When Orders Of Protection Don’t Work

I am always troubled by news stories concerning people who are injured or killed by a person for whom they had a valid protective order against. On the CBS Early Show, they discussed a case in which a woman had such a protective order and was killed by her ex-boyfriend, despite the order and numerous reports to the authorities concerning the threats that her ex-boyfriend had made about his intent to kill her. The woman’s family has brought a wrongful death suit against the authorities for their inability to protect the victim. While I sympathize with the family in this case, However, I worry about creating an authority whereby local authorities can be sued for their inability to stop a crime from occurring. Perhaps the best approach is to go to our legislatures and demand stricter rules regarding Protective Orders to insure that the authorities are able to keep a closer eye on those individuals who are likely to commit a violent crime. Under most circumstances Protective Orders are effective in keeping people safe. How we stop those few individuals from violating a Protective Order to commit a violent crime is something that all of us need in the family law arena need to think about.

A Divorce Make-Over

Once a divorce is final, a person can be left feeling as if they don’t have an identity. Additionally, they may feel unsure as to what their next step is and may feel too vulnerable and self-conscious to even think about stepping into the dating world. I have stated numerous times in my blog that there are two different “divorces” occurring when a couple decides to dissolve their marriage. There is the emotional divorce and the legal divorce. They are connected, but the emotional divorce has implications that last long after the legal divorce is finalized. If you feel you are in need of assistance in getting your life back on track after your divorce, there are a number of different resources out there to help you out. One such resource can be found on ivillage.com with the help of Dr. Gail Saltz, who can help you complete a Divorce Make-Over. To read Dr. Saltz’ helpful suggestions, visit her blog at http://gailsaltz.ivillage.com/health/?par=today,wb.

Divorce Less Likely to Have Impact on Presidential Candidate Than 40 Years Ago

With the 2008 Presidential election heating up, it is just a matter of time before each candidates' marital status is brought into question. Whether it is Hilary Clinton's tolerance for President Clinton's extramarital activities or Rudy Guiliani's divorce, I'm sure that all of the candidates who have had news worthy marital issues will face scrutiny from the media and American public. Some argue that this scrutiny is a result of the more widely accepted divorce standard and that candidates even forty years ago had extramarital activities that their wives and the news media turned a blind eye to. Today, the media is giving the American public what they want to hear and that's dirt on the most public of figures. Whether or not this is due to the fact that divorce is more accepted today than in previous generations is still up for debate. However, in my opinion, I'm not sure those who are good in marriage, necesseraily correlate to being good as President, so a person's marital issues should not have any bearing on whether or not you should vote for them.

If you would like to read an article concerning divorce, adultery, Presidential elections and hte media, see the following site: www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/2599

Joint Parenting Software

I am always looking for new and better ways for couples to make co-parenting work. It used to be that the non-residential parent only had visitations with his/her children on an every other weekend basis. Now, more and more couples are attempting rotating custody or the non-residential parent has weekly visitations, which make schedules hectic and hard to keep track of. I stumbled across a website www.jointparents.com while reading a blog published on an Oklahoma Family Law Blog. This tool helps parents stay organized and gives them a place to communicate with one another about their children. There are calendars, diaries, expense charts and other tools which can assist parents and keep everyone on the same page. If it is something that you are using, please post your comments here. If you are not yet using www.jointparents.com, visit the website to determine whether it is something that can work for you.

Thank you to Dan Nunley for introducing me to this tool. His blog can be found at http://oklahomafamilylawblog.typepad.com/oklahoma_family_law_blog/2007/05/coparenting_too.html

Working Women More Likely To Stay Married?

I'm always amazed at all of the studies there are out there about marriage and divorce. There is a new study that suggests that women who work outside the home are more likely to stay married. They attribute this to a lot of different things including the fact that women who work are contributing to the household income, so are more often equal decision makers when it comes to finances. I would say that a majority of my cases involve women who work outside the home and I think that this latest study down plays the issues and problems that may arise when both couples are working 80 hours a week and not able to devote the necessary time and attention to their family and household. I would be interested to see whether the findings are the same if you polled couples who both had demanding jobs or mothers who are forced into the workforce because of economic necessity.

If you would like to read the article concerning this marital study, visit: http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/06/03/news/business/60-wives.txt

Marriage Counseling At Work

There is no question that a stressful and demanding job can take a toll on a marriage. Many men and women are accused of being married to their job rather than their spouse. Often times bosses are not sensitive to the fact that a person is experiencing some marital woes, which can sometimes lead to divorce. Some companies are offering programs to help people strengthen their marriages and other personal relationships. While this trend may be a result of companies realizing that people with marital stress and problems tend to be not as productive as they could be if their marriages were happy, it is still a good thing and something that all people should take advantage of if available. Anything that helps build stronger marriages and relationships is never a bad thing.

If you would like to read the article upon which this blog is based, visit: http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/0531biz-marriagejob31-ON.html

Judicial Behavior Under Scrutiny

In January, I wrote a blog about Judge Hauser, who was a domestic relations sectional circuit judge here in Orange County, and the circumstances surrounding his divorce. It seems that Judge Hauser's life is under scrutiny again, as a woman has come forward to claim that she was a victim of Judge Hauser's unwanted sexual advances. The Judicial Qualifications Committee is investigating Judge Hauser, and may order that sanctions be assessed for his alleged unethical behavior. The question for me is not whether or not the woman making the accusations is telling the truth about the unwanted sexual advances, but why a judge had put himself into such a situation in the first place. Judge's, like all of us, are human. However, we hold them up to a different moral standard than other's because we are looking to them to make decisions about our lives, especially in the context of domestic relations. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out, but I hope that we do not read about any other judge whose behavior is being considered to be unethical by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Committee.

If you would like to read the latest story about Judge Hauser, visit: http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/63498.html