When Tetyana Nikitana was shot to death recently as she left the school where she was a teacher, the suspect, according to police, was her former mother-in-law. Nikitian, 34, was a mother of two and an immigrant from the Ukraine living in Utah.

According to the Deseret News, the suspect in the shooting is 70-year-old Mary Nance Hanson, the mother of Nikitana’s ex-husband, Dan Jankowski. Police stated that Jankowski was not a suspect in the case, nor was a he a person of interest. “He is just a relative of the suspect,” said Lt. Don Hutson told the Deseret News

Police are still hoping to piece together the case, and determine the motives that Hanson may have had for such a gruesome act. Hanson was the one who called 911 after the shooting.

A study of the divorce record between Nikitana and Jankowski revealed the couple’s tumultuous divorce after six years of marriage, filled with fear and animosity. In those records, starting in 2005, Nikitana stated that she feared for her life and those of her children at the hands of her husband.

Jankowski, on the other hand, filed a large volume of divorce records the belief that his then-wife was attempting to frame him with domestic abuse. He was also very concerned that Nikitana would leave the country with the couple’s two children. That fear led to a dispute over the children’s passports.

There were hundreds of pages of divorce records filed by the couple. The records covered the more typical issues that arise in a divorce, like child custody and finances, but, according to the Deseret News, disputes seemed to range into less conventional territory. There were arguments over playground equipment, gold crosses for the kids, wooden plates. There were also much more serious issues, including suggestions of child neglect, threats and domestic violence.

The divorce was filed in 2005, yet the dispute was still going on through December of 2009.

Police obtained a warrant to search the home shared by Hanson and Jankowski. In an interview with KSL in Salt Lake City, Jankowski said that he did not know why his mother would want to kill his ex-wife, and that he had had concerns about the state of her mental health in the past. Jankowski also spent a large amount of time, even hours, talking to police.

“I had no idea she was going to do anything like this,” Jankowski said about his mother, Mary Hanson.

Jankowski and Nikitana got a bifurcated divorce in early January of 2006, which meant that the union was dissolved but that they still had to figure out certain legal decisions. In August 2005 and January 2006, Nikitana tried to get protective orders against her husband, claiming, according to the Deseret News, that “her husband forcefully picked her up and threw her onto the floor in front of the children, leaving bruises and red finger marks.”

Jankowski firmly denied these allegations.

Nikitana had faced scrutiny from the Division of Children and Family Services when, in 2003, she faced a charge that she had left her children in a car alone while she went to a beauty salon. The case was resolved after DCFS visited their home and found it clean and the children healthy.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Some states require a legal separation before a couple files for divorce. This gives the couple time to think about the divorce and determine their ultimate goals and to do what is best for all parties involved.

However, living apart often means a couple’s expenses double. With the tough economy, some couples are unable to fill the separation requirement.

Now, some legislators are starting to take a different look at this required separation. They want to determine if there are less expensive ways to fulfill the current legislation without breaking the bank.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Maryland legislator and attorney Luiz Simmons recently proposed a law that would allow couples seeking divorce to live in the same residence for a year.

That catch is that while the couple lives in the same home, they cannot engage in sexual relations with one another.

Current Maryland law states that any couple filing an uncontested divorce must go through a one year separation before the divorce can be finalized. During the separation, the couple must split and live in separate households.

Simmons said that when both members are forced to live a part for a year, they can become more financially stressed. And if children are involved, then the expenses could significantly increase.

But if the couple is allowed to remain in the same household and refrain from sex, then they will have the emotional separation without the added stress of making additional payments.

Skeptics of the proposed legislation raise the concern how the courts will determine that the couple abstained from sex for a full year.

But that would be an issue even if the couple lived apart for a whole year and some say that will be up to the courts to decide.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

The Washington Post recently reported that U.S officials have been concerned with issues of international child custody disputes. They say these issues affect up to 75 American couples.

U.S officials said that as parents of different nationalities divorce, issues arise when one parent decides to take their children out of their natural born country and back to the parent’s native country.

