Family Law

Lawyer & Staff Allegedly Held Hostage in Kan. Office Before Gunman Gives Up

Following a seven-hour standoff, a suspect who allegedly initially held an attorney and office staff hostage, after he entered a Hutchinson, Kan., law office armed with a .25-caliber handgun, was arrested and charged last night. Attorney David Holmes and his staff reportedly were released within an hour of when the…

Feb 20, 2009 5:53 PM CST

Miami Heat Star Sues Estranged Wife, Lawyers Over STD Allegations

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has filed a libel suit against his estranged wife and her lawyers for allegations in a divorce filing that he had an affair and contracted a sexually transmitted disease. The suit names as defendants the estranged wife, Siohvaughn Wade, and her lawyers, Michael Berger and…

Feb 19, 2009 1:32 PM CST

2 US Couples Jailed in Egypt Over Alleged Baby-Buying

In the United States, it is common for adults to adopt children who aren’t their own biological offspring and give them their name, not infrequently traveling abroad to do so. But it’s not only unusual but illegal in Egypt, which prohibits adoption by foreigners. Unfamiliar with the law there, a…

Feb 18, 2009 9:32 PM CST

Law Firm Touts ‘60 Minute Divorce’ (Poll)

A New York City law firm is touting a “60 Minute Divorce” for couples with uncontested issues, no kids and no property to divide. The Brodsky Law Firm is offering to prepare divorce papers and file the case while divorcing couples dine at a nearby McDonald’s or Starbucks with a…

Feb 11, 2009 3:05 PM CST

Experts Advise on Key Custody Issue: The Family Dog

A divorcing spouse may think his or her dog will be bereft without a favorite human at hand. But actually the most stressful part of a divorce for some canines is the lack of routine that results, reports the Asheville, N.C., Citizen-Times. “We’ve had cases where, just like the parents…

Feb 9, 2009 7:35 PM CST

Paul Weiss Partner Calls $6.6M Divorce Settlement Unfair, Blames Madoff

A partner at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison is seeking to reopen his $6.6 million divorce settlement with his wife of more than 30 years, saying that he paid her far more than he would otherwise have agreed to because of fraudulent investment account statements from a Bernard Madoff…

Feb 4, 2009 9:23 PM CST

Same-Sex Spouse Inherits Estate, NY Judge Rules

A New York man who married his longtime same-sex partner in Canada last year is entitled to inherit his estate as his spouse, a New York probate judge has held in what a law professor says is a historic ruling likely to have significant impact. Because the marriage was valid…

Feb 3, 2009 7:24 PM CST

Expensive Lesson? Despite Court Order, NY Divorce Lawyer Hands Out $61K

A New York lawyer has been disqualified from a matrimonial case and will have to pay as much as $42,500 for depositing into his escrow account and then evenly splitting between the divorcing spouses a two-party $61,570 auction house check from the sale of their art work. A stipulation prepared…

Jan 28, 2009 11:57 PM CST

Rapping Appeal Leads to Win for Pro Se Trombone Player

A litigant who filed his own appeals brief written partially in rap has won a Wisconsin appeals court ruling that he doesn’t have to pay legal fees for a lawsuit deemed frivolous by a circuit court judge. Gregory Royal, a trombone player, argued he shouldn’t have to pay $3,750 in…

Jan 26, 2009 1:10 PM CST

Bad News or Good News? Economy Cuts Asset Values, Creates New Divorce Issues

The rollercoaster ride that the economy has been on in recent months is creating new issues for divorcing couples. Real estate that was worth much more only a year or two ago has plummeted in value. And a number of soon-to-be-ex-spouses with high-paying jobs suddenly have no employment at all.…

Jan 23, 2009 6:14 PM CST

Hulk Hogan’s Costly Divorce Focuses on Maintenance Man’s Work

Is Hulk Hogan requiring his family’s maintenance man to work too hard? And is the former professional wrestler asking the worker to spy on Hogan’s soon-to-be ex-wife? These were some of the high-priority issues being addressed in a Florida court hearing yesterday in the latest chapter of ongoing divorce proceedings…

Jan 22, 2009 8:35 PM CST

Witness Who Questioned Meaning of Truth May Take Revised Oath

There are those who can’t handle the truth and those who can’t swear to it. Expert witness Bruce Kokernot is apparently in the latter camp. He hesitated in December when a family court judge in New York asked Kokernot if he swore to tell “the truth, the whole truth and…

Jan 21, 2009 3:26 PM CST

19-Year Child-Support Saga Now Puts Ex-Husband in Jail Over $165K Claim

Arrested yesterday in a felony case for allegedly failing to pay $165,000 in child support, a Florida man is now jailed without bond. David William Earley’s ex-wife Sharon has been pursuing him for child support for 19 years, reports the Tampa Tribune. However, she isn’t necessarily expected even now to…

Jan 21, 2009 1:57 AM CST

‘Too Old’ Grandparents (59 and 52) Hope for Custody Under New Judge

A judge in a controversial child custody case in Texas has angrily stepped down after apparently being persuaded that a related judicial conduct investigation required him to do so. After Juvenile Court Judge John Phillips decided last year that Yolanda and Arnold Del Bosque were too old to raise the…

Jan 15, 2009 5:36 PM CST

Due to Bigamous Marriage, NY Lawyer Can’t Now Foreclose on Loan to ‘Wife’

A New York lawyer who married a woman almost 20 years his junior when he was in his early fifties can’t foreclose on what he now says was a loan to help her obtain $285,000 in mortgages to buy a condominium in Greenwich Village without providing more evidence to show…

Jan 9, 2009 8:20 PM CST