When many people file for divorce, the couple will present various forms of evidence in an effort to prove that one spouse is better suited than the other to take care of their children.

This evidence usually takes the form of testimony from friends and family, or evidence of past instances in which the parent served as either a positive or negative influence in the life of the children.

Rarely, though, have investigations into a parent’s fitness to be a legal guardian required snooping into social networking websites. A recent case, however, showed that relying on social networking information in child custody disputes may soon become more common in U.S. divorce courts.

According to a report from Forbes magazine, a divorcing couple in Connecticut was recently ordered by a judge to hand over their passwords to Facebook and other social networking websites.

Sources indicate that Stephen and Courtney Gallion have been engaged in a contentious dispute over who should have custody of their children.

In similar cases, each person’s divorce lawyer will often look at the opposing part’s Facebook page in order to glean some information about their social habits.

This information, in turn, is often presented to a divorce judge to serve as evidence of one party’s fitness to be a parent. Potentially negative information that attorneys may find on websites like Facebook includes evidence of drinking habits, dating tendencies, and other lifestyle factors.

The judge in the Gallion case, however, took the relatively extreme step of forcing both parties to hand over their passwords, which theoretically allows each spouse to learn information that may be concealed from public view.

According to Stephen Gallion’s attorney, the husband allegedly found incriminating evidence on his wife Courtney’s computer that shows she is unfit to be a parent. Shortly thereafter, Stephen asked Courtney for her passwords to her Facebook account, as well as two accounts on dating websites.

Courtney obliged, but she soon texted a friend and asked her to delete potentially harmful information on her dating accounts. After these shenanigans, the divorce judge stepped in and issued an injunction preventing both parties from altering their online profiles during the divorce proceedings.

Oddly, while the judge ordered the password swap, such an action actually violates Facebook’s privacy policy, which forbids users from sharing passwords with each other.

The judge may not have recognized that his order violated the company’s terms of service, but he did warn the Gallions that they were not to tamper with each other’s Facebook information. The password swap was strictly to allow Courtney and Stephen to view each other’s information, not change it.

So, while the Gallions continue to fight their way through court, other couples thinking about divorce might be wise to watch what information they put on Facebook, lest it be used against them in court.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

In Louisiana, longtime couples who were never married are having a difficult time getting a divorce. While this seems like a silly dilemma, Louisiana divorce laws really do create difficulties for unmarried couples looking to end their relationships.

According to a recent report from WDSU in New Orleans, couples in Louisiana have been struggling with the notion that, just because they live with a partner for several decades, they don’t necessarily have a claim to ownership of their supposedly communal property.

In many marriages, under certain state divorce laws, property that is accumulated by a couple during their marriage automatically becomes co-owned by both parties.

Thus, in Louisiana, which is considered a community property state, both parties to a marriage are usually entitled to half of the couple’s total assets that they accrue during the course of their marriage.

However, even if couples live together for a long period of time, if they do not get married, one member of their pairing could be out of luck when it comes time to divvy up property.

In other words, in the absence of a marriage, the property shared by a long-term couple often belongs to the individual who bought it. Frequently, the other party is out of luck.

Because of this cold reality, some unmarried individuals in Louisiana have attempted to get legal divorces in order to receive an equitable share of the couples’ assets.

This tactic, however, usually doesn’t work. Unfortunately, this is becoming a major issue for family lawyers in many states, as marriage becomes increasingly unpopular.

According to research recently compiled by the Pew Research Center, 39 percent of Americans believe that marriage is becoming “obsolete.” As more and more people believe marriage is obsolete, larger numbers of couples are choosing to live together without getting married.

In response to this trend, laws governing property held by unmarried couples may soon have to change. Unfortunately, current laws are designed solely to protect a person’s interest in a couple’s property if the person is married.

In the meantime, couples who are living together without the legal protections of marriage should take active steps to protect their financial health in the event of a separation.

Some experts recommend that unmarried couples should be cautious when giving a financial commitment to major purchases. And, if an unmarried couple does make a major purchase, such as a car or a home, each individual should make sure that he or she owns half of the asset.

A family law or divorce attorney may be able to provide further information about protecting your assets, especially if you are not married.

By taking active measures to protect your interest in shared property today, you could save a lot of financial headaches in the future.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Every once in a while, researchers will attempt to glean information about divorce in an effort to predict divorce’s effects, or discover some direct relationship between certain groups of people and their propensity to file for divorce.

