equitable distribution rules don’t address sentimentality. So what’s a practitioner to do when a client really wants a particular item? You can start by learning how the client

Antenuptial Agreements in MN Divorces: Not a Vote of ‘No Confidence’

Kathleen Newman September 4, 2016

Historically, antenuptial agreements have been seen as the antithesis of romance. What could be less romantic than planning for an ending that could be less than happily ever after? However, with a divorce rate at nearly 50 percent for first marriages and 60 percent for second marriages, many people are reconsidering the use of antenuptial agreements as a way to

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