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New Jersey's former governor, James McGreevey and his wife Dina Matos McGreevey are in the middle of a divorce. Some of you might recall that Former Gov. McGreevey announced several years ago during his term that he is a "gay American" resulting in the unraveling of his marriage. Although only married since 2000, Matos McGreevey is seeking alimony. The issue in today's hearing was not whether she is entitled to alimony but whether she is deserving of compensation for losing out on perks of her husband's job — state police transportation and a 24/7 security detail, a household staff and use of two beach houses — because he resigned 13 months shy of completing his first term.

McGreevey maintains that perks of the governor's office are not a marital asset.

In Iowa, one's job perks can be considered as a factor in determining (upward deviation from guideline amont) child support or alimony by looking at the cash value or the savings to the receiving party. Perks I have run across usually include paid cell phone, car allowance, gasoline, and country club memberships - not state security and use of summer rental homes. The McGreevey case is interesting because it involves perks that would have come to fruition if Gov. McGreevey served his entire term; they are not perks he currently receives.

Luckily the couple agreed on the important stuff ahead of time: custody of their 6 year-old daughter; however, the agreement remains sealed.

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Tracy Ellis has a good post and solution on an alternative method to dividing up personal property items.  As I frequently tell clients, its not the division of the bank accounts or stocks that cause family rifts, but the division of the personal family mementos and heirlooms.  Edivvyup provides an alternative method for dividing the family items amongst the family members in the form of an on-line auction.  Rather than using your own money, you are given a certain number of credits and through the the private on-line bidding process, you can use your credits to secure the family items.

To avoid any bidding or fighting over your personal items, preparation of a list for distribution of your personal assets is the ideal planning method.  No method is perfect and sometimes a fight cannot be avoided, but attempting to equitably divide the assets and preserve family harmony are important goals that an attorney should aim for.

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I just finished up a modification trial today regarding child custody. As an attorney, I strive not only to represent my client but when the case involves the children, my duty also includes thinking about how the outcome could affect them as well. A recent article on Newswise and included in the Journal on Marriage and Family reported that for children of divorce, what happens after their parents split up may be just as important to their long-term well-being as the divorce itself.

A new study found that children who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced fared much worse as adults on a variety of measures compared to children who had stable post-divorce family situations. “For many children with divorced parents, particularly young ones, the divorce does not mark the end of family structure changes – it marks the beginning,” said Yongmin Sun, co-author of the study and associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University’s Mansfield campus. “A stable family situation after divorce does not erase the negative effects of a divorce, but children in this situation fare much better than do those who experience chronic instability”

The study compared children who grew up in three different situations including children who grew up in married households, children whose parents divorced before the study began but lived in a stable home, and children whose family situation changed once or twice during teen years.

Results showed that young adults who grew up in stable post-divorce families had similar chances of attending college and living in poverty compared to those from always married families. But they fared less well on measures of the highest degree obtained, occupational prestige and income. However, those who lived in unstable family situations after their parents divorced did worse on all measures. In fact, they fared more than twice as poorly on most measures compared to their peers who had stable family situations.

This study found that for those in stable post-divorce families, the difference in adult well-being was mostly due to a shortage of economic and social resources. Compared to always-married parents, divorced parents had a lower level of income, didn’t talk to their children as much about school-related matters, had fewer interactions with other parents, and moved their children to new schools more often.

These findings provide a clear message to parents: minimize disruption during a divorce and after.

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Following a controversial decision by the Iowa Supreme Court and after some wrangling in the Iowa legislature, Governor Chet Culver signed SF 473 into law on April 11, 2008.  Effective July 1, 2008, this new chapter to the Iowa Code (chapter 144C) authorizes an individual to designate an individual to make decisions over the disposition of their bodily remains following their death. The designation does not indicate how a person wants their body remains to be handled, only who has the authority to make those decisions that are "reasonable under the circumstances".

Now, what is "reasonable under the circumstances"? Under the definitions section, consideration should be given to the deceased's financial situation, religious beliefs and cutural or family customs.

