With the rise of the popularity of the internet, instant messaging, text messaging and the use of GPS systems, electronic evidence is being utilized more and more in litigation. Technology is having a huge impact on our lives and also the way many divorces are being litigated. Recently 88% of the members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) indicated that they have seen an increase in the number of cases using electronic data during the past five years. Emails were the most common form of electronic evidence offered in court according to AAML president, James Hennenhaefer. Electronic evidence is being used for many purposes including detecting hidden assets, financial misconduct and infidelity.

Antonia Love, a solicitor (attorney) from England recently warned the public that social networking sites are becoming the next tool lawyers will be using in divorce proceedings. She said, “People who use social networking websites to send flirtatious emails to people, who are not their partners, are often lulled into a false sense of security that they are doing nothing wrong because correspondence is electronic and therefore isn’t real life.” Snooping in another’s email account is not uncommon. A Google survey indicated that 27% of women and 21% of men admit to having done it.

Currently over 150 million people regularly use social networking sites, such as My Space and Facebook, and the membership to these sites is exploding. According to Jeremiah Owyang, a noted web strategist, between 250,000 to 300,000 new members join My Space and Facebook each day. Romantic electronic conversations that a party naively believed would remain undetected can, if found, become very harmful. Case in point, the recent stories in the Detroit Free Press about Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick alleging that text messages made on a city issued pager show romantic banter between him and former chief of staff. That investigation continues. The “fallout” could include criminal prosecution against the Mayor for perjury based on his testimony in a recent police whistle-blower jury trial about this “relationship.” Stay tuned.

While many attorneys believe that the use of electronic evidence may not lead to a huge increase in the divorce rates, most believe that it will make the lawyers job easier since people tend to be much less careful about what they may say in an email than they would in other conventional correspondence.

The Army has developed an excellent online resource guide that would benefit new members of all the branches of the armed services, as well as their spouses and their families. It contains a great deal of useful information, including many resources and various checklists. The guide is described as follows:

“This guide introduces new Army spouses and family members to military family life. It contains information on aspects of Army life from military benefits to recreation. It also includes a glossary of Army terms and abbreviations as well as a list of useful Web sites.”

Military OneSource requires that you login on their site in order to access information. You will need to login and search ‘spouse guide’ in order to find the guide titled “A First Guide for Army Spouses and Family Members.” The guide is available to download in PDF format. Click here to be linked to the website.

Men and women serving in the armed forces of our country encounter many stresses within their marriages that men and women in the general public do not experience. Long separations from marriage partners and other family members and hardships experienced due to war conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq play havoc on many military marriages. So, it is somewhat surprising that the divorce rate among men and women serving in the military remained steady last year at 3.3 percent. From October 1, 2006, through October 1, 2007, there were 25,000 failed marriages out of approximately 755,000 married active duty troops. These statistics represent members of all military branches.

According to information provided by the Defense Department, members of the Army had a divorce rate of 3.2 percent, a rate which remains unchanged from the previous year. Of the 275,000 married Army soldiers, that amounts to approximately 8,750 divorces. Comparing all branches of the military, it is the Army which has the largest number of troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. More Army couples had to cope with longer separations as many tours of duty were extended from twelve (12) months to fifteen (15) months in duration. This past year was also the deadliest year for our troops serving in the war zones during the present conflict. Multiple tours of duty and longer than usual deployments have been cited as reasons for greater stress on military marriages. Spouses remaining at home must fend for themselves in dealing with family problems and issues. A greater number of suicides and reports of mental health problems have also been reported.

There is a notable exception to the foregoing findings. The divorce rate among active duty women is increasing. Historically, their marriages failed at twice the rate of men in the service. At this time, firm numbers were not available- but it appears that in 2007, eight (8) percent of female soldiers’ marriages ended in divorce compared to just nearly three (3) percent of male soldiers’ marriages ending in divorce.

It must be noted that the foregoing data regarding military divorces is not based upon the actual number of divorces obtained. The information is calculated by taking the number of married troops at the beginning of each budget year and subtracting the number of of married troops at the end of each year. Officials consider this methodology to be valid as this method of calculation has remained the same for many years.

