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Family Law

In the Best Interests of a Teenager: How Child-Centered Mediation Can Help Keep the Peace

Kathleen Newman January 25, 2016

Parents, lawyers, social services professionals and therapists all become involved in trying to work out a parenting schedule that works. The focus, however, is too often on what is fair to the parents versus what will meet a teenager’s needs. As a family law attorney, I have had several cases recently where the parties have inquired about parenting time for

Hide and Seek: Determining an Accurate Value of a Business in a Divorce

Kathleen Newman January 4, 2016

Divorce is as much a financial process as an emotional one. If a party does not receive his/her fair share of the marital property, that spouse may be left facing difficult financial circumstances for some time after the divorce. That is why the failure of a party to disclose all of the assets during a divorce is a critical violation

Qualified Domestic Relations Orders: Avoiding Pitfalls from Stipulation to Division

Kristy Hanson December 29, 2015

A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is used in a divorce to divide the retirement, pension and other such interests of parties. Whether you actually draft QDROs yourself or refer your clients on to another attorney for the drafting of the QDRO following the signing of the decree of divorce, it is critical that you include proper language in the

The Unintended Gift: What Every Client Should Know

Doreen Yaffa December 8, 2015

Most people get married truly believing that it will be forever. Divorce statistics, however, indicate that “forever” is not always the case. Family law practitioners usually recommend that couples protect themselves by entering into a contract which spells out exactly what each party is entitled to in the event of divorce – pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements. Although this is the

“There Ain’t No Sanity Clause”: Surviving the Holidays During Divorce

Sonya DuBree November 24, 2015

“All in all, it was a pretty exciting Christmas, what with the relatives and the presents and the fun and the cops and Aunt Hazel’s dog blowing up in our living room.”This opening line to John Hughes’ short story “Christmas ‘59” (and the inspiration for National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation”) so perfectly captures the melee of holiday dysfunction. Add divorce and

Utah Improves Putative Father’s Rights

Paul MacArthur November 10, 2015

Prior to a recent statutory change, Section 110 of the Utah Adoption Act provided a practitioner with all of the notice requirements in relation to an unwed biological father (or putative father) of a newborn child being placed for adoption. Under section 110, a putative father was entitled to notice of adoption proceedings only if he had, prior to the

Birth Certificate Issues for Same-Sex Parents in Florida

Doreen Yaffa October 7, 2015

Lawsuit claims Florida might be breaking the law by refusing to acknowledge married same-sex couples as parents on birth certificates When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the Constitution required that same-sex couples be allowed to marry no matter where they live, it also required all states to extend the identical benefits and obligations opposite-sex spouses

Current Alternatives to Reunification Therapy

Mitchell Reichman April 30, 2015

Divorces are traumatic to children. During or after a divorce, a child may reject one of their parents by resisting or refusing to engage with that parent. Upon request, Arizona family law judges may appoint a mental health professional to act as a therapeutic interventionist (TI) to reconstruct the relationship or may direct an alternative process such as an intensive

Alimony Modification Based Upon Supportive Relationship – an Unsettled Area of Florida Law

Jay M. Levy June 3, 2013

Alimony modification based upon the recipient’s new, live-in relationship status has been a troubling issue that has divided Florida’s District Courts of Appeal. Disagreement at the intermediate appellate level means that the Supreme Court of Florida will eventually be called upon to resolve this legal matter. The questions surrounding this issue date back to 2005, when the Legislature passed the

UMDA: Alimony’s Journey into Spousal Maintenance in Arizona

Scott David Stewart December 29, 2012

In ancient Babylon’s Code of Hammurabi (circa. 1780 BC), divorce meant the husband would repay his wife’s dowry, relinquish child custody, and provide alimony sufficient to sustain her. We can track alimony through the Code of Justinian (529 AD) and into Corpus Juris Civilis – the basis for both Roman law and British common law. Eventually, under King James I

Family Law

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