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 […]
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 […]
Or, stated otherwise, requiring adults to assume responsibility for making adult decisions. It was with no small measure of incredulity that I recently read an opinion piece in the New York Times Sunday Review by Ruth Bettelheim, who claims to have “over 40 years of practice as a family and child therapist.” According to Ms. […]
Recently, Steve Thorpe of the Detroit Legal News interviewed me for his regular feature, “Asked and Answered.” The topic was a recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in a case where the divorced parents disagreed on whether the children should receive childhood immunizations. As you may know if you follow this legal blog, I am very […]
“Many divorcing parents are aware of how stressful change can be for their children, and they do all that is in their power to contain it. Other parents seem oblivious to the price they ask their children to pay.” Hon. Anne Kass, District Court Judge, 2nd Judicial District, New Mexico. I could not agree more […]
On July 9, 2015, I blogged about the ongoing saga of the Maya vs Omer Tsimhoni case, currently pending in the Oakland County Family Court (Michigan). This is a high-conflict custody and parenting time case involving allegations that the mother, through brainwashing the children, has so alienated the children from their father that they refuse […]
I was surprised to learn that Michigan has one of the highest vaccine-waiver rates for kindergartners in the country. The CDC reports that Michigan has three times the national average in vaccine waivers. The controversy over childhood vaccination has gone on for decades, but it has largely been a quiet one. The recent measles outbreak […]
Parental Alienation is a term that family law professionals use to describe what happens when one parent attempts to sabotage the relationship between the children and the other parent. Wikipedia describes it as follows: “a group of behaviors that are damaging to children’s mental and emotional well-being, and can interfere with a relationship of a […]
Criminal defense attorneys are known for saying – tongue-in-cheek – that they only represent clients who are not guilty. The obvious truth is that criminal defense lawyers take their clients as they find them – without regarding to guilt or innocence. The defense attorney understands his/her responsibilities – to defend the client’s right to a […]
