Recent Blog Posts in February 2010

Ruth Bettelheim, a psychotherapist, marriage and family counselor, and author, wrote an article in which she claims divorce isn’t what’s damaging to children—family conflict is. Bettelheim points out that multiple studies have shown that divorce and re-marriage do not harm a child’s emotional or psychological well-being. What’s most damaging to children is being exposed to parental or family conflict.

Bettelheim points to a study by E. Mavis Hetherington that found on all meaningful measures of success—social, economic, intellectual, and psychological—that adult children from divorced families were no worse off than children whose parents are still married. In her study, Hetherington writes that although adult children might look back at their parents’ divorce as a painful or sad experience, they were still able to achieve success in young adulthood—finding a job, establishing a career, getting married, building a solid life, etc.

So what needs to change? Bettelheim says we need work on eliminating a legal system that breeds conflict. When the parties in a divorce or custody battle are pitted against each other, it’s not a healthy environment for the children. Bettelheim says that children exposed to family conflict may suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, or have difficulty forming meaningful relationships.

When it comes down to it, Bettelheim is suggesting that parents need to make a better effort to resolve their cases without conflict. For more information about the benefits of an uncontested divorce, contact a Jacksonville divorce lawyer at Ellerin Hutchinson today!

As the economy forces more companies to lay off employees and more employees are losing their jobs, those people who have been ordered to pay child support are having trouble making their payments. These are not people who are lazy or trying to shirk their responsibilities, but rather cannot afford to make their payments because they are not receiving any or enough income. Ask any child support agency in any county and they’ll likely tell you they’ve seen a significant increase in requests to get child support payments lowered.

The case of Michael Dierolf sheds light on this growing problem.

Dierolf was diagnosed with cancer last year. After undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments, Dierolf tried to hold on to his job as a forklift operator but was laid off in December. Since then he has been unable to make his $140-a-week payments for his two sons. Dierolf says he’s been trying his hardest get a job and collect unemployment, but so far has had no luck.

Not one to avoid his responsibilities, Dierolf met with a representative at his local child support agency to get his payments lowered and set up a repayment plan. He says as soon as he gets a job he plans to pay back the $3,000 he owes. Fortunately the representative was understanding of Dierolf’s situation, and is giving him another month or so to try and find a job.

Once a person has been convicted of domestic violence or abuse, it is usually very difficult to get custody or visitation rights—difficult, but not impossible. The key to winning back your rights is by establishing that spending time with you is in the child’s best interest.

As with any issue involving children, the judge’s main concern is protecting the child’s best interests. Right now the judge considers you a threat to the child’s welfare and wellbeing. But if you can prove that you’ve changed and that it would benefit your child to see and spend time with you, may be able to convince the judge to award you limited custody and visitation rights. This might include short visits with your children in public places or supervised visitation.

A history of violence or abuse is something judges look for whenever they are considering a child custody and visitation arrangement. Those parents without a history of violent behavior will be given more rights to their children than those who have a history of abuse. That’s not to say a domestic violence arrest will squash a parent’s chances of obtaining custody or visitation, it’s just that the judge may choose to only grant limited access to the children.

If your child’s other parent has been awarded custody or visitation, and you think his or her abusive behavior makes them a threat to the child, you can ask the judge to reduce their rights or order supervised visits only. Judges are often willing to award supervised visitation, as children benefit from having relationships with both parents. There are times, however, when the abuse is so bad the child must have no contact with the parent.

If you have a question about your custody or visitation rights, or if you are trying to protect your child from an abusive parent, a Jacksonville family law attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson can help. To schedule a consultation to discuss your case, click here to fill out a case evaluation form or simply call the office at (904) 866-4489.

The courts are supposed to modify a child support arrangement if one parent proves they are no longer able to keep up with the payments due to a significant change in circumstances.

That’s how it’s supposed to be, but a judge in Las Vegas has failed to reduce a man’s child support obligations, despite the fact he is earning hundreds of thousands of dollars less in income.

At the time Anthony Fernandez divorced his ex-wife he was making $500,000 to $4 million a year in the stock market. But now that the economy is worse and the stock market has soured Fernandez makes $3,000 a month selling cars.

Obviously unable to keep up with his $80,000 a year in child support, Fernandez asked the Nevada Supreme Court to reduce his child support obligations. Instead of granting him a modification, the judge said he deserves a hearing in the district court to determine whether or not his drop in income warrants a modification.

