Imagine you were married 30 years ago, and before you said, "I do," your spouse popped a very awkward question: "Will you sign a prenuptial agreement?"
At the time, you were so in love – and your spouse was from such a wealthy family – that the request, allegedly prompted by your future spouse's parents, seemed reasonable. You signed the dotted line and proceeded to have a beautiful marriage ceremony and never gave the legal document another thought.
Fast forward three decades and now you're getting a divorce. You had completely forgotten about the prenuptial agreement until your husband reminded you, and now you want to know: "Is it even valid after all these years?"
Your prenuptial agreement might be too old and outdated for court to honor its terms. It's dangerous to sign a prenuptial agreement, set it aside and never think about it again. These documents need to be revised, refreshed, updated and reaffirmed through a post-nuptial agreement on a regular basis. This is advised every five years, but at the very least, couples should re-affirm their agreements every 10 years. Failing to do so could cause a prenup to appear stale and outdated to the court. In fact, it's not uncommon for state family courts to toss out an old, outdated prenup as legally invalid and no longer applicable.
If your divorce involves a prenuptial agreement, don't assume that the document is valid. Family law judges will scrutinize the validity of your prenuptial agreement and – if the right circumstances are present – the judge could invalidate the prenup and refuse to honor its terms in court.
]]>Most people view prenuptial agreements as if they're for the rich or famous. Perhaps you've heard stories of a billionaire trust fund baby requiring his future spouse to sign a prenup that gives up her right to his fortune in the event of a divorce. Perhaps you've viewed prenuptial agreements as a kind of insurance policy against gold diggers. However, prenuptial agreements -- although they might serve this purpose in some cases -- are much more than a way for the rich to prevent losing their money in a divorce.
Even young people with very little in the way of personal assets can benefit from a prenuptial agreement, which is really a way of planning one's divorce procedure in advance -- just in case it becomes necessary. Although couples cannot decide all their divorce matters in advance -- for example, child custody and child support can't be covered in a prenup -- a premarital agreement can help couples pin down a lot of details, making the divorce process dramatically easier, faster and cheaper in the unlikely event it's necessary to dissolve their marriage.
Here are some of the most relevant prenup benefits:
If you think you can benefit from a prenuptial agreement, consider speaking with a family law attorney who can assist you in evaluating whether a prenup is right for you and your family.
]]>Do you want to have sole custody of your child? To have sole custody, in the truest sense of the word, you will need to obtain both full physical custody and full legal custody.
The differences between these two types of child custody are significant in terms of what they provide the mother or father who is seeking them.
Let's take a closer look at the difference between physical and legal custody:
Who the child lives with
The parent who the child lives with is the parent with "physical custody" rights. In the past, it was common for only one parent to have full physical custody. Family law courts once felt that it was overwhelmingly important for children to one permanent home. Now, courts feel differently after psychological research has shown that many children benefit greatly from dividing their time living between both their parents' homes. As such, shared physical custody is much more common.
Who makes decisions for the child
The parent who makes important decisions for the child is the parent with "legal custody rights." It's common for parents to share legal custody, even if the child only lives with one parent. Legal custody gives the parent the ability to decide various issues for the child, including health care, education, spiritual, dress and disciplinary decisions, just to name several.
If you want sole custody of your child, you'll need to obtain full custody rights in terms of both these types of child custody. Single mothers, who had their children out of wedlock, may have the easiest time obtaining sole custody of their children like this. However, sole custody rights could be available to any parent given the right conditions.
]]>Imagine you received an excellent job offer across state lines. Or, imagine your sick mother needed you on the other side of the country. If you're a single parent who shares child custody with the other parent, this kind of dilemma could represent a serious problem: Can you move to the new location so you can take the job offer or help your mother without violating your child custody agreement?
If the other parent of your child does share custody with you and at least has regular visitation rights, this kind of dilemma could, indeed, represent a difficult challenge. In the state of Michigan, family courts abide by the "100-mile" rule, which governs how far single parents can move their homes and bring their children with them with they share custody with another parent.
