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Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announce divorce

After seven years of marriage, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announced their divorce in a joint statement this month. “We have decided to end our marriage,” the couple declared in the statement. “This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters,” the statement continued. Lopez and Anthony are the parents of three-year-old twins.

Lopez and Anthony dated briefly during the 1990s, became long-time friends, and even appeared in music videos together. Their friendship turned into a romantic relationship in early 2004, just two months after Lopez and actor Ben Affleck ended their engagement. Meanwhile, Anthony was separated from his wife, former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres. On June 5, 2004, Lopez and Anthony married in a quiet home wedding, only four days after Anthony’s divorce from Torres.

Nevertheless, Lopez and Anthony’s divorce announcement is not a surprise. Many even expected this outcome. Rumors of divorce surrounded the couple in 2008, when Lopez attended the premiere of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” without Anthony and without her wedding ring. Even though the couple performed together at the 2011 “American Idol” final, many people observed that their show lacked the chemistry of past presentations together.

Rumors increased this month when Lopez took her mother, Guadalupe, as her date to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts gala, where they meet Prince William and Duchess Kate. Two things missing at the BAFTA gala were Lopez’s husband, Anthony, and her wedding ring. Reports circulating in the Internet attribute Anthony’s excessive jealousy and temper to the reason behind the split.

So far, the couple has characterized their split as an amicable one. However, the couple will need to resolve several important issues in order for their divorce to be finalized, including marital property division, child support and child custody.

Source: USA Today, “Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony call it quits,” Olivia Barker, 15 July 2011

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Kelsey Grammer reaches child custody arrangement with ex-wife

Child custody battles are never pleasant, whether you’re a celebrity or a regular person working through a divorce. TV star Kelsey Grammer and his reality-TV star wife prove this.

The couple, who divorced in 2011 after 13 years of marriage, struggled to reach a child custody agreement for their 9-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son.

In late July, the couple reached at least a temporary agreement. Grammer’s wife, it turns out, will have custody of the two children more often than will Grammer. The agreement, according to a recent story in the Winnipeg Free Press, also takes into account the travel schedule of the 56-year-old Grammer.

This represents only a first step, though. The former spouses still need to reach an agreement on child support and permanent custody.

Earlier, during the couple’s divorce proceedings, Grammer had suggested splitting up the former couple’s children, with Grammer taking custody of his son while his former wife had custody of the couple’s daughter. Grammer’s ex-wife, though, rejected this arrangement, arguing that such a move would prove a disruptive force in her son’s education.

The Grammers still have much to work out regarding child custody. However, the couple has at least taken the first steps to reaching a compromise agreement. This is an important lesson for all couples working through divorce proceedings today. Reaching agreement over child custody is never an easy process. Couples must consider a host of factors, and must weigh competing interests.

Nevertheless, the goal of any child custody dispute should be to find the best living situation for the children of divorce. Couples who can do this will go a long way toward lessening the impact of their separation on their children.

Source: Winnipeg Free Press, “Kelsey Grammer agrees temporary child custody deal,” 21 July 2011

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Mother with cancer loses custody of her children

Child custody battles in Wisconsin are seldom easy. One such battle recently fought in another state, though, has been tougher than most.

In this case, a North Carolina mom was fighting two battles at once: She wanted to retain custody of her children, and she was also battling Stage 4 breast cancer.

Earlier this month, the mother lost her legal battle. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the woman’s two children, a 6-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl, must move from their home in Durham to live with their father in Chicago before the start of the new school year.

The mother is appealing the decision. However, it’s unclear if the Supreme Court would want to uproot the children again after they move to Chicago.

This child custody battle was a particularly messy one, according to a recent story in Time Magazine. Both the mother and father in this case were painted as parents who were far from perfect. The sides in the case accused each other of infidelities, domestic violence and poor parenting skills.

Nevertheless, the supporters of the mother wonder if she isn’t being discriminated against because she has cancer. An oncologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham told the court that there is no reason to believe that the mother in this case could not be one of those cancer patients in which the disease does not progress any further.

This painful case is a reminder of how important it is for family law judges who are making child custody rulings to consider the best interests of children involved.

Source: Time, “Mom with Cancer Loses Custody of Kids,” Bonnie Rochman, Aug. 13, 2011

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Census finds change in Wisconsin divorce and marriage patterns

According to a recent analysis of data from the U.S. Census, people in Wisconsin are getting married and filing for divorce at a slower pace than couples living in the rest of the nation. In the years since the Census Bureau began keeping track of both marriages and divorces in 2008, it found that Wisconsin’s marriage and divorce rates lagged behind the national average.

