ArticlesCategory :: Economics of DivorceBy Los Angeles Times (blog) - California 8/11/2010 "...In a years-long legal feud set to start trial next week, Bren's now-adult children are seeking retroactive child support in the amount of $400,000 a month each for the years between 1988 and 2002. According to their attorney, Bren was giving children Christie and David Bren a fraction of that sum -- about $10,000 a month -- for several years. ..." Read the entire article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/billionaire-kids-donald-bren-child-support.html By Helium "...The sad part is that it's not necessarily because the person that is asked to pay doesn't want to help take care of their children. It's contentious because the needs and the abilities of that parent are not taken into consideration. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.helium.com/items/1912136-child-support-guidelines By Baltimore Sun - Maryland 8/2/2010 "...In the divorce she was to get $10, 000 a month alimony and $16, 000 in child support, including $4,000 in nanny services, $2700 for credit cards, $800 for entertainment and $600 for housekeeping. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/wreg-ex-wife-denies-involvement-in-wright-murder-story,0,6542559.story By Plain Dealer (blog) - Ohio 6/27/2010 "...Child support is the modern, moral equivalent of debtors' prisons, which were outlawed in the 19th century. Nonpayment of child support constitutes a felony. Falling behind in payments due to a job loss results in fines, jail time and a felony conviction -- which makes it all the more difficult to find work. It is just a downward spiral. ..." Read the entire article: http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2010/06/deadbeat_dads_dads_oppressed_b.html By New York Times 6/15/2010 "The State Senate on Tuesday, clearing aside decades of opposition, put New York on a course to adopt no-fault divorce — the last state to do so. It approved legislation that would permit couples to separate by mutual consent, a major shift with sweeping implications for families and lawyers." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/nyregion/16divorce.html?src=me By People.com 6/6/2010 "..."Elin now wants full custody of the children because she would prefer they have limited time with Tiger," a source tells PEOPLE. "Tiger will be generous about a settlement, and in the end will not balk about paying in the neighborhood of $700 million. But he wants joint custody." ..." Read the entire article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20391591,00.html By News Journal -- Texas 6/5/2010 "QUESTION: Since the new health care law allows young adults to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26, will that affect requirements for child support payments for divorced parents?" Read the entire article: http://www.news-journal.com/features/answer_line/article_e46ca20e-1b17-5bc5-ad88-5a78e6f2c6c4.html By 24-7PressRelease.com (press release) – New York 5/23/2010 "While some couples cannot afford to divorce in the still-struggling economy, some wealthy spouses in New York might actually prefer to get divorced now." Read the entire article: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/a-tale-of-two-outcomes-dollars-and-divorce-in-new-york-152008.php By Salt Lake City Weekly - Utah 5/18/2010 "Kenyon Eastin, 41, is on day four of a hunger strike from within the Tooele County Jail, protesting the treatment he has received in Utah divorce court." Read the entire article: http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-3616-jailed-father-hunger-strikes-to-protest-child-support.html By Chicago Sun-Times 5/10/2010 "They've called it the "Mancession" -- a recession that has affected men disproportionately because of its brutal impact on male-dominated sectors like construction and manufacturing." Read the entire article: http://www.suntimes.com/business/2254120,CST-NWS-mancession10.article By KTLA.com 5/8/2010 "Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was ordered Friday to pay his estranged wife, Jamie, $225,000 a month in spousal support, plus $412,159 to pay the mortgages on the couple's properties." Read the entire article: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-dodger-mccourt-divorce,0,998425.story By DadsDivorce.com 4/19/2010 "Just like your DNA – your divorce case is not like anyone else’s so stop asking your friends what you should ask for, what they did, how much they had to pay or are receiving and more. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.dadsdivorce.com/blog/finances-and-divorce-why-your-case-is-unique.html?utm_source=DadsDivorce.com+Newsletter&utm_campaign=39a1f59a47-DadsDivorce_Newsletter_April_21_20104_19_2010&utm_medium=email By 2TheAdvocate - Louisiana 3/31/2010 "...Quinn’s Senate Bill 475 would change the first-offense penalty of not paying child support from a maximum fine of $500 to a minimum fine of 5 percent of the amount owed, plus reasonable attorney fees. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/89573937.html By Times Bulletin 3/21/2010 "Here are the three levels of marital fighting: 1. Daily Drama - There is a disagreement and the couple doesn't talk to each other for awhile; 2. Forced Camping - Someone sleeps on a couch; 3. Attorney Contacted - Someone starts doing math the day after they sleep on the couch." Read the entire article: http://timesbulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=158083 By NEWS.com.au - Australia 3/22/2010 "DIVORCE has a major financial impact, and it doesn't matter who paid for what when you separate assets." Read the entire article: http://www.news.com.au/money/money-matters/readying-for-the-financial-hit-of-divorce/story-e6frfmd9-1225843542671