Also, if the designee doesn't promptly step forward and assume their responsibility, they forfeit their rights. In fact, the designee has either 24 hours after notification or 40 hours after death to exercise their authority. Iowa Code section 144C.8 After, that, the power is gone and moves to the next person on the priority list.

This new law also covers situations beyond immediate funeral arrangements. For example, disinterment or decisions about an autopsy.

I imagine most attorneys will begin placing appropriate designations on their medical power of attorney forms. Here is the suggested language to use for the declaration:

I hereby designate ................ as my designee.  My designee shall have the sole
responsibility for making decisions concerning the final disposition of my remains
and the ceremonies to be performed after my death. 

This declaration hereby revokes all prior declarations.  This designation becomes
effective upon my death.  My designee shall act in a manner that is reasonable under
the circumstances.

I may revoke or amend this declaration at any time.  I agree that a third party
(such as a funeral or cremation establishment, funeral director, or cemetery) who
receives a copy of this declaration may act in reliance on it.  Revocation of this
declaration is not effective as to a third party until the third party receives
notice of the revocation.  My estate shall indemnify my designee and any third party
for costs incurred by them or claims arising against them as a result of their good
faith reliance on this declaration.
     
I execute this declaration as my free and voluntary act.

This new chapter is a needed step by the Iowa legislature. Unfortunately, for the Stark family, it is too late. However, like many aspects of an estate plan, the usefulness of this chapter is only beneficial if the plans are communicated to those key individuals. Knowing where the document is, who the designee is and what one's wishes are can be critical to putting your final affairs in order.

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The Iowa Court of Appeals recently had before it a sad (sad for the child that was injured and sad for the dog) and somewhat surprising dog-bite case in which they decided that a fact question was created, necessitating further review, when a landlord had knowledge that a dog had a propensity towards violence and yet that landlord allowed the dog to remain on the property.

The abbreviated facts are as follows:  Landlord's son, who was also a tenant, had a German Shepard as a pet.  German Shepard was kept outside, possible neglect occurring (Disclosure Alert: dog owner writing this blog post). German Shepard attacks neighbor.  Landlord/father is aware that tenant/son's dog attacked neighbor.  Steps are taken to insure that dog does not get loose again.  Tenant/Son sent jail for unrelated matter.  Dog left in fenced in yard (testimony showed neglect).  Landlord/father insists that dog be removed.  Son/ex-tenant threatens suicide, father/ex-landlord relents.  Dog eventually escapes and severely injures neighbor boy.  Court of Appeals finds, among other things, that a fact issue requiring further review had been created as to whether the landlord was negligent in allowing a dangerous dog to remain in his property.

The lesson:  If you are going to allow your tenants to have pets you should have your tenants provide you with information regarding the animals demeanor and any past displays of abnormal aggression.  Also, you should put a provision in your leases that would allow you to terminate the lease should you become aware of an animals aggression and after such aggression the tenant refuses to find alternate accommodations for pet. 

Photo by flickr

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On May 20, 2008 a man from central Florida will stand in front of a Judge and possibly be sentenced to five years in prison for failing to pay hundred of thousands of dollars in child support. Robert Abraham, age 65, pleaded guilty in mid-March to failing to pay $651,000 in child support for his three children. The charges marks the first time anyone in his county of residence has been charged with a felony for neglecting to make child support payments.

Often custodial parents face the same ordeal, although owing hundred of thousands of dollars is rare. In Iowa, the custodial parent can bring a contempt action in court for non-payment and each missed monthly payment may be the basis for individual counts of contempt. If the non-custodial parent has missed many months, the counts can add up (26 counts in a case I handled last year). The court can employ many remedies which are set out in the Iowa Code including forcing the non-custodial parent to post bond equal to months of future-owed payments, fines and jail time - up to 30 days for each finding of contempt.

Abraham further demonstrated his lack of intelligence when he declined to settle his $651,000 child support debt for $200,000.

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