Does Alimony Terminate if the Recipient Has a Sex Change Operation?

That is the question raised in a recent Florida case in which a divorced man claims that his obligation to pay alimony to his former wife should be terminated.

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Grandparent Visitation Case

The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear a Pennsylvania man’s appeal that raised the question of whether grandparents should be required to show that keeping children away from grandparents would be harmful to the children as a condition for granting the grandparents visitation rights. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled, in Fausey v. Hiller that no such showing is required. In denying Shane Fausey’s petition for certiorari, the Supreme Court declined the opportunity to clarify an area of the law that they left fairly muddled the last time they considered the issue in a case that resulted in a badly splintered Court and multiple opinions.

What People Think of Prenups

A 2002 Harris Poll demonstrates the polarized opinions on drafting a prenuptial agreement:

• More than one-fourth of respondents (28%) think that a prenup makes smart financial sense for anyone getting married.

• One-fourth think they are for the rich and famous, not regular people.

• One in five (19%) believe a prenup is never needed if two people really love each other.

• Fifteen percent think a prenup dooms a marriage to failure.

• Twelve percent think prenuptial agreements are a good idea but would feel too uncomfortable to bring the issue up in their own relationship.

• One-half (49%) of divorced Americans believe that prenuptial agreements make financial sense, while just one in five (21%) married Americans feel the same.

From freep.com.

Source for Post: California Divorce and Family Law.

Source for Post: Kansas Family & Divorce Lawyer

Programming Note

I will be on vacation next week, so posting will be light. I will try to get some thin gs up, but there is not lilely to be anything new before Tuesday or Wednesday.

Welcome to the Kentucky Family Law Blog

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Hugh Barrow and his Kentucky Family Law Blog to the blogosphere (and to thank Hugh for the link to this blog). Welcome, Hugh, and best of luck.

Guest poster: Christy Borgeld

I am very pleased to announce that Christy Borgeld, the founder of National Stepfamily Day, has agreed to do some guest posts here. I think that Christy does very valuable work, and am very much looking forward to having her post here. Welcome, Christy, and thanks again.

Disputes Over the Disposition Of a Decedent’s Remains Are Not Reserved to the Rich and Famous

A recent decision from the Pennsylvania Superior Court highlights the fact that disputes over the disposition of a decedent’s remains did not begin and end with Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern. In Kulp v. Kulp the Superior Court considered whether the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the division of the cremated remains of the son of a divorcing couple where the couple could not agree as to the disposition, and where the husband objected todivision of the remains. In what I believe was a very well reasoned opinion, the Superior Court found that the trial court did in fact abuse its discretion, and remanded the case to the trial court for a determination with regard to disposition.

Understanding the New IRS Rules for Claiming Dependents

Inasmuch as tax day (cue boos and hisses) is approaching, I figured that we can’t discuss often enough the new IRS rules pertaining to claiming dependents. Bankrate.com has posted this fairly thorough, and informative, discussion of the new rules and how they might apply in various situations.

Blog Recommendation #4

For those of you in Pennsylvania, I highly recommend Dustin Jones’ blog All Things Pennsylvania Family Law. Dustin regularly posts informative and extremely helpful information on Pennsylvania family law. I highly recommend his blog.

The Stepfamily Blog

Readers of this blog are probably familiar with Dawn Miller’s website, TheStepFamilyLife.com. I have linked to Dawn’s site several times. I have found her work there to be insightful, inspiring, and not least, appropriately humorous. As Dawn noted ina  comment to one of my earlier posts, she is back writing, and has a blog, not so coincidentally named The Step Family Life. I would like to take this opportuniy to thank Dawn for reading, and to welcome her to the blogosphere. I encourage everyone interested in issues of concern to blended families to read Dawn’s blog.