Family Law

Divorce Fair Offers Legal Services and More

Billed as the world’s first divorce fair, a two-day event in Austria this weekend will offer participants one-stop shopping for a vast array of services targeted to spouses in an unhappy marriage. In addition to retaining a matrimonial lawyer, attendees can hire a private detective to spy on an erring…

Oct 26, 2007 4:50 PM CDT

Judge Scolds Lawyer Litigant for ‘Vitriolic and Venomous Allegations’

A New York family court judge has refused to modify a visitation agreement and scolded the feuding parents, one of whom is a lawyer. Judge Conrad Singer of Nassau County said the parents had appeared before three different judges in three years to air their disputes, the New York Law…

Oct 24, 2007 11:14 AM CDT

School Board Member Gives Up Adopted Kid

It isn’t just ordinary parents who sometimes find themselves unable to cope with the extreme demands placed on them by a troubled, potentially violent child. A member of the Pinellas County School Board, near St. Petersburg, Florida, told attendees at a recent state legislative committee hearing that she is going…

Oct 23, 2007 10:28 PM CDT

Courts Disagree on Dowry Enforceability

Although one Muslim man’s marriage contract calls for a $25,000 dowry to be paid to his wife, he doesn’t have to pay her, now that they are divorced, because it is a religious agreement rather than an enforceable legal contract, an Ohio judge has ruled. The decision, the first on…

Oct 22, 2007 6:15 PM CDT

Panel: Convictions Disqualify Temp Judge

Unless it is over 10 years old, a criminal record disqualifies a lawyer from serving as a judge, even on a temporary basis, in Seattle. This decision by the King County District Court’s executive committee—as well as a new policy of conducting criminal background checks on all applicants for temporary…

Oct 17, 2007 7:33 PM CDT

Big Legal Bill for Anna Nicole Smith’s Baby

Adults who had a relationship to Anna Nicole Smith are still wrangling over a number of issues related to the deceased starlet’s estate. But they are seemingly entirely agreed on one thing: a bill of nearly $200,000 submitted by the court-appointed lawyer representing the interests of Smith’s baby daughter is…

Oct 16, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

Beveridge & Diamond Partner in Messy Divorce

The wife of environmental litigation partner John Guttmann of Beveridge & Diamond is claiming in divorce proceedings that her husband forged her signature on a 401(k) loan while a trustee for the retirement plan. “He took money out of our account without my consent,” the wife, Nancy Lasater, told Legal…

Oct 15, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

WA, Not Parents to Fund Child Mental Care?

In a ruling that could help struggling families, the Washington Supreme Court says the state must help some children who need mental health services even if their parents aren’t unfit. Ordinarily, parents must care for their children unless they abuse or neglect them. But after “Henry’s” parents paid some $200,000…

Oct 12, 2007 11:17 PM CDT

Record $102 M in McCartney Divorce?

A rumored $102 million settlement to be paid by Paul McCartney to end his five-year marriage to Heather Mills would be the largest ever in a contested divorce case in the British courts, which have been trending toward bigger American-style awards in recent years. The British press estimates the former…

Oct 11, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

New Vows for Dozens in PA Marriage Mess

A first-of-a-kind case in Pennsylvania has called the validity of an untold number of marriages into question, prompting many committed couples to resolve the issue by simply re-taking their vows even though it hasn’t yet been upheld on appeal. Those who don’t redo their original ceremony face troubling questions about…

Oct 10, 2007 11:15 PM CDT

Mom Supplied Pot to Keep Kids Off Street

Concerned about obvious risks when she found out her teenage children were using marijuana, Nicola Cooper called a family meeting. Then the self-described “liberal parent” decided to act to protect them from street drug-dealers by supplying them with pot herself. “Some people give their children alcohol and cigarettes at an…

Oct 10, 2007 5:58 PM CDT

RI Considers Gay Divorce

The Rhode Island Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case that asks whether a gay couple married elsewhere can get divorced in the state. Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers were married in Massachusetts in 2004. A family court judge has asked the supreme court whether he had jurisdiction…

Oct 9, 2007 2:42 PM CDT

Rush Limbaugh Divorce Details Secret, But Salary Isn’t

Details of Rush Limbaugh’s 2004 divorce settlement will remain secret because of a Florida appeals court ruling yesterday. The court denied a motion for rehearing (PDF) by the Palm Beach Post, which is seeking to unseal the file, the Daily Business Review reports. A dissenter argued that the agreement is…

Oct 4, 2007 12:27 PM CDT

Dog Gets Its Day With Order of Protection

A Connecticut judge has issued an order of protection for a dog named Riley. Cassandra Reynolds must stay 100 yards away from the golden retriever after her arrest for allegedly kicking the dog in a dispute with her ex-husband, the New York Times reports. The judge issued the order Sept.…

Oct 3, 2007 4:44 PM CDT

Judge to Britney: No License, No Kids

Britney Spears lost custody of her two young sons at least in part because she didn’t have a valid driver’s license. Because the 25-year-old pop diva didn’t comply with a court order to get a driver’s license by Monday, and allegedly didn’t comply with an earlier court order to take…

Oct 2, 2007 5:27 PM CDT