Question Presented: Is it likely that one spouse would be granted an award of spousal support in a divorce for having been infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) by the other spouse?
Most states have spousal support/alimony statutes which list factors for the Court to consider when awarding spousal support. Many of these statutes, such as Ohio’s statute, include in the list “any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable” or something similar to this. Using this factor, courts do have the authority to consider the contraction of an STD between spouses when awarding spousal support. In many cases in which one party to a marriage contracts an STD, it is the result of an extramarital affair. The other party is then infected with the STD through continued sexual relations between the spouses. Obviously, there may be significant proof problems associated with establishing the origin of the STD.
Ohio, as well as most states, will also consider the health (physical, emotional, and psychological) of the parties when awarding spousal support. This is another factor which may lead to a party who contracted an STD from his/her spouse being awarded spousal support. People with STDs … Read More... “Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Alimony Proceedings”
The Affidavit of Financial Disclosure (or a Financial Affidavit) is a very important document in domestic relations, especially in divorce matters. If you are pursuing an agreed upon dissolution of marriage (instead of a divorce), the Financial Affidavits are required, but they are not nearly as important as in divorce actions. In dissolutions, the Financial Affidavit establishes the required disclosure of all assets and liabilities which is the foundation for any dissolution. Also, in a dissolution, since the parties have everything settled between them, any issues regarding what Husband earns or what Wife earns are largely irrelevant because the parties have already determined which party will be paying child support and/or spousal support (alimony) and the amount thereof. The Court is not likely to interfere with those agreements.
Consistently, one of my favorite blogs 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. Both attorneys and clients 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 
Psychotherapist and Guest Contributor Donna F. Ferber sent me an email a month or so ago encouraging me to read Suzi Parker’s article about famous couples who chose, rather than going through a divorce, to simply live separate lives. Click 
In recent years there has been a steady and alarming increase in the use of false allegations of vague, unsupported claims of domestic violence and even vaguer claims of child abuse, used solely in an attempt to find a shortcut to a presumed better position in custody cases. What is more alarming is the observation that more often than not the attorneys of record for the litigants making these claims have been those unschooled in and relatively new to the family law arena, who have chosen to step outside their actual specialty and add a minor “division” of family law to their practices. Often, a new, young, unskilled associate is added to the practice to handle these family law issues.
Over the past month or so, I have come across some interesting items related to post-divorce parties, celebrations and gifts. In my opinion, some of them are respectable, others are pretty far out there, and a few are bizarre or just sort of crass. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Nonetheless, I will share some with our readers.
I am pleased that Donna Ferber, a psychotherapist and a frequent contributor to the Ohio Family Law Blog has agreed to co-author this article with me! Our goal is to present both the legal and emotional perspectives of a trend that we are seeing in our professional practices: long term marriages ending by divorce when the wife has come to the conclusion that she has just “had enough” and that the husband is seemingly caught “blindsided” by the situation. The intent of the article is not a male versus female point and counterpoint, but rather a collaborative discourse that can provide insight into the complexity of the issues.