Inevitably, these studies unearth some fruitful information, but fail to categorize divorce in a way that makes divorce filings predictable.

A recent study from Bowling Green University, which tried to accumulate enough data to narrow divorce down to a science, shows that difficulties inherent in making sweeping claims about the nature of divorce in the United States.

According to a report from United Press International, researchers at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research have discovered conflicting information about the link between education and divorce.

Specifically, the researchers found that the women in the U.S. with the lowest levels of education and women with the highest levels of education file divorce at roughly similar rates.

And, even though they file at similar rates, these groups of women with widely disparate education histories account for the highest rates of divorce among all women.

According to the study, women who had not earned their high school diploma or a GED had a first divorce rate of 14.4 per 1,000. On the other hand, women who had earned a bachelor’s degree or a higher degree had a similar rate divorce rate of 14.2 per 1,000.

Oddly, both women with little education and women with experience in higher education had rates of divorce that were higher than the average divorce rates.

The study found that, among U.S. women who were 18 years or older, the average divorce rate for first-time divorcees was 17.5 per 1,000.

So, what do these figures mean? Well, for one, they seem to contradict a previously-held notion in the research community that women with lower levels of education were more likely to get divorced.

On the contrary, it seems that earning a college education does not make a woman any less vulnerable to a potential divorce.
In the words of Dr. Susan Brown, one of the directors of the National Center for Family and Marriage Research, the “relationship between education and divorce is not straight-forward.”

Of course, this is not the first time that conventional wisdom about divorce has been proven wrong. In past decades, divorce was seen as a socially and financially disastrous decision for a woman to make.

Today, however, divorce is viewed by many people as a necessary fresh start. And, as people live longer and date at older ages, and as women become more financially independent, the financial and social barriers that once prevented divorces no longer apply.

Still, it is helpful for researchers to challenge their assumptions about divorce, particularly if these assumptions are based on silent prejudices or faulty notions about class and education.

So, if you are considering divorce, but are hesitant because of perceived social disadvantages that divorce may create, do some homework about divorce and the real effects it will have on your life.

And, for more information about your legal options when separating from your spouse, contact a local divorce lawyer today.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

In a recent study is to be believed, filing for divorce may no longer be a recipe for a protracted, bitter battle. Of course, this popular misconception has been outdated for years, as divorce proceedings seem to have grown more civil for decades.

In a recent article in the New York Times, Susan Gregory Thomas, who recently penned a memoir about her own divorce, suggests that divorces are become much more amicable than they once were.

Thomas offers several reasons for her thesis. First, she claims that members of Generation X, who grew up in an era of skyrocketing divorce rates, are waiting longer to marry and making wiser marriage choices.

As her theory goes, because more and more young people are dating for longer periods of time, they are settling down with people who are better suited to their personalities. With better connections at the beginning of the marriage, the end of these marriages seems to be a bit friendlier.

Some commenters, though, believe that Thomas is over-simplifying the reasons for friendlier divorces. For example, Amanda Marcotte at Slate.com believes that younger generations are seeing more amicable divorces simply because divorce is not as stigmatized as it once was.

A few decades ago, divorce was viewed as a socially disastrous event with severe consequences. In order to avoid divorce, couples stayed together as long as they could until the marriage erupted into irreconcilable tension.

Now, Marcotte claims, younger people do not view marriage with as much awe as previous generations. Thus, when they do divorce, tensions are not quite so high, and the couple may feel more comfortable engaging in an amicable separation.

Marcotte also believes that feminism has played a role in civilizing divorce disputes. In past generations, she claims, women were viewed as “belonging to” their husbands, which escalated tensions when they threatened to leave their mates.

Today, however, men and women more often view themselves as independent entities, each with his or her own right to leave the marriage if it is necessary.

While Marcotte and Thomas both have convincing views, there may be another, more legally-based reason for the increased friendliness of disputes over things like alimony payments and child support.

Instead of always heading directly for divorce court, many couples today prefer to negotiate behind closed doors with professional attorneys.

These out-of-court divorce settlements allow couples to air out their disputes out of the public eye, and often lead to more beneficial and civil divorce agreements.

Of course, in order for these settlements to work, both sides must come to the negotiating table willing to negotiate in good faith. But, if Marcotte and Thomas are to be believed, younger generations are more casual about divorce, and good-faith negotiation seems to be a natural outgrowth of this attitude.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Conventional wisdom says that filing divorce typically hurts woman more financially than it does men. Recent research from the University of Connecticut sheds more light on this gender disparity when it comes to divorce and finances.

