Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog

In an rare case of a "Groomzilla", the Associated Press reports that a recently divorced man is now demanding that a photography studio pay to recreate his wedding to make up for what he has decided are flawed pictures and videos of what was supposed to be his happiest day. Though many in the press have dubbed Todd Remis a "groomzilla," he recently spoke out saying that his lawsuit is actually about holding a business to their promise, not clinging to a broken marriage.

While suits over wedding photographs are common occurrences, Remis' case contained an unusual spin: a demand that the company recreate the ceremony of his now failed marriage. Remis began divorce proceedings in 2008 and the couple officially split in 2010.

Despite the marriage no longer existing, Remis says that he needs the "wedding recreated exactly as it was so that the remaining 15 percent of the wedding that was not shot can be shot" and the album and video completed "so we have memories of the wedding." In order to capture this missing footage Remis acknowledges that "we would need to recreate everything."

Remis began his lawsuit against H&H Photographers in 2009, saying the well-respected New York City-area studio had done a terrible job of shooting his and Milena Grzibovska's December 2003 wedding. Remis claimed that the chosen photographer ignored the couple's request not to shoot in front of a mirror that ended up reflecting photographers' lights. Moreover, the photographer and videographer left 45 minutes before the end of the reception, missing the last dance and the bouquet toss, evidently crucial events in Remis' mind.

The couple paid a $3,500 advance toward a $4,100 total price for the photos and videos, part of a wedding Remis has said cost more than $48,000. For their part, H&H co-owner Daniel Fried says he stands by the photographs and videos. "I think the photography is lovely,"

Continue reading "Unhappy Groom Demands New Wedding" »

In the case of Davis vs. Davis, Husband appealed an order which addressed the family financial matters (child support and post separation support). He challenged the trial Court's ruling by contending that the Court had made inconsistent findings of fact about his income and that the findings of fact did not support the award. In short, the trial Court found as fact that Husband's business grossed $11,000 per month, that Husband testified that the business was suffering from financial difficulty, that Husband had the ability to pay Wife $4,130 per month in post separation support, and that Husband's child support obligation was $1,490 per month.

Continue reading "Post Separation Support and Child Support Case Appealed" »

Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog will review five tips from a recent article on Yahoo.com entitled Getting a Divorce? 5 Ways to Ensure It's Not a Financial Disaster. While mostly common sense, these tips can provide a good start for a discussion with your spouse and your lawyer about how to avoid the financial ruin which can result from a divorce.

Continue reading "Divorce Financial Tips" »

Recently, in the case of Shippen v. Shippen, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a civil contempt finding against a husband who failed to pay child support and post-separation support to his ex-wife.

Shortly after the child support payments were ordered, John Lee Shippen joined the Twelve Tribes of Israel, a religious community that prohibits its members from earning outside income or owning personal assets. Instead, the sect's members farm and provide services to one another in exchange for food and housing.

The court found that Mr. Shippen's failure to make payments was "willful" for the purposes of the contempt order because he had the mental and physical ability to comply with the order. Mr. Shippen alleged that he acted in good faith based on his sincerely-held religious beliefs that prevented him from earning income. The court concluded that the fact that the defendant's religious beliefs may be sincerely held is irrelevant to his obligation to pay alimony and child support.

Although the recent announcement by Al and Tipper Gore that they are separating after 40 years of marriage has shocked the country, a recent CNN article indicates that more long-term relationships in this decade are heading toward divorce than ever before. Break-ups between long-term married couples are still far rarer than between newlyweds, but factors such as longer lifespans and a growing acceptance of divorce are accelerating the divorce rate among older couples.

According to the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau data, most first-time divorces occur around the 8th year of marriage. Experts say there are three "divorce-prone" points in time that will either make or break a marriage. The first is after the initial two years of marriage, when the couple has passed the "honeymoon period." The second is around the five to seven year mark, when children are typically born. The final point is when the children leave home for college and the couple becomes empty-nesters with fewer ties to one another.

Couples like the Gores who have successfully navigated their marriage past all of these divorce-prone points often cause the greatest shockwaves when announcing a separation or divorce.

The recent rise in popularity of social networking websites has redefined the definition of privacy for many users. Unfortunately, as recently reported by Time Magazine in two different articles (Facebook and Divorce: Airing the Dirty Laundry and Five Facebook No-Nos for Divorcing Couples), social networking sites are also contributing to a rise in difficult and costly divorce litigation.

Sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which were originally intended to facilitate networking connections, are quickly becoming forums for publicly airing personal business. Divorcing couples who are in the midst of litigation should be exceedingly cautious regarding the type of information they post to their personal networking pages.

As discussed on law.com (Web Search Serve as Litigation Tool), in any lawsuit, the collection of information on an opposing party is highly important. Photographs, in particular, can have very serious consequences in divorce and child custody litigation. Attorneys on both sides of the litigation can use electronic discovery to yield helpful photographic evidence that may be admitted to reflect on the credibility or lifestyle of a party or witness.

