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April 25, 2007
How not to win a custody dispute....Celebrity Style
Judging by the front cover of most issues of People magazine, it seems that every week we have yet another silly celebrity break-up and custody fight inflicted upon us. The vast majority aren't worth mentioning, But this week's news provides a concrete, real-life example of how to lose a child custody dispute with just one simple phone call. It has been widely reported that Alec Baldwin left a voicemail for his 11 year-old daughter that appears to violate two of the most important rules of custody litigation: 1) Don't put the child in the middle of the parents' dispute; and, 2) If you're going to ignore Rule , don't give the other side hard evidence of your inability to distinguish the roles of parent and spouse. That voicemail should be Exhibit in Ms. Basinger's case.
Posted on April 25, 2007 in Custody | Permalink
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April 16, 2007
Governor Signs Sibling Visitation Bill into Law
Governor Chet Culver signed Senate File 480, the sibling visitation bill, into law today. The bill permits a court to enter an order allowing contact between blood siblings despite the entry of a parental rights termination order or other similar order that previously would have prevented the siblings from maintaining contact. The full text of the law can be found here and the governor's press release here. Technorati Tags: visitation
Posted on April 16, 2007 in Legislation | Permalink
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April 06, 2007
Pension ("Defined Benefit") Plan Division under Iowa Law - A Primer
Today's Iowa Supreme Court decision in Faber v. Herman contains a good summary of the various options available when dividing traditional pension plans, so-called "defined benefit" plans. The opinion explains the pitfalls and advantages of each particular method, along with dicta that reinforces the preferred method of dividing such plans by the "percentage"method set forth originally in In re Marriage of Benson, 545 N.W.2d 252, 255 (Iowa 1996) and re-affirmed in In re Marriage of Sullins, 715 N.W.2d 242, 248-49 (Iowa 2006).Technorati Tags: QDRO, pensions
Posted on April 06, 2007 in Property Distribution | Permalink
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April 01, 2007
Jury Keeps NY Couple from Inflicting Their Misery on the Rest of Us
Jury Says Feuding N.Y. Couple Cannot Divorce
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS; Published: March 29, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Feuding spouses who built a wall through their three-story row house because neither would give it up cannot divorce, a jury ruled. Jurors on Wednesday shot down the ''cruel and inhuman treatment'' Chana Taub cites as grounds for divorcing Simon Taub after more than 20 years of marriage and four children.
''I'm dismissing the whole case. That's it,'' Justice Carolyn Demarest said. To revive the case, Chana Taub would have to file it again, on new grounds. ''I was in total shock,'' Chana Taub told the Daily News. ''It's unbelievable.''
The husband's lawyer, Abe Konstam, called the case an extraordinary waste and said the trial wouldn't have been necessary if New York changed its divorce laws. The state doesn't allow the speedy dissolution of a marriage without proof that one spouse is somehow at fault.
The case is one of the strangest divorces New York has seen, mainly because of the wall.
A judge ordered the couple to put it up because neither wanted to move out. She got the top floor and the kitchen on the second floor; he got the living room on the first floor and the dining room on the second floor. The door between the dining room and the kitchen was barricaded on both sides. The case has been dubbed Brooklyn's ''War of the Roses,'' after the 1989 movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a fueding couple.
Chana says that for two decades she served Simon like a virtual slave, putting up with physical and mental abuse. Simon denies ever laying a hand on his wife and says he gave her a luxurious lifestyle. He says she wants the divorce to squeeze what money he has left. His sweater manufacturing company went bankrupt in the late 1990s, and he suffered a second heart attack in 2005 that worsened their financial problems, he says.
NOTE: Juries do not hear Iowa divorce cases at any stage in the proceedings. Unlike New York, Iowa is a "no fault" state.
Posted on April 01, 2007 in Oddities, Other States | Permalink
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Main
| May 2007 »
April 25, 2007
How not to win a custody dispute....Celebrity Style
Judging by the front cover of most issues of People magazine, it seems that every week we have yet another silly celebrity break-up and custody fight inflicted upon us. The vast majority aren't worth mentioning, But this week's news provides a concrete, real-life example of how to lose a child custody dispute with just one simple phone call. It has been widely reported that Alec Baldwin left a voicemail for his 11 year-old daughter that appears to violate two of the most important rules of custody litigation: 1) Don't put the child in the middle of the parents' dispute; and, 2) If you're going to ignore Rule , don't give the other side hard evidence of your inability to distinguish the roles of parent and spouse. That voicemail should be Exhibit in Ms. Basinger's case.
Posted on April 25, 2007 in Custody | Permalink
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April 16, 2007
Governor Signs Sibling Visitation Bill into Law
Governor Chet Culver signed Senate File 480, the sibling visitation bill, into law today. The bill permits a court to enter an order allowing contact between blood siblings despite the entry of a parental rights termination order or other similar order that previously would have prevented the siblings from maintaining contact. The full text of the law can be found here and the governor's press release here. Technorati Tags: visitation
Posted on April 16, 2007 in Legislation | Permalink
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April 06, 2007
Pension ("Defined Benefit") Plan Division under Iowa Law - A Primer
Today's Iowa Supreme Court decision in Faber v. Herman contains a good summary of the various options available when dividing traditional pension plans, so-called "defined benefit" plans. The opinion explains the pitfalls and advantages of each particular method, along with dicta that reinforces the preferred method of dividing such plans by the "percentage"method set forth originally in In re Marriage of Benson, 545 N.W.2d 252, 255 (Iowa 1996) and re-affirmed in In re Marriage of Sullins, 715 N.W.2d 242, 248-49 (Iowa 2006).Technorati Tags: QDRO, pensions
Posted on April 06, 2007 in Property Distribution | Permalink
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April 01, 2007
Jury Keeps NY Couple from Inflicting Their Misery on the Rest of Us
Jury Says Feuding N.Y. Couple Cannot Divorce
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS; Published: March 29, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Feuding spouses who built a wall through their three-story row house because neither would give it up cannot divorce, a jury ruled. Jurors on Wednesday shot down the ''cruel and inhuman treatment'' Chana Taub cites as grounds for divorcing Simon Taub after more than 20 years of marriage and four children.
''I'm dismissing the whole case. That's it,'' Justice Carolyn Demarest said. To revive the case, Chana Taub would have to file it again, on new grounds. ''I was in total shock,'' Chana Taub told the Daily News. ''It's unbelievable.''
The husband's lawyer, Abe Konstam, called the case an extraordinary waste and said the trial wouldn't have been necessary if New York changed its divorce laws. The state doesn't allow the speedy dissolution of a marriage without proof that one spouse is somehow at fault.
The case is one of the strangest divorces New York has seen, mainly because of the wall.
A judge ordered the couple to put it up because neither wanted to move out. She got the top floor and the kitchen on the second floor; he got the living room on the first floor and the dining room on the second floor. The door between the dining room and the kitchen was barricaded on both sides. The case has been dubbed Brooklyn's ''War of the Roses,'' after the 1989 movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a fueding couple.
Chana says that for two decades she served Simon like a virtual slave, putting up with physical and mental abuse. Simon denies ever laying a hand on his wife and says he gave her a luxurious lifestyle. He says she wants the divorce to squeeze what money he has left. His sweater manufacturing company went bankrupt in the late 1990s, and he suffered a second heart attack in 2005 that worsened their financial problems, he says.
NOTE: Juries do not hear Iowa divorce cases at any stage in the proceedings. Unlike New York, Iowa is a "no fault" state.
Posted on April 01, 2007 in Oddities, Other States | Permalink
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