According to a report in Forbes magazine, the University of Connecticut’s long-term study analyzed data compiled from more than 2,000 divorced women over the course of 40 years. The study also used data from the Social Security Administration, as well as individual polling.

In the study, researchers found that women who remarried after divorce tended to fare better financially than women who remained single.

The researchers said that women who remained single after divorce were usually able to enhance their personal earnings by staying in the job market, but that the loss of their spouse’s supplemental Social Security money ended up hurting them financially in the long run.

This extra income “boost” from a spouse’s Social Security income proved to be the biggest financial difference between single and remarried divorcees, although the study does come with one caveat.

Most of the women surveyed were divorced in the 1970s, when women had a harder time obtaining equal pay in the workplace and were perhaps more reliant on the income provided by their spouse.

Times, however, have changed, and some critics of the study suggest that the results might look different if researchers were to look at women divorcing today.

Nevertheless, despite the changing times, there remain some harsh economic realities for some women going through a divorce.

For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, women who have obtained a divorce in the last 12 months are more likely than other women to be in poverty and receive public assistance. In addition, on average, recently divorced women typically have lower incomes than recently divorced men.

While these trends may seem disheartening, some economic advisors say that divorce doesn’t have to be a financial disaster for women.

In fact, with careful planning, and sound divorce management, women filing for divorce may be able to obtain a divorce agreement that allows them to thrive financially.

In order to plan for a divorce, many women seek further information from a local divorce lawyer. Tackling a divorce on one’s own may not be the best strategy, as complex family laws that determine the outcome of separations seem to change every day.

Laws, for example, that govern topics like alimony and spousal support are evolving in each state, as lawmakers shift divorce laws to match to changing norms of our culture.

Most states recognize that women who were not the primary breadwinners in their marriages are placed at an economic disadvantage in divorce. As such, many states allow women in divorce to receive some sort of monthly payment in order to maintain their past level of comfort.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Alimony payments in the event of new romantic partnerships after divorce can get tricky. One Utah woman, however, recently showed just how strange alimony disputes can become.

In a strange case that was recently decided at the Utah Supreme Court, a divorced woman will be allowed to keep receiving monthly alimony payments despite her alleged sexual relationship with her parents’ teenage foster son.

The strange alimony kerfuffle started in 2006 when Tracy Lynn Myers first suspected that his ex-wife was engaged in a sexual relationship with her foster brother.

In a local district court, a judge determined that Myers was, in fact, able to stop paying Becky Sue Myers $1,200 each month in alimony because she was engaged in a “marriage-like” cohabitation with another person.

Under Utah divorce laws, if a formerly married person who receives alimony payments begins to cohabitate with someone else, then the other ex-spouse is free to shed any prior financial obligations.

The district court determined that Becky Sue’s infrequent liaisons with her foster brother amounted to a marriage-like cohabitation, and freed Myers of his alimony payments.

This week, however, the Utah Supreme Court disagreed with this conclusion and overruled the district court, stating that the woman’s relationship did not rise to the level of cohabitation because, among other factors, she and the teenager slept in separate beds.

The court also observed that, despite its inability to articulate an exact definition of cohabitation, common signs of a marriage-like relationship include an intimate relationship, a common household, and shared expenses.

So, because of the court’s decision, Tracy Lynn Myers will have to continue making alimony payments to his ex-wife, despite her bizarre and possibly illegal behavior.

Sources indicate that Becky Sue was never convicted of sexual abuse for her treatment of the unnamed foster child, nor are authorities currently investigating any improprieties.

This, however, may eventually change, as Becky Sue’s own children continue to show concern about the legality of the relationship. Her children, in fact, submitted affidavits during the divorce alleging that Becky Sue had treated the teenager as her boyfriend, even bragging about their dating status.

While Utah’s Supreme Court ruled against Myers, other states may have been more willing to free Myers of his alimony obligations.
Divorce laws vary widely by state, but many courts would have shown less tolerance for a woman who was clearly engaged in some form of romantic partnership but still received spousal support.

Of course, just because a woman is engaged in a romantic relationship does not mean that she is financially settled. In this case, for example, it is unlikely that the teenager was able to support Becky Sue, given that he still lived with his lover’s parents.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Children in divorce are often placed in vulnerable positions, so courts take their post-divorce welfare very seriously. As a result, the most aggressively enforced portions of divorce agreements are child support provisions.