In September, 2009, U.S citizen Christopher Savoie was arrested in Japan when he attempted to take his children back to the United States without his ex-wife’s consent.

The Japanese government did not charge Savoie with child abduction. They let him return back his home town in Tennessee, but his children remained in Japan.

Prior to Savoie’s retrieval attempt, a court hearing in the U.S. determined that he would get full child custody of the couple’s children.

But after the decision was made, his ex-wife took their children back to her country of Japan. This was a violation of the U.S. court’s child custody decision.

In Japanese law, only one of the parents is allowed to have full child custody after a divorce. In most cases, it is the mother who receives custody.

The fathers then have little if any access to their children until they are adults.

Since the Savoie situation, the U.S. has been determined to work out an agreement on child custody with Japan.

They believe that if an agreement could be reached, then both parties would benefit and all the parents’ rights would be protected. It would also stop parents from taking action on their own to take their children back.

U.S. officials recently met with a Japanese Foreign Ministry team in attempts to resolve the issue. They requested that Japan sign a treaty from the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.

The treaty states that child custody decisions made by the country where the children were born should remain intact. It also protects the rights of both parents in child custody issues.

Japan has not yet signed the treaty. They argued that the treaty does not protect the rights of Japanese mothers in cases where they might flee from an abusive relationship with their foreign ex–husbands.

At this point, it appears no agreements have been reached but U.S. officials hope to come to a positive conclusion.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Custody battles are never pretty, but one case in Sarasota, Florida, is a regular zoo. And that doesn’t mean the throngs of cameras and onlookers that showed up at the courthouse.

The hullabaloo in question surrounds Eli, an 11-month-old who weighs thirteen pounds, wears a diaper and when he leaves the house is led by a leash. Eli is, if you haven’t guessed it yet, a chimpanzee, and he’s at the center of a legal case out of Florida that brings to mind a comedy more than it does a serious case.

But chimpanzee handler Virginia “Gini” Valbuena is completely serious, as a Missouri man attempts to challenge her ownership of Eli.

James “Mike” Casey wants the court let him try and legally prove that Eli came from his chimpanzee ranch, and that he should be returned to his possession. The court case centers around whether or not there should be DNA testing to determine who Eli’s primate parents are, thereby determining his origins.

The DNA testing technique would be similar to those used in paternity cases among humans.

Casey ran the chimpanzee ranch with his ex-wife before the two went through a bitter divorce. If Casey can prove that Eli came from his ranch, then he can prove also that the chimp was taken from the property unlawfully. The Sarasota Herald Tribune, which is covering on the case, reported that the chimp is worth $65,000.

Valbuena, on the other hand, contends that Eli came from a California wildlife park. She lives in the Sarasota area with the chimp, and claims that she is raising and training him on behalf of a Hollywood company.

Adding to the strangeness of the case, Valbuena has requested the right to bring Eli into the courtroom with her. She claims that she cannot find a qualified chimp-sitter to ensure that he is safe and healthy at her home. Eli requires care around the clock. According to the Herald Tribune, Valbuena has noted that despite his hairy body, huge ears and protruding mouth, no one would notice the difference between him and an 11-month-old baby unless they looked closely.

Valbuena’s attorney has said that Eli would not be any more dangerous than the guide dogs and service animals that people regularly bring into the courtroom. She claims that the chimp is as helpless as a human infant, especially when he is on a leash. Valbuena also noted that Eli enjoys kissing and cuddling.

The judge in the case, Circuit Judge Charles Roberts, has yet to rule on whether Eli will be making a personal appearance in the courtroom.
Casey and his representation are seeking a DNA custody test that is similar to those conducted in paternity cases, which is a unique occurrence according to attorneys who spoke to the Herald Tribune.

Casey claims that there is enough evidence to justify the testing, including Valbuena’s business relationship with his ex-wife, and Eli’s age and appearance.

The only way to be 100 percent certain of the provenance of the animal is for this court to order a DNA test to be taken and compared with samples from the purported parents, attorney Jason Wandner wrote in a motion.

It is illegal to own a chimp as a pet in Florida, though Valbuena claims to have a license as a professional exhibitor.