Another element that should justify Fernandez’s request for a modification is that his ex-wife’s monthly income is now the same if not more than what Fernandez is bringing home.

Drafting a prenuptial agreement is one of the many ways a married couple can protect their assets. While filing a prenuptial agreement is great way to ensure you’re protected, there is a way to further protect your assets if you're interested.

Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trusts (QTIPS) are commonly used in connection with prenuptial agreements when a couple wishes to ensure their assets, property, and wishes have additional protection. QTIPS are a type of trust that specifies the beneficiaries of an estate after one spouse passes away. These trusts are created to ensure surviving spouses receive income, but do not give them control over how the deceased’s assets are distributed.

If you are interested in protecting your assets, a Jacksonville martial contracts lawyer at Ellerin Hutchinson can help. Whether you are interested in drafting a prenuptial agreement, postnuptial agreement, or QTIP, we can help you identify which assets you which to protect and who you would like controlling your assets after your death. From there, we can begin drafting the appropriate paperwork customized to your specifications.

Contact an attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson today to learn more about our services!

It seems as if every week another article or news story is released discussing the high divorce rate around the country. But one recently released CBS New poll says those people who are married are happily married, and would marry their spouse again.

The poll found that 9 out of 10 married Americans would remarry their spouse again, and that many have few regrets about their decision to get married. Men are also slightly more likely to believe in love at first sight than women. 47% of men believe in the idea of love at first sight compared to 44% of women.

One might find it interesting that 95% of men say they’d remarry their wives, compared to 85% of women who said they would marry their husbands again. When asked what factor contributed most to a successful marriage, 49% of the respondents picked respect, followed by trust (37%), sense of humor came (10%), sex (2%), and lastly money at 0%.

With so many divorces and custody battles reported in the news, it’s nice to know there are still some people who are happy and in love. Ellerin Hutchinson offers a number of legal services to married couples, including help creating marital contracts, postnuptial agreements, and other documents designed to protect the couple’s property rights and best interests.

Would you like more information regarding  marital rights and contracts? Connect with an attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson today by calling (904) 866-4489!

Some insurance companies are now requiring men to prove their paternity before they can obtain coverage for their child under their health insurance policy. The only way to prove one’s paternity is by taking a DNA test, so many men are getting DNA tests in order to obtain the proof they need to enroll their children on their insurance policy.

DNA testing is the most accurate method of confirming the biological father a child, and often the only proof accepted by insurance companies and the court. If you need help establishing paternity, an attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson can help. Matters involving paternity are often complex. Sometimes the DNA testing services used are not recognized by the courts or the insurance company you are dealing with, and therefore you may need a second test. Other times the child’s mother may get in the way by contesting your paternity. At Ellerin Hutchinson, you can rest assured you will receive help and guidance from an experienced Jacksonville paternity lawyer who is truly committed to protecting your interests and helping you achieve what you set out to do.

Particularly in regards to health insurance coverage, we can help whether you are trying to get your child included in your policy, or if a woman is claiming you are the father of her child and wants you to provide coverage. If you don’t think the child is yours, we can help you obtain a paternity test. If the test results indicate you are not the biological father you will not be held responsible for providing insurance coverage.

To learn more about our services, please feel free to contact Ellerin Hutchinson today at (904) 866-4489!

Filing for a name change is one of the most common aspects of a paternity dispute. Once a child’s parentage has officially been determined, it’s not unusual for the parents to want to change the child’s name to reflect that of his biological father, or if it was proven that a man is not the child’s father, to change the name to the mother’s last name.

While applying for a name change may seem pretty cut-and-dry, things can actually get quite complex, especially when one parent decides to refute the change. Whether you want to change your child’s name or you want to protect your child’s name from being changed, a skilled  Jacksonville paternity lawyer at Ellerin Hutchinson can help. Sometimes it is necessary to obtain the results of a paternity test before the courts will grant or reject a name change, so if you are interested in  establishing paternity or disestablishing paternity, an attorney at the office can help you with that.

A paternity attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson can also help if you would like to change your name, either because you have gotten married or divorce or because you simply do not like your given name.

As with any legal procedure or application, things can quickly get delayed or hindered when the appropriate course of action isn’t taken. To ensure you take the proper steps in applying for a name change, please feel free to  contact a Jacksonville paternity lawyer at Ellerin Hutchinson today by calling (904) 866-4489.