In fact, many divorcing parents are unaware of the serious consequences of ignoring court-ordered child support payments, as state courts across the country often don’t hesitate to charge non-paying parents with felonies if they ignore their obligations.

A recent program in Indiana highlighted the difficulty some courts have in collecting child support payments, and the measures they will take to protect the welfare of children.

According to a recent story in the Indianapolis Star, officials in Marion County offered a six-week amnesty program for noncustodial parents who owed thousands of dollars in unpaid child support.

Typically, courts in Marion County will prosecute parents who shirk their child support responsibilities, but the amnesty program was aimed at collecting money from parents in exchange for a guarantee that they wouldn’t be prosecuted.

The program, which was called “Stop Delaying, Start Paying,” achieved a considerable amount of success, as many parents took advantage of the court’s amnesty offer to come in and pay their debts.

Sources indicate that hundreds of parents paid overdue child support. In addition, the program successfully guided more than 900 parents towards employment counseling services, which is a 77 percent improvement over the number of unemployment referrals the county usually gives.

Unemployment is a major reason for the non-payment of child support, and the lingering effects of the recent recession have played a large role in the difficulties of state officials to collect support payments.

Despite this apparent success, however, the program, however, was not able to gather payments from six major offenders. Sources indicate that these parents each owed debts of up to $100,000 dollars. As a result, county prosecutors have issued felony arrest warrants for the delinquent parents.

Each of these major violators has been charged with nonsupport of a defendant child and, if they are convicted, they face a potential sentence of 2 to 8 years in prison. While this is an Indiana law, many other states levy prison sentences against similar offenders.

In addition to revealing the measures courts often take to ensure payment of child support, this story also shows the scope of the problem.

Even modest Marion County manages roughly 76,000 child support cases each year. The total child support collected in these cases amounts to more than $100 million each calendar cycle.

As states like Indiana continue to enforce child support debts with increasing vigor, noncustodial parents would be well advised to make their payments, or at least remain in contact with the court in order to work out more reasonable payment plans.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

While the national divorce rate has remained fairly steady for several decades, members of the baby boom generation are getting divorces at a rapidly increasing rate.

According to a report in the Akron Beacon Journal, researchers at Bowling Green University have discovered that the divorce rate for baby boomers, defined as people who were born between 1946 and 1964, has more than doubled over the past 30 years.

In fact, more than 25 percent of all people who divorce today are over 50, which represents a dramatic shift over the divorce statistics of past generations.

Some observers cite the shifting divorce norms as a sign of a changing culture in which divorce is no longer seen as a socially disastrous step. In particular, older Americans now view divorce as a natural part of one’s personal life, particularly if a marriage is no longer fruitful.

In addition, researchers cite increasing economic and educational opportunities for women as another reason some wives feel liberated to leave the confines of an unhappy marriage.

Previously, when many women were not in the traditional workplace, they often found the idea of separating from their spouse less realistic.

Further, an Ohio psychologist claims that the ease with which older Americans can meet potential romantic partners has decreased people’s fears about being alone after divorce. The Internet, particularly, has opened many new channels for single people to meet other divorcees.

Finally, as the average life expectancy for people in the United States continues to rise, people who divorce in their 50s may still have several decades to search for a new mate. Divorcing at 50, in other words, does not have to signal the end of one’s romantic life.

Beyond shifting social norms, older divorcees often choose to separate because, as people age, divorce may become a simpler process.

For couples whose children have grown up and left the nest, divorce may not involve the potential complications associated with child custody and child support.

Moreover, the increased likelihood that both partners in a marriage are financially independent may reduce the chances that an older American couple would keep a marriage intact simply for economic reasons.

Of course, this trend is not perceived as beneficial by all. Some critics decry the growing divorce rates for old couples, claiming that the trend signals the end of marriage as a bedrock institution, and portends doom for younger generations.

In addition, some critics believe that divorces have become too easy to obtain, and have proposed bills in a few states that attempt to introduce a mandatory waiting period for couples seeking a divorce.

In theory, the waiting period will allow divorcing couples more time to try to solve their differences in order to prevent their impending separation.

It seems, however, that the trend shows no signs of slowing down. As a result, Americans may have to embrace the reality that marriages have become more fluid, and that changing social and economic circumstances may lead the divorce rate to rise even higher.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

When couples seek a divorce, they’ve usually had some period of reflection or discussion before making the decision to separate. A recent study, though, suggests that couples should consider waiting longer before pursuing a divorce.

