On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Child custody on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Child custody disputes can not only be quite emotional, but in some cases, rather complicated, particularly where one of the parents is a citizen of another country.
On Monday, a federal judge signed an order dismissing a case between a couple involved in an international child custody battle that lasted nearly a decade. The case-which came to an end because the child became too old to continue being covered by an international law concerning child abduction across borders-was brought by the child's British father against his American mother after she fled Chile and came to Texas.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Child custody on Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Our Michigan readers may have heard about San Francisco's newly elected Sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi, and the currently legal troubles he is facing with respect to his family. The situation involves allegations of domestic violence and a child custody dispute which recently resulted in a favorable ruling for the Sheriff.
Last Wednesday, a San Francisco family court judge approved a legal agreement between Mirkarimi and his estranged wife which will allow him two hours of visitation time each weekday and up to six hours on weekends.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Paternity on Friday, February 10, 2012
Sometimes when a couple goes through the divorce process, the issue of paternity comes up and it becomes necessary to determine conclusively who the father is. Oftentimes men find that a paternity test is necessary in order to defend their parental rights.
Interestingly, a company by the name of Identigene-known for its at-home paternity tests sold in drugstores-says that one in 10 adults in the United States has personally been in a situation where they thought it would be appropriate to do paternity testing. Not everybody agrees with those numbers, though.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Divorce on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
A recent article in the Grand Rapids Press discusses appeals process in divorce cases and what somebody thinking of challenging a judgment should consider before taking that route.
The most important step in the process would be to find an attorney who is familiar and experienced working in the State Court of Appeals. Appeal work is time intensive and divorce judgments are difficult to appeal, so it is important to start obtain somebody experienced in this area.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Divorce on Friday, February 3, 2012
In our last post, we mentioned a new study showing that divorcing at a young age is actually more harmful to a person's health and well-being than divorcing at an older age. We also noted that prenuptial agreements are an indispensible tool in ensuring one's financial security in the event of a divorce.
Oftentimes in marriage one spouse will contribute more than the other, but all assets, income and property are commingled, entitling the other spouse to half. This includes not only wealth brought to a marriage, as well as wealth acquired during the marriage and sometimes after the marriage ends. Prenuptial agreements can change these default divorce transactions, though.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Divorce on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
According to a recent study conducted by Michigan State University, divorcing at a younger age is more likely to harm your health than divorcing later in life.
That finding was based on self-reported health information provided by 1,282 individuals over the last 15 years. The study looked at the overall well-being of those who remained married and those who remained divorce. In the group of divorced individuals, those who divorced at a younger age displayed more health issues than those who divorced later on in life.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Divorce on Saturday, January 28, 2012
Divorce can bring many challenges for couples, financial and otherwise. One of the financial issues that can come up in divorce is what to do with the home mortgage.
In some cases, both spouses would like to keep the home for themselves, but there are an increasing number of cases where neither spouse wants to be responsible for paying the mortgage, particularly in cases where the mortgage exceeds the property's value.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Divorce on Friday, January 27, 2012
An interesting story recently appeared in an MSNBC article, which touches on the risks inherent in both marriage and divorce. When two people get married and pool their finances and resources together, they really take a chance on one another. In marriages that aren't accompanied by a prenuptial agreement, there is always the risk of losing things of great value.
That was the case for a British man, whose recent divorce separated him from an apartment into which he had put a significant amount of time, money and energy.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Family LAw on Friday, January 20, 2012
In our last post, we began looking at the basics of child custody determinations in Michigan courts. A lot more could be said about this topic, but here we want to briefly discuss the enforcement and modification of child custody orders.
Obviously, a court issuance of a custody order does guarantee compliance with the order. For this reason, Michigan courts appoint a person known as a "friend of the court" to assist with enforcing child custody orders. Parents can opt not to receive the services of a friend of the court, but it is a tool used by the system to make things go more smoothly.
On behalf of Bailey Smith & Bailey, P.C. posted in Family LAw on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Matters relating to children are often the most contentious aspect of divorce. When two adults both feel strongly for their children but cannot agree with one another, you can bet that things sometimes become controversial. Particularly with respect to child custody, divorcing partners can run into disagreements.
Child custody orders, which are issued by a court, pertain to both custody and parenting time arrangements for children. All minor children must be covered by a custody order in divorce proceedings.