At the present, there is not a comparable system to track the divorce rate of civilians. However, according to the most recent information available, the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) reported the divorce rate was 3.6 per one thousand (1000) persons in the general population, for a rate of 3.6 percent in 2005-the most recent statistics available.

Some retired military veterans question the validity of the foregoing divorce statistics and question whether they are truly correct. According to Todd Bowers, a spokesperson of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the extreme stresses of war are creating an increase in marriage failures among the military, but said failures are not being tracked or counted accurately. Part of the problem in tracking the number of divorces is that many of the military men and women divorce after leaving military service. Todd Bowers remarked- “When you look at their numbers…there is a piece of the puzzle that is missing!” Also, the numbers produced do not include “troubled” marriages that remain intact. In a survey conducted in Iraq in 2006, twenty (20) percent of the military members serving in Iraq indicated that they or their spouses were planning a divorce proceeding as compared to just fifteen (15) percent the previous year.

Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman, counters that the divorce rate is not higher than usual for military families because of the “strong support programs…and a sense of real teamwork among the families.” For example, he reports that Army soldiers returning home receive special training in a program entitled “Battlemind”. This program is designed to teach military men and women how to re-adjust to domestic living and about how to address common problems they can expect to encounter upon returning home and to their families. In the “Strong Bonds” program, Army chaplains actively educate and train active duty members and reservists in building and strengthening personal relationships.

Other branches of the service are also reaching out to military members and their families. The Marines are offering to couples the opportunity to take workshops to teach them how to improve their communication with one another and how to resolve conflicts. The Navy is sponsoring weekend retreats for couples as a way of helping them strengthen and improve relationships. The Army is also funding a program entitled “Family Covenant”- a broad initiative of facilities and services aimed at improving the quality of life for Army families. Some of the goals include improvement of housing, child care facilities, health care services, and base schools in order to reduce stress and strain on the spouses of military men and women.

There is more information about this topic at Forbes.

Antenuptial agreements, also often referred to as prenuptial agreements, are sometimes derided as taking the romance out of marriage and transforming the event and institution into a business arrangement. Some claim that the use of an antenuptial agreement is an acknowledgement that a marriage is likely to fail. However, an antenuptial agreement addresses not only the possibility of divorce, but also the distribution of premarital assets upon the death of one of the spouses. These agreements can be an excellent tool when there is a significant difference in the ages of the parties or in their respective wealth. In situations in which one or both of the parties has/have previously been married and want(s) to preserve assets for his or her children upon death, an antenuptial agreement may be an essential component of a sound estate plan.

There are several basic elements of a valid antenuptial agreement. The agreement must be entered into in writing and signed by both parties in contemplation of an upcoming marriage. Both participants must be competent and must freely and voluntarily enter into the agreement without coercion or duress by the other party or anyone else. Both parties must be fully aware of all the assets and liabilities of the other party. Finally, the agreement must not be so one-sided as to be unconscionable and unfair on its face. Each party should have their own separate counsel to advise and review the document. There must be a meaningful opportunity for each party to consult with their respective attorney. It is unethical for one attorney to represent both parties.

An antenuptial agreement must contain a full and complete disclosure of both parties’ assets prior to their marriage. With respect to real property, this is the amount of equity owned in the property. Equity is determined by subtracting the mortgage indebtedness associated with the property from the fair market value of the residential property. All other assets must be disclosed, including the values of stocks, securities, bonds, bank, brokerage, retirement, pension and 401(k) accounts. Anticipated inheritances should also be included. An antenuptial agreement also often lists the premarital debts each party brings to the marriage. Just listing a total sum of money as being disclosure of all assets is insufficient under Ohio law. The more detail and specificity included in the agreement, the better. The antenuptial agreement will also address the distribution of assets and assumption of debts upon termination of the marriage or death of a party.

One of the two events addressed in an antenuptial agreement is a termination of the marriage during life, either through divorce, dissolution, legal separation or annulment. The antenuptial agreement sets forth the ownership rights of assets as well as the responsibility for payment of liabilities acquired before marriage should the marriage be terminated. An antenuptial agreement also often addresses the issue of spousal support (alimony), and whether spousal support is waived or whether the parties have already agreed to an amount and duration of spousal support if the marriage is terminated. Child support and custody matters cannot be included. However, the parties can address how “finances” will be handled during the marriage.

