It is not uncommon for me to receive phone calls or emails from people inquiring whether they really “need” an attorney for their divorce. They don’t own much and they agree about everything. Often a brief conversation reveals that there are property issues they do not know how to handle or children involved with various […]
Michigan is a pro-marriage state. Public policy favors marriage between domestic partners and our laws reflect that favoritism. Indeed, Michigan does not recognize what is referred to as “common law marriage.” Over my career as a family law lawyer, I have had many potential clients query me about their “rights” when dissolving their live-in relationship […]
common law marriage, equitable property division, meritricious relationshipHaving grown up during the era of civil rights protest for racial equality, I see alarming parallels to the current battle for same-sex marriage equality. And, just as the landmark US Supreme Court case of Brown v Board of Education, which mandated school integration, did not result in immediate and peaceful attaining of its goal, […]
Current statistics tell us that one out of every three women in an intimate relationship is being abused. As a domestic relations/family law attorney, I have learned that domestic violence thrives when we are silent. Sadly, in my experience, the silence is deafening. I want to talk to you about the silence. Victims of domestic […]
I had a call from a potential client this past week, a mother who was very distraught because during his last week of summer parenting time, her ex-husband had taken their ten year old daughter for a haircut. He did not consult with the mother first, and she was furious about that. She called me […]
Are you certain the answer is “No?” A recent article in HuffPo by Fred Silberberg entitled Is That Domestic Violence caught my eye. Silberberg posits that “even those who are not actually being physically abused can be victims of domestic violence.” He points out that the California Family Code states that “abuse is not limited […]
