Litigation
March 29, 2006
Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.
When Same-Sex Relationships End
March 29, 2006
Same-sex couples may enter into legally recognizable relationships in various states in the country. While only Massachusetts extends the right to marry at this time, several other states have extended marriage-like rights and responsibilities to these couples by way of a domestic partnership, civil union or reciprocal beneficiary relationship. In addition, many couples cohabit, and mix their income and assets, without any formal legal agreement, recognition or protection. Of course, some relationships end. In the event a relationship with commingled assets or income ends, there may be a transfer of cash or property between members of the couple. Depending upon the manner in which the transfer is characterized, any transfer between a same sex couple may have taxable consequences. Even if a same-sex couple receives recognition of their relationship at the state level, such recognition is not available at the federal level because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Accordingly, same-sex couples will need to face the complex matter of potential tax ramifications resulting from the agreements they have made upon such dissolution of their relationship relative to their assets and income.
Consultants and Role Delineation
March 29, 2006
Retaining a mental-health professional to review the work of an evaluator and possibly to testify concerning deficiencies in the evaluator's methodology only makes tactical and economic sense if the mental-health professional has the necessary expertise and, if called upon to testify, will be perceived by the court as credible in spite of the fact that s/he has been retained by one side in an inherently adversarial proceeding. The reviewer's role is to educate the court.
Law School Opens Clinic for Gay Civil Rights
March 29, 2006
The nation's first campus clinic in civil rights impact litigation concerning lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people is set to open this fall at Columbia Law School. Suzanne B. Goldberg, co-counsel in two cornerstone gay-rights victories in the U.S. Supreme Court, has been tapped as director of the new Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic.
Dangerous Clients: What to Do
March 29, 2006
Divorce lawyers are more often the objects of violence and threats of violence than any other group of attorneys. A 1997 survey of ABA Family Law Section members found that 60% of respondents had been threatened by adverse parties; 17% by their own clients. Twelve percent had actually been assaulted by a client or opposing party. Remarkably, only a quarter of these respondents took steps to protect their safety. There is a natural reluctance to recognize danger, and this is partly because most of us have no realistic idea how to protect ourselves.
Litigation
February 28, 2006
Recent rulings of importance to you and your practice.
Life Insurance in a Divorce Setting
February 28, 2006
In many -- if not most -- matrimonial actions, counsel or the court almost always automatically ensure that the dependent spouse is provided with life insurance, despite the fact that the statute authorizing life insurance to secure alimony is permissive and not mandatory. In many cases where there is a child support obligation or an equitable distribution obligation, the purpose of life insurance is clear: to secure these obligations, in the event the paying spouse dies prior to their fulfillment. Life insurance protects the supported spouse by providing a source of funds to assist with the support of the children (an obligation that survives the death of the spouse) and by assuring that the payment of equitable distribution is received (because the payment should not depend on the life or death of the obligor).
The Progressive Lawyer
February 28, 2006
The "Parenting Coordinator" or "Parent Coordinator" (PC) is a newly evolving professional role, which is now being implemented in an increasing number of states -- with or without the benefit of a specific Rule of Court or statutory authority -- as a means for dealing with high-conflict families involved in domestic relations proceedings before the courts. <b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Article.</i></b>
Witness Preparation Checklist for Deposition
February 28, 2006
My field is communications. My specialty is witness preparation. I am not a lawyer. Because I do not have to split my time between preparing a case and preparing a witness, I am free to focus exclusively on the problems and needs of witnesses. Over the years of preparing witnesses for both deposition and trial, I have made some interesting discoveries. For one thing, with proper preparation, there are very few witnesses who will remain bad ones. Almost all of them want to do the best job possible. They are highly motivated. The major reason for the problems and mistakes is lack of understanding of what is expected and lack of practice time to turn instructions into behavior.
New York Follows Other States
January 27, 2006
In October 2005, a New York appellate court ruling in Chen v. Fischer, 12 A.D.3d 43, appeared to make a substantial change in the way litigation is managed where both matrimonial causes of action and tort claims are asserted in New York. The Second Department had held, for the first time, that an interspousal tort action seeking to recover damages for personal injuries commenced subsequent to, and separate from, an action for divorce is barred upon the res judicata principles of claim preclusion. In short, a spouse had to bring any personal injury claim he or she might have as a cause of action within the matrimonial action. A separate tort action was no longer tenable.