It's a very simple rule that prohibits parents from moving more than 100 miles away. If a parent chooses to move, in violation of the 100-mile rule, he or she could risk losing child custody.
That said, in some cases, it may be possible for a parent to gain the court's permission to move with his or her children more than 100 miles away from the other parent. In order for this to occur, the parent needs to first get approval from the other parent or petition the court by showing proof of why the move is in the best interest of the child or children concerned.
If you want to move more than 100 miles away from your current domicile with your kids, make sure you understand what Michigan state family law has to say about it.
]]>If you're raising your child as a single co-parent and sharing the parenting responsibilities with the mother or father of your child, you may not always see eye-to-eye with the other parent. In some cases, a parental disagreement like this could blow up into a dispute that ends up in court. However, if you establish some rules of procedure for resolving disputes within your parenting plan, you may be able to prevent a costly court battle.
Here are three important things that you can include in your parenting plan that will help prevent a serious legal dispute later down the road:
There's no way for parents to prevent the risk of disagreements about how they want to raise their children. However, parents can do a lot to minimize the chances of a dispute and minimize the severity of the dispute should a disagreement ever arise. This can be achieved through a well-thought-out parenting plan that honors the wishes and goals of both parents and complies with state family and child custody law.
Setting The Rules For Resolving Post-Divorce Parenting Disputes]]>A 64-year-old man, who escaped paying child support for decades, recently pleaded guilty to a failure to pay child support charge in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The father of four, who authorities located and arrested in Canada, could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison and two years of supervised release as a result of his conviction.
According to authorities, the man owed $559,000 in overdue child support. However, he had been living in Canada under a false name, which allowed him to escape arrest for 20 years.
The unpaid child support dates back to 1989, when the man and his ex-wife divorced. A judge issued a child support order for the man to pay $100 monthly for his four children, but later a judge reduced the payments to just $14 monthly after the man claimed to have a disability. In 1996, the man sold an internet company for $2 million, which caused a judge to order him to pay a higher amount in child support.
As a result of not paying his child support bills for two decades, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General dubbed the father to be its "Most Wanted Deadbeat."
This case is a good example of how failure to pay child support can result in stiff legal consequences. It's also a good example of how government authorities assist individuals who are owed child support in tracking down missing parents to enforce a child support decree. If you're owed child support, or if you're worried that you might not be able to pay your child support, make sure you address the issue in a legally appropriate manner.
Source: MLive.com, "'Most Wanted Deadbeat' pleads guilty to $559,000 child support bill," Emily Monacelli, May 07, 2018
]]>International basketball star LeBron James has recently become embroiled in a trademark dispute because of his barbershop video series. The creator of "The Social Club," another barbershop video series, claims that James and his company, Uninterrupted, stole the idea of a barbershop-based talk show from him.
According to the plaintiff, Adventure Enterprises, James' show, "The Shop," directly stole the unique concept for "The Social Club," which is "a dual-purpose barbershop and content studio whose mission, in addition to providing haircuts, is to support cultural discussion, building community, personal growth, and diversity."
At "The Social Club," Adventure Enterprises films "Shop Talk," which is "a program where guests consist of local and national celebrities who share their business stories and other insights while getting their hair cut."
The plaintiff and owner of Adventure Enterprises alleges that he exchanged numerous email conversations and texts messages with an employee of Uninterrupted in which he described the concept for the show in detail over a two-year period.
An interesting twist to all this came when James' company filed its own cease and desist letter against the University of Alabama for its own version of a similarly-themed talk show concept. The irony of the fact that James' company would accuse the university of the same kind of wrongful conduct that it was committing was not lost on the trademark infringement complaint filed by the plaintiff in this case.
If you're embroiled in a trademark dispute, you may want to investigate your legal rights in terms of federal trademark laws. By successfully navigating your lawsuit, you may be able to protect your right to generate income from a particular trademark or business concept.
Source: Forbes, "LeBron James In Trademark Tangle Over Barbershop Web Series," Michelle Fabio, April 18, 2018
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