The judge ultimately denied the claim to test Eli’s DNA. He did not, however, count out a future test, once more information was gathered.
Eli has yet to offer his opinion of the custody case.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Divorce for most is a complicated matter with judges, courts and attorneys to determine who gets what. But the divorce process might prove a little more difficult for international relationships because different countries have different laws.

Take Europe for example—a continent rich with different cultures and countries right next door to each other. Many feel international divorce is an important issue to tackle.

According to an Associated Foreign Press article, the European Union (EU) wants to create a law to govern such international divorces.

The EU was developed to create standardized laws for different countries who joined the union. It now consists of 27 member nations across the continent.

Of these 27 member nations, there are over 350,000 international marriages in a year—170,000 of those ends in divorce.

Only 10 member nations agreed to set up a unified divorce law among the organization. So the group intends to use their concept of “enhanced cooperation” in order to pass a law into the EU’s legislation.

This concept of “enhanced cooperation” was created by the EU’s 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam. This allows eight of the member states to apply EU laws to it members of the organization and to proceed without the opposition’s consent. This occurs if the group at large cannot unanimously agree on the legislation.

The 10 states that are in favor of the law include: Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Spain and Romania.

Some of the countries that oppose are Britain, Finland and Sweden.
Those who oppose have said they might be open to the idea of common divorce laws amongst the organization. But their main issue was the group of 10 invoking the “enhanced cooperation.” Some feel that it should only be used sparingly and for very important issues.

Supporters hope a common divorce law will create less confusion with divorce proceedings as EU members have inconsistent marriage and divorce laws. They hope to determine which nations’ laws should be applied when citizens of two different member states want to get a divorce. They also said it will help settle important issues such as division of assets and child custody.

Supporters said that their goal is not to divide the EU, but to have all members join together to determine a common divorce law.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Steve and Elaine Wynn, two stalwarts of the Las Vegas circles of power, officially finalized their second divorce from each other in early January, according to BusinessWeek, marking the end of eighteen years of wedlock.

Steve Wynn, the chief executive of casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd., is worth several billion dollars, sufficient to qualify him for Fortune’s list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

The Wynns were married the first time in 1963, after they met in college. They divorced in 1983, only to remarry five years later.

News of their latest separation has swirled around the Las Vegas community for months. The rumors started when Steve Wynn was spotted around town with a younger British woman. They continued as filings from their company prepared for the separation, and they finished when a Las Vegas family court judge finalized the divorce decree.

Court documents did not disclose the specific terms of the divorce, but indicate that the splitting of their property would follow a November settlement. The documents state that the reason for the divorce was that the two have personalities and dispositions so deep as to be irreconcilable, which render it impossible … to continue a normal marital relationship with each other.

According to Forbes, a series of Wynn’s company filings shed some light on the complexity of the divorce settlement before it was final. The specific terms have not yet been announced to the public. One SEC filing shows that Elaine, who has been a director at Wynn Resorts since 2002, received more than 11 million shares of stock as a part of the settlement. At their current price of around $70 apiece, those shares are worth almost $800 million.

The Wynns also sold $114 million in stock sales last August, and Forbes reports that Elaine would receive some, if not all of that figure. Forbes, which publishes lists of billionaires in the country, notes that the sum of these amounts would put her close to a billion dollars in net worth.

Elaine Wynn told the media that she will be shifting her focus away from casino and resort management and towards philanthropic work as an advocate for education causes.

She also stated that her relationship with her ex-husband was still good. “Steve and I have been partners for over 40 years,” she told the Associated Press. “I don’t think there will ever be a time when he’s not my partner in some fashion or other.”

Some credit Wynn with the expansion of the Las Vegas strip in the 1990s. He became known for his museum-quality art collection, and for lending an air of elegance to the Las Vegas resort experience. The company manages resorts and casinos in Las Vegas and Macau.

