LA Law and Divorce

LA Law is one of my favorite legal shows. (Right after Perry Mason) My favorite episode was season 7, episode 18 which was aired on April 22, 1993, entitled "Come Rain or Come Schein." In the show, Becker represents Mitchell Schein, a greedy man who holds out for material concessions before agreeing to grant his wife a divorce following Jewish law (A get. See my March 10, 2008 blog, Religious Divorce and Annulment). As you may know, according to Jewish law only the husband can agree to a divorce. Women want this for many reasons, including the ability to have another Jewish marriage. In the episode, it has been a very rainy period in Los Angeles and there have been numerous mad slides. The show concludes with a split screen where you see the Husband agreeing to the Jewish divorce as the marital home his wife just agreed to give him in order for him to agree to the Jewish divorce is sliding down the hill as a result of the rain. I often relate this story to clients to remind them, not to be too greedy.
As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(178) 6/26/10

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End of NY Fault Divorce Near?

I have been following with interest the attempt to eliminate fault divorce in New York and stop the subterfuge in obtaining a divorce. As I discussed in my May 20, 2010 blog Divorce Japan Style, I worked for legal services one summer and watched what fault divorce was like in Connecticut prior to no fault. There have been a few articles about what is happening in New York in the New York Times. See article and editorials at

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/opinion/19sat4.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/nyregion/17divorce.html, and

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/opinion/17coontz.html. No fault divorce always made sense to me but it is only the first step. I am glad to see New York is also considering alimony guide lines and more use of mediation. We now need to work for true no fault divorce where attorneys do not charge exorbitant fees and play to their client’s anger, children are not hurt, and couples can get on with their lives.

As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(177) 6/19/10

Divorce Japan Style - the Splitter-Uppers

I have always been a firm believer in no fault divorce. I always remember when I was a law student and had a summer job working for legal services. I was in court helping an attorney with a divorce. Connecticut then did not have any fault divorce and you had to show physical manifestation of intolerable cruelty. It was not unusual for a person to say they could not sleep or were putting on weight or were losing weight. A woman why must have weighed 400 pounds gets on the stand and testifies how she is losing weight because of her husband’s intolerable cruelty. The judge listens to what she says and then leans close to her and says, “You should stay married a little longer.” Fault divorce causes all sorts of mischief. A May 10, 2010 article in TimesOnline by Richard Lloyd Parry, entitled, “Sex, lies and splitting up Want to dump a troublesome husband, or unsuitable boyfriend? Just call Osamu Tomiya and his team of splitter-uppers, but you’ll have to move to Japan,” reminded me of the problems with fault divorce. See the entire article at

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article7119999.ece
The article says, “The whole thing was masterminded by Mr “Ota” — real name Osamu Tomiya — a member of a peculiarly Japanese profession, part-private investigator, part-prostitute, known as wakaresase-ya — the “splitter-uppers”.
The function of the wakaresase-ya is the direct opposite of a dating agency: with great ingenuity, and the right fee, they will pry apart human relationships. Do you have a troublesome ex-boyfriend who won’t leave you alone? A beloved son who is getting engaged to an unsuitable girl? A dead-loss employee who refuses to take the hint and retire? All of these difficult situations can be resolved by the splitter-uppers.
Also see follow up article in http://www.divorcesaloon.com/japan-professional-marriage-splitter-upper-takeshi-kuwabara-gets-17-years-for-strangling-lover-rie-isohata in Divorce Saloon which says, “Japan, apparently, is a “fault” jurisdiction which means in order to get out of a marriage, folks have to prove grounds. The reason I surmise this to be so is that there seems to be a custom in Japan where married folks hire wakaresaseyas (in English, “marriage splitter uppers”) to seduce their unsuspecting spouses so that these folks can have grounds for the divorce.”
This is all compounded by each state having its own divorce laws and standards which causes some forum shopping.
This is another reason I like mediation. These kinds of problems rarely come up in a mediated divorce.
As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(176) 5/20/10

I thought it would be fun to use the Word translation program and do this blog in Japanese too.

