Considering a multitude of differing perspectives and insights helps me to better hone my skills as a divorce lawyer. What I see and hear every day is rarely black or white, but a rainbow of shades of gray. One way of broadening my viewpoint is to read all sorts of blogs each week, an activity which I totally enjoy! Consistently, one of my favorites is Michael Mastracci’s Divorce Without Dishonor Blog. Mike is an excellent attorney from Baltimore, Maryland. His own difficult and acrimonious divorce and child custody battle led to his personal interest in collaborative family law. Attorneys and clients both should include his blog on their frequent read list. Mike regularly espouses ethical, moral and philosophical standards that we should aspire to meet. I have personally and professionally been a proponent of child welfare issues for over 30 years. So, when I read his recent post about “What We Are Teaching Our Children of Separation and Divorce,” I had to ask Mike if I could have his permission to republish it. He kindly agreed. Here it is:
“What We Are Teaching Our Children of Separation … Read More... “A Commentary: Nurturing Children After Divorce”
The legal analysis posted last week on this blog by Daniel Pollack discussing legal immunity for children services social workers was comprehensive and well done. A review of Ohio federal cases on point is very interesting and enlightening.
It is an accepted principle that a parent has a constitutionally protected interest in the custody and care of his or her child. This interest does have exceptions, especially when the child may be in immediate or apparent danger. This is when child protection services gets involved. Crucial to every child protection investigation is to establish the facts and circumstances of the case. When these are presented to the court at a dependency hearing, the evidence may become proof.
For many parents contemplating a divorce or dissolution of their marriage, a primary concern is which parent shall have “custody” of the child or children of the marriage. I shall begin the article by addressing the differences between the two parenting systems in Ohio – “sole custody” and “shared parenting”.
As we all know, the typical family from the 1950’s television shows such as “Leave it to Beaver” have become a rarity over the years. A couple celebrating their golden wedding anniversary is not so commonplace. Today, approximately fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. In the traditional family, estates usually involve wills and the use of “joint and survivorship” ownership between husband and wife or “beneficiary designations” to ensure that upon the death of a spouse everything would pass to the surviving spouse. However, in today’s modern family, there may be a second or even third spouse and children from prior marriages. How does an individual take care of his or her current spouse yet protect his/her children from a prior marriage?
I would like to share some constructive fee-cutting suggestions for you to consider implementing after you have done your “due diligence” in selecting the right attorney for you and your issues. Many of the cases I have handled over the last 30 years are family law matters which are engagements typically based upon the number of hours spent in the representation. The amount of time to complete these cases varies based upon many factors, including the nature of the issues, contentiousness of the parties, and the cooperation level existing between both counsel. Recently, I have been asked by several clients what they can do to help reduce their attorney fees. Certainly, this is an excellent question especially with money being so tight and all of us having to deal with our poor economy. Each attorney would no doubt answer this question differently. So, be sure to ask your attorney about his or her own particular preferences. Here are some of my simple tips to reduce your attorney fees:
On July 1, 2009, I received a decision on one of the more interesting cases I have worked on since embarking on my legal career. The case started out as a custody case in Juvenile Court, but quickly spiraled into a full-scale federal trial; and subsequently, an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. It’s safe to say that this was not your typical custody case. What made this case different, among other things, was that the family had moved to Ohio from Israel and the mother had returned to Israel. While in Israel, she decided to pursue custody and filed a Petition for the return of the minor child under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, claiming that our client, the child’s father, had kidnapped the child and wrongfully retained him here in the United States instead of allowing him to return to Israel.