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Updates in Michigan Family Law 

Updates in Michigan Family Law is a blawg written by Traverse City, Michigan family lawyer Jeanne M. Hannah. Jeanne explores developing Michigan law, and also the following topics of interest: divorce, custody, child support, paternity, domestic abuse, and adoption issues.\r\n\r\n
Post Frequency: 4.5/day Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 12:07:04 Recent Entries: 448
Go to Updates in Michigan Family Law, find other Michigan blogs, or browse all law blogs.
In a recent New Jersey case, two
Posted on February 02, 2010In a recent New Jersey case, two gay men who were legally married. One of the men provided sperm and a donor egg was used, with the resulting embryo implanted into the (non-egg donor) surrogate. After twin girls were born, the surrogate sought a judgment that the surrogacy agreement she signed relinquishing her rights was a nullity and that she was entitled to parental rights...
David Goldman | Great spokesman for left-behind parents
Posted on February 01, 2010David Goldman is today continuing his heroic efforts on behalf of left-behind parents whose children have been kidnapped to foreign countries. Today he spoke out on Canadian television on behalf a another child kidnapped to Brazil--a country that, while a signatory to the Hague Convention, seems determined to thwart the basic legal premises of the Convention.
War of the Roses
Posted on February 01, 2010Most family lawyers have probably seen the film War of the Roses starring Danny DeVito, Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. This is a story about a romantic encounter, a marriage and a really nasty divorce. Recent real divorces have been similarly messy, even though they've not resulted in any deaths.
?I?m a real boy now. I?m not a boy in foster care anymore.?
Posted on January 31, 2010What could be worse than spending most of your childhood in a foster care home . . . or a series of foster care homes? One thing is certain: the older a child is, the less likely that there will be a family out there willing to adopt. Most people seeking adoptive children have an infant in mind...
More men marrying wealthier women. What does that mean?
Posted on January 20, 2010The New York Times reports that men now are increasingly likely to marry wives with more education and income than they have, and the reverse is true for women. In recent decades, with the rise of well-paid working wives, the economic gains of marriage have been a greater benefit for men.
Online access to (some) Wayne County Circuit Court records
Posted on January 18, 2010Tired of running over to the basement of the Wayne county Courthouse to access information about pending cases and obtain information about a case's tortuous history or about obtaining transcripts? Thanks to Lindsay Kennedy James, a Farmington, Michigan attorney for the following information.
Child Support | What expenses are covered by child support?
Posted on January 16, 2010Michigan child support question: "What does a non-custodial parent (payor of child support) have to pay in addition to child support for the child's needs? School clothes? Dance lessons? Hockey? Football (if the school isn't picking up the tab and the children must pay to participate?"
Foreign travel with minor children | What documents are required?
Posted on January 14, 2010We've had recent discussions on the ABA Family Law Listserv about how best to guarantee that there are no glitches when a parent is traveling abroad with minor children and the other parent is not also traveling. The New York Times has published a helpful article discussing the issues and good suggestions for ensuring travel that doesn't involve border stops
Shocking back story | Goldman abduction linked to 1969 Abduction
Posted on January 12, 2010I'm not easily shocked by anything. But a whole new light has been shed on how power and corruption in Brazil led to Sean Goldman's 5+ years retention in Brazil when, under the Hague Convention, he should have been returned within 6 weeks of his abduction...
David & Sean Goldman abduction case | Dateline | Background
Posted on January 10, 2010I am sure that many of you saw the Dateline program on the Goldman parental abduction case. Here is an excellent summary of the program. In case you missed it, I am told that the show will be aired again today, Sunday, January 10th at 7 PM EST on TLC...
Sean and David Goldman | Home at last in New Jersey
Posted on January 04, 2010In case you did not see it, here's a terrific video of David Goldman describing Sean's first moments at home, finally, in New Jersey.
