Reality Television and Divorce

Its been some time since I have posted any blogs, and while I was searching online today for interesting and new topics to discuss, Kate and Jon Gosselin popped up more times than any other topic. I've being trying to avoid a blog on this subject, but when these folks came up numerous times when I searched "divorce", I have chosen to bite the bullet and write a blog on this subject.

In case you are not aware of who the Gosselins are, they are a couple who have 8 children, 6 of which are sextuplets. Their lives are being chronicled on a TLC reality television program, and Mr. and Mrs. Gosselin are being scrutinized because of allegations of affairs and Kate's alleged poor treatment of her husband and previous family helpers. I have no interest in scrutinizing the lives of these people, and further have no opinion on who is responsible for the alleged demise of their marriage. However, I think that most people will agree that marriage can be very difficult, and I often question why anyone, celebrity or not, would open up their lives to the public by putting their family on television. It seems that every couple who chooses to do this ends up in divorce court. Is this because the couple has always had problems or is it because negative and positive media attention leads people down the path of adultery, greed and different wants? I'm interested to know whether people believe that the reality TV families always had issues and were doomed for divorce and fame was just a catalyst, or whether other people believe its the media attention that caused the breakdown of the marriage.

Is Divorce Recession Proof?

I've read lots of articles and stories about how divorce rates are on the decline and the reason for the decline is the poor economy. I've been wary of this theory for quite some time given the fact that I haven't seen much of a decline in my own practice. In some cases, we are busier than ever. The issues that people are arguing over are different, meaning that people are fighting over who has to keep the house rather than who wants the home. However, we haven't seen much a decline in the amount of people who are coming in for consultations. The following article discusses whether or not divorce is recession proof.

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1041015.html

Child Support Woes

I hear many complaints from people who are unable to collect their child support, do not get the remedies they are promised by the Department of Revenue for getting arrears paid, or in some cases, there are people who have been paying child support who are not getting their proper credits. This doesn't occur in every case, but in many cases, people are lost in the system and there are many questions about whether or not the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division is being properly managed. The following article addresses one local woman's problem with child support, specifically the Department of Revenue. If you have had similar problems, please let us know about them and/or contact your local congressman/woman. Perhaps with a little bit of effort we all can help make some changes.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-asecsupport041909apr19,0,6230693.story

Another Bad Effect of Poor Economy

As the economy has yet to show any signs of real recovery, there are numerous after shocks that have been trickling down into the family law arena that were not anticipated. One of the effects is an alleged rise in domestic violence. Recently I read an article about the rise of domestic violence as a result of the stresses that come with bad housing markets, high unemployment rates and the dissipation of assets by virtue of the plunging stock market. While I'm not sure that there is 100%correlation to the bad economy and rising domestic violence cases, I do believe that stress can have an impact on how people deal with difficult situations and children. If you are currently in a situation where domestic violence is threatened, or has occurred, I urge you to seek help. If you live in Orange County, Florida please contact Harbour House at (407) 886-2856.

Virtual Time-Sharing

Technology is a wonderful thing and there are many ways that people are using technology as a tool when it comes to issues related to their children in divorce. It seems that many states are recognizing virtual visitation and have included this in their divorce decrees whereby parents are able to "visit" with their children online. I don't believe that virtual visitation should ever be a substitute for actual contact, but I think when children live in a different state from their parents, or in some cases, are in the military and overseas, virtual time with a parent is far superior to a phone call. I also think it gives children an opportunity to have a face to face conversation with a parent and allow them to share pictures and other visual things that may help the parties connect when they can't be together in person.

Illegal Filing Fees in Divorce

Last summer there was an increase in court filing fees that occurred state wide here in Florida. What was more shocking for most of us was not that the courts were charging $408.00 rather than $363.00 for a new divorce filing, but that there would be a $295.00 charge for all counter-petitions. Seems like many people around the state are in an uproar over the charge for a counter-petition for dissolution of marriage. Some county clerks are continuing to charge this fee even after the Attorney General issued a formal opinion that stated that the filing fee for counter-petitions was not authorized in family law cases. Now the clerks of the court are subject to a class action suit which has been filed in Hillsborough County about the wrongful charging of these filing fees. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out, but I would hope that the clerks would have to return these fees to the people who have already paid them and to stop collecting the fees from future counter-petitioners.

How Much Money Does One Person Need?

I'm always shocked and appalled when I hear about people who ask the courts to provide them with unreasonably large divorce settlements, especially in what I consider to be a short term marriage. For most people, if you haven't been married for at least ten (10) years, alimony is the exception and not the rule and settlements are based strictly on what assets the marriage has obtained during the marital period. I was forwarded a story by one of my employees about a woman who was married in 2002 and is seeking to obtain a settlement that would support her need to have $53,000.00 per week for her living expenses. Her list of weekly expenses she has, among other things, $8,000.00 for travel expenses and $4,500.00 for clothing. The issue is that she signed a Post-Nuptial Agreement whereby she would get $43 Million and she wants to set that agreement aside. Some lawyers seem to think that she would get far less than $43 million if the agreement were to be set aside, and given the length of the marriage, I would tend to think that would be the case. Now I'm sure that this woman believes that she cannot live off of less than $53,000.00 per month and that she has a major concern about burning through her divorce settlement in 16 years. However, the real question is whether there are enough marital assets that entitle her to a $43 million settlement in the first place. If there are only $50 million worth of marital assets, she is arguably only entitled to $25 million in a settlement. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out, but I have a suspicion that Marie Douglas-David is going to wish that she had taken the first offer of settlement, because it is usually the best one in divorce. Be careful what you wish is a mantra that holds true often, especially in a divorce.

To read the article that this blog is based upon, see:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29760888/?gt1=43001