A 12-year-old Saudi Arabia girl who was forced to marry an 80-year-old man is receiving help from the Human Rights Commission, according to the Times of London.

The girl’s father arranged the marriage to his 80-year-old cousin against both the girl’s wishes and the wishes of her mother.  The practice of marrying young girls to older men is common for poor families in tribal areas.

But now the state-run commission is stepping in to help the girl file for divorce.  The commission has hired an attorney to represent the girl in what some people think could be a test case for banning child marriages in the country. There is currently no minimum age for marriage, which is way so many young girls from poor families are married off to sometimes much older men.

A law that would ban the practice is now being discussed in Riyadh, the country’s capital, and activists are hopeful the case could be a turning point in the country’s marriage laws. Alanoud al-Hejailan, a commission lawyer, said the case is now is in the hands of the court, but that the commission is firmly on the girl’s side.

The court is expected to rule on the case soon. If a divorce is not granted the commission said it would file an appeal.

Ellerin Hutchinson is a family law firm located in Jacksonville, Florida that devotes a large portion of its practice to divorce, including uncontested divorce, contested divorce, military divorce, and divorce mediation. To arrange a consultation with an experienced  Jacksonville divorce attorney at the firm, please  contact Ellerin Hutchinson today at (904) 866-4489.

Here’s an interesting case out of Canada:

CTV, Canada’s largest private broadcaster, has reported that a man with ties to a white supremacist group has lost custody of his two children.

Child & Family Services was alerted in March 2008 when the man’s stepdaughter came to school with white supremacist markings drawn on her body.

The father petitioned to get custody of his young son and stepdaughter, but his application was dismissed. The judge presiding over the case decided the two children will become permanent wards of Child & Family Services.  

The judge said her ruling was based on what is in the best interest of the children, rather than protecting the father’s freedom of expression.  It was clear the girl was starting to hold the same views as her stepfather after a social worker testified that the girl said black people need to die. The judge felt the children have the right to be protected from the promotion of hatred against specific groups of people. 

In making her ruling, the judge also took into account the father’s history of violence and drug and alcohol abuse.

The judge’s ruling isn’t permanent, and the man can re-apply for custody in a year’s time. But now the children’s mother, who it appears abandoned the children, said she wants to petition the court for custody.

The girl’s biological father is glad the judge took custody away from the stepfather, saying he had no grounds to pursue custody of his daughter. It was not mentioned whether or not the biological father plans to seek custody.

If you are involved in a  child custody dispute and need the assistance of a trained and experienced Jacksonville child custody lawyer, please feel free to  contact Ellerin Hutchinson today to schedule a consultation to discuss your case!

Kate Walsh, star of the ABC television drama “Private Practice”, has reached a divorce settlement with her former husband, FOX executive Alex Young.

Under the terms of the settlement, Walsh will pay Young a one-time payment of $627,000, along with half of the money she earned from any work she did during the course of their marriage. Walsh and Young were married in September 2007 and filed for separation in November 2008.

Walsh will get to keep the couple’s house and a piano. The rest of their assets will be divided by alternating picks after flipping a coin to determine who will pick first.  If Young doesn’t pick within 10 days then all of the couple’s marital assets will remain with Walsh.

Walsh and Young’s 15-month marriage came to end when Young filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Walsh also filed for divorce citing the same grounds.

Have you and your spouse decided to file for divorce? Are you interested in settling your divorce without intervention from the court? To learn more about the ways you and your spouse can avoid a contested divorce, please  contact Ellerin Hutchinson today at (904)-866-4489 to arrange a consultation with an experienced Jacksonville divorce lawyer.

When a parent fails to make child support payments the state of Florida will withhold their tax return and use it to pay back any past-due payments. While this policy seems far enough it becomes a problem when a person is wrongly identified as a child’s father. 

This happened to 22-year-old Rusty Cole, a National Guardsman from Port Orange. The state withheld his tax return because they had records indicating Cole was the father of a child born in 1995. The only problem is Cole has never met the mother and was seven years old at the time the child was born, basically making it impossible for him to be the father.

Dependent on that money and desperate to receive it, Cole continuously made efforts to contact the department of revenue but to no avail. Progress was finally made when Cole wrote an e-mail to Governor Charlie Crist explaining the mix-up. Cole finally received an apology from the department with the promise that his return would be processed right away.

Cole’s not getting his hopes up yet. He said he will not feel any relief until his tax return is safely in his hands and he can say for certain that this will never happen again. He also wants the ordeal taken completely off his record.

