Some holidays warrant special attention. Independence Day is certainly one of them. Last year, I wrote an article for the occasion which I dedicated to my Aunt Marion. In it, I shared some meaningful personal memories and experiences. I have decided to repost it, but this year I want to dedicate it to a wonderful client I represented this past year through a very long and difficult divorce. “Jane” is one of my all time favorite clients! In part, due to her class, intelligence, grace and the exceptional humor she exhibited throughout the proceedings which hit her from “left field” and ended a 19 year marriage. Together, we worked through each painful issue step by step to trial. She and I connected . . . So, why do I mention this? Well, Jane became a reader of the Ohio Family Law Blog and grew up in Maine, like my Aunt Marion. Jane read the 4th of July article I wrote and after her case was done, Jane made a generous donation of children’s books to both a local library and to Dayton Children’s Hospital in honor of … Read More... “A Reprise of “The Red Ones Are The Best!””
A Reprise of “The Red Ones Are The Best!”
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As an adult who weathered through a divorce proceeding within the past thirteen (13) years, I was the product of an “intact family” having parents who were married for more than 54 years. Like most young women, I was “socialized” into thinking that I would grow up, meet Prince Charming, fall in love, get married, and “live happily ever after”! Unfortunately, that dream of many young women has become more of a myth than a “true-to-life” fairy tale as our divorce rate approaches or exceeds 50% for first time marriages. Nevertheless, I was hopeful that my two children would not be negatively affected by their parents’ divorce as they were not toddlers anymore. When my divorce actually took place, both children had graduated from college and were living independently.
In 2005, a seventeen-year old girl named Shynerra Grant was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Antonio. She had just graduated high school in Toledo, Ohio, and was heading to college in the fall. Shynerra had been stalked by her ex-boyfriend for more than a year before she was murdered. Antonio stalked and abused Shynerra, including an incident in May 2004 when he broke into her home and put her in the hospital with a broken jaw. At the time an adult could obtain a Civil Stalking Protection Order (CSPO), but it was almost impossible for minors to get that same protection if the aggressor was another minor.
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 
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.
If you are planning a foreign vacation this summer, you had better plan ahead to determine all the necessary travel documents that you will need. This can be a much more complex issue than one might think. A good place to start is the