Posts tagged "divorce"

A federal judge recently ruled that a father who was convicted of kidnapping his daughter and taking her out of the country must now pay his ex-wife almost $120,000 in restitution over the case. The couple married after conceiving a child in 2003 and shortly after the birth of the couple's daughter they decided to divorce. The mother, a U.S. citizen settled in Virginia with her daughter and the father visited every few weeks or months depending on what his schedule as a truck driver would allow.

In 2009, the mother agreed to let the father, a dual citizen of Iran and Canada, take their child to Iran for a few weeks so she could meet her paternal family members. Those weeks turned in months and eventually two years passed before the mother was able to win back custody of her daughter. The father tried arguing that Iranian officials prevented him and his daughter from leaving the country during his trial but he was unsuccessful.

When a Virginia couple with children divorces, one reality they face is losing control over the other parent in matters concerning the children. Except in cases of abuse or neglect, one parent has no further say in how the other parent interacts with the children, including posting photographs of the children or information on Facebook and other social media sites.

While some parents may disagree with posting such material, others argue it's a good way to share photos and updates with family and friends, especially those who live far away. However, some within the family law field point out that parents should put forth efforts to be certain any pictures or information about their children should only be retrievable by intended parties and not be accessible by those not meant to see it.

Sometimes, a married couple will make the decision to get divorced. Many important issues can arise in connection to a divorce. How such issues are ultimately resolved can be very impactful.

Recently, some celebrity divorce news has arisen. The news regards reality TV star Bethenny Frankel. Frankel, 42, has starred in several reality TV programs, including "The Real Housewives of New York City" and "Bethenny Ever After." She also founded the Skinnygirl cocktail brand. It has recently been reported that Frankel and her husband are getting divorced.

As most people in Richmond realize, there are numerous reasons as to why someone would get a divorce. In fact, there are nearly as many reasons to get a divorce as there are people actually going through the process. Choosing to end a marriage is deeply personal and one that only a couple can make, but there are some trends emerging that highlight some of the main reasons why marriages fail.

One such reason is alcohol or drug abuse. If one or both people in the relationship are engaged in substance abuse, it can be very difficult to have a normal and healthy relationship. Maybe the spouse that abuses drugs spends all of his or her time trying to get high. Maybe he or she has little or no desire to communicate because of the physical and emotional need for drugs or alcohol. Living with substance abuse may make marriage impossible.

In order for some women to get pregnant, they need the assistance of a sperm donor and a fertility doctor. The shock that used to come with artificial insemination is no longer as prevalent, as more and more women in Virginia are using medical assistance to get pregnant. For these programs to work, however, there need to be crystal clear rules about what role the sperm donor can and must play in a child's life.

What if sperm donors in Virginia had to pay child support? There would likely be a dramatic decrease in the number of men who would be willing to donate sperm. In addition, being listed as the child's father and being ordered to pay child support would likely create rights for the sperm donor that the mother might not want him to have, such as visitation or custody rights. Without clear rules about these rights and responsibilities, there may be drastically fewer people who will seek medical assistance to get pregnant.

Census Bureau information from 2007 shows that 3.7 million businesses throughout the country are owned by husband and wife pairs. This makes sense, considering the fact that many small businesses are family-owned and operated. But, what happens to the business when these families fall apart?

Once-married business owners face the inevitable question of whether one of them should leave the company, or if they should forge ahead and work together despite the divorce. Many people might suggest that divorced spouses should not work together, but in reality, many of them choose to -- and do it well.

Though many people in Hanover will tell you that communication is key to a successful relationship, they forget to mention that it is a very specific kind of communication that will reinforce and foster positive relationships. Some Virginians are well-aware that the wrong kind of communication can quickly lead to separation and the end of a marriage.

First, when spouses take a win-lose approach to communication, they are setting themselves up for failure. Communication should be more about coming to agreements together, not about trying to "beat" the other spouse. A win-lose attitude is more likely to frustrate, anger and upset the spouse on the receiving end of this at-times hostile style of communication.

When it comes down to it, dividing property in a divorce can be as easy or as difficult as the parties make it. Certainly in high-asset divorce situations in which the divorcing parties have substantial assets, the division of property will naturally be more complex than in other, more straightforward situations. However, if one or both of the divorcing parties think that they can get a better deal by hiding assets during the divorce process, this is a tactic that can come back to haunt them.

Both spouses must openly and honestly disclose all assets, income, expenses and debts. Lying or fudging details in order to avoid a fair division of property is against the law. In fact, it is illegal to hide, understate or undervalue marital property, overstate debts, report lower than actual income or higher than actual expenses in a divorce proceeding.

As the Baby Boom generation is slowly getting older, American perspectives have changed. The Baby Boomers have been setting trends and expectations for the country since the boom first started and the generation's foray into gray divorce, or divorce over the age of 50, has been instrumental in redefining what it means to be a divorcé(e).

When many people in Richmond think about divorce, they think of younger couples, couples that haven't been married but five years, but there are an increasing number of Baby Boomers who are getting divorces. The longer a couple has been married, the less likely they are to get divorced, but a new study has found that the number of people 50 years or older who are getting divorced has doubled between 1990 and 2010. It is also noteworthy that during that 20-year period that the divorce rate has declined slightly. While it is true that the number of people who are older than 50 increased during the time, there were still 400,000 more gray divorces in 2010 than in 1990.