Wynn made headlines for a different reason in 2006. The storied art collector was discussing his painting Le Rêve, by Pablo Picasso, with a group of celebrity friends. At that point, he and a friend, the hedge-fund mogul and fellow collector Stephen Cohen, had agreed that Wynn would sell Cohen the painting for $139 million. As Wynn described the masterpiece to his visitors, he took a step backwards, swung his elbow, and punched a hole in it. The deal was off, and Wynn repaired the painting and kept it for himself.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Now that the era of Jon and Kate’s divorce is over, we jump into the celebrity divorces of 2010. From Beyonce’s parents to Dennis Hopper, the stars are calling it quits.

Tina Knowles, mother of and costume designer for superstar Beyonce, recently filed for divorce from her husband Matthew Knowles. She filed the divorce papers in Harris County, TX.

According to MTV News, the couple had been married since 1980, but for the past couple of years they have grown apart.

Both managed different aspects of Beyonce’s career and were pulled in different directions.

Tina managed her fashion label, House of Dereon, and continues to do so. Matthew has produced records for his daughter and was the manager for Destiny’s Child before the group split.

Matthew Knowles was also hit with a paternity lawsuit. Actress Alexandra Wright claimed Knowles is the father of her unborn child and filed the suit in October.

The Knowles family denies any association with the actress or that Matthew is the father of the baby.

Both Tina and Matthew released a statement to the Associated Press saying that their divorce proceedings will be amicable.

They said, “The decision to end our marriage is an amicable one. We remain friends, parents, and business partners.”

The couple continued to say that “If anyone is expecting an ugly messy fight, they will be sadly disappointed. We ask for your respect of our privacy as we handle this matter.”

But the Knowleses are not the only ones calling it quits. Actor Dennis Hopper recently filed for divorce from his wife Victoria Hopper. They were married for 13 years.

Hopper cited irreconcilable differences in the divorce papers. He is seeking joint and physical custody of their six year old daughter Galen.
The famous actor filed even though he has been suffering from prostate cancer for the past year.

According to a Reuter’s article – Hopper wished his soon to be ex the best and said he just wanted to spend the rest of his time with his children and close friends.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

A recent child custody dispute among a lesbian couple in Santa Cruz, Calif., is delving into the issues of gay and lesbian rights versus the rights of the biological parents.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that estranged couple Maggie Quale and Kim Smith had a two year relationship in which they parented twin boys. Smith and Quale were never formally married.

Smith said they never legally got married because she and Quale were having issues within their relationship during the brief time gay marriage was legal in California.

Quale is the biological mother who birthed the twins by insemination. The couple met the sperm donor, Shawn Wallace, through a mutual friend, and paid him $500 plus traveling expenses. There was never any written agreement among the three pertaining to custody rights to the children.

When the twins were born, both Quale and Smith were listed as the parents on the birth certificate. The children have both of women’s last names hyphenated as Smith-Quale.

Smith also said that the twins’ birth was covered by her medical insurance that she received from her work at University of Santa Cruz.
After the couple split, Smith filed a civil lawsuit in which a Santa Cruz judge granted temporary child custody. This allowed Smith to spend time with the twins three times a week.

Shortly after Quale and Smith ended their relationship, Quale became romantically involved with Wallace. Now the biological parents are requesting full child custody and request that Smith has no visitation rights.

Quale and Wallace said they were put in a bad position with the lawsuit. They are trying to protect their rights as parents and also show their support for the gay and lesbian communities.

Smith’s attorney, Deborah Wald, said this case is different from most child custody cases because after the women broke up Quale became involved with the sperm donor and biological father.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights has also joined Smith’s case to protect what they say is Smith’s inherent right to be a parent.

The custody hearing is set for January 29.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

In a reversal of a long-standing trend, new research has found that men are now more likely to marry women who are more educated and make more money than they. The same is true in the reverse, as women are more likely than ever to marry a man who makes less money or has less education than she.

The New York Times is reporting that the Pew Research Center will be releasing the results of the research. Pew Research analyzed U.S. census data.

The women studied are in the 30- to 44-year-old age range. This is the first generation in which more women than men have college degrees. Also, since the 1970s, women’s income level has been increasing at a faster rate than that of men.

“Men now are increasingly likely to marry wives with more education and income than they have, and the reverse is true for women,” said Pew Center spokesman Paul Fucito. “In recent decades, with the rise of well-paid working wives, the economic gains of marriage have been a greater benefit for men.”

