On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Same-Sex Partners on Friday, May 18, 2012
Maryland readers are likely to have already heard about a new YouTube video that has more than 2.3 million views. Shane Bitney Crone made the 10-minute video as a tribute to honor his partner, but the far-reaching effects of it are helping to humanize the struggle of same-sex couples.
Crone's partner of six years, Tom Bridegroom, died in May of 2011 in a tragic accident. Crone made a video, "It Could Happen to You," to tell his personal story of what happened after his partner died and how it could have been different if they had been allowed to legally marry.
In their home state of California, same-sex marriage is not recognized, and when Bridegroom died, he and Crone did not have wills. In the hospital following the accident, Crone was unable to learn anything about his partner's condition because he was not a family member.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Divorce on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
In Maryland, spousal support is not calculated by a formula, like child support is. Awarding alimony is usually determined by the salary of each spouse and the financial dependence of one spouse on the other.
That loose calculation, coupled with new social realities, has produced an interesting new phenomenon; with women now earning more than ever, they are now paying more after a divorce.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Same-Sex Partners on Saturday, May 12, 2012
No doubt Maryland readers have heard that President Obama has now publicly announced his support for same-sex marriages. In the past, Obama said that he supported civil unions for same-sex couples, but he had refused to clearly announce his position about marriage between same-sex partners.
Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage are now talking about how presidential support will shape this hot-button issue in our state.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Child Support on Thursday, May 10, 2012
After reading that title, Maryland readers are probably wondering what a fishing license has to do with family law issues.
Since 2003, state anglers, hunters and boaters have been required to provide their Social Security numbers to get a recreational license for fishing, hunting and boating, but the state is only now starting to enforce this law.
What is the reason behind starting now? People who are not paying child support as they should.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Divorce on Friday, May 4, 2012
In certain divorce proceedings, some people try to keep as much as possible to themselves as they negotiate with their soon-to-be-ex-spouse to reach a fair asset division agreement and decide what is appropriate for alimony and child support.
To a degree, that is understandable because no one wants to lose what he or she has worked hard for. However, one 48-year-old Upper Marlboro man went too far, breaking the law to save himself $192 a month in child support payments to his ex-wife.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Divorce on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The emotional and physical stress of a child's serious illness would certainly put a lot of strain on a marriage. There is the general perception that a child's death or serious illness often leads to the child's parents seeking a divorce. While this is certainly true in some circumstances, Maryland readers might then be surprised that a recent study out of Denmark shows that parents of children diagnosed with cancer are no more likely to divorce than other parents. Certainly, this is only one study and so should not be seen as the final word on the subject, but it does provide some interesting food for thought.
Researcher Christoffer Johansen of the Danish Cancer Research Center in Copenhagen said that "there has been a fear that such a traumatic event as having a child diagnosed with cancer could lead to divorce. Overall, we did not see that."
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Divorce on Friday, April 27, 2012
Do you think that if Maryland passed a law that allowed polygamy, thus allowing people to legally marry more than one person, our divorce rate would decrease?
That is exactly what a psychologist associated with the London School of Economics believes.
In a video he recently posted to the web, evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa asserts that "probably the major reason why the divorce rate is so high in Western, industrial, socially imposed monogamous societies is that we don't allow polygamy."
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Same-Sex Partners on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
If Maryland courts usually grant divorces for couples who were married in another state, shouldn't divorces for same-sex partners be granted, too? This is the issue at the heart of a current case before the state's highest court.
Two Maryland residents were married in California in 2008, at a time and place when same-sex marriage was legal, and filed for divorce in Maryland in 2010. However, a local judge refused to grant their divorce. They are now appealing to the Maryland Court of Appeals, but attorneys say that state judges have gone back and forth on giving divorces to same-sex couples. About six same-sex couples were granted divorces, but at least two others were denied.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Divorce on Thursday, April 19, 2012
A recent New York Times opinion article has Maryland residents and those across the country abuzz.
In the article, clinical psychologist Meg Jay from the University of Virginia said that living together before getting married means couples are more likely to divorce than if they had not lived together before marriage. But recent statistics seem to imply that the majority of Americans think otherwise.
On behalf of Trainor, Billman, Bennett & Milko, LLP posted in Divorce on Monday, April 16, 2012
Lindsey Vonn, the downhill skier whom Anne Arundel County residents will remember from her stellar performance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, recently divorced her husband, Thomas Vonn. Unfortunately for her, it seems the divorce sullied her financial situation; it was recently announced that she owes $1.7 million in back taxes.
Although Vonn did not say so explicitly, she issued a statement this weekend implying that taxes were her husband's responsibility and that their separation was at least partly to blame for the delinquent tax bill.
