Family Law

Ex-Judge Jailed in Child-Support Case

A former Brooklyn judge has been jailed for failing to pay nearly $270,000 in child support. Reynold Mason, who was ousted from the bench for taking funds from a client’s escrow account, was led out of the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday in handcuffs, according to the Associated Press. He had…

May 29, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

Divorce Rate Way Down, Lowest Since 1970

Despite this country’s reputation for short-lived marriages, the nation’s per capita divorce rate has actually gone down significantly from its 1981 high and is now the lowest it has been since 1970. The rate has dropped by one-third from its 1981 high of 5.3 divorces per 1,000 people, and is…

May 11, 2007 11:23 PM CDT

Court Says Sperm Donor Owes Child Support

In what reportedly could be the first such ruling in the nation, a Pennsylvania court has found a sperm donor responsible for supporting his two biological children. The situation is complicated by the fact that the sperm donor died suddenly earlier this year, notes an AP article on the Superior…

May 10, 2007 8:03 PM CDT

High Court: Irish Teen has Right to UK Abortion

An Irish court has ruled that a pregnant 17-year-old who is in the care of the government has the right to travel to England for a legal abortion, as some 7,000 of Irish women do annually. Abortion is illegal in Ireland, except to save the life of the mother. Social…

May 10, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

Soldiers Losing Custody After Deployment

There are laws protecting active members of the U.S. military from being distracted by lawsuits over bad debts while they are serving their country in wartime, and to prevent spouses back home in the U.S. from being summarily evicted for falling behind on the rent. But when it comes to…

May 7, 2007 8:07 PM CDT

Open Adoption Laws for Three-Parent Families

A woman who is thinking about moving to Washington, D.C. to attend law school soon is already on the forefront of a cutting-edge legislative development. The biological mother of a young boy, she would like to move there in order to be closer to the adoptive family with whom he…

May 5, 2007 1:22 AM CDT

No Punitive Damages in Wrongful Adoption Case

Even though an adoption agency apparently intentionally withheld information about severe mental illness among the parents and grandparents of a child from his adoptive family decades ago, it cannot be assessed punitive damages, a New York appeals court has decided. The ruling is expected to be persuasive in other such…

May 4, 2007 10:27 PM CDT

Hot ‘Get a Divorce’ Ad Spotlights Small Law Firm

Tasteful, conservative, low-key law firm advertising it’s not. But a billboard featuring a scantily clad couple along with the line “Life’s Short, Get a Divorce” has indeed apparently met its intended goal of sparking interest in the small law firm that paid for it. Sponsored by Fetman, Garland & Associates…

May 4, 2007 8:09 PM CDT

More PIs in U.K. Divorce Cases, Assets at Issue

A modern-day need to ascertain assets, rather than a traditional desire to document infidelity, reportedly is a key factor driving a big increase in the use of private investigators in British divorce cases. A recent survey of 100 United Kingdom matrimonial lawyers by business advisers Grant Thornton found nearly half…

Apr 26, 2007 11:39 PM CDT

$12 Million Settlement Closes Foster Care Giant

A $12 million settlement in a child abuse case and subsequent difficulty getting insurance reportedly is forcing one of the most well-known foster care agencies in the country out of business in the Chicago area. The foster care arm of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago will close its…

Apr 24, 2007 6:50 PM CDT

Easier Divorces Impact Economic Realities

Changes in divorce laws that have made it easier to end a marriage have led to lower rates of and domestic violence and suicides by women, according to studies cited by two economists. The laws have also changed the economic realities of marriage, according to the story in the New…

Apr 19, 2007 2:50 PM CDT

Against Mom’s Wishes, Chemo Ordered for Boy

In a case that pits a parent’s right to decide what is best for a child against the state’s interest in protecting children from harm and the medical profession’s judgment about what constitutes standard treatment, a state court judge has ordered a Florida mother to take her 10-year-old son in…

Apr 13, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

Forbes Lists 10 Costliest Celebrity Divorces

Forbes magazine has compiled the 10 most expensive celebrity divorces of the last 25 years. The pending divorce of Paul McCartney & Heather Mills has been big news this year, but it was only No. 6 on the Forbes list. Most costly, according to Forbes, are the divorces of Chicago…

Apr 13, 2007 5:06 PM CDT

Heard and Not Seen

Britain’s family courts listen to children over the Internet

Apr 2, 2007 5:50 AM CDT

The Youngest Clients

Lawyers are becoming more assertive in advocating directly for children in court proceedings

Apr 1, 2007 12:14 PM CDT