Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor : Boston, MA Divorce & Family Law Lawyer & Attorney : Nancy Van Tine : Burns & Levinson Law Firm

Hi there!

I hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving.  Back to the real world now ...

A friend sent me this map of unemployment statistics (originally written by Latoya Egwuekwe and published by the American Observer), which outlines the Geography of a Recession, by month and county/state.  It is real clear that a lot of folks are still having a terrible time regardless of the small improvements we may see or hear about. 

One of the more frightening realities of being a divorce lawyer is having a client who you are certain is at terrible risk of domestic violence. I don't know what caused this lawyer to follow her client in her car but let us hope that the client lives.  It sounds as if the quick first aid (not part of the law school curriculum) may have helped (courtesy of the ABA Journal).

It was apparently a slow news weekend as Tiger Woods' unfortunate mishap, or whatever it really was, lead the news.  My bet is on a "marital spat."  Just in case you were curious (I know I was), here are the five things you need to know about Tiger Woods' alleged other woman, courtesy of EOnline.  Her name is Rachel Uchitel by the way.

And finally, attached is a fascinating piece from those rogue economists at the Freakonomics Blog, with hardly any connection to divorce law.

Enjoy!

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there;

May all of you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving, I will be back next Monday,

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there!

It really doesn't seem possible that Thanksgiving is this week (what I am really saying is I am having 27 folks for dinner and I am so not ready)!

This week's miscellany includes a really useful tool for parents, divorced and not, to handle scheduling through the Internet.  I have long been in favor of divorced parents communicating via email.  In fact, we have been known to train clients in how to keep the conversation civil.  This service, as lawyer/blogger Michelle O'Neil points out in the excellent Dallas Divorce Law Blog, has even been utilized as a tool by the courts.

It seems the news is still full of stories about the rise in personal bankruptcies and foreclosures.  I know the tough economy has to be even tougher for folks trying to make the income that once covered one household stretch to two.  Here is a good article on some financial mistakes that may lead to bankruptcy, courtesy of the Los Angeles Bankruptcy Law Monitor.

Yet another jurisdiction is considering the gay marriage issue.

Divorce is one of the most stressful life experiences there is.  It is so stressful that I routinely suggest that all clients get a counselor/therapist to help them understand the emotional roller coaster they are on.  Apparently, in Canada that individual is called a divorce coach, which seems extremely civilized (although I wonder how it is paid for, is it covered by the Canadian health insurance?).  In any case, there is an excellent and useful article on this by the ever articulate Brian Galbraith in his Ontario Family Law Blog.

And finally, I know this is possibly a bit politically incorrect, but it is funny.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Best,

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Hi there!

As I started trying to find my tablecloths for Thanksgiving (it's amazing what you lose when you move), I realized the holiday season was upon us and while I love this time personally, as a divorce lawyer it is both very hard and very busy.  This is the season where parents have to figure out how to share the kids over some of the most important family days of the year.  Thanksgiving, Hanukkah (I know that isn't the most important, but to the kids its up there) and Christmas.  If you are divorcing or divorced and haven't already handled this for this year, now is the time to work out the schedule with your ex.

Some folks, no matter how bitter, seem to be able to pull back and think of the children and each other; however, many (some years it feels like most) cannot do this.  The result is expensive, time consuming and often results in a total loss of parental choice when the judge ultimately has to make the decision.  As with any judicial, rather than parental decision, the result generally makes no one happy.  It is far better to handle this the way Daniel Clement suggested in his very thoughtful post last December on this topic. 

If you are stuck on what kind of schedule to use here are a couple of suggestions:

• For Thanksgiving folks often alternate the holiday through the weekend, or in the alternative split the day, with the parent who gets Thanksgiving dinner handing off to the parent who will have the weekend, and then that schedule can alternate as well;
• For Hanukkah, since there are multiple nights, folks often alternate the first and second nights;
• Christmas is the toughie.  A lot of parents feel little kids (who still believe in Santa) should find their presents under the tree at their primary address first thing in the morning.  This sometimes results in the non-custodial parent having the kids Christmas Eve Day until early evening, then getting the kids again sometime in the early afternoon on the 25th and having them overnight.  Once the children are older this arrangement often changes to an alternate Christmas Eve/Christmas Day split.  Some parents will trade the actual holiday itself for the entire post Christmas vacation. 

Think hard about what works for your kids, yourself and your ex.  Where are the extended families? Will someone have to travel?  And remember, no condition is permanent.  You can always alternate yearly.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there!

I hope you stayed dry this past weekend.

Just when I think legal advertising can't get any worse, a colleague directs me to the litigation over the "Lawyer of Love."

I have been watching the health care debate with great interest, and I found this analysis very illuminating.  The Taxgirl is talking about intact families of course, but the same considerations are applicable to divorced families as well.

Finally, here's a story sponsored today by the letter "H" and made possible by Judge Terence T. Evans in the case of U.S. v. Murphy, 406 F.3d 857, 859 (7th Cir. 2005).  Here is a portion of the actual transcript and a footnote.  

The trial transcript quotes Ms. Hayden as saying Murphy called her a snitch bitch “hoe.” A “hoe,” of course, is a tool used for weeding and gardening. We think the court reporter, unfamiliar with rap music (perhaps thankfully so), misunderstood Hayden's response. We have taken the liberty of changing “hoe” to “ho,” a staple of rap music vernacular as, for example, when Ludacris raps “You doin' ho activities with ho tendencies.”

To read the complete transcript of this case click here.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

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Hi there,

I was sorry to see that Tuesday the Maine voters rejected single sex marriage.

In Massachusetts, however,  the Appeals Court  in what is known as a "slip opinion" (a slip opinion does not have the dis-positive force of law, but can be utilized as part of a court argument or brief), has extended the time concept of the length of a single sex marriage backwards from the date of marriage to the date of the couples' commitment ceremony.  This means that gay couples may be considered to have been married longer than in fact they were.  This is not the first time Massachusetts has made this determination (again in a slip opinion).  This potentially has huge significance for divorcing single sex couples.

There is however a Supreme Judicial Court decision, and in Massachusetts, SJC decisions always trump Appeals Court decisions.  The SJC held that in a personal injury matter, the length of the marriage was ONLY that time in which the parties were indeed married.

This has the effect of muddying the already murky water of single sex divorce in Massachusetts a little bit more.

Best,

Nancy

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