On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Thanks in part to a slow economy, many families in Michigan are dealing with a large amount of credit card debt. By staying on top of their credit card situation, divorcing spouses can maintain a good credit history and avoid a difficult family law problem. Such an issue is just an example of the myriad of topics that can come up in a divorce proceeding.
For people considering a divorce, there are some important facts to note about credit card debt that may help avoid a dispute. For example, the individual and joint account holders on a credit card are liable for the debt on the card. This means that if one of the joint account holders is responsible for most of the debt on the card, the credit card company can come after the other joint account holder to pay.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
People going through the divorce process in Michigan will want to ask themselves this question: what happens if my spouse dies or becomes disabled? Is the flow of money that constitutes spousal support payments and other payments protected by an insurance policy in case the party is unable to pay?
Although divorce decrees may mandate that these obligations must be paid, circumstances may intervene and it could develop into a serious family law problem. There are two kinds of insurance that spouses receiving payments will want to make sure are in place: life insurance and disability insurance.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Friday, May 4, 2012
Divorcing parents in Michigan and elsewhere have a new tool at their disposal to make the situation potentially less acrimonious for all involved: a divorce ceremony.
A divorce ceremony is a solemn ritual marking the end of a marriage, and affirming to the children that the divorcing parties will continue to carry out their role as parents. The goal is to reduce friction among each parent and the children so that it does not develop into a bigger family law problem. An expert on divorce ceremonies has likened them to a memorial service for the marriage, and recommends including children in the ceremony.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Advocates for victims of domestic violence in Michigan and elsewhere are paying close attention to news from the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. A bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act has passed the committee, paving the way for debate on the bill by the full Senate.
The bill under consideration is an effort to counter domestic violence against men and women. The bill would continue a number of initiatives already in existence. These include grant programs that assist local law enforcement and fund programs, such as shelters, for victims of domestic abuse. The bill also will continue a requirement that state family law courts enforce properly-imposed protective orders from other states.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Tuesday, April 17, 2012
As many Michigan parents already know, disputes between divorced parents can be contentious enough when each parent has a different idea as to where their children should live and which schools they should attend. When the parents disagree as to which country the child should live in, however, this family law problem can cause even bigger heartache and headaches.
Consider the case of a father who has literally gone bankrupt trying to get his son back. The man's former wife allegedly brought their now-10-year-old son to her native country of Ukraine two years ago in violation of their custodial agreement. The mother was jailed when she returned to the U.S.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Friday, April 13, 2012
Divorced parents in Michigan can have a difficult time when it comes to child custody cases if they have a job that keeps them out of town for extended periods of time. While some parents might have the ability to change jobs in order to travel less in order to have a chance at child custody, divorced parents who are in the military have no such luxury.
Now some members of Congress are reaching out to the Pentagon to increase support for a bill that would change the way family law cases involving service members are handled. A bill called the Servicemember Family Protection Act would stop judges in family law cases from making a ruling against service members based on the fact that they might be deployed overseas or that they had previously been deployed overseas.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Friday, April 6, 2012
Going through a divorce can be a scary proposition, no matter what stage of life people find themselves in. For people in their 20s with young children to people in their 50s with complicated financial entanglements, everyone's situation is different.
When it comes to sorting things out from a family law perspective, one consideration that cannot be overlooked is the financial impact of a divorce on people. While no two marriages are alike, there are some common factors. Here are some useful tips when facing divorce from a financial perspective:
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Friday, March 30, 2012
While people in Michigan and around the United States have been getting divorced for decades, there is a recent trend that appears to be something truly new, and it has already come to Michigan: the divorce expo.
The concept is pretty much what it sounds like: not unlike a home and garden show or a remodeling expo at a convention center, a divorce expo brings together experts from various fields under one roof. However, instead of top-notch kitchen remodelers or landscape artists, the divorce expo features experts in family law, financial planning and relationship building.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Unmarried Couples on Friday, March 23, 2012
While many couples choose to pursue what some might consider a traditional way to have a family, more and more couples are choosing to be together but not to be husband and wife. This arrangement certainly has its benefits for those people in Michigan and elsewhere who decide to have a family in this way. However, it can make child custody that much more contentious for unmarried couples from a family law perspective.
One noteworthy case is that of TV host and model Padma Lakshmi. Her daughter came from a brief relationship with Adam Dell, who is the brother of the Dell computer conglomerate. Dell filed a suit in 2011 claiming that Lakshmi was denying him proper visitation rights with their daughter, who is now 2.
On behalf of Dart Drouillard, P.C. posted in Family Law on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Divorce is not easy for either party. Putting aside the personal aspects of it, such as child custody and the loss of a partner, it is a jarring experience. This applies as well to what are often the less emotional components of family law: separating property, finding new living arrangements and untangling finances. But in at least one area, women seem to get the short end of the stick: being covered by health insurance.
A study produced here in Michigan examined more than a decade's worth of data from the U.S. Census to compare levels of health insurance both before and after a divorce. The researchers found that women frequently became uninsured after they were divorced at about a 25 percent clip.
