Recently in Other Family Law / Divorce Issues Category

On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. His decision overturns the ban on gay marriage approved by 52 percent of California voters in November 2008. The ballot measure followed the California State Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage.

A lawsuit was brought against Prop 8 by two gay California couples. California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were also named as defendants in the case, but they declined to support Prop 8 during the trial. Defending Prop 8 was the group that had put the measure on the ballot, Protect Marriage.

Social networking sites are increasingly playing a role in the dissolution of marriages and partnerships. A recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 66 percent of its divorce attorney respondents used Facebook as a source for evidence in divorce proceedings. Social network users have been caught by spouses rekindling past relationships or misrepresenting themselves as "single" during the marriage. Estranged spouses and their attorneys have also found photos that prove adultery or document other bad behavior, such as alcohol or drug abuse.

In no-fault divorce, this evidence doesn't necessarily come into play beyond sparking the divorce proceedings. Where this evidence could play a greater role is in child custody proceedings, and determining alimony and child custody payments.

Los Angeles Dodger's owner Frank McCourt's divorce from his wife, Jamie McCourt, could cost $19 million, likely the most expensive divorce in California's history. The Los Angeles Times reports that in the history of high-profile divorces in California, no one can remember a divorce being this costly. The Times reported that the Britney Spears-Kevin Federline divorce cost $835,000, and that the average high-profile case costs around $5 million.  

While the high cost is unusual, the matters involved in the contentious divorce are highly complex. Some say that the fact that both parties are reporting possible fees of around $10 million shows the costs could be necessary. Also unusual is that both Jamie and Frank McCourt have retained multiple attorneys and accountants. Once again, this could be due to the complexity involved in this high asset divorce. 

According to a report in the Contra Costa Times, 97 percent of child abductions reported in California are parental and family abductions. The recent discovery of a girl abducted by her mother from the San Francisco Bay area 15 years ago has given hope to other parents in similar situations.

Dean Click's daughter, Jessica, was abducted by her mother in 1995 when the girl was 8 years old. She is now 22 and lives in another state apart from her mother. Dean Click has said he wants his daughter to know that he always wanted to see her. He hopes they can reunite, but he's also apprehensive about what she thinks of him after all the years away.

Unfortunately, discovering children who were abducted by their parents becomes much more unlikely as time goes by. Justice Department Data cited by The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) states that only 6 percent of children abducted by parents are found if they are still missing 6 months after being reported abducted. For children reported abducted by relatives and missing for over 10 years, the NCMEC reports that between 1990 and 2009, only 0.9 percent were found. 

In 1995, Dean Click and his estranged wife, Wendy Hill, were in the middle of a contentious child custody battle over their daughter in the San Francisco Bay area when Wendy ran away with the eight-year-old. Last week, Wendy was arrested in Los Angeles County on suspicion of parental abduction.

Fifteen years have passed since Click's daughter disappeared. She is now an adult and living apart from her mother in another state, but Click hopes his daughter can get past whatever she thinks of him after all these years. Click says authorities won't release his daughter's contact information to him, but they will forward his contact information to his daughter. He's hopeful she will reach out and that they can reconnect and move forward.

Proposition 8's constitutional ban of gay marriage was on trial for twelve days in January. On Friday, just before a midnight deadline, both sides filed their take on what was heard during that trial. The two takes on the evidence presented in the same trial are decidedly different, with both those defending and those challenging Proposition 8 arguing that their stance on marriage will clearly strengthen the institution and benefit children.

Attorneys on each side provided the post-trial scope of their arguments in writing for Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. In their arguments, the attorneys consider the nature of marriage, the status of gays and lesbians in society, and the motives behind the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008. Judge Walker will review the material before hearing the attorneys' closing arguments, which are yet to be scheduled.

A judge has ordered Detroit-area podiatrist Dr. Kenneth Mitchell to hand over his financial records immediately to an independent receiver. Mitchell's wife, Faye Miller, is seeking an annulment, along with child support for their two young children and damages for emotional distress.

Miller decided to seek the annulment after discovering that Mitchell already had a wife in California when he married her in 1999 and that he married a third woman in Quebec in 2003.Mitchell claims he believed he was divorced from his first wife in California when he married the second and that the third marriage was never finalized. The three wives beg to differ.

Televangelist Benny Hinn has some explaining to do. His Christian followers around the world will want to know how he could be getting divorced from his wife of over 30 years. On Feb. 1, Suzanne Hinn filed for divorce in Orange County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences.

Benny Hinn Ministries is based in Grapevine, Texas, but he also operates a church and television studio in Orange County. Pastor Hinn's televised preaching is seen by millions of people every day. He teaches that good Christians will be rewarded by God with health and prosperity in this lifetime.

Orange County divorce attorneys need to get tech savvy.  After all, 81% of lawyers have seen an increase in the use of Facebook and other social networking sites as evidence in divorce cases.

Divorce is an ugly battle and could get even uglier with the open availability of personal information.  In the past few years, social networking sites have become the go-to venue for social interaction. 

Facebook is not the place you go to share your secrets, as its purpose is to engage people on a social level.  On Facebook, people can post and share photos of their friends and even lovers.

This, of course, can prove quite troubling when their ex-spouse lands on the page, as Orange County divorce attorneys surely know.  One divorce attorney actually tells his clients to terminate their Facebook page immediately, if they are going through a divorce.

Real Housewives of Orange County reality star, Tamra Barney, has been facing severe marriage problems.  Her husband, Simon Barney, recently filed for divorce.

And, the couple doesn't have a premarital agreement. 

But is having a pre-marital agreement always a good thing?  Are Orange County divorce attorneys all in favor of pre-marital agreements or are these agreements not always what they are cracked up to be?