By Baltimore Sun 3/22/2010 "Some child support payments in Maryland could soon go up - a change that state Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald called "long overdue."..." Read the entire article: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/legislature/bal-md.childsupport22mar22,0,2824239.story By Hans Bader -- Examiner.com 2/5/2010 "A bill was recently introduced in Maryland to increase child support obligations for households at most income levels. For example, it would raise child support by a massive 29% for a couple with one kid making $3400 a month. The bill, known as HB 500 or SB 252, will raise already excessive child support obligations further." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-7812-DC-SCOTUS-Examiner~y2010m2d5-Child-Support-Bill-Would-Increase-Already-Excessive-Obligations-Based-on-Erroneous-Rationale By Washington Post 3/12/2010 "...Opponents argue that increases in child support payments are ill-advised because so many people face financial struggles in the recession. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031103922.html By True Crime Report – New York 3/8/2010 "Describing the divorce of Peter and Susan Williams as "bitter" would be an understatement. For the past year, they've been fighting over custody of their four children -- ages 11 to 19 -- as well as the assets of his lucrative fence company..." Read the entire article: http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/03/susan_williams_wealthy_long_is.php By DadsDivorce.com 2/1/2010 "Question: My ex-wife remarried and I have two boys with her, 15 and 10 years old. Her new husband supports her. She has her own cleaning business and makes about $600 per week. But she only reports she makes $400 a month when it to comes child support time. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.dadsdivorce.com/blog/ask-a-divorce-lawyer-remarriages-and-how-they-affect-child-support.html By Brantford Expositor - Canada 2/25/2010 "Leaving all of the emotional implications aside, one of the key issues when it comes to a divorce that involves children is the one that addresses child support." Read the entire article: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2467267 By Columbus Dispatch - Ohio 2/21/2010 "..."After taking out child support and insurance, I was left with next to nothing," he said. "I mean, I was lucky to have $80 or $90 every two weeks for my personal self -- and that's for everything."... Read the entire article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/02/21/Child_Support_Blues_print_ve.ART_ART_02-21-10_A4_0SGLBHF.html?sid=101 By Institute for Marriage and Public Policy – USA "Most of the public debate over marriage focuses on the role of marriage as a social, moral, or religious institution. But marriage is also an economic institution, a powerful creator of human and social capital. Increases in divorce and unwed childbearing have broad economic implications, including larger expenditures for the federal and state governments. This is the first-ever report that attempts to measure the taxpayer costs of family fragmentation for U.S. taxpayers in all fifty states. Among its findings: Even programs that result in very small decreases in divorce and unwed childbearing could yield big savings for taxpayers." Read the entire article: http://www.marriagedebate.com/pdf/ec_div.pdf By Traverse City Record Eagle - Michigan 1/2/2010 "...Michigan banks are now prohibited from freezing funds in accounts where only exempt funds are direct deposited and are easily identified as such. Public benefits can still be garnished where the debt involves alimony, child support, federal taxes or another federal agency, but beyond that are legally exempt. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.record-eagle.com/business/local_story_002220152.html By Edmonton Journal - Canada 1/6/2010 "...A computer glitch caused multiple withdrawals, emptying three months of payments before employees noticed and stopped the transfers, Alberta Justice spokesman Jay O'Neill said. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Computer+glitch+wreaks+havoc+with+Alberta+child+support+payments/2408779/story.html By BlackVoices 12/4/2009 "...There are other interesting questions in the Tiger Woods scandal, such as whether or not Tiger should have gotten married in the first place, or whether it should cost tens of millions of dollars to get out of a bad relationship. Single men don't have to pay to end their relationships, so watching Tiger cough up millions for doing his personal thing is likely to make some people hesitant to get married at all." Read the entire article: http://www.bvonmoney.com/2009/12/04/tiger-woods-scandal-120409/ By NBC Connecticut 11/2/2009 "...Brant, who lists assets of about $490 million, was supposed to start paying his wife of 16 years $270,000 a month in alimony and support for their three kids on Oct. 23. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/Despite-Divorce-Former-Model-Lives-Good-Life-In-CT-68534322.html By The Washington Post 11/4/2009 "CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz must pay $916,000 yearly in alimony and child support to his ex-wife and give up their Connecticut home under terms of a newly issued divorce decree." Read the entire article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110303395.html By Teri Stoddard -- Family Rights Examiner 10/26/2009 "How can a well-respected nuclear physicist become a destitute man on the run, then ultimately a hunger-striking inmate? If you asked Dr. Amir Sanjari, he'd say all you have to do is go through a divorce in Indiana." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-15873-Family-Rights-Examiner~y2009m10d26-Jailed-father-refuses-solid-food-122-days-and-counting By Dailyrecord.com 10/25/2009 "From driving to shopping to eating out, the punishing economy is changing the way we live. Now, it seems, it's changing the way we divorce." Read the entire article: http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20091025/COMMUNITIES/91022070/1005/NEWS01 By People.com 10/9/2009 "Kate Gosselin has filed paperwork asking for child support and temporary spousal support in the wake of Jon Gosselin taking nearly $230,000 fromn their bank account, says Mark Momjian, one of her divorce attorneys." Read the entire article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20311469,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines By Press-Register - al.com - Alabama 9/30/2009 "The Alabama Supreme Court set a new legal standard in the state Wednesday by ruling that child support payments are not automatically extinguished when parental rights are terminated." Read the entire article: http://blog.al.com/live/2009/09/updated_alabama_high_court_set.html By The Chattanoogan Opinion - Tennessee 9/28/2009 "I just learned one of my young male neighbors, presently unemployed, was recently jailed and is now serving 11/29 for non-payment of child-support. I guess I'm one of the few ones who scratch my head and could never understand the benefits to the child or children and society as a whole for locking someone up for failure to pay child-support, especially if they're not in a position to pay due to job loss." Read the entire article: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_159775.asp By YahooNews 9/24/2009 "...Divorce is as common in the Florida Keys as fresh grouper and cold beer. Census statistics released this week show that Monroe County — which includes the cluster of 1,700 islands floating off South Florida — has the second-highest proportion of divorced residents. ..." Read the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090924/ap_on_go_ot/us_divorce_american_style By The Times of Trenton - NJ.com -- New Jersey 9/19/2009 "A local attorney has uncovered a glitch in the software the state uses to calculate child support awards, prompting an investigation into how widespread the problem is, officials have confirmed." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1253339125156690.xml&coll=5 By Times Online 9/14/2009 "The divorce laws are unfair to men and multimillion-pound awards are degrading to women, an expert in family law believes. Baroness Deech is calling for an end to the idea that women deserve half of their husbands’ wealth on divorce." Read the entire article: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6832973.ece By KOLO - Nevada 9/6/2009 "A state task force is looking at ways to improve the collection of delinquent child support Read the entire article: http://www.kolotv.com/news/headlines/57610547.html By Huffington Post 8/27/2009 "...When asked what Laffoon does for a living, the actress said, "He goes out to the mailbox and he opens up the little mailbox door and goes, 'Oh! I got a check from Anne! Oh! I got a check from Anne! Yay!'"