According to the Census data, only 1.7 percent of Wisconsin men and 1.6 percent of Wisconsin women got married in 2009, compared with the national average of 1.9 percent for men and 1.8 percent for women.

Diana Elliot, a demographer with the Census Bureau, says that these two numbers are strongly related. She believes that many people are delaying marriage, and divorce rates will fall when there are fewer marriages. In fact, delaying marriage is part of a larger national trend. Over the past forty years, the average age at which a man marries has increased to 28 and the average woman married about the age of 26, reflecting an increase of about six years.

However, just because people are delaying marriage does not mean that that are putting off relationships. Cohabitation and having children out of wedlock is becoming increasingly common in Wisconsin. With that in mind, it is important to note the legal ramifications of having children out of wedlock.

When a married couple divorces, the issues of child support, child custody, alimony, and marital property division are resolved in the divorce order. When an unmarried couple with children separates, there is no divorce order. When a mother never marries a child’s father, a paternity lawsuit is needed to determine the issues of child support, child custody and visitation.

Source: The Superior Telegram, “Wisconsin marriage and divorce rates trail the nation’s,” Teresa Shipley, Aug. 25, 2011

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Mel Gibson’s child custody dispute is settled

The child custody fight between Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend has been one of the most hotly contested custody disputes in recent memory. As you may remember, Gibson began his relationship with Oksana Grigorieva following his split from his wife, and Oksana gave birth to their daughter. Since that time, Gibson and Grigorieva have had a tumultuous breakup, with embarrassing allegations being publicly hurled by both sides. Gibson and Grigorieva have been involved in their child custody dispute ever since, until now.

Last week, news broke that Mel Gibson and his ex-girlfriend had agreed to a settlement in a child custody case involving their daughter. However, the details remained unclear. A spokesperson for the actor declined to comment as to whether this agreement settled the various issues between the two, but thanked the judge for offering assistance in arriving at the agreement. This week, the details became public.

According to the L.A. Times, Gibson and Grigorieva will share joint legal custody of their daughter. Under their agreement, Grigorieva will be able to remain in her current home with her daughter, and Gibson will pay her $750,000 in three installments over the course of the next five years.

The parties reached an interesting agreement regarding privacy issues and the mansion that Gibson has provided for Grigorieva and their daughter. Upon their daughter’s 18th birthday, the house will be sold and the proceeds will be placed in a trust for the daughter, and not Grigorieva. In addition, the agreement prohibits either party from writing a book about their relationship.

Sources: Los Angeles Times, “Mel Gibson to pay mother of his toddler $750,000,” Richard Winton, Aug. 31, 2011

Reuters, “Mel Gibson, Oksana Grigorieva settle child custody,” Aug. 27, 2011

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Grandparents’ calls for custody rights grow louder

There is quite a bit of drama playing out in family law courts across the nation (with Milwaukee being no exception) over whether grandparents have any right to be involved in their grandchildren’s lives. This is an issue that may hit home if a Milwaukee grandma or grandpa becomes the odd person out after a child gets a divorce, dies, loses child custody or signs away parental rights and (inadvertently or otherwise) winds up shutting the grandparent out of the grandchild’s life.

Legally, parents and parents alone have a Constitutional right to raise their children. However, all 50 states have passed laws that allow non-parent third parties (such as grandparents) a certain degree of contact with a child in certain circumstances. (Naturally, the appropriate circumstances differ from state to state). All of those laws were put into question, though, by a 2000 Supreme Court ruling that said such laws could not cut too deeply into the rights of a competent parent

However, that approach ignores the fact that social dynamics are changing and grandparents are playing larger roles in their grandchildren’s lives. Aside from the fact the most grandparents love their grandchildren very much, many of them offer their grandchildren financial assistance or other support. The demographic of grandparents being primary caregivers has jumped in recent years, too.

What are your thoughts about all of this? Do you think it is better to leave parents as the sovereign rights-holders when it comes to kids, or do you think grandparents should be allowed some access to their grandchildren?

Source: The Associated Press, “States’ grandparent visitation laws raise concern,” Stephanie Reitz, Nov. 5, 2011

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Child custody trend of “nesting” grows among divorced parents

Milwaukee parents who are divorcing their spouses may understandably have concerns about how the separation is going to affect their children. While it is not true that a divorce is automatically going to traumatize a child, it is good to pay attention to your child’s well-being during what will be a time of great transition.

To reduce the impact a divorce and subsequent child custody arrangement may have on children, some parents are turning to a trend called “nesting.” Basically, the children stay put in one house and it is the parents who shuttle back and forth.

The chief positive of nesting is that it allows children to feel that they have a permanent space of their own. This can help them feel more stable and more grounded.

