Family Law

Supreme Court: In Vitro Twins Conceived After Dad’s Death Are Not Entitled to Survivor Benefit

Florida twins conceived through in vitro fertilization after their father’s death are not entitled to Social Security survivor benefits, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The case, Astrue v. Capato, involves twins born 18 months after their father, Robert Capato, died of cancer. Capato’s widow, Karen, used frozen sperm for…

May 21, 2012 3:14 PM CDT

How Mark Zuckerberg’s Well-Timed Marriage May Protect His Assets in the Event of Divorce

Mark Zuckerberg probably had a prenup before he married his college sweetheart Priscilla Chan on Saturday, an agreement that may give him greater protection for his Facebook assets in the event of divorce than he would get if he continued in an unmarried relationship. Napa, Calif., lawyer Robert Blevans explains…

May 21, 2012 1:57 PM CDT

Woman Charged with Killing Infant in Suicide Attempt While Pregnant Is Granted Bond

A Chinese immigrant jailed in Indiana for over a year on charges that she killed her viable fetus by eating rat poison in a suicide attempt while pregnant has lost her bid to have the controversial criminal case dismissed by the state supreme court. However, in letting stand a prior…

May 18, 2012 10:39 PM CDT

Mom Who Sent Adopted Russian Boy Back on One-Way Flight Must Pay $150K Plus Monthly $1K Support

A mother who sent her adopted Russian son back to his home country on a one-way flight in 2010 must pay $150,206 damages for breach of the adoption contract, legal fees and back child support, plus $1,000 per month in child support, beginning June 1, until he turns 18, a…

May 18, 2012 7:45 PM CDT

Dog Custody Battle Racks Up $60K in Attorney’s Fees

A 34-year-old New York City man who says he considers his dog his son has spent over $60,000 so far on legal fees fighting his ex-girlfriend in a cross-country court battle for custody of a puggle named Knuckles. Craig Dershowitz says he has gone through his life savings in a…

May 14, 2012 3:33 PM CDT

Obese Boy Removed from Mom’s Home Is Returned and Released from Protective Supervision

An Ohio boy who was removed from his mother’s home because he was obese is no longer under court supervision. The boy, now 9 years old, returned to his mother’s home in Cleveland Heights in early March after he lost more than 50 pounds, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. He…

May 11, 2012 1:59 PM CDT

Muncipal Judge’s Claimed Efforts to Help Others Led to Recommended 90-Day Unpaid Suspension

A Texas municipal judge said he was just trying to help a dysfunctional couple when he agreed to help a husband married to a former co-worker of the judge’s locate his wife, calling a domestic violence shelter at the man’s suggestion to see if she was there. But in doing…

May 10, 2012 4:50 PM CDT

Mom Is Accused of Malicious Punishment for Daughter’s Humiliating ‘Diaper Duty’

A Minnesota mother and her boyfriend were arrested on Monday after the woman shaved her 12-year-old daughter’s head and sent her outside in a diaper and tank top, police say. The Fridley, Minn., couple were arrested on suspicion of gross-misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child, report the Minneapolis Star Tribune…

May 9, 2012 1:05 PM CDT

Mom Spends a Night in Jail After Being Held in Contempt for Unilateral Decision to Baptize Son, 12

A Tennessee judge made international headlines by ordering a mother to spend a day in jail for violating a parenting contract by having her son baptized without first discussing the plan with her ex-husband. Attorney J. Terry Holland, who represents the mother, Stephanie Miller, says both parents attended the December…

May 8, 2012 8:51 PM CDT

Was Lawyer’s Rhymed Dec. 23 Riff on ‘Night Before Xmas’ an Ethics Violation? Appeals Court Will Rule

Inspired by the holiday season and a nine-year divorce case, an Atlanta attorney sent a 60-line rhymed Dec. 23 email to the special referee and opposing counsel in the case, in response to a fee petition. But the unusual poetic approach by A. Todd Merolla of Merolla & Gold did…

May 7, 2012 11:07 PM CDT

Mom Is Charged with Endangerment for Child’s Sunburn, Allegedly Acquired in a Tanning Booth

A New Jersey mom has been charged with second-degree child endangerment after school officials called police about her young daughter’s severe sunburn. Patricia Krentcil was charged late last month, according to the Nutley Sun. Police allege the girl, identified in some reports as 5 and in others as 6, acquired…

May 2, 2012 2:18 PM CDT

Divorce Trifecta Results in Discipline for Counsel, Attorney Client and Lawyer Employer

A Massachusetts disciplinary matter concerning the handling of an attorney’s divorce has resulted in a legal ethics trifecta: The counsel who handled the divorce has been reprimanded, the attorney client was suspended from practice for three months and her lawyer employer was suspended for one month, the Legal Profession Blog…

May 1, 2012 9:18 PM CDT

Chasing the Dream: Sorting Fact and Myth Is Biggest Obstacle to Immigration Reform

Consensus doesn’t seem to have a place in policy discussions about the state of the U.S. immigration system. But there is, at least, widespread agreement that the system needs fixing. “Everyone will tell you the laws aren’t working,” says Brittney Nystrom, director of policy and legal affairs at the National…

May 1, 2012 9:50 AM CDT

Dream Realized: Law Grad Sets Up Free Legal Clinics in Chicago Public Schools

Dennis Kass was a high school debate coach while attending law school. When his students found out that he was studying law, Kass says, they often asked him for advice. The experience led Kass, then a third-year at DePaul University College of Law, to create a career path for himself…

May 1, 2012 8:40 AM CDT

Stringing Them Along? Case Details Hint at Rancorous Rationale Behind Tricky Tactics

Courts exist to right wrongs and give a voice to those who otherwise wouldn’t be heard. But they can also be used for what appear to be less noble purposes, like furthering personal gain and facilitating revenge. Two men, in separate cases, engaged in some rather unusual legal maneuvering to…

May 1, 2012 5:30 AM CDT