私は常に固く障害離婚されていません。 私は常に私の法律の学生だったし、法的サービスの使用は夏の仕事をしていた覚えています。 私は裁判所の弁護士は離婚を支援していた。 コネチカット [任意フォールト離婚はありませんでしたと耐えられない虐待の物理的な症状を表示する必要があります。 寝ることがない、または重量をかけていたまたは重量を失っていたと言う人は珍しいことではなかった。 なぜ 400 ポンドを検討している必要がありますにスタンドを取得し、どのように彼女は夫の耐えられない虐待のため重量を失いつつある証言している女性。 裁判官彼女の言い分をリッスンして [彼女の近くに傾いていると言う"をもう少し結婚して滞在する必要があります。 フォールト離婚は、あらゆる種類のいたずらが発生します。 2010 年 5 月 10 日の記事で TimesOnline でリチャード ・ ロイドと題して、パリー、「性別、嘘と、面倒な夫、または不適切なボーイ フレンドをダンプするかを分割するか？ ちょうど修富谷と彼のチームの分割-甲、呼び出しが日本には、移動する必要があります」障害離婚の問題私を思い出した。 資料によると、http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article7119999.ece ですべての記事を参照してください"全体物氏「太田」で masterminded いた — 本物修富谷を名前 —、peculiarly 日本職業一部と民間調査官、一部-売春婦、のメンバー wakaresase として知られている-屋 —、「分割-甲」. wakaresase の機能-屋は出会い系の会社の正反対です: 偉大な工夫と右の手数料を彼ら以外の人間関係が外してされます。 面倒な元 - 人は、そのままはありません彼氏ですか？ 人、不適切な女の子に行ってきです、最愛の息子ですか？ ヒントを取るし、引退することを拒否、死者損失従業員ですか？ これらすべての困難な状況は、スプリッター甲で解決できます。 参考資料に離婚は、「日本はどうやらアウト結婚を取得するには、「障害」の管轄権は、人々 がある根拠を証明する。 サロンで http://www.divorcesaloon.com/japan-professional-marriage-splitter-upper-takeshi-kuwabara-gets-17-years-for-strangling-lover-rie-isohata を実行します 私はこの推測のでこと、カスタムどこ結婚されていた人々 の wakaresaseyas (英語、「結婚スプリッター甲は") でこれらの人々 離婚根拠があるできるように彼ら疑いを持たない配偶者を誘惑する雇う日本であるようです。」 これすべてフォーラム買い物が独自の離婚の法律と基準を持つ各状態が悪化します。 これは調停が好きの理由です。 このような問題はほとんど仲介離婚に来る。 いつものように、右にある [緑] 列またはこのウェブサイトの下部の指示に従うによってこのブログや離婚調停、またはちょうど仲介に関する任意のコメントを投稿できます。 http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/WM(176) で調停について 5/20/10

DNA of Divorce

There is often a convergence of discoveries that change the world. For thousands of years man wanted to fly and yet in the space of a few years, a few people built planes that flew. The same thing is true with the atomic bomb, the telegraph, the telephone, and many other inventions and discoveries. There usually is some underlying discovery which is the catalyst or there is a synergy when someone puts together to independent ideas. This is the concept of multiple discovery which states that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors. See also article in May 13, 2010 New Yorker entitled In the Air Who Says Big Ideas are Rare? by Malcolm Gladwell at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/12/080512fa_fact_gladwell.
I thought about this when I read the article in the May 11, 2010 New York Times by Tara Parker-Pope entitled "The Science of a Happy Marriage" and watched on NBC Night News and read in the paper about obtaining your own personal genetic history. NBC indicated that Walgreens was planning to sell the Pathway Genomic home test kit under the brand Insight. (Walgreens put a hold on the next day until they could get clearance from the FDA). According to Pam Stephan, "The Pathway Genomics Insight kit, marketed to "Discover Your DNA." is simple to use - just swab the inside of your cheek, slip the sample in a vial, and mail it away. Pathway Genomics will check your genetic risk for more than 26 diseases and conditions, and send you a report online." Tar Parker-Pope says that "recent studies have raised questions about whether genetic factors may influence commitment and marital stability. See full article at
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/tracking-the-science-of-commitment.
If you combine these two ideas, something startling happens. With a swab of a Q-tip, you soon will be able to determine if a potential spouse has the genetic factor which will influence marital stability. Do people want to know if they are at risk to get a disease? Will they want to know the risk of marital stability? Is this our Brave New World? Only time will tell.
As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(175) 5/13/10

5 Financial and Income Tax Pitfall to Avoid in Matrimonial Dissolution

My friend Arnold is a CPA. We often discuss the tax aspects of divorce. Recently over dinner in Tucson, he recently gave me an article by John F. Raspante, CPA and Arthur Garcia, Esq. from a publication of the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants dated of all dates April 15, 2010 entitled "5 Financial and Income Tax Pitfall to Avoid in Matrimonial Dissolution." I knew the items but they are worth repeating.

