Florida Divorce * Child Custody * Domestic Violence Law Lawyer | Boynton Beach

Recently, an acquaintance was telling me how her mother, a very intelligent professional woman about eighty years old, deteriorated from highly functional semi-retirement from her profession, to requiring hospitalization, rapidly followed by institutionalization.

All in the course of about six weeks. Six weeks.

She had lost all capacity to remember anything, in the virtual blink of an eye. Severe dementia. She could not even remember to eat or drink enough to sustain herself.

This woman and her husband had run several successful businesses and had amassed significant wealth.

Leaving her family not only reeling in shock, but also scrambling to try to sort out her affairs.

Hot on the heels of hearing about this, a prospective client consulted me in regard to her elderly parents.

For some years, they had wanted to create powers of attorney, both for help in managing their financial affairs and for health care decisionmaking purposes if they became unable to do so for themselves. They had also wanted to re-title some of their properties, to avoid delays in transfer in probate(s).

But, somehow, they just never quite got around to taking care of these things. They could always do it tomorrow …

Now, the father has Alzheimer’s and the mother has difficulty getting around.

In both families, the impaired family members now require caregivers.

These impaired family members cannot manage their own affairs. They can no longer execute legal documents, be it a will, a trust, a deed or a power of attorney.

Sooner or later (probably sooner), it will very likely be necessary for their spouse or a child to file for guardianship of them. So that a loved one will have the legal authority to make decisions and pay for their care as they would want, and to ensure that their affairs are handled as they would want.

Unfortunately, guardianship is a potentially complex, slow and expensive court proceeding.

The sad thing is that in both families, all of the family members’ objectives could have been accomplished without the need for a guardianship proceeding … if these parents had just taken a little bit of time and spent a little bit of money to execute a few important but relatively simply legal documents … before the parent deteriorated mentally.

All of the parents could have had peace of mind, and their children could have had peace of mind. Their spouse or children could have been authorized in advance to smoothly step in to do whatever needed to be done or decided – and they would have had access to the resources necessary to implement these things.

Without the delay, expense and added stress of having to scramble to consult and retain lawyers to file guardianship under such difficult circumstances.

Age, disease, even injury can all cause severe infirmities that can interfere with a person’s ability to manage their own affairs and provide for one’s own care. In some cases, the infirmity can strike in an instant. At any age.

If the impaired person has minor children, the stakes are even higher.

Who will care for their children? Who will be able to manage any property intended for them.

This is every bit as important as having life insurance or a will. Some would say more important.

As in the case of the two families discussed above, people just like you and your family, nothing good will come of procrastinating. Don’t get stuck as they did.

Contact your family law attorney or estate planning attorney immediately … and give yourself and your family the priceless gift of peace of mind.

California Husband and Wife’s short marriage breaks down.

Husband files for divorce.

Wife does not take this well.

Wife cooks Husband’s dinner and reportedly drugs it.

Husband passes out.

Wife reportedly lashes Husband to his bed.

And when Husband comes to …

Wife allegedly wields a large knife …

To hack off Husband’s sexual organ …

And then shreds it in the garbage disposal.

Wife reportedly informs police that Husband “deserved it”.

Wife is arrested on charges of

felony torture aggravated mayhem

Wife is held pending posting of a $1 million bail.

If convicted, Wife could face life in prison.

Read more in this [LA] KTLA 5 TV news article: Bail Set at $1 Million for Woman Accused of Cutting Off Husband’s Penis.

The divorce is finally final.

So, what’s next?

A divorce party? A trip?

Well, you may want to let loose, but you still have some unfinished business to tend to.

Financial housekeeping.

Such as changing your designations of beneficiary on your various payable on death assets and accounts, including 401(k)s and pension plans.

Even if you’ve already updated your will to eliminate your spouse as a beneficiary.

This type of account or asset, called nonprobate, does not pass under your will.

In most cases, your designated beneficiary inherits them.

Even if you have divorced since designating your now ex as your beneficiary.

Having said that, it’s also important to be aware that federal law, specifically ERISA, supersedes any attempts to disinherit a spouse of a qualified pension plan or 401(k).

That includes a second or third spouse.

So, if your intention is that someone other than, say, your second spouse inherit your pension / 401(k) (such as your childen), your new spouse must execute a spousal waiver and consent. Period.

A spouse can contractually commit to execute a waiver in a divorce settlement agreement and in a prenuptial agreement.

If that is too much of a hassle or doesn’t “feel good”, you can roll your retirement funds into an IRA, which is not regulated by federal ERISA law. Then all you have to do is change your beneficiary designation.

Read more in this Forbes piece: Don’t Let Your Ex-Husband Inherit Your 401(k). Or your Ex-Wife.

Canadian Husband and Wife are in the middle of a divorce, their second from each other.

Couple’s assets are appraised.

A division of assets is determined.

To equalize the property division, Husband must pay Wife about $41,000.

Husband files for bankruptcy.

And as part of Husband’s bankruptcy case, Husband lists and ultimately discharges through the bankruptcy the $41,000 debt Husband owes to creditor-Wife.

There is something of an outcry in Canada over Husband’s ability to avoid his marital divorce obligations thanks to Canada’s bankruptcy laws.

Canadian Supreme Court highlights the problem as requiring legislation to “close the loophole”.

US bankruptcy laws differ from Canada’s laws.

Read more in this [Edmonton] Canadian TV article: SCC: Under bankruptcy law, divorcee cleared of payments.

Husband and Wife have Son while living together in Indiana.

Husband is from Egypt.

Husband and Wife’s marriage is rocky.

While Wife is in the hospital, Husband allegedly abducts then three year old Son to his native Egypt.

Indiana family court awards Wife sole custody of Son.

Three years ago.

But Husband has not allowed Wife to see or speak to Son since.

Son has also had no contact with his big sister, from whom he was inseparable until the day he was abducted.

Husband was always insistent that Son be raised in the Muslim faith.

Wife never gave permission for Son to obtain a passport or to travel abroad.

However Husband was able to obtain an emergency passport for Son without Wife’s permission. It is unclear but the passport may have been issued by Egypt rather than the US.

The US government requires both parents’ consent to issue a passport for a minor child under sixteen years of age.

As an extra measure of protection, it is possible for either parent to place an alert so that the US government does not issue a passport for their child.

But parents should know that several foreign countries grant dual citizenship to American children of their nationals and may issue passports by their own country with only the permission of the parent who is a national of that country.

Egypt is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Wife’s US child custody order is not recognized in Egypt.

Seventy-four percent of the abducted children returned to the US in 2009 were abducted to Hague Convention countries.

Mother, as an American, non-Muslim woman, reportedly would not prevail in any child custody battle in Egypt’s own family courts.

Read more in this Evansville [IN] Courier Press article: Evansville’s Missing People: Life without Adam.

Twenty year old Mother has three month old Baby.

Mother is drinking at the home of a friend.

Baby is crying and Mother can’t get him to stop.

So Mother allegedly smothers Baby.

The next morning Mother reportedly puts Baby’s body into a baby carrier … and goes shopping with it.

Then Mother takes it to a neighbor’s house, where she socializes.

It is fourteen hours later before Baby gets to a hospital, due to the neighbor’s report to the police.

Mother is arrested on a charge of first degree murder.

Read more in this New York Daily News article: Mom killed baby in a drunken rage, then strapped him in a BabyBjorn and went shopping: prosecutors

Louisiana enacts a statute making it illegal not to pay court-ordered child support.

The severity of charges and punishment for breaking the law vary depending on the amount owed and the duration of the arrearage.

Punishment may include a fine and / or imprisonment.

Recently, a Louisiana municipality issued its very first felony warrant for violation of the statute.

And the alleged perpetrator is a deadbeat Mother, now living in Virginia, who reportedly owes over $18,000 in child support.

It is anticipated that Mother will be extradited to Louisiana.

A parent convicted of a misdemeanor violation of the statute who fails to keep up with their payments and discharge their arrearages may be arrested and prosecuted again.