Statistics show that roughly half of all American marriages end in divorce, which makes some observers skeptical that longer “cooling off” periods could help prevent a significant number of divorces.

This skepticism leads to a few common assumptions surrounding divorce. Many people, for example, assume that divorces happen only after a long period of serious conflict, and that people who divorce never consider the idea of getting back together.

However, according to an article in the Washington Post, these assumptions may not always be true. Recent research suggests that, in at least half of all divorces, the separating couple reported having low levels of conflict and average levels of happiness before getting a divorce.

Researchers have observed that most marriages do not end as a result of abuse or serious conflicts. Rather, most marriages end as a result of poor communication, or an inability to handle disagreements.

In one study, sociologists Paul Amato and Alan Booth theorized that these “average” divorces, or divorces that occur in the absence of abuse or severe conflict, may have the highest potential to harm children.

Thus, the thinking goes, if these so-called preventable divorces could be avoided, children and their parents wouldn’t have to suffer through child custody disputes, or disagreements over child support payments.

In response to this trend, the Washington Post writers suggested that state legislatures pass a law mandating a one-year waiting period for couples who are seeking a divorce.

In theory, this waiting period would give couples time to reflect on their marriage and seek counseling, rather than immediately giving up on their union.

Many states already have waiting periods, though they are usually less than 6 months. On the other hand, at least 10 states have no waiting periods at all.

While this potential law makes some sense, critics of divorce waiting periods say that the potential harm to people who are in abusive or conflict-ridden marriages outweighs the potential benefit to the small number of couples who choose to stay together.

In addition, the imposition of a mandatory waiting period ignores the fact that many divorcing couples spend months trying to resolve their differences before starting the legal process of obtaining a divorce.

Thus, instead of imposing a mandatory waiting period, states might opt to provide subsidized counseling services, or offer information on the benefits of trying to resolve a marriage.

Mandatory waiting periods might help save some marriages, but they could prove disastrous for couples who are stuck in abusive or otherwise unresolvable marriages.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.

Disputes over child custody can be the most emotionally challenging part of a divorce. These disputes, however, are usually settled in the safety and comfort of a courtroom, or at a negotiating table with divorce professionals.

And, while the non-custodial parent often feels a sense of loss and disappointment, child custody disputes rarely lead to physical altercations. Recently, though, one deeply troubled California man allegedly exercised his frustrations over a child custody dispute in a tragic manner.

Last week, according to the Orange County Register, Scott Dekraai allegedly entered a hair salon in Seal Beach, California and started shooting employees and customers alike.

Sources close to the Dekraai family claim that Scott was targeting his former wife, who was a hair stylist. Dekraai’s ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, was killed in the mass shooting. Seven other people also died during the senseless rampage.

The shooting occurred at mid-day in an otherwise quiet coastal town, and reports after the incident indicate that Dekraai and Fournier had had a strained relationship after their divorce in late 2007.

According to the divorce documents, Dekraai had alleged that Fournier was making harassing and threatening phone calls to him and his parents. In her defense, Fournier alleged that Dekraai physically abused her during their four-year marriage.

Dekraai responded to Fournier’s allegations of abuse by claiming that she called him repeatedly after their divorce, allegedly making harassing statements. Dekraai’s psychologist said these calls stressed Dekraai, who had post-traumatic stress syndrome after a 2007 incident in which a co-worker lost his life.

Due to these conflicts, in 2008, a judge ordered Fournier to limit her contact with Dekraai to text messages and emails. The order allowed one ten-minute phone call per week, but she was only to discuss their son during the call.

The former couple also spent the next three years arguing bitterly over the custody of their son, as Dekraai tried to obtain full legal custody.

The father alleged that Fournier drank excessive amounts of alcohol, which limited her ability to make sound decisions for their child. He unsuccessfully requested the right to have the “final decision” over all major decisions related to their child’s welfare.

Sadly, the couple had a custody hearing schedule this December, but this will obviously be altered as a result of the Dekraai’s alleged actions.

This case offers an extreme example of the emotional difficulties that can accompany divorce. Obviously, though, Dekraai had deep psychological issues that transcended whatever troubles the divorce had caused.

The tragic incident does, however, offer a valuable lesson to couples seeking a divorce. While the separation may create vast amounts of negative emotions, careful planning and sound guidance can help couples cope with the emotional challenges of divorce.

Copyright © 2010 TotalDivorce, LLC. (as licensee). All rights reserved.