..." Read the entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/27/anne-heche-calls-ex-a-laz_n_270186.html By Fred Silberberg -- Huffington Post 8/10/2009 "A while back I was in court with my female client defending a request by her husband that she be ordered to pay him spousal support. My client was irate over the fact that her husband would even think to make such a request, notwithstanding the fact that her net worth and earnings significantly outgrossed his. As we argued the case to the judge, my client kept telling me that this was ridiculous, a man should not be seeking spousal support from a woman." Read the entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fred-silberberg/whats-good-for-the-goose_b_254808.html By Melissa Correa -- WWBT12 – Virginia 7/29/2009 "They can't print the checks fast enough. Right now, the state is handling about $2 million a day in child support payments. "You can run, but you can't hide. Move to California. Move to Idaho. Move to Texas. We will follow you," said Nick Young, Virginia Director for Child Support. Sign up for unemployment and the state's got you there too. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.nbc12.com/global/story.asp?s=10813031 By Sarah Hopkins -- WHAG - Hagerstown, MD 7/10/2009 "Paying child support is never easy, but paying it when you've lost your job is even harder." Read the entire article: http://your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=71772 By YahooNews.com 7/10/2009 "A Pennsylvania attorney who was released from prison Friday after serving the longest imprisonment on a civil contempt charge in U.S. history said judges have too much discretion in cases like his." Read the entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090710/ap_on_re_us/us_jailhouse_millionaire By Mark Curnutte -- Cincinatti.com 7/11/2009 "Families splintered by divorce face more hardship when a parent gets laid off. With the recession pushing the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent, job losses have not spared two-household families." Read the entire article: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090711/NEWS01/907120340/Child+support+echoes+unemployment By Alberto Vargas -- Examiner.com – San Diego California 7/15/2009 "Across the country, unbeknownst to most Americans, many disabled veterans find themselves fighting a war they shouldn’t have to be fighting and they need some help. The issue at stake is the inclusion of disability benefits in the calculation of divorce settlements, where judges – on many occasions – have ignored existing federal law (USC Title 38; Section 5301)." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-11974-San-Diego-Community-Issues-Examiner~y2009m7d15-Disabled-vets-losing-benefits-in-divorce-settlements By CharlotteObserver.com – North Carolina 7/7/2009 "...States that allow debt collectors to seize consumers' wages have sharply higher bankruptcy rates than states such as the Carolinas, which prohibit or strictly limit the practice, an Associated Press analysis has found. ..." Read the entire article: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/819923.html By Sydney Morning Herald - New South Wales, Australia 7/7/2009 "More than $32 million has been clawed back from separated parents trying to dodge paying child support because they filed a tax return to get their tax bonus, the federal government says." Read the entire article: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/tax-bonus-catches-child-support-dodgers-20090707-db90.html By Examiner.com 6/24/2009 "Muhammad Ali and his daughter, boxer and new mother, Laila, are being dragged into Laila's husband's child support battle with his ex-wife from whom he has been divorced since 2004, according to Radar Online." Read the entire article: http://www.examiner.com/x-7371-LA-Celebrity-Gossip-Examiner~y2009m6d24-Muhmad-Ali-caught-in-child-support-battle By Smartmoney.com - USA 6/23/2009 "On television, “Jon & Kate Plus 8” has been a ratings bonanza. But as any divorce lawyer will tell you, “Jon Minus Kate” could be a complex financial maze — with college tuition alone posing a million-dollar dilemma." Read the entire article: http://www.smartmoney.com/Personal-Finance/Marriage-&-Divorce/Jon-and-Kate-Divorce-The-Money-Traps-Ahead/
By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY 6/17/2009 "Child support payments are falling as parents lose their jobs. States report that more parents are failing to pay and more are going to court to reduce their obligations. Some custodial parents are asking for higher payments because their income is down. And more parents are using unemployment checks to pay child support. "It's the economy, simply put," says Iliana Rodriguez, director of Child Support Services in San Mateo County, Calif. "These are people who have never been unemployed in their lives." In San Mateo, contempt orders against parents who owe child support increased 129% — from 180 to 413 — in the six months ending in March over the same time the previous year. Most child support goes through state agencies. States collect and forward payments ordered by judges in divorces and other court actions, and they track payments to families on public assistance. There are no national figures, but states from New Hampshire to Texas are seeing similar problems: • In Texas, the amount of child support withheld from unemployment checks quadrupled in April to $10.7 million from $2.5 million in April last year, says Janece Rolfe of the Child Support Division. • Payments are down in Ohio, New Hampshire and Minnesota. Jeffrey Aldridge, deputy director of child support in Ohio, says the state collected $794 million in April, $10 million less than April 2008. New Hampshire collected $42 million from October to March, $2 million less than the same period a year ago. Minnesota took in $152 million for the first quarter, compared with $156 million in 2008. • In Arkansas, the number of parents who got approval to modify payments jumped 47% to 4,000 from July through March, from 2,730 a year earlier. "When those numbers start to go up, you know people are losing their jobs," says Dan McDonald, director of the Office of Child Support." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-17-child-support_N.htm?csp=34&POE=click-refer
By TMZ 6/15/2009 "Hulk Hogan's legal team had a slew of witnesses attack Linda Hogan's character today -- because Hulk claims she's been wasting a lot of her 40k a month in temporary alimony on drugs. A hairdresser named Tracy Morgan testified in Florida court this morning that Linda came into her salon and asked to have some checks cashed -- all because Linda needed some greenbacks in order to buy drugs. The hairdresser claimed Linda's favorite drug combo was pot and a painkiller called roxycodon." Read the entire article: http://www.tmz.com/2009/06/15/hulk-hogan-claims-linda-blows-alimony-on-drugs/ By Jennifer Golson -- Star-Ledger New Jersey 5/3/2009 "Michelle Copland is 42 and relies on her ex-husband's child support to cover the growing needs of their two daughters, one a teenager, the other a preteen. Scott Caridi is 46 and collecting unemployment as he tries to drum up business for a North Jersey construction company. "If they get work, I get work again." His own company went out of business. The former couple from Bergen County was married for almost 10 years until divorcing in 2003. For most of the time since then, Caridi paid $700 a week in alimony and $500 in child support. When the alimony ended, the child support bumped to $700 a week. Then, Copland said, the checks stopped showing up and Caridi fell $6,000 behind. With no work and another family to support, Caridi did what a growing number of divorced men and women are doing: They are filing for reductions in alimony and child support obligations. While the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain statistics on the issue, lawyers and judges across the state say the recession is fueling a dramatic increase in applications to change divorce settlements." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1241323593147150.xml&coll=1
By Jennifer Golson -- Star-Ledger New Jersey 5/3/2009 "Michelle Copland is 42 and relies on her ex-husband's child support to cover the growing needs of their two daughters, one a teenager, the other a preteen. Scott Caridi is 46 and collecting unemployment as he tries to drum up business for a North Jersey construction company. "If they get work, I get work again." His own company went out of business. The former couple from Bergen County was married for almost 10 years until divorcing in 2003. For most of the time since then, Caridi paid $700 a week in alimony and $500 in child support. When the alimony ended, the child support bumped to $700 a week. Then, Copland said, the checks stopped showing up and Caridi fell $6,000 behind. With no work and another family to support, Caridi did what a growing number of divorced men and women are doing: They are filing for reductions in alimony and child support obligations. While the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain statistics on the issue, lawyers and judges across the state say the recession is fueling a dramatic increase in applications to change divorce settlements." Read the entire article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1241323593147150.xml&coll=1
By Russ Zimmer -- The Newark Advocate/Ohio 4/26/2009 "Financial stress can tear apart a family, but it doesn't always end there, said the judges of the Licking County Domestic Relations Court. Judges Craig Baldwin and Richard Wright said the court's docket is bursting with reactivated and stalled cases that likely are the results of the economic troubles of today. More cases means more time in court dealing with issues -- such as home, asset and debt division and child support that were hashed out between attorneys in years past -- and less time for the cases that involve young lives. "In the cases with the kids, I worry with more cases that the court can't spend the appropriate and meaningful time," Baldwin said. ....More disturbing are the cases in which one parent can't make the payments, but not out of laziness or poor financial prioritizing, he said. "What do you do? Put them in jail?" Baldwin asked. "They're not what jail was intended for."..." Read the entire article: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090426/NEWS01/904260305/1002/NEWS01
