Michigan Military Divorce

Jurisdiction in cases of military service or employment abroad

People who are in the armed services or who are employed abroad do not lose their residency and do not lose subject matter jurisdiction in a County in Michigan and in the State of Michigan so long as they can demonstrate the requisite “intent to remain” under Michigan law.

Service persons and/or employees working abroad | residence of intent. All servicepersons must declare a legal residence to the DOD—this is the residence to which they intend to return upon leaving the service. In Michigan the rule of law is that the intent to remain citizens of Michigan is sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction over a divorce in a Michigan court.

People who are in the armed services or who are employed abroad do not lose their residency and do not lose subject matter jurisdiction in a County in Michigan and in the State of Michigan so long as they can demonstrate the requisite “intent to remain” under Michigan law.

Service persons and/or employees working abroad | residence of intent. All servicepersons must declare a legal residence to the DOD—this is the residence to which they intend to return upon leaving the service. In Michigan the rule of law is that the intent to remain citizens of Michigan is sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction over a divorce in a Michigan court.

Military Families - Paying It Forward

CBS featured a moving story recently about an 8-year-old boy named Myles Eckert who lives with his mother and family near Toledo, Ohio. Myles' father, Army Sgt. Andy Eckert, was a soldier who was killed in Iraq when Miles was just five weeks old. Myles is a Gold Star kid whose family that pays it forward, a lesson Myles made clear to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey who serves at an Ohio Air National Guard base located near Toledo.

CBS broadcast interviews with Dailey, Myles and his mom on February 28, 2014. I don't want to spoil the story. You can watch this 3-minute On the Road segment below. Frank Dailey says Myles gave him more than a gift. "A lifetime direction, for sure," Dailey says. I think you will agree.

 

As family lawyers, we are in a position to pay it forward as well. The question is, will we?

Assistance for Service Members in Need

A service member, former client of mine, in response to my query about assistance for some special needs of a current client, active duty in the Navy, made me aware of this grant program. If you are in need or if you are a lawyer with a service member who has financial difficulties, check out http://www.usacares.org/ This organization provides grants, not loans, to service members.

Note also that there is a place to make donations--both of time and money. Having seen some pay statements of service members, it's clear to me that we are not paying them enough for what they do! A donation to USA Cares would be a good way to show your appreciation.

Rethinking children as property

Every now and then I am reminded the our legal system tends to treat children as property. Parents have constitutional rights to be protected and children often have no rights at all in decisions made by judges who are virtual strangers to the family. Nowhere is that so apparent as when a non-marital child is born to a married woman. Protecting the rights of the child to have a relationship with the biological father is difficult indeed--just as difficult as protecting the rights of the biological father to have a relationship with his child.

IVF, Designer babies & Single mothers by choice

Recently, the subject of designer babies came up on a Listserv in which I participate. The topic under discussion was Lesbian couples who have children born using in vitro fertilization (IVF) or sperm donors and the tragedies playing out around the country when these mothers split and the biological mother keeps the non-bio Mom from having contact with the child they've planned and raised together. I opined that there's got to be a way that we can combine genetic material, creating a "designer baby," so that, upon "divorce" both mothers will have an equal claim to custody and parenting time.

Grandparenting time controversy in the Sean Goldman case

On April 5th, the Associated Press reported that Sean Goldman's Brazilian grandmother has filed a court action seeking to have visitation with Sean. Apparently she and her husband have been
in New Jersey since last month and arrived with hopes of visiting 9-year-old Sean Goldman. Sean and his father arrived home in the United States on December 24, 2009.

Apparently Silvana Bianchi has a short memory. Is it possible that she has forgotten that David Goldman had to wait four years to see Sean after Goldman's former wife (Bianchi's daughter, now deceased) abducted the child to Brazil?

Pre-Nups | Tiger Woods case sparks interest

A recent article sparked by Tiger Woods' marital problems discusses the importance of prenuptial agreements today.

"The prenup seems so utterly unromantic — or just plain wrong — but it's also become so right for so many these days: those keenly aware that a marriage may end up in a legal separation, divorce or death. Most prenups tackle financial issues such as real estate, division of bank accounts and potential spousal support in the case of divorce or separation."

Divorce in Michigan | Economy affects lawyers & litigants

An article by Catherine Jun published in the The Detroit News in March 2010 should be of interest to all --not just divorcing couples who are trying to save money by handling their divorces on their own, but also by attorneys who are seeing a decrease in client base. The article confirms what I see time and again as I am sitting in the peanut gallery waiting for my case to be called for final hearing. So often, parties representing themselves are refused entry of a judgment because their paperwork is defective. The article should be of interest to Detroit area lawyers because of the local focus.

Free online calculator | Multi-function

Here's a link to an online calculator -- free, and nothing to download. There are many useful functions. Thanks to Elizabeth Sadowski for bringing this to my attention.

• Investment Calculators for calculating the rate of return, the amount of interest, present value
• Loan Calculators for calculating the amount of the payments and/or balloon payment, amount of down payment, interest rates, etc.
• Personal Finance Calculators for calculating the cost of an afforable house or car, length of time to pay off a loan
• Retirement Calculators for calculating how much do you have to save to reach your goal
• Schedules - What were your principal and interest payments this year?

Moffsoft Free calculators

Cell Phone Snoop Screen 2

Cell Phone Snoop Screen 1