The other event addressed in an antenuptial agreement is the death of either spouse. This can be vital when creating an estate plan. An individual who brings significant assets into a marriage and who also has children from a prior marriage may want to protect those premarital or separate assets to pass down to his or her children. However, under Ohio law, a surviving spouse has certain statutory rights to prevent him or her from being disinherited. Under Ohio law, a surviving spouse has the right to the first $40,000.00 of the deceased spouse’s estate. The surviving spouse also has the right to live in the residence for one year rent-free and ownership of up to two of the spouse’s vehicles. The surviving spouse may purchase the residence at its appraised value. The surviving spouse may also “take against the will”. If the deceased spouse has one or more children from a prior marriage, the surviving spouse, in addition to the rights stated above, can elect to receive one-half of the net estate if there is one child and one-third of the net estate if there is more than one child. In an antenuptial agreement, a party may legally waive all of these rights and elect to receive only so much that the deceased spouse chooses to leave him or her by will, trust or other instrument. Thus, a party with significant premarital assets may preserve the right to pass those assets upon death in such manner and to such individuals as he or she chooses, free from the control of the surviving spouse. One caveat is that many employer funded retirement accounts require a spouse to specifically waive his or her rights as surviving spouse to those accounts after he or she has actually become husband or wife. Thus, it is common in antenuptial agreements for both parties to agree to execute any and all documents necessary, after the marriage ceremony, to waive his or her rights as surviving spouse to those retirement benefits.

Questions are routinely asked about the validity of postnuptial agreements in Ohio. Unlike most states, postnuptial agreements are not valid in the State of Ohio. Additionally, Ohio refuses to enforce postnuptial agreements written in other states if the couple is currently domiciled in Ohio. An Ohio a statute makes it clear that a husband and wife may not enter into a contract between themselves to divide assets, debts and responsibilities arising out of the marriage unless they are contemplating a divorce, dissolution or legal separation.

In summary, although the concept of an antenuptial agreement, when thought of solely in context of divorce, may have a negative connotation for some, when thought of in context of death, particularly with a second or subsequent marriage, is often just one of several components of a smart, thorough and comprehensive estate plan. The document must be prepared and executed prior to the marriage to be valid. Plan ahead. Remember that this document needs to be properly drafted to withstand subsequent scrutiny! These documents have been set aside if they are presented too close to the actual wedding date. Court’s have presumed coercion in such cases, recognizing the embarrassment attendant with the “sign it” or the wedding is off approach. Contact an experienced estate planning or family law attorney to properly address these complex issues.

I have listed some of the most intriguing statistics from the 2000 U. S. Census Bureau Table DP-2, Profile Selected Social Characteristics :

• Across the United States, more than 6 million children are being raised in households headed by grandparents and other relatives.
• 2.5 million children are in these households without any parents present.
• Nationally, 4.5 million children are living in grandparent-headed households (6.3% of all children under age 18). This represents a 30% increase from 1990 to 2000.
• There are another 1.5 million children in the United States who are living in households headed by other relatives (2.1% of all children under 18).
• In Ohio, there are 157, 298 children living in grandparent-headed households (5.4% of all children in the state). There are another 35,333 children living in households headed by other relatives (1.2 % of all children in the state). Of the children living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives in Ohio, 76,794 are living there without either parent present.
• Nationally, 2.4 million grandparents report they are responsible for their grandchildren living with them: 29% of these grandparents are African American;17% are Hispanic/Latino; 2% are American Indian or Alaskan Native; 3% are Asian ;and 47% are White. 34% of these grandparents live in households without the children’s parents present. 71% are under the age of 60; 19% live in poverty.
• In Ohio, 86,009 grandparents report they are responsible for their grandchildren living with them [7,039 in Cleveland and 6,263 in Columbus]: 27% of these grandparents are African American; 2% are Hispanic/Latino; and 68% are White. 40% of these grandparents live in households without the children’s parents present. 73% are under the age of 60; 15% live in poverty.