Bobrow, Part I.

October 30, 2017

The Bobrow decision (Arizona Court of Appeals) partially answers a question I’ve often had when acting as a mediator and trying to settle dissolution cases.     When the parties are trying hard to settle a case after the dissolution has been pending for months (or longer), and if one party has been paying most […]

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Military Disability Benefits Can’t Be Considered in Spousal Maintenance Analysis

October 30, 2017

Arizona law establishes that “federal disability benefits awarded to the other spouse for service-connected disabilities . .  . ” cannot be considered by the court in a dissolution proceeding and request for spousal maintenance.”   ARS 25-530.  The specific federal disability benefits falling under this prohibition are 10 USC 1413a (CRSC, combat-related special compensation) and 38 […]

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Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Trainings – updated July 20, 2017

July 20, 2017

The Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence has several upcoming trainings that can help meet the DV and child abuse requirements for those issuing reports in court matters — see their events calendar here. More trainings are available at Unhooked Media, including The Intersection of Family and Juvenile Law and Human Trafficking. The […]

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U.S. Supreme Court Finally Resolves Arizona Divorce Cases on Military Retired Pay

July 5, 2017

In 2012, I wrote a post here about Merrill v. Merrill, which was then an Arizona Court of Appeals case.   The AZ Court of Appeals, back then, ruled that a payor-Husband who reduced military retired pay  (MRP) payments to his ex-wife by converting some of those payments to combat-related special compensation (CRSC) payments would […]

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Email Etiquette Remains a Hot Topic

May 18, 2017

I was sent this link about Email etiquette and it looks really great.   It reminded me of this article, YourOnlinePresence,  that I wrote years and years ago.    The article is certainly old (2011!) and needs updating, but my rants about trying to keep emails appropriate are still the same.

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WaPo Article Explores Extreme Measures for Parental Alienation

May 16, 2017

Parental alienation is one of the most volatile issues in divorce and custody cases.    I’ve written on it previously here and here. In this article from Sunday’s magazine (5/14/2017, the Mother’s Day issue), the Washington Post examines a controversial program to deprogram children who refuse to see one parent.

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Domestic Abuse Guide

May 3, 2017

Domestic Violence and Addiction is a guide availbable free online from DrugRehab.com.     Be sure and check out this reference providing information and support to people fighting domestic abuse, mental illness and addiction.

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Safe Haven Therapy: An Overview, Part III

April 5, 2017

This is the third of four posts about safe haven therapy for children. If the parents intend that their child have safe haven therapy, how is that accomplished?   A written agreement spelling out everyone’s understanding of the arrangement is the best way to ensure your child has her privacy in a counseling relationship. Often […]

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IRS and Social Security Resources to review for your divorce

April 3, 2017

The government can be your friend.   Before you seek advice from professionals about your social security benefits and particular tax situations and how they apply to your divorce, do your own research and know what questions to ask. The Social Security Administration offers some advice about your benefits or potential benefits upon divorce: SSA […]

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Safe Haven Therapy: An Overview, Part II

March 27, 2017

This is the second post about safe haven counseling, which applies to children’s counseling records in custody cases.   The first post is here. A couple of  Arizona statutes are relevant to the safe haven issue.  ARS 13-3620 is Arizona’s duty to report statute, and Subsection G provides that release of a child’s records does not […]

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