Father’s Day Reflections, Including Freud and Tongue Biting

Father’s Day can be an extremely difficult one for many children. Unfortunately, thousands of children will not be with their father this Father’s Day due to many factors including divorce, death or service in the armed forces. As a result, many children don’t have the opportunity for a traditional Father’s Day.

I’d like to offer some thoughts about the importance of this day from the perspective of both a father and a practicing divorce lawyer for 30 years:

  1. Take the High Road. If it’s within your power to help a child spend some time or even talk with his or her father on Father’s Day, take the high road and make a special effort to make it happen. Across the country, thousands of children and fathers don’t have the opportunity to share their feelings with each other.
  2. Are You Too Busy to See Your Children? If you happen to be a father who lives with, or has access, to your children, realize how blessed you are to have children and don’t waste the opportunity to tell them how much you love them and how important they are to you! Thousands of fathers without such an opportunity would envy being in
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The Role and Functions of a Guardian ad Litem in the State of Ohio, Pt. 1

What is a Guardian ad Litem?

A Guardian ad Litem (“GAL”) is usually a lawyer appointed by the Court to appear in a lawsuit on behalf of an incompetent or minor party. In Juvenile Court cases and Domestic Relations cases, the Guardian ad Litem is appointed on behalf of a minor child or minor children in custody, visitation, and/or other disputed child-related issues.

What does the Guardian ad Litem do?

The Guardian ad Litem is appointed by the Court to undertake an investigation of custody issues, visitation issues, and other parenting issues before the Court. The Guardian ad Litem is expected to meet with each parent individually and to meet with each parent and the child or children to be able to observe the interaction between each parent and the child or children. The Guardian ad Litem is also expected to meet with the child or children individually to determine the wishes of the child or children. If requested by either parent of the child or children, the minor child or children may be interviewed “in camera” by the appointed Judge or Magistrate with the Guardian ad Litem present.

An “in camera” interview is conducted with the Judge or Magistrate … Read More... “The Role and Functions of a Guardian ad Litem in the State of Ohio, Pt. 1”

If You Owe Back Support, Don’t Expect Your Stimulus Check

The IRS is treating the stimulus checks as if they were tax refunds. On their website, the IRS indicates that the amount of the stimulus check will be reduced or seized if :

  • You are single and your net income tax liability is less than $600. If you file Form 1040 net income tax liability is the amount shown on Line 57, plus the amount on Line 52.
  • You are married and your net income tax liability is less than $1,200.
  • You are single and your adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $75,000. On Form 1040, AGI is the amount on Line 37.
  • You are married filing a joint return and your AGI is more than $150,000.
  • You owe back taxes that reduced your payment.
  • You have non-tax federal debts such as unpaid student loans or child-support obligations that reduced your payment.

If the IRS is reducing or seizing your stimulus check, they are supposed to mail you a letter of explanation.

So what do you do if you and your spouse have filed a joint return and your spouse owes back child support if you want to avoid having the IRS seize your share? Well, you may fall … Read More... “If You Owe Back Support, Don’t Expect Your Stimulus Check”

Pet Ownership In Divorce Proceedings

For lawyers and others interested in an excellent journal article on this subject.

Puppy Love: Providing for the Legal Protection of Animals When Their Owners Get Divorced by Heidi Stroh, 2 J. Animal L. & Ethics 231 (2007). The article examines pet ownership in divorce proceedings. Ms. Stroh concludes that the various states should adopt statutes providing clear guidance for pet custody decisions.  It is available through Lexis and Westlaw.

Who Gets Custody of Rover?

pet_div.jpgIn many divorce cases, custody or ownership of the beloved family pet is very important and the dispute can even become contentious. Sean Palmer, author of the Texas Family Law Blog, recently wrote an interesting article on the subject. It is very well written and I can’t quibble with any of it. My analysis of the subject, under a Ohio law, doesn’t appear to vary from his under Texas law. As barbaric as it sounds, pets are categorized under Ohio law as “personal property”. The court cannot treat Rover as a child, and award custody or shared parenting of him to the parties. But, I have seen Judges on rare occasions designate one party as the pet’s owner and permit the other to have access to the pet. Most domestic relations judges that I have come across are sensitive to the importance pet ownership may have and will patiently consider the facts. Some, on the other hand, are impatient and will tell counsel to just “flip a coin” to determine the owner. If the court is not inclined to consider all the facts and implications, scheduling a private mediation is also an option to consider.

Sean winds up his … Read More... “Who Gets Custody of Rover?”

New Study Concludes that Divorce is Neither Good nor Bad: May Not Cause Kids’ Bad Behavior

Here’s a news flash. The “experts” disagree! Many well-respected studies over the years have concluded that kids are often negatively impacted as a result of their parent’s divorce. However according to Allen Li, of the prestigious RAND Corporation’s Population Research Center in Santa Monica, California, most kids are not seriously affected by the divorce in the long term, but a divorce raises the risk that a child will have future problems. Li presented his findings in Chicago April 26, 2008, at a meeting of the non-profit Council on Contemporary Families.

The study by Li was based upon a large sample-6,332 children. His methodology differed from that which was used by others in the past. He didn’t measure children of divorced parents with children of married parents. Instead, he measured behavior problems such as crying, cheating or arguing frequently, in children ages four to fifteen before and after their parents’ split. He describes it as a “longitudinal approach”. Li found a slight increase in bad behavior on post-divorce children but excluded the finding because it was so slight. In the abstract to his study, Li concludes “that children of divorce would have fared equally well/poor in terms of their emotional well-being … Read More... “New Study Concludes that Divorce is Neither Good nor Bad: May Not Cause Kids’ Bad Behavior”

Divorce’s Atomic Bomb: False Abuse Allegations

False allegations of domestic abuse are not just a phenomenon that routinely occur in the United States. Family law attorneys in Canada are similarly complaining about the unfairness and damage caused when a warring parent falsely accuses a spouse of abuse. Whether it is for revenge, to punish a spouse, or to attempt to gain an advantage in a custody proceeding, I see this occurring all too often in my practice. While domestic abuse should never be condoned, unfortunately there are seldom any recriminations for the false accuser.

According to Sarah Hampton of Toronto’s Globe and Mail, these common occurrences end up leaving many black eyes in its wake: for the accused, the justice system and especially the kids. She opines that the parent considering making a false allegation should give much more thought in advance about how it will detrimentally affect the children. The story, published on April 24, 2008, is an interesting read. Check it out.

Source: Divorce’s atomic bomb: false abuse allegations, Toronto Globe and Mail

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