By Huffington Post 4/13/2009 "We've learned Mel Gibson's wife Robyn has just filed legal papers to divorce Mel Gibson, her husband of 28 years, citing "irreconcilable differences." Pretty ironic -- Robyn signed the papers the day before Good Friday. Sources tell us there is no prenuptial agreement -- they were married in 1980, before Mel Gibson amassed a fortune estimated at $900 million back in 2006. Under the laws of California, community property -- which includes earnings -- is divided 50/50." Read the entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/13/mel-gibson-divorce-shock-_n_186211.html By KCCI.com - Iowa 3/31/2009 "Iowans who pay child support and then are laid off from their jobs are finding a double struggle during the recession. After 21 years on the job, Bryan Ayersman was got laid off in January. He paid nearly $900 a month in child support and said that right now he can barely afford it. Ayersman spends most weeknights coaching soccer for his kids Seth and Alyssa. He always wanted to be a hands-on dad, especially after moving out during the divorce in 2005, but by moving out a mediator demanded that he pay child support. "Right now, I pay almost 900 a month for two kids," said Ayersman. He has always kept up on payments and said he's happy to do it. That's why as soon as he was laid off from his job he alerted Iowa's Child Support Recovery Unit. Ayersman said getting his payments reduced wasn't as easy as he thought it would be." Read the entire article: http://www.kcci.com/news/19057778/detail.html By JOANNA L. GROSSMAN - FindLaw - California 3/31/2009 "When Lillian S. and Howard S. began the process of dissolving their marriage, they elected to pursue a "collaborative law" divorce, one which followed special procedures and rules designed to avoid unnecessary conflict and pain for both of them. This was an ironic choice for this particular couple because, during the process, it was revealed that the couple's youngest child was fathered by another man during the wife's extramarital affair – a fact that stopped the amicable divorce in its tracks. The new information raised two critical legal questions: Should the wife's affair or alleged concealment of her son's parentage affect the distribution of the couple's marital property? And, should the husband be able to collect damages for fraud if his wife knowingly concealed the truth about her son's parentage?" Read the entire article: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20090331.html By The Canadian Press - Canada 3/31/2009 "A Quebec man who has failed to have his name removed from the birth certificate of a young girl he found out was not his biological daughter wants to argue his case before the Supreme Court of Canada. The businessman has already struck out in Quebec Superior Court and in the Quebec Court of Appeal. Both courts ruled that paternity is ironclad if a man's name is on the birth certificate, if that status is not contested within a year of the child's birth and if other factors, including the same family name, indicate obvious bonds between the child and the parents. The courts ruled there is little room for interpretation, but the man's lawyer disagreed with both rulings." Read the entire article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5idhTLXonVpdvlwNEv_h_AotzXV1A By CNN.com Europe 4/1/2009 "A British court Wednesday told a business financier he would still have to pay a $13.6 million divorce settlement despite losing a fortune in the credit crunch. Brian Myerson had told the UK Court of Appeal that instead of receiving £14.6 million ($21 million) from a division of his assets, he would now be £½ million out of pocket, according to the UK Press Association. The court rejected his appeal, saying the "natural process of price fluctuation, however dramatic" did not justify changing the settlement, PA reported. Under the original settlement made last year, Myerson, the former CEO of Principle Capital Holdings, was ordered to pay 43% of his then total £25.8m assets to his wife. Lawyers for Myerson said because of the economic downturn, the wife's share of the total assets under the order would now be 105% and the husband's would be -5%." Read the entire article: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/01/credit.crunch.divorce/index.html By Kyle Cheney -- Wicked -- 3/19/2009 "A fathers’ rights group says it is suing the Massachusetts Trial Court for what it says are unconstitutional child support guidelines that are decimating household budgets.“There are people who are literally being driven out of their homes and apartments because of their inability to pay,” said Ned Holstein, founder of the nonprofit Fathers & Families. “We believe in guidelines that will well take care of all the children and also be fair between the adults. These guidelines do not do that.”