It is wise to keep an “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) information card in our wallets, purses, and car glove box at all times. An emergency can happen at any time. The leading cause of death for people under the age of 44 in America is emergency trauma. Emergency contact cards can prevent a bad situation from getting worse. An unexpected emergency can shatter the lives of any family at any time. But, by having emergency contact cards, you and your loved ones will be more prepared if a sudden crisis strikes. Give yourself a greatly improved chance to receive appropriate medical care by preparing information in advance that explains your medical needs immediately for first responders.
Without emergency contact information, hospital staff cannot immediately locate family members or access medical information that would be critical to treating the patient. Tragically, some patients die in emergency rooms without any of their family members present. By the time the families are eventually notified, it is often too late. Make sure that all family members including parents, children and grandchildren have an ICE card!
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No one wants to get divorced. We don’t walk down the aisle thinking, “Aw, what the hell, if this doesn’t work, I can always get a divorce.” You probably thought more along the lines of, “I don’t care how many people get divorced. This is not going to happen to us!” Yet here you are. It is awful and it hurts more than you could have ever imagined.
There’s a good chance that you yourself are part of a stepfamily. If you’re not, you almost certainly have close friends or family members who are. Statistics show that one in three Americans live in a stepfamily and that more than 50% of Americans will live in a stepfamily at some point in their lives. A term that is now commonly used to describe a family that forms after divorce or re-marriage is a “blended” family.
On July 1, 2011, the Domestic Relations Court of Montgomery County, Ohio adopted a “new” and “revised” Standard Order of Parenting Time, previously known as the Standard Order of Visitation. Over the years, our elected officials in Columbus, Ohio have chosen to “rename” terms frequently used in the Domestic Relations Court. The phrase “parenting time” replaces the older word of “visitation”, and, the term “parental rights and responsibilities” replaces the older word of “custody”. It should be noted that with each change in legislation, the older or former terms have been replaced with longer names or phrases!
When parents neglect or fail to provide even basic food, shelter, or medical care for their children, we would all agree that Children’s Services needs to step in and remove a child from their parent’s control. If a child’s immediate safety and well being are at risk, we would argue that such a situation must not be allowed to continue.
Alternative dispute resolution can be a wonderful tool in divorce cases. Montgomery County’s Domestic Relations Court, along with many other divorce Courts, have adopted mediation conferences as a voluntary or, in some cases, mandatory prerequisite to trial. I am focusing this article on how that process works in Montgomery County.
A divorce often leads to many changes within a family. Recognizing this fact is extremely important, especially when children are involved. Divorcing parents should ask themselves each step of the way what they can do to minimize the negative impact on their children. Parental funding of a child’s college education often becomes a casualty in the process.