Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog

Domestic Violence Protective Orders and Prosecution – Follow Up

Published on: August 10, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

To follow up on our earlier article (Domestic Violence Protective Orders and DV Warning Signs), more information and helpful advice from law enforcement authorities has surfaced regarding the murder-suicide committed by Austen Minter in Dallas, North Carolina last week.

Police, prosecutors, and judges involved in the prior domestic violence incidents between Minter and his girlfriend, Tracy Hedgepath, say that they could not stop the violence because Hedgepath would not help to prosecute her abuser nor provide the police with enough evidence of the abuse. Domestic violence experts report that it is common for victims of domestic violence to back off from pursuing punishment out of fear. Alternatively, victims may hope that their relationship will improve or that they should keep a husband or a father for their children.

So, can domestic violence cases be prosecuted without victim cooperation?

Domestic Violence Protective Orders and DV Warning Signs

Published on: August 6, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As reported by Fox Charlotte, recently a tragic, and perhaps preventable, murder-suicide took place in Dallas, North Carolina. Austen Minter, a North Carolina resident with a history of domestic violence, engaged in a domestic argument with his pregnant girlfriend at her home before shooting her and their three children, and then himself. The 6-year-old and 3-year-old children died from their gunshot wounds, while the 7-year-old remains in serious condition at Carolinas Medical Center.

Prior to the attack, the warning signs of domestic violence were all present to law enforcement. Since June of 2008, there have been 24 calls for police assistance to the residence, most of them with reports of domestic violence. In January of 2008, a domestic violence protective order was filed against Minter by his girlfriend. Last month, there were several domestic violence warrants filed against Minter, but police were unable to find him. Neighbors report that they witnessed Minter violently confront his girlfriend several times in the past outside of their home.

If you have witnessed any of the warning signs of domestic violence, domestic violence advocate Bea Cote has some words of advice regarding how to make a report. Cote reports that neighbors who witness scenes between a couple often see the violence as a private affair or domestic squabble, and feel uncomfortable getting involved in the couple’s business. A witness to a crime should call 911 every single time he or she witnesses any type of assault. Neighbors should report anything they hear or see that is suspicious. The more reports police get, the more likely they are to investigate the situation and try to put a halt to the occurrences.

Charlotte Divorce Attorneys, Adultery and Facebook

Published on: August 3, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As discussed previously in this blog (Divorce Attorneys Becoming Facebook Sleuths), the popular social networking site Facebook has become the catalyst for a great deal of recent divorce litigation. According to a recent survey by Divorce-Online.com, more than 5,000 attorneys report that Facebook is mentioned in about 20 percent of their divorce cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers attributes these statistics to a great number of clients who are sharing more and more aspects of their private lives on Facebook.

The new website www.FacebookCheating.com was created by a Massachusetts man in 2009 after he discovered his wife’s affair on Facebook. He created the site in an effort to help others cope with a spouse cheating on them, as well as to provide information on how to recognize whether a spouse is cheating. Facebook, which has over 400 million reported registered users, is reportedly the social networking site of choice by far for many clients, with MySpace and Twitter coming in second and third, respectively. Divorce attorneys report that the most widely-used types of evidence produced in domestic cases from Facebook are direct messages and incriminating photos posted by friends.

Is Divorce Contagious in Charlotte, North Carolina?

Published on: July 30, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent study conducted by a trio of researchers from Brown, Harvard, and the University of California – San Diego, divorce can be contagious and can spread between friends, siblings, and coworkers. The research relies on data from the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, which studied the lives of more than 12,000 Americans living in Framingham since 1948.

The study indicates that if a close friend’s marriage is on the rocks, your chance of divorce increases by 75 percent. If the friend follows through with the divorce, your chance of divorce increases by another 33.3 percent. Whether or not a friend’s divorce has an adverse effect on your marriage depends largely on your perception of how the divorced couple handled it. The study also found that the more friends a husband and wife have together, the lower their chances of divorce. The odds are also lowered for couples who have had children, as couples with more children have a lower susceptibility of being influenced by divorced peers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 data, nearly 50 percent of marriages end in divorce within the first 15 years.

View and Print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Summer 2010

Published on: July 27, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In this issue of our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter, we take a look at how difficult it can be to divide property in equitable distribution. We also take a look at the legal impact of signing a legally binding document without reading and understanding it. Finally, we take a look at relocation issues in child custody cases.

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

CHARLOTTE DIVORCE LAWYER BLOG FAMILY LAW NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2010

Divorce Will Cost Tiger Over $750 Million

Published on: July 23, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As reported by the Charlotte Observer, reports coming out this week indicate that Elin Nordegren, the soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Tiger Woods, will receive over $750 million from her husband in their divorce settlement. Although Elin estimated that her legendary golfer husband was worth approximately $1 billion, her attorneys uncovered several additional assets owned by Woods which served to increase his net worth. Elin will also receive sole physical custody of the children and will share legal custody with Tiger.

In exchange for her large payout, Elin is banned from publicly speaking or writing about Tiger’s reported affairs and any aspects of their divorce. Thus, unlike many wronged celebrity spouses, Elin must maintain a dignified silence for the rest of her life, regardless of whether Tiger predeceases her. For his part, Tiger is also banned from allowing any future or current mistress or girlfriend near his two children – unless he is marrying one. Under this deal, only married women not romantically linked to Tiger and female members of the staff known to Elin are allowed near the children.

Elin’s receipt of over $750 million is by far the biggest celebrity divorce payout in U.S. history. The previous record was a $168 million payout to Juanita Jordan – otherwise known as the former Mrs. Michael Jordan. Other celebrity divorce settlements rounding out the top twelve include: Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey ($150 million), Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving ($100 million), Harrison Ford and Melissa Mathison ($85 million), Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva ($80 million), Madonna and Guy Ritchie ($76 to $92 million), Paul McCartney and Heather Mills ($60 million), James Cameron and Linda Hamilton ($50 million), Michael Douglas and Diandra Douglas ($45 million and two homes), Lionel Richie and Diane Richie ($20 million), and Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall ($15 to $25 million).

International Child Custody Disputes

Published on: July 20, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban child who became the star of an international custody battle a decade ago, released his first comments on the incident on the recent 10th anniversary of his return to his father in Cuba. He reported that he is happy to be in Cuba, and extended his gratitude to “a large part of the American public” for reuniting him with his father.

Gonzalez was only five years old when a fisherman found him floating off the coast of Florida in an inner tube on Thanksgiving Day of 1999. His mother and others fleeing Cuba drowned trying to reach American soil, while his father remained on the island. Gonzalez’s relatives in Miami refused to give him up after he was found, and Fidel Castro led marches in Cuba calling for his return home. U.S. immigration officials ruled that Gonzalez should be returned to Cuba, which created an outrage among Cuban-Americans. Armed federal agents raided the home of Gonzalez’s uncle in April of 2000 and seized Gonzalez from a closet to return him to Cuba.

Several American parents have waged notorious international custody battles in the years following Gonzalez’s ordeal. David Goldman of New Jersey very recently ended a highly publicized five-year child custody battle for his son, who was taken to his mother’s native Brazil for vacation and was never returned. Instead, Goldman’s wife divorced him and remarried a Brazilian man. When she died in 2009, her Brazilian husb\and moved to adopt the child. After five years of fighting, Goldman was permitted to return his son to American soil on Christmas Eve of 2009.

Divorce is Not Always Bad for the Children

Published on: July 16, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Researchers from Montclair State University in New Jersey recently reported that, in marriages with a great deal of conflict, the notion of “staying together for the kids” might do more harm than good. The study, which was presented last year at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America, is being prepared for publication in a scientific journal.

To form their conclusions, the researchers analyzed the results of a national survey of nearly 7,000 married couples and their children living in the United States. The parents were initially surveyed in 1987 and asked questions to gauge their level of marital conflict at home, including how often they disagreed over money, household tasks, the in-laws, and multiple other hot-button issues. Then, between 1992 and 1993, both parents and children were surveyed, with researchers assessing how the parental conflict changed over the years, including whether the couple divorced. The children were surveyed a final time, as adults in 2001 and 2002, and were asked about their level of happiness and conflict in their own current relationships.

The results of the study indicate that children of parents who fight a lot yet stay married experience more conflict in their own marital relationships than children of parents who fight and get divorced. Researchers indicate that the results show that children do suffer short-term issues during crisis periods when their parents divorce, but they usually recover in the long run. Constant exposure to parental strife is most likely what causes children’s future relationships to suffer and sometimes end. In contract, parental happiness did not appear to affect the children’s adult relationships; children of happily married parents did not necessarily grow up to have happy marriages themselves.

Elizabeth Edwards is Speaking Out On Her Divorce

Published on: July 13, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC’s Today Show this week, Elizabeth Edwards spoke out about her finalized divorce from former U.S. senator and presidential candidate John Edwards. The Edwardses, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina began divorce proceedings shortly after John Edwards admitted to fathering a child with Rielle Hunter, a campaign aide with whom he had a long-term relationship. Hunter now lives in Charlotte with their two-year-old daughter.
Calling her decision to leave her husband “terrifying,” Elizabeth notes that she attempted to salvage the marriage after learning of the affair, but eventually stopped trying when she realized that the affair was more involved than she originally thought. However, she reported that she and John remain in close contact for the sake of their three children. Elizabeth’s first book, “Resilience,” documenting her struggle with her husband’s infidelity, was released in paperback form this week.

Charlotteans Push for Changes in Child Custody Laws

Published on: July 8, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Many Charlotte fathers – and a few mothers – are advocating for shared parenting time after couples divorce. A local group called Kids Need 2 Parents (KN2P) held a rally at Marshall Park on June 12 in an attempt to make “shared parenting” the presumed standard in custody law.

Although the current legal standard in child custody decisions is whatever arraignment is found to be “in the child’s best interest,” the President of KN2P, Sheila Peltzer, insists that the reality of custody battles is that the mother wins custody 85% of the time. Under KN2P’s proposed plan for shared custody, each child would start out splitting his or her time 50/50 between parents.

Members of KN2P believe that the Tender Years Doctrine, a common law theory that presumed that children of a young age are better suited to live with their mothers rather than fathers, is an unspoken bias in the law that remains today. They claim that children’s right to equal access to both parents is “the civil rights fight of this century.”