Readability Redux | Uncluttered web pages
Posted on January 04, 2010I've been using Readability for two days now. Oh my! What a difference! Imagine web pages that are crisp and clean and free of distracting flash and ads. Here is a link to my earlier post. Try this. You are going to love it! [I wonder how long it's gonna take the people who sprinkle liberally all that ad content around to figure out how to beat this...
Getting rid of ad content on web pages
Posted on January 03, 2010Readability is a free download that lets you read web articles free of all that commercial junk flashing around the periphery and distracting your concentration from the text. It's like TIVO for your computer. You simply drag the "readability" word to your toolbar, and whenever you want to read a webpage's text only, just click on the toolbar...
Military families | Educational issues for special needs children
Posted on December 28, 2009The Washington Post today published an article about initiatives on behalf of military families, led by the Marines and the Army, to address the medical, educational and emotional challenges faced by special-needs families.
Unaccompanied minor flights | Tech tools for parents
Posted on December 27, 2009Many family lawyers face assisting their clients in learning more about long distance parents and how major airlines unaccompanied minor programs work. In connection with the David and Sean Goldman case I learned about a very helpful Internet tool, Flight Aware, that allows parents on both ends of the flight to keep track of where their children are in the journey.
Beautiful, beautiful boy | BSH to continue helping left-behind parents
Posted on December 27, 2009I wasn't aware until today that I could share this incredibly moving revision to the website at http://bringseanhome.org. BSH is adamant that David and Sean Goldman's case is just the beginning. Nothing makes that more clear that the film format in this revision that not only celebrates David and Sean's return from Brazil, but also shows photos of all of the 60+ children who have been abducted to Brazil and remain there...
CBS vs NBC and the New York Times on the Goldman case
Posted on December 25, 2009CBS has taken a wrong-headed stance on the Goldman case from the beginning, insisting upon calling it a "custody" battle when, in fact, this is a case about kidnapping. [In his June 2009 decision ordering the immediate return of Sean Goldman to the United States, Brazilian Judge Pinto called the wrongful retention of Sean Goldman by Lins e Silva (Sean's stepfather) a "second kidnapping...
NBC coverage of Sean Goldman return to his father, David Goldman
Posted on December 24, 2009NBC's initial report today about the Brazililan family brining Sean Goldman to his father, David Goldman, shows Sean Goldman paraded through the streets of Rio de Janerio through hordes of pushing and shoving people, including papazzai. This, despite offers from the US consulate to have Sean brought to a private back entrance to avoid any distress for Sean...
Lins e Silva lectures on parental alientation syndrome
Posted on December 23, 2009To get an idea of just how capable, how ruthless the Lins e Silva family might be in using parental alienation in this case, watch this 10-minute segment of a lecture delivered by Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, a Hague Convention lawyer a continuing legal education seminar in Rio...
Goldman case | Brazilian family says it will not file more appeals
Posted on December 23, 2009According to CNN, at 4:59 GMT, (I received the alert at about 12:15 PM today), the Brazilian relatives of 9-year-old Sean Goldman, will not file any further appeals. Sean has been the subject of an international abduction case. [Note CNN still calls this a "custody battle"]...
Should your lawfirm upgrade to Windows 7?
Posted on December 22, 2009In the January 2010 issue of the ABA Journal, Dennis Kennedy addresses the question whether law firms should upgrade their computers to Windows 7. After all of the criticism of Vista and the startup problems with Windows XP, you will likely find this article interesting...
How parents can help children survive the holidays
Posted on December 22, 2009Whatever parents do during the holidays, they should keep foremost in their minds that holidays are meant to be magical for children. They should be attuned to their child?s emotions during this sensitive time. The holidays are a good time for parents embroiled in separation disagreements to find a common ground, to put aside their differences, and allow their child to enjoy the magic of the season...
Brazil S. Ct. judge rules in David Goldman's favor
Posted on December 22, 2009At about 6 PM EST today [December 22, 2009] Brazil's top judge ruled 9-year-old Sean Goldman must be returned to his father, American citizen David Goldman of New Jersey. Most news sources, including major sources such as NBC and CNN still characterize this abduction case as a custody battle...