Have you been wrongfully accused of owing child support? If so, an experienced  Jacksonville family law attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson can help. To arrange a consultation to discuss your case, please contact the office today by calling (904) 866-4489 or by filling out an online case evaluation.

A Michigan woman has been sentenced to 15 days in county jail after pleading guilty to polygamy charges.

According to authorities, Lorri L. Freesland, 43, wasn’t divorce from her first husband, whom she married in 2000, when she married her second husband in 2007. Her first husband moved to Alaska in 2006. There wasn’t any information available regarding Freesland’s efforts to divorce her first husband, or whether or not she knew she was still married.

In addition to the jail sentence, Freesland will also have to serve one year probation. The Huron County judge who sentenced her also gave her six months to resolve her marital status.

It’s interesting that Freesland was charged with polygamy, as most states charge people with bigamy, which is also the crime of being to two or more people at the same time, but the spouses are unware of each other. In polygamous relationships the spouses are usually aware of each other.

Although this article is really about the criminal aspect of polygamy, an interesting question to oneself in a family law context is, “can people commit polygamy or bigamy without even knowing it?” What if someone who filed for divorce thought their divorce was finalized, only to realize later it never was? What if that person ended up getting remarried? Would that make them a polygamist or a bigamist? We don’t think so.

If you are filing for divorce, an experienced Jacksonville divorce attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson can ensure there are no discrepancies or hang-ups that prevent your divorce from becoming finalized.

Contact Ellerin Hutchinson today at (904) 866-4489!

A Florida man whose wife tried to have him killed is now involved in a paternity dispute with a woman he was in a relationship with eleven years ago.

Karen Tanne filed a paternity suit claiming Michael Dippolito is the father of her child. Her suit also claims that Dippolito acknowledged that the child was his when the baby was first born, but then disappeared before he and Tanne even had a chance to name their son. And according to Tanne he has never paid child support.

Dippolito denies that he abandoned the child, but did admit to having a sexual relationship with Tanne around the time she got pregnant.

Tanne is now seeking support from Dippolito and has asked him to get a life insurance policy in her name as the sole beneficiary. For the past 11 years Tanne has been raising the child alone, and even though she has a good job working in online real estate marketing, it’s still a struggle for her sometimes.

In the suit, Tanne’s attorney, Eric Klein, argues that Dippolito has lived a very comfortable and luxurious lifestyle, but has neglected the needs of his child and refused to have a relationship with him. Financial documents disclosed that Dippolito makes around $87,000 a year from his marketing firm.

This is not the first time Tanne has tried to get Dippolito to pay child support. In the late 1990s she filed two paternity suits, but because the courts couldn’t find Dippolito at the time nothing came of them. Tanne was finally able to find Dippolito after the story broke of Dippolito’s now current wife, Dalia, attempt to have him killed.

This time Tanne’s request for a paternity test was successful.  The court ordered Dippolito to take a DNA test, which he did. The results confirmed he is indeed the father of Tanne’s child.

If you are involved in a paternity dispute and need help establishing paternity or disestablishing paternity, a Jacksonville paternity lawyer at Ellerin Hutchinson can provide you with knowledgeable and experienced legal counsel. To arrange a consultation with an attorney at the firm, please call (904) 866-4489 or click here to fill out an online case evaluation.

Former Presidential Candidate John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth have legally separated after more than 30 years of marriage.

The couple’s separation comes after months of controversy. John admitted to having an affair with a Rielle Hunter, a videographer whom he worked with before the start of his second presidential campaign. Then when Hunter claimed John was the father of her child, John repeatedly denied his paternity. It was only last week that John finally admitted he was the father of Hunter’s daughter.

This is not the first hardship to hit the Edwards, although it is the one to break their marriage. In 2007 Elizabeth learned her cancer had returned, which is now in stage four and has been diagnosed as incurable. And in 1996 John and Elizabeth lost their oldest son Wade after he was killed in a car accident.

The couple’s separation also coincides with the release of a book by John’s longtime, now former aide Andrew Young.  In his book, Young claims John asked him to lie about the fact that he fathered a child with Hunter.

Neither Elizabeth nor John has made any public statements regarding their separation.  Elizabeth says the claims Young makes in his book are false and exaggerated. 

The Edwards filed for separation in North Carolina, where the divorce law states that a couple must legally separate for 12 months before they can file for divorce.

