In early April, I received a phone call from Attorney Brian Wilson, a principal in the Canton personal injury law firm of Nicodemo & Wilson. He and I have teamed up on a few prior projects, and he has contributed to the Oho Family Law Blog in the past. After catching up a bit on the joys of blogging and our respective lives, he asked if I might consider writing an article as a guest blogger on their Bull’s-Eye Blog about how personal injury settlements are treated by divorce courts. Of course, I was only too happy to accommodate Brian. His blog is superb and one that I read several times a week. Check it out by clicking here. The article I wrote was posted on May 3, 2010. Thanks, Brian! Here it is starting with Brian’s introduction:
Occasionally, we have guest bloggers write on topics of interest that cross over into Ohio personal injury issues. Our guest blogger is Robert L. Mues, an outstanding Dayton, Ohio, family law attorney. I found his interesting and informative blog and website while searching the Net for…interesting and informative blogs and websites! His blog is a must read for folks dealing with … Read More... “How Injury Claims Are Treated In Divorce Court”
Alcoholism is defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary as “the habitual drinking of alcoholic liquor, or as a resulting diseased condition”. It is also defined as a chronic and progressive illness characterized by physiological and psychological dependency upon the ingestion of alcohol; a loss of control over drinking, including when, and in what form, how much, and why; and interference with normal functioning in one or all such areas such as family, work, friendship, and community activity.
It’s a misconception that when parents divorce it doesn’t affect adult children. It is important to remember that our children may be adults (and even may have experienced divorce themselves), but they are still children of both parents. In going through divorce, many parents “lean” on their children, making them into confidantes and, sometimes, surrogate spouses. Children, even adult children, are uncomfortable with details of their parents’ personal life. Confiding to a child about a parent’s indiscretions puts the child in a no-win situation. Many of the adult children I have spoken with say that they are shocked and angry by their parents’ behavior. But as the child, they continue to want the relationship. Giving adult children inappropriate information puts them in a quandary – how to have a relationship with a parent who may have behaved terribly in marriage without feeling disloyal to the other parent? Children are entitled to have a relationship with each parent that is not based on that parent’s performance as a spouse.
I vividly remember litigating a very contentious divorce case back in the early 1980’s. The Magistrate who heard the dispute still occasionally pokes fun at me about the case! Husband and Wife wanted to argue and fight over the division of a voluminous list of household goods acquired during the marriage, most having little or no value. Since then, when I was a young lawyer, I believe I have now been able to gain some valuable insight on litigation of this nature.
Recent estimates indicate that possibly more than twenty-five percent of all homeowners are upside-down on their home mortgages, meaning that they owe more on their home loan or loans than the fair market value of the residence. This makes it virtually impossible to sell at a private sale. When a couple goes through a divorce or dissolution and needs to divide the assets including such a home, what are they to do? One answer is to walk away from the house, which will lead to foreclosure litigation and a crippled credit rating. Another possible answer is to complete a “short sale”.
What is an in camera interview? The phrase “in camera” is a Latin term defined in Black’s Law Dictionary as: “In chambers; in private.” The interview does not involve a camera or a videotape at all! If a party is asking for the Court to have an in camera interview of a minor child, the request is for the Judge or Magistrate to interview the minor child privately with neither parent or his/her attorney being present. An Appellate Court in Michigan said it very well years ago . . .
To the surprise of everyone in the estate planning community, Congress failed to address a critical estate and generation-skipping tax matter before the end of 2009, resulting in the repeal of the federal estate tax. However, this repeal is for 2010 only. In 2011, the exclusion for federal estate tax reverts back to $1,000,000. How is this possible, and what effect does it have on couples’ estate plans, particularly second marriages?