What's the Intention of the Retention?
Most of us who have had some experience with 'Hague' cases typically become involved only after children have been transported to or from the United States by one parent. Unfortunately, our clients living here or abroad rarely seek legal advice before their spouses travel internationally with the couple's children, leaving the client behind. Of course, many parents leave clandestinely with their children, thus rendering it impossible for the remaining spouse to seek preventative legal advice. However, we need to be prepared to offer advice prospectively.This article addresses the 'retention' issue.
The Progressive Lawyer
In Part One of this article, which ran in the March, 2006 issue of The Matrimonial Strategist, we defined the newly evolving role of the parenting coordinator (PC), and discussed various statutory authorities for the PC role; its purpose and scope; how PCs are appointed; what decision-making authority PCs have or do not have; the timing of PC appointments; and the court's jurisdiction to make such appointments. Part Two deals with additional PC topics, including continuing jurisdiction and judicial review of PC decisions or recommendations.
Spousal Privilege Does Not Apply to Criminal Behavior
While it is often thought that the marital privilege prohibits a spouse from testifying at all against, or relating to communications with, the other spouse, there are a number of well-accepted limitations on the scope and application of this statutory privilege. Based on long-standing exceptions and limitations, the privilege is often unavailable in many contexts in both criminal and commercial litigation.
Evaluating the Experts
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its landmark <i>Daubert</i> decision (<i>Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.</i>, 509 U.S. 579 (1993)), established an empirical standard of evidentiary reliability to ensure that only those expert opinions predicated upon demonstrably valid knowledge would make their way into evidence. Daubert further instructed that when the expert testimony comes from a discipline that purports to be scientific, as does psychology, evidentiary reliability translates to a standard of scientific validity. This article examines the peer-review/publication process and explores its value and its limitations as a measure of evidentiary reliability.
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Litigating Matrimonial Cases
The litigation system we inherited is not well-suited to resolving marital disputes. Those of us who have litigated divorces for decades have come to understand that litigation is not the preferred route to deciding marital discord. Most family court judges overtly state that the litigants would be better served by an amicable resolution reached after each spouse's needs have been considered rather than a contested trial. In fact, one court of appeals judge in California has noted that 'family law court is where they shoot the survivors.'
Litigation
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
Sophisticated Manipulators
Custody battles are stressful to clients, and few litigators escape the psychological daggers of a tough, demanding fight. Some clients make the combat more tolerable, while others seem destined to escalate hostilities. To date, there is no established taxonomy for identifying custody litigant 'types.' Yet, every matrimonial lawyer with custody battle experience has stories to tell about particular clients from difficult cases.
No Palimony in New Jersey
A 70-year romance is insufficient for a claim for palimony support in New Jersey. A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that without cohabitation, an extramarital ro-mantic relationship ' even one that spanned 70 years ' cannot be a basis for palimony support.
Who Is a Grandparent?
It has been said that 'just definitions either prevent or put an end to disputes.' Perhaps this saying exaggerates the point, but it does highlight the importance of understanding the precise meanings of words. In contemporary family law practice, however, many legal definitions are not precise. Instead, they often express the essential nature of terms and concepts, underscoring the dynamic nature of domestic relations law and the need to alter or expand the legal vocabulary in response to modern social reality.