If you own a business, it’s important to ensure you have a plan in place to protect your business and its assets in the event of divorce. One study suggests that as many 60% of U.S. business owners do not have a divorce protection plan in place.

Having an established business protection plan is not only a smart financial move for the business owner, but it also protects the employees who depend on the business as their source of income.

Beth Wood, an assistance vice president of the Life Company Marketing division of MassMutual, brings up several good points. She says “If a company is owned by a couple, a divorce can paralyze the business and create divided allegiances among employees and customers. It could also jeopardize a family's wealth and the owners' retirements."  

When a business is owned by just one spouse, a divorce can still hurt the business a great deal. Should the business owner’s ex-spouse be awarded the business as part of the divorce settlement, changing ownership and decision-making power might cause some employees to question authority. It can also be very distracting for employees as well.

The study, conducted by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), found that nearly half of those who responded to the study said their divorce had a negative impact on their business. The study also found that smaller business owners were less likely to have a business protection plan in place than owners of large companies.

A wealthy Brazilian anchorman and his model ex-wife are involved in the latest international custody battle to hit headlines. This one, however, is of a slightly different nature.

In essence, the bitter custody battle is a case of he said she said. Maria Vianna is claiming that her ex-husband, Rony Curvelo, planned to kidnap their 8-year-old daughter and take her to Haiti. Curvelo is insisting that Vianna is manipulating the legal system in order to gain custody of their daughter.

The issue was ignited by an email Curvelo mistakenly sent to Vianna. It was originally intended for his boss and was asking whether or not he should go to Haiti to cover the earthquake. Curvelo is the anchor of a 90-minute newscast in San Paulo.  He previously worked for CNN and Telemundo.

According to Curvelo, Vianna misinterpreted that email and went to a New York judge claiming that Curvelo planned to abduct their daughter and take her to Haiti without getting her vaccinated.  Vianna also claimed that her ex-husband wasn’t making their daughter’s tuition payments and that he wasn’t providing her with a Catholic education.

Curvelo maintains that Vianna’s accusations against him are complete nonsense. “How can I abduct her when she’s already living with me 300 days of the year?” asked Curvelo.

Since the couple divorced, Curvelo has had primary custody of the girl. Curvelo and his daughter live in San Paulo, Brazil, but she comes to New York twice a year for 30 days to spend time with her mother.

Judge sided with Vianna, granted her temporary custody of the girl. Curvelo believes his ex-wife is lying to the judge. According to Curvelo, Vianna signed a notarized agreement granting him custody of their daughter when they first got divorced.  Curvelo is claiming Vianna is now arguing that the agreement is forged and that the deal they made when they got divorced shouldn’t be upheld because she didn’t have a lawyer at time.

Curvelo’s lawyers maintain the agreement is real and valid and  that it was indeed signed by an attorney.

The Curvelo-Vianna custody battle is set to begin tomorrow at 2 p.m.

If you are entangled in a child custody battle, or if you are planning to file for divorce and expect child custody to be a heated issue, you can trust an experienced Jacksonville child custody attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson to protect your best interests, provide you with trusted advice and guidance, and help you achieve your legal objectives.

To learn more about our services, please contact Ellerin Hutchinson today at (904) 866-4489!

Last week a Chimpanzee garnered national headlines as its owners were slated to go to court to fight for custody in Sarasota.

James “Mike” Casey of Missouri is taking the chimp’s caretaker, Virginia “Gini” Valbuena, to court.  Casey and his ex-wife ran a chimp farm together while they were married.  He believes that during their contested divorce, his ex-wife gave the chimp, named Eli, to Valbuena.

Casey claims the chimp rightfully belongs to him, and that the chimp was born during his divorce.  Valbuena, however, claims she got the chimp from a California wildlife park, and maintains that Casey’s ex-wife did not give her the chimp.

Casey’s attorney called for DNA evidence to help prove where the chimp came from under the same laws applied in paternity disputes. Casey says the DNA would be compared to the chimp’s parents at the farm.  If the DNA matches, then it proves the chimp is his.

Valbuena’s attorney contested the motion for DNA testing.

After reviewing testimony, Circuit Court Judge Charles Roberts eventually decided that DNA testing should be not done. He did however say that a DNA test could be done in the future if new details surrounding the case were introduced.

Scott Ellerin is a Jacksonville family law attorney with extensive experience in child custody disputes and issues. To contact the Law Office of Scott Ellerin, please call (904) 866-4489!