Family Law Issues

By Priscella Vega – Los Angeles Times 09/13/19 “… A Huntington Beach man is taking another shot at reforming California’s alimony law, this time by championing a ballot initiative that would restrict payments to former spouses to a maximum of five years following a divorce or legal separation. …” Read the entire article: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-13/divorced-dad-targets-californias-outdated-alimony-law

By Gabriel Olano – Law Times 08/30/2019 “… According to Morneau, the clarification to the Income Tax Act will ensure that benefits paid to families in shared-parenting arrangements are not stopped or interrupted. …” Read the entire article: https://www.lawtimesnews.com/practice-areas/tax/federal-government-to-clarify-shared-parenting-benefits-eligibility/303591

By Matt Hale – Courier Journal 08/30/19 “… Last year, Kentucky passed the nation’s first complete “shared parenting law,” which was called the state’s most popular law of the year. The law created a starting point that both parents have equal child custody time if the parents are fit caregivers. …” Read the entire article: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2019/08/30/kentuckys-joint-custody-law-leads-decline-family-court-cases/2158216001/

By Bill Bischoff – MarketWatch 08/05/2019 “… For tax purposes, a child is usually treated as “belonging” to the parent who has custody for the greater part of the year. That parent is called the custodial parent. The other parent is called the noncustodial parent. …” Read the entire article: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-divorced-parent-can-claim-child-related-tax-breaks-2019-08-05  

By Chuck Stinnett – The Gleaner 07/22/2019 “… Not only was the custody process in court expensive, largely because of attorney fees, he said. It often resulted in black-and-white outcomes: “One parent would get custody and one parent would lose,” Hale said. “It was winner-take-all, loser-lose-all. It’s the kids who suffer in that situation.” …”

By Victor Paul Borg – Times Malta 06/30/2019 “… The paper – ‘Equal Parenting Time: The Case for Legal Presumption’ – builds on research carried out over the past 20 years into the post-separation living arrangements for children and the ramifications on their health. …” Read the entire article: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/do-it-for-the-kids-why-family-law-needs-to-evolve-in-separation-cases.718030  

By Ellen Trachman – Above The Law 06/26/2019 “… New York continues to be one of the few surprising holdouts, with an outdated law based on outdated notions and outdated technology. …” Read the entire article: https://abovethelaw.com/2019/06/new-york-almost-joined-the-21st-century-on-surrogacy-no-thanks-to-gloria-steinem/  

By The State Journal 04/26/2019 “… Friday was almost one year to the day when Kentucky legislators made history by unanimously passing HB528, the country’s first shared parenting law, allowing children to benefit fully from having an involved mother and father in their life. …” Read the entire article: https://www.state-journal.com/2019/04/26/april-26-declared-shared-parenting-day/

By Olivia Schmidt – The Bulletin 03/18/2019 “… This bill means that in a court that deems a temporary parenting plan, both parents can be presumably authorized for equal care and legal custody of the child. …” Read the entire article: http://www.esubulletin.com/statehouse_news/senate-bill-proposes-presumption-allowing-temporary-shared-parenting/article_d7dc560a-4b82-11e9-beba-93991471a3ac.html

By Matthew Torres – News Channel 5 03/15/2019 “… Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) and Representative Johnny Shaw (D-Bolivar) have proposed a legislature that would establish a preference or presumption for joint custody or shared parenting in case of a divorce or annulment. …” Read the entire article: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/tennessee-fathers-fight-for-proposed-bill-supporting-joint-custody