According to an article entitled Five Ways to Save Your Marriage published last week by CNBC, positive financial behavior contributes greatly to the long-term stability of marital relationships. Certainly, this does not come as a surprise to married couples in Charlotte working through these tough economic times.

Conversely, and also not surprisingly, according to reports by the National Marriage Project at University of Virginia, the negative effects of poor money management are one of the leading causes of divorce. Couples who do not manage their money well and contribute to savings together are more likely to accumulate marital and individual debt, which puts a great deal of stress on a marriage.

The National Marriage Project's 2009 State of Our Unions report indicates that debt accumulation contributes to a sense of financial unease, which in turn increases a couple's likelihood of fighting over both financial and non-financial matters.

However, couples do not need to be approaching the unhappy prospect of financial destitution in order for financial issues to impact their marriage. The State of Our Unions report indicates that relatively minor decisions, such as using credit cards for large purchases or keeping up with a savings account transfer, can impact the stability marriages in the short-term and the long-term.

Thus, as these reports demonstrate, monitoring household budgets and limiting the accumulation of consumer debt is absolutely key in order to preserve a happy and healthy marriage.

As previously discussed here (In the Battle of the Fit Parents, Breadwinning Moms are Losing Child Custody , "Deadbeat Moms" in Charlotte, North Carolina? What can lawyers do? and Men Marrying (and Divorcing) Wealthier Women?), American households are experiencing a gender role reversal with regard to levels of marital income.

This so called "rise of wives" has sparked a debate regarding whether financially successful women are a threat to traditional marriage roles. However, as recently reported by The New York Times, evidence shows that the shift within marriages has had a positive effect on marital stability and has contributed to lower divorce rates.

Statistics indicate that the more financial independence and education a woman attains, the more likely she is to stay married, as the end result is a marriage that is more balanced and equitable to both spouses.

As the traditional male breadwinner role becomes less traditional, other employment and household responsibilities and expectations are also beginning to shift. Many couples are finding that they must switch up their daily routines in order to accommodate women's working schedules.

Men are taking on more of the daily household responsibilities, as well as taking a more active role in making decisions regarding the children. Moreover, this change in household roles is apparently having a positive effect on marriages: studies indicate that American couples who share employment and household responsibilities are less likely to divorce.

According to the Charlotte Observer and the Associated Press, bankruptcy filings in 2009 numbered 1.4 million and are up 32% nationwide.

These tough economic times cannot help but make divorce cases, which can be very difficult when times are good, all the more difficult to manage, settle and take to trial. When real estate prices were up and properties could be liquidated easily,

it was often just a matter of deciding how much of the equity each spouse would receive. Times have changed.

Money has always been one of the biggest reasons that people separate and divorce. If that was true when times were good, you can bet it will be the case during tough economic times.

Money often causes the split and money is often what is fought over during the separation and divorce. Only now, rather than fighting over retirement accounts, equity and cash reserves, spouses often find themselves fighting over responsibility for debt and fighting to avoid losing their homes or having to file bankruptcy.

In this issue we take a look at "virtual visitation" - the ways in which technology is facilitating visitation despite great distances in child custody cases. We also address they ways in which asset valuation has become more difficult in equitable distribution cases during these economic times.

Click here to view and print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter - Winter 2010:

CHARLOTTE DIVORCE LAWYER BLOG FAMILY LAW NEWSLETTER WINTER 2010

Any married couple who has been faced with a life-threatening illness knows that the stress resulting from the diagnosis and subsequent treatment puts the couple at great risk for marital discord. However, a recent study demonstrates that marriages are six times more likely to end in divorce when the spouse affected is the wife.

This study, conducted by researchers specializing in oncology, indicates that female gender is a very strong predictor of partner abandonment in patients who face serious medical diagnoses. Those conducting the study on cancer patients found that about 12% of the patients in the study inevitably separated or divorced. However, with regard to the gender of the patient, the study indicated that 21% of women faced divorce after the diagnosis, as compared to only 3% of men.

Perhaps most unnervingly, the study also demonstrated that when these marriages end in divorce or separation, the patient's quality of care and quality of life were negatively impacted. Specifically, patients who no longer have spousal support are much more likely to end therapy or become disinterested in trying new cancer treatments.

These studies raise a number of questions: Should a seriously ill spouse seek legal counsel? If so, when should a seriously ill spouse hire a lawyer? If a husband leaves when his wife get sick, does it amount to abandonment? What might the ramifications be on health insurance? What might the ramifications be on child custody? What might the ramifications be on post separation support or alimony?

If you would like to read more about this issue, check out this blog on momlogic.com or this blog on The New York Times website.