..." Read the entire article: http://www.wickedlocal.com/maynard/news/x1683630747/Advocates-for-fathers-sue-trial-court-over-child-support-rules By DailyRecorder.com 3/19/2009 "Days after breaking the NHL record for wins by a goalie, the Devils' Martin Brodeur has been dealt an alimony setback by a New Jersey appeals court. The court ruled that Brodeur (broh-DYOOR') must pay his ex-wife $500,000 a year until 2020. A lower court originally awarded Brodeur's ex-wife, Melanie DuBois (doo-BWAH'), limited alimony." Read the entire article: http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090319/UPDATES01/90319010 By the Canadian Press -- Edmonton Sun Canada 3/16/2009 "A Toronto millionaire has been ordered to pay $31,015 in monthly support to his five-year-old daughter -- the largest temporary child support award by a Canadian court. In making the order, Judge Susan Greer noted that as the 38-year-old man's income "escalated skyward," he stubbornly condemned his former wife's attempt to secure a generous child-support payment as being "nothing more than a means of wealth transfer from him to her." Read the entire article: http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2009/03/16/8762501-sun.html By Monica Brady-Myerov WBUR - Massachusetts 3/16/2009 "Are the new child support guidelines fair? A lawsuit filed Monday says they need more public scrutiny. ...Holstein is filling a civil lawsuit against Robert Mulligan, Chief Justice of Administration and Management who is in charge of the guidelines. The suit says the process was secretive, that the judge did not use data on the real cost of raising children and ignored public comments." Read the entire article: http://www.wbur.org/news/2009/83651_20090316.asp By Associated Press WATERVILLE, Maine 3/15/2009 "The state's top monitor says he has not seen a significant increase in the number of child-support cases in Maine. But Stephen Hussey, director of the division of support, enforcement and recovery within Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, says the number of child-support payments having to be taken out of unemployment checks is increasing." Read the entire article: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090315-NEWS-90315008 By Mal Leary -- BangorDailyNews.com Maine 3/11/2009 "Members of Maine’s gambling industry said Tuesday that a bill proposing they collect child support from gambling winners goes too far, but Hollywood Slots suggested what it believes is a more practical way to improve collections." Read the entire article: http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/101265.html By Al's Morning Meeting -- Poynter.org - Florida "Franklin County Attorney Rick Sparks said the poor economy has meant that child support payments are down 1 percent. "Simply put, people just aren't working," he told The State Journal. "We have seen a lot of requests to modify, reduce or hold child support payments in abeyance." Read the entire article: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=159434
By WPEC - Florida 3/3/2009 "The bad economy is not only making it difficult for people to make ends meet and pay their bills, it is also creating difficulties for folks who have monthly alimony and child support payments. And just like there are loan modifications for people struggling with a mortgage, there are also modification actions available for those looking to lessen the financial burden of those child support and alimony obligations. It's the latest tend in family law." Read the entire article: http://www.cbs12.com/news/support_4715270___article.html/modification_child.html Robert Mackey -- Huffington Post - New York "Lastly, what many do not understand, is that there is no magical year limit for a former spouse to claim a portion (usually 50%) of a servicemembers retired pay); a person can be married to a someone in the military for a single day on the first day they enter the military, and can appear 20 years later to claim 50% of their retirement from a state court (however, they cannot apply for direct payments from the Defense Department unless they have been married 10 years)." Read the entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-mackey/want-to-help-veterans-a-g_b_165627.html AFP - CANADA "OTTAWA (AFP) — A Quebec billionaire's messy break-up with a young Brazilian woman he refused to marry could cost him a small fortune in alimony, and jolt the Canadian province's marriage law, media said Friday." Read the entire article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hscx4ZQB9RoQinMtr9XbPZOxQ43Q Ben Stein -- New York Times "NOT long ago, a woman in California called me for advice. She is divorced, with two children, and has a series of interlocking financial problems." Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/business/25every.html?_r=2&ref=business By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY "Enlisted soldiers and Marines divorced their spouses at a higher rate in fiscal 2008 than at any other time in at least 16 years, according to Pentagon data released Tuesday." Read the entire article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-12-02-divorce_N.htm?csp=34&POE=click-refer
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