News Flash | Brazil top court to rule today!
Posted on December 21, 2009Reuters reported three hours ago that a spokeswoman at the Supreme Court stated that president of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) is expected to decide the case on today, agreeing to issue a ruling despite the court being in a holiday recess.
More about social media and divorce
Posted on December 20, 2009Sam Hasler writes today on his blog Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog about Facebook indiscretions and other social media issues affecting family lawyers and their clients. You can read it here.
Federal judge orders lawyers to stop using legalese
Posted on December 20, 2009The ABA Journal reports today that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel of Minnesota is fed up with lawyers who use superfluous words and too much capitalization, and he has directed them to stop it. Taking a stand against legalese such as "Now comes the Plaintiff ...
Sean Goldman kidnapping | Let's "Thinklogically"
Posted on December 18, 2009Today someone posted a comment on this Blog as "Thinklogically": He/she (A/K/A "Anonymous") said that Sean's kidnapping was not an "abduction". "Thinklogically" stated the facts incorrectly and slanted the "factoids" to the point of view of the current kidnapper, Lins e Silva, Sean's Brazilian stepfather...
Goldman case | Another terrible setback
Posted on December 17, 2009At 3:33 PM today, the Associated Press reported that Brazil's Supreme Court has delayed the return of Sean Goldman to his father. Unfortunately, David Goldman had already flown to Brazil in hopes of recovering his son, who has been missing from the United States since 2004.
Good news for David Goldman | Kudus to Patricia Apy
Posted on December 16, 2009ALERT! Ten minutes ago, Patricia Apy let ABA Family Law Section members know that "the Brazilian Appellate Court just issued a 3-0 decision ordering the return of Sean Goldman, (Apy's client David Goldman's young son), to the United States." Apy says the return order specifies the surrender of Sean Goldman at the U...
Facebook downgrades privacy
Posted on December 16, 2009The Boston Globe condemns today in its editorial section Facebook's downgrading of privacy. You may read it here.
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He is a very smart man who is always looking for ways around things. The judge granted our divorce for December 12,2007, and my ex-husband told me that he just got married just before Thanksgiving. He is a student at Cal
i can answer that for you. with all due respect. better your own life just as i ...
Haw can I join with my family who live in the USA?
Only you are allowed to can join your sister....
How to collect a personal loan from a spouse?
You local court will probably have someone to offer you some assistance as you p...
My husband's Grandmother died intestate. She had one sole heir, my husband's Father. He and his wife kept paying taxes on the property.Then he also died intestate. Now, my Mother-in-law wants to sell this property. Accor
Based on my research, his wife would have a 1/3 interest in the property. The ot...
I have been disabled for over 25 years. Last Nov. I had endoscopic brain surgery. It was not successful and had to be followed up by a major craniotomy. My huaband and I had not been contemplating divorce but after the 2
You need a Mass. divorce lawyer. If you can't afford one, Massachusetts leg...

He is a very smart man who is always looking for ways around things. The judge granted our divorce for December 12,2007, and my ex-husband told me that he just got married just before Thanksgiving. He is a student at Cal
i can answer that for you. with all due respect. better your own life just as i ...
Haw can I join with my family who live in the USA?
Only you are allowed to can join your sister....
How to collect a personal loan from a spouse?
You local court will probably have someone to offer you some assistance as you p...
My husband's Grandmother died intestate. She had one sole heir, my husband's Father. He and his wife kept paying taxes on the property.Then he also died intestate. Now, my Mother-in-law wants to sell this property. Accor
Based on my research, his wife would have a 1/3 interest in the property. The ot...
I have been disabled for over 25 years. Last Nov. I had endoscopic brain surgery. It was not successful and had to be followed up by a major craniotomy. My huaband and I had not been contemplating divorce but after the 2
You need a Mass. divorce lawyer. If you can't afford one, Massachusetts leg...








