Family Law

Man convicted of trying to kill ex-wife’s divorce lawyer

A Virginia man has been found guilty of trying to kill his ex-wife’s divorce lawyer. Mark M. Lowe, 42, was convicted Tuesday on five charges, including attempted murder, abduction, unlawfully shooting into an occupied dwelling and two counts of felonious use of a firearm, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The jury,…

Aug 21, 2013 7:32 PM CDT

Angry ex-wife pays divorce settlement in pennies

Ordered to pay $50.12 as part of a divorce settlement, one wife reportedly did just that, in pennies. In a Reddit post that’s received international attention, a Nebraska man named Andy posted images of the payment as it was delivered, in three plastic bins filled with pennies plus rice and…

Aug 20, 2013 11:25 PM CDT

Gay man asks DC court to declare him common-law husband of deceased partner

A gay Washington, D.C. man has asked a family court judge to recognize him as the common-law husband of his late companion. The case may be the first seeking legal recognition of a common-law gay marriage, the Wall Street Journal reports. James Spellman, 55, says he and Michael Kelly, a…

Aug 20, 2013 8:47 PM CDT

2nd Circuit: Man held for 4 years is a US citizen; ruling on immigration law could also help others

After being held for more than four years as he awaited deportation, a New York auto mechanic has been determined by a federal appeals court to have been a U.S. citizen since 1994. In a Monday opinion (PDF) that could also help others in a similar situation, the New York…

Aug 13, 2013 9:00 PM CDT

Judge calls law profs’ 17-year divorce-related legal battle ‘frightening’

Law professors Christo Lassiter of the University of Cincinnati, and Sharlene Boltz of Northern Kentucky University were married for 10 years after wedding in 1986. Their divorce-related legal battles have lasted for 17 years, sparking criticism from multiple judges involved in the Hamilton County, Ohio, case, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.…

Aug 12, 2013 5:59 PM CDT

Son of courthouse shooter is held without bail after ‘unique’ cyberstalking indictment

Appearing in court on Monday in what the public defender called a “unique” cyberstalking case against multiple family members accused of playing a role in a fatal Delaware courthouse shooting earlier this year, David Matusiewicz was ordered held without bail. A prosecutor in the Wilmington case called him a flight…

Aug 12, 2013 4:25 PM CDT

Judge explains why she ordered name change for baby ‘Messiah’: Only Jesus has that title

Parents who were feuding over the last name for their 7-month-old son, Messiah, took their dispute to a Tennessee court and wound up with a new first name for the boy. Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered Messiah’s name changed to Martin last week, report the Associated Press and…

Aug 12, 2013 12:05 PM CDT

Judge won’t enforce ‘usurious’ retainer pact, blasts law firm for ‘condescending’ tone of filings

Finding that a law firm’s retainer agreement in a divorce case was “usurious” and calling its billing practices “facially outrageous and certainly bereft of reasonableness,” a New York judge on Thursday refused to vacate his earlier ruling dismissing the firm’s lawsuit seeking to collect about $53,000 from a former client.…

Aug 8, 2013 3:20 PM CDT

Want to lower the divorce rate? Try ‘wedleases,’ lawyer says

If society wants to battle the high divorce rate, it should borrow a concept from real estate, according to a Florida estate planning lawyer. Wedlock could be replaced with a “wedlease,” lawyer Paul Rampell writes in an opinion column for the Washington Post. “Here’s how a marital lease could work,”…

Aug 6, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Woman with Down syndrome wins court case when judge rejects guardianship bid by her mom

Jenny Hatch won’t have to live in a group home after a Virginia judge on Friday rejected a bid by her mother and stepdad to designate them as guardians. Hatch, 29, has Down syndrome and an IQ of about 50, the Washington Post reports. Judge David Pugh of Newport News…

Aug 5, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Letters: Women’s work

WOMEN’S WORK I am very proud of my former firm, Holland & Knight, for its Rising Stars program (“Do Women’s Initiatives Work?” June). But it is very simple to give women gender equity. Pay them and value what they do that brings equitable value to the firm. Pay is equity.…

Aug 1, 2013 9:30 AM CDT

7-figure divorce legal bill is ‘financial suicide’ for BigLaw partner and his wife, judge says

A BigLaw partner and his wife are committing “financial suicide” by racking up a seven-figure divorce bill, a judge says. Aloke Ray, who works for White & Case, and his wife, a physician, have each spent some 430,000 British pounds on their divorce case, so far, according to the Guardian…

Jul 31, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

Cozen partner’s surviving same-sex spouse gets her law firm profit-sharing fund, federal judge rules

The surviving same-sex spouse of a deceased Cozen O’Connor partner is entitled to receive the attorney’s $49,000 law firm profit-sharing balance, a federal judge has ruled. Last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking the federal Defense of Marriage Act paved the way for Monday’s decision in favor of Jennifer Tobits,…

Jul 30, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

Tow driver takes car with kids inside; father is charged and jailed

A father accused of briefly leaving his car illegally parked with his two young daughters inside while he unloaded groceries at an apartment complex in Houston was jailed and charged with child abandonment after a tow truck driver whisked the vehicle away, along with the kids. At least one neighbor…

Jul 29, 2013 10:50 PM CDT

Despite DOMA win, some same-sex couples see a tax-related downside; others get estate tax refunds

As the dust settles after a celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that a federal law restricting the rights of same-sex married couples is unconstitutional, some are now facing new tax issues. While the court’s decision to strike the Defense of Marriage Act is expected to result in hefty…

Jul 24, 2013 8:20 PM CDT