The study seems to show what many might feel anecdotally: that the dynamics of marriage have changed in receny decades. In the past, according to Pew representatives, women did not work as much as they do now, so marriage was tougher for those parents who had more children and the financial strain was more centered on the husbands income—one theory for the high divorce rate.

These differences stand out when one compares men’s and women’s education and income figures from 1970 with those of 2007, which is where the study’s data focuses. For example, according to USA Today, in 1970, 64% of college graduates were men and 36% were women. In 2007, 53.5% of college graduates were women, and 46.5% were men.

This shift applies to income as well. Women’s income has increased by 44 percent between 1970 and 2007, compared to a 6 percent increase in men’s income in the same time. It should be noted that there is still an overall earning gap between men and women, with men still earning more. But the large increase in women’s earnings has narrowed the gap between the two, and that has changed the way that men and women approach marriage in terms of stability and expectations.

“Just as women are saying they want more from marriage than an economic security blanket, men are more open to marrying women with more education and earnings,” according to Stephanie Coontz, a historian at Evergreen State College in Washington state.

Early critics of the study’s approach think that its scope is too limited, and that measuring earnings alone doesn’t capture the entire picture of marriage dynamics. Economist Betsey Stevenson acknowledges that the study and its results raise interesting questions, but that spending patterns within the marriage and other factors need to be studied to determine who is benefiting from the changes in marriage dynamics.

While more work will likely be done, the research does seem to show that marriage is changing, and that potential partners are changing the ways that they approach long-term unions.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Despite a debilitating illness that could leave the actor without much time to live, Dennis Hopper is working to finalize his divorce to his wife of almost 14 years.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the 73-year-old Hopper is dying of prostate cancer. One of his children is calling his struggle with the illness as “one hell of a battle.”

In the meantime, he is trying his hardest to divorce his wife, Victoria Duffy, before it is too late for him to do so.

Continuing Demands

The New York Post, who broke the story, cites a “longtime family confidant” who claims Hopper is upset about his wife’s financial demands.

Despite the glamorous gifts and lifestyle that he has bestowed upon his wife, the source says, Hopper feels that she continues to demand more money and luxury items. Hopper had previously given his wife a ranch, expensive works of art and a luxurious wardrobe.

“Dennis told me, ‘I’ve worked so hard to give Victoria everything she wanted,’” the source said, “‘but it only fueled her appetite for more and more luxury.’”

Prenuptial

The Post article even goes so far as to suggest that he wants to finalize the divorce before he dies. He is currently in an LA hospital with his children, and with his ex-wife. Duffy is not by his side, at the request of the actor. She is instead at the couple’s home in Venice.

According to sources, Duffy is upset that her portion of Hopper’s estate will only be 25 percent, as outlined in their prenuptial agreement. She had expected a larger proportion of the estate. She was also upset that she was not named executor of Hopper’s will.

While the relationship had long been rocky, some cite the final blow as a strange event in which Duffy never showed up to the set of a TV show that Hopper was filming, even though she was expected. She was out-of-touch for the next two weeks, with their 6-year-old daughter in tow. The Post’s source claimed that nobody knew where Duffy was.

In the current disagreement about Hopper’s estate, Duffy has recently claimed that Hopper is unable to make a reasoned decision based on the large amount of medication that he is taking. His representatives say that this is not the case, saying that the heralded actor just wanted peace and quiet to deal with his illness.

In a statement, Hopper was quoted as saying: “I wish Victoria the best, but only want to spend these difficult days surrounded by my children and close friends.”

Hopper and Duffy have been married for about 14 years, and they have been together for eighteen years. They have a 6-year-old daughter together. Hopper has grown children, as well.

Hopper is on his third marriage, and his fair share of marital fireworks. He broke his first wife’s nose in the aftermath of a drug bender, and then went through an eight-day marriage with Mamas and the Papas star Michelle Phillips in 1970.

Copyright © 2009 TotalDivorce, Inc. (as licensee). All rights reserved.