UPDATES IN MICHIGAN FAMILY LAW

David Goldman and Left Behind Parents to Testify

The Bring Sean Home Foundation sent an important message to The International Campaign, demanding that kidnapped minor Sean Goldman be returned to his father. Goldman and other parents need Americans to contact their representatives in Congress with a message about the importance of their support. What follows is the press release from the Foundation, which contains information about how to support David Goldman and other similarly left behind parents:

Goldman and other left behind parents will address the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Buiding, 1310 on Wednesday, December 2nd, Washington D.C.

Paternity fraud | "Duped Dads" | What's the answer?

 What's the right answer to paternity fraud? ["Paternity fraud" means that Mom has
not told her husband or the biological father that he is the father of her child. Instead, she's chosen to live a lie - one that deprives a biological father of his right to be a parent and keeps a husband or former husband on the hook for support even though the child is not his.]

The answer is not easy or predictable: There is no right answer. Every case is dependent upon its own unique set of facts and also upon the specific law of the state in the US having jurisdiction over the issues. These are tough questions; they are often expensive and complicated to resolve.

Fathers awarded custody more often

A New York Times Blog called my attention to Working Mother Magazine on Tuesday called “Custody Lost ,” about the new reality of divorce and child custody for working mothers.

According to articles in this magazine, many women who are the primary wage earners in a marriage are losing custody of their children to their husbands when the marriage ends. Working Mother Magazine says that there are now 2.2 million divorced women in the United States who do not have primary physical custody of their children, and that an estimated 50 percent of fathers who seek such custody in a disputed divorce are granted it.

David Goldman to testify in Washington

The Associated Press reports today that David Goldman of Tinton Falls, New Jersey will testify on December 2nd before a congressional human rights panel in Washington. David is the father of Sean Goldman, who was kidnapped by his mother more than 5 years ago. Even though Sean's mother died more than a year ago, her family continues to put up barriers that prevent reunification of father and son. Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Brazil is obligated to return Sean to his father's custody.

A detailed report published today can be read in The Daily Record here.

Custody awarded to father

A trial court awarded custody of two minor children to a father and the Michigan Court of Appeals ["COA"] affirmed on November 10, 2009 despite the fact that the mother had been the primary caregiver since the birth of the children.

The COA held, however, that the father was involved with the children from the time of their birth. At trial, witnesses who observed his interaction with them testified he was a good parent. In addition, the father remained actively involved in the children’s schooling, helped coach their soccer teams, and brought them to counseling sessions to help them adjust to the divorce. A clinical psychologist testified, after observing the father and children together in several counseling sessions, that the “overriding portion of plaintiff’s mental state is the welfare of his children.”

David & Sean Goldman | A father left behind

The case of David Goldman and his son, Sean has captured my heart. Sean's mother took the beautiful 4-year-old child you see with his father on the left to Brazil in 2004. She almost immediately filed for divorce. Sean's father, David Goldman of New Jersey, has been trying to see, touch, hold and care for his son ever since. After her divorce, Sean's mother married a Brazilian lawyer. She died in child birth well over a year ago. Sean remains in Brazil with his stepfather.

A powerful report was published today in the Asbury Park Press, a New Jersey newspaper, decrying the inaction and/or inability of United States officials in helping to get Sean returned to his father. You can read it here.

Prenuptial agreements | The importance of full disclosure

Last week someone on the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Listserv inquired about whether a lawyer should approve a prenuptial agreement to which no financial disclosures were attached.  Many members of the Listserv weighed in on the topic. Most cautioned that a prudent lawyer would make sure the financial disclosures are attached to the prenup to prove full and fair disclosure of assets, liabilities and income. They also cautioned that lawyers should provide good documentation of that disclosure, for example by videotaping the execution of the prenup to eliminate arguments of duress or coercion.

Spousal support | Penalties for late payment dischargeable in bankruptcy

Support payments are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. But what about penalties imposed for failure to pay support? The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals held in a ruling released on November 12, 2009 that $50 per day penalties owed by the husband because his spousal support payments were late are not "in the nature of support." [Note the penalties had accumulated to some $75,000+ over a period of years.] Thus the former husband could discharge them in bankruptcy.

Reconciliation is not for the faint of heart

Earlier this fall I wrote about a column in the New York Times written by Laura Munson. My blog post  was titled "When your spouse says 'I don't love you anymore.' Advice for clients." Munson wrote about sticking it out and seeing it through the "rough patch" with her spouse. 

In emails responding to this post (that I now wish I'd archived), some people expressed the thought that Laura Munson was just "wimping it out" and not sticking up for herself. Some others, like me, thought that Laura's words were empowering to women.

Maine voters overturn gay marriage law

Last May, Maine's Governor John E. Baldacci signed a same-sex marriage into law without previous action by the courts. He was the first governor to in the United States to do so. Opposition to the law was so swift that not a single couple exchanged vows.

A referendum drive began and yesterday voters in Maine rejected the law after both sides had spent millions of dollars on the cause. Sometime after midnight, as the margin continued to grow and 52.7 percent of voters cast were for repeal, the Associated Press called the contest in favor of gay-marriage foes.

The Boston Globe article "Maine voters overturn state’s new same-sex marriage law" may be read here.