However, nesting raises some unique complications. First, do the parties of a divorced couple really want to keep in that close contact with one another? That can draw our the separation and slow a person’s ability to move on. Second, nesting can be expensive if the father has his own home, the mother has her own home and the children occupy a third home. There are also practical consideration to sort out, such as who buys the groceries, who metes out chores and enforces homework time and curfew and who has authority over day-to-day housekeeping concerns, such as redecorating and furniture.

If you think nesting is something you would like to try, it would be a good idea to speak out the arrangement with your family law attorney. He or she can listen to your proposed arrangement and can point out what might be some legal sticking points. At that point, if you are still interested, your attorney can discuss with you some possible ways to address those sticking points.

Source: Time, “Latchkey Parents,” Belinda Luscombe, Sept. 26, 2011

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How do Milwaukee families relocate with split child custody?

After a divorce, many people will look at their living situations and might find that it is unsustainable, or a few changes might be needed. One of these changes might be the location in which a person lives. If a family decides they need to move, whether it is for financial reasons, education reasons or for support by other family members, there are many things that need to be considered. A very important consideration is child custody.

Many parents in Milwaukee share placement and may have joint child custody with another parent. If one parent intends to relocate and reside with the child 100 miles or more from the other parent, the parent who intends to relocate and reside with the child shall file a motion with the court seeking permission for the child’s relocation. See, Wis. Stat. § 767.481. It is very important to make sure that moving out of the area with your children doesn’t violate your court order.

The motion for relocation includes the date of the move, the reason and new proposed municipality and state of the move, as well as a new placement schedule including changes to holidays and costs for transportation of the child between the parents. This document must be filed within 60 days of the move and the other parent has right to object 5 days before the initial hearing which could include an alternate proposal with placement modifications.

An experienced family law attorney can help those who want to relocate work through child custody issues in Milwaukee. Making sure all the proper legal documents are in place before a move is important to ensure a person doesn’t run into legal trouble down the line.

 

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Commission recommends uniform protections for military parents

When it comes to family law, state laws can vary greatly. For example, some Wisconsin laws governing divorce, child custody and child support differ from Minnesota or Michigan’s laws. This can create confusion and turmoil when a divorce or child custody case crosses state lines.

In effort to provide more uniformity between the states, a group called the Uniform Law Commission was created. Most recently, the commission has been working on a set of uniform codes that states can adopt to standardize custody rights for military parents.

The commission, which is made up of about 350 attorneys from across the nation, met this week to approval to the Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act, which addresses child custody rights for parents who are deployed.

Currently, a majority of states have enacted laws that protect the custody and visitation rights of military parents, but the rules lack consistency.

“States are all across the board on those issues, so the impetus for the uniform act was to provide states with a well-conceived piece of legislation that takes the best practices from all the states that we have seen and give them some guidance,” a lawyer for the Uniform Law Commission said.

Some of the issues that will be addressed in the uniform codes include: how to determine which court has jurisdiction when a military parent is assigned to a base in another state; visitation rights for step-parents or grandparents when a parent is deployed; and what should happen with a temporary custody when a parent returns from deployment.

Once recommended by the Uniform Law Commission, it will be up to the state legislatures to adopt the inform codes into law.

Years ago, the commission drafted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which was adopted by 49 states as a standard for determining jurisdiction and child support orders between states.

Source: Newsday, “U.S. panel: Improve child custody rules for military,” July 18, 2012

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Singer Usher continues in quest for child custody

Usher, the famous singer, has come to showcase his talent in Wisconsin. Wisconsin residents may have also read about his divorce and child custody case in the papers, as well as the recent tragedy that struck a near relation of his.

His ex-wife had a son who was recently involved in a fatal jet-ski accident. Tragically, the 11-year-old boy did not survive his injuries. Apparently, Usher who regarded this boy as a stepson during his marriage to the boy’s mother, was unable to attend the funeral.

Usher recently requested that an approaching court date concerning the custody of the couple’s children be postponed. In that request, it appeared that his motives involved a genuine desire to avoid stress and strain for his ex-wife, himself and their children in light of the recent tragedy.

Usher also admittedly is concerned that a court would be sympathetic to a mother who has just lost one son, and could be loath to take her other children away from her during this vulnerable time.

On the other hand, Usher’s ex-wife does not believe that Usher requested the delay out of concern for her, or that Usher is suffering from her son’s death. She seems particularly hurt by Usher’s lack of visible concern during the final days of the boy’s life. Losing one child also seems to have heightened her need for closure of the child custody proceeding concerning her other children.

As a result, she requested that the court date not be moved. The case is expected to move forward on schedule.

Source: TMZ, “Usher’s Ex-wife His Sympathy for My Dead Son is ‘BOGUS’,” Aug. 2, 2012

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