Pitfall 1: Sale of Principal Residence – Capital Gains
Pitfall 2: Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) – Alternate Payee (Pension)
Pitfall 3: Insuring the Property Settlement – The Revenge of Death (Life Insurance)
Pitfall 4: Unsecured Debt – The Irresponsible Former Spouse
Pitfall 5: Closely Held Business – The Investigation and Valuation

When you get a divorce you should make sure these and many more pitfalls are discussed with your mediator, attorney, and accountant.

As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(174) 5/4/10

Divorce According to Harold, the Mover

Some boxes, pictures, and my carrom board recently were delivered to my home by Harold. As usual I chatted with Harold as he moved the boxes off the truck and I checked them off. The topic got around to divorce. Harold told me that divorce changes nothing. He said if you drank before you would drink after. If you cheated on your spouse you would continue to cheat on your new significant other. He said there was very likely that if you remarried it would be someone like your previous spouse. As a person who has counseled couples for 30 years that they could have a new beginning this was quite a revelation. I certainly have seen many individuals get a fresh start but I think Harold observation is very important. If individuals want a different life, they have to work at it and be careful they don’t repeat the behavior which caused them to get divorced.
As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(173) 4/27/10

Delaying Divorce in Arizona Part 3

We continue to monitor the bill in the Arizona legislature to extend the waiting period for divorce.
The bill as amended was signed by the Governor on April 7, 2010. You can see the law as amended below. It would appear that the final version kept the 60 day waiting period but allowed a party to request an extension. This shifts the burden to the party who wants more time and not less.
"Sec. 2. Section 25-381.18, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE25-381.18. Dissolution of marriage; legal separation; annulment; stay of right to file; jurisdiction for pending actions
A. During a period beginning on the filing of a petition for conciliation and continuing until sixty days after the filing of the petition for conciliation, neither spouse shall file any action for annulment, dissolution of marriage or legal separation, and, on the filing of a petition for conciliation, proceedings then pending in the superior court are stayed and the case shall be transferred to the conciliation court for hearing and further disposition as provided in this article. All restraining, support, maintenance or custody orders issued by the superior court remain in full force and effect until vacated or modified by the conciliation court or until they expire by their own terms.
b. if either party wants to extend the stay under subsection a, that party shall file a petition with the court stating the basis for the extension, which may include a plan for reconciliation or a counseling schedule. the court shall grant an extension of up to one hundred twenty days unless the other party establishes good cause for proceeding without delay.
B. c. If, however, after the expiration of the period prescribed in subsection A and any extension granted under subsection b, the controversy between the spouses has not been terminated, either spouse may institute proceedings for annulment of marriage, dissolution of marriage or legal separation by filing in the clerk's office additional pleadings complying with the requirements relating to annulment of marriage, dissolution of marriage or legal separation, respectively, or either spouse may proceed with the action previously stayed, and the conciliation court has full jurisdiction to hear, try and determine the action for annulment of marriage, dissolution of marriage or legal separation and to retain jurisdiction of the case for further hearings on decrees or orders to be made. The conciliation provisions of this article may be used in regard to postdissolution problems concerning maintenance support, parenting time or contempt or for modification based on changed conditions in the discretion of the conciliation court.
C. d. On the filing of an action for annulment, dissolution of marriage or legal separation and after the expiration of sixty days from the service or the acceptance of service of process on or by the defendant, neither spouse without the consent of the other may file a petition invoking the jurisdiction of the conciliation court, as long as the domestic relations case remains pending, unless it appears to the court that the filing will not delay the orderly processes of the pending action, in which event the court may accept the petition and the filing of the petition has the same effect as the filing of any such petition within such sixty days after the service or acceptance of process."
Amend title to conform See at:

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/adopted/1199grayl445.doc.htm
As always, you can post any comment about this blog or Divorce Mediation, or just Mediation by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM(172) 4/20/10