VA Family Law News

MySpace post becomes communicating a written threat

The Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed the finding that the appellant posted a threat on his MySpace profile that placed the recipient in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily injury.

 

The appellant contended that the postings to his MySpace account were not communications to the purported victim because they were published to a public site and not directed to the victim. He also contended that the postings were lyrics, not threats, despite the graphic and violent content. The court of appeals found neither argument persuasive.

 

The full opinion may be found at JOHN ANDREW-COLLINS HOLCOMB v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA.

Divorce Lawyers: Facebook Tops in Online Evidence

Forgot to de-friend your wife on Facebook while posting vacation shots of your mistress? Her divorce lawyer will be thrilled.

via www.law.com

There was a time when catching a cheating spouse required a private investigator and some luck. Some cases still require that, but more and more, it is the unexplained restaurant or hotel charges that can be found from any number of sources,the GPS trails created on a variety of devices, and the social networking sites providing the proof. The new cellphone apps will increase the frequency of unintentional/unwanted disclosures.

Division of Military Retirement

Savedge v. Barbour

The Court of Appeals of Virginia issued an unpublished opinion today that addresses the division of military retired pay. In this case, the parties divorced prior to the enactment of the Uniform Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) that authorized states to divide military retirement as they did other retirement plans in the course of a divorce. The USFSPA was retroactive to a date prior to the parties' divorce.

The parties signed a separation agreement that included several waivers. Some waivers specifically address matters of spousal support, alimony, maintenance, etc. Other waivers address dower, curtesy, inheritance, etc. There is no specific waiver of equitable distribution or division of property incident to divorce. Nonetheless, the trial court and the Court of Appeals found the waivers sufficient to save the military retirement from being divided as property pursuant to Va. Code section 20-107.3.

US Department of Labor clarifies FMLA definition of ‘son and daughter’ [06/22/2010]

The U.S. Department of Labor today clarified the definition of "son and daughter" under the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that an employee who assumes the role of caring for a child receives parental rights to family leave regardless of the legal or biological relationship.

via www.dol.gov

Is New York Ready for No-Fault Divorce? - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.com

In 1969, Gov. Ronald Reagan of California signed the nation’s first no-fault divorce law. He later called it the worst mistake of his life. But other states eventually followed California’s lead, and no-fault — under which one spouse can end a marriage, with no proof required of wrongdoing by either party — more or less became law of the land. New York State was the longtime holdout, since South Dakota passed its law in 1985.

via roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com

Property Division in a Virginia Divorce

Update from Avvo.com postings

Resolving Difficult Child Custody Disputes

Custody disputes between parents in the midst of litigation or following litigation can frequently be heated and lead to unforeseen consequences, including further litigation, police involvement and other legal consequences. As this article demonstrates, some couples resort to questionable tactics in the efforts to assert custody rights or prevent another parent from having custody or visitation. 

 

If you are involved in a heated custody dispute, you may wonder what choice you have but to continue engaging with the other parent and fighting back.  However, there are alternatives to consider.

 

One possibility is using a parenting coordinator to help you and the other parent learn to work together.  Parenting coordinators are psychological professionals, usually psychologists, who will meet with you and the other parent.  Many times they are able to help parents resolve conflicts without unnecessary litigation. 

 

Another possibility is using a mediator to resolve disagreements.  Mediators are typically trained as attorneys but rather than representing one side or the other in an adversarial legal process, they help people come to agreement.  A mediator can help you draft a custody and visitation agreement that you can both live with. 

Custody and Religious issues

The case of Joseph and Rebecca Reyes has recently raised the issue of what the court’s role is in moderating disputes between parents over their children’s religious upbringing.  A Cook County judge recently ruled that Joseph Reyes could take his daughter to Catholic Mass during his visitation.  However, a previous judge had entered an order preventing Mr. Reyes from taking his daughter to Mass.  Mr. Reyes allegedly took his daughter to a Catholic Mass and had her baptized.  He will now face contempt of court for his alleged violation of the court order.

 

In Virginia, it is unlikely that a court would enter an order dealing so specifically with a child’s religious upbringing.  In addition to Constitutional issues raise by the First Amendment, Virginia also has a provision in its state constitution that guarantees religious freedom.  A Virginia court refused to incorporate into a court order a settlement agreement requiring both parents to continue with religious instruction and attendance at religious services. Finnerty v. Finnerty, No. CH 6701, 1981 WL 180561 at *3 (Va.Cir.Ct. Oct. 16, 1981).   

 

Legal custody incorporates the issue of religious training.  Parents with joint legal custody must work together to make decisions as to what, if any religion, they will raise their children in or respect each parent’s authority to make decisions regarding religious training during his or her time with the children.

Article - Religion and Childhood Vaccinations

Cole Miller PLLC congratulates our colleague, Virginia Haizlip. Ms. Haizlip recently had an article published in The Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. This professional achievement recognizes Ms. Haizlip’s research and writing on matters of children’s immunizations.

Parenting is challenging in the best of times. It becomes increasingly difficult when parents separate and divorce. One frequent source of disagreement between parents is whether or not to vaccinate their children.

The science of vaccination supports the effectiveness of vaccination, and demonstrates the risk as well. There are also valid religious reasons for a parent to choose not to vaccinate his or her children.

Ms. Haizlip’s article explores the differences between states with regard to their treatment of a parent’s religious objections to vaccination. 

Her article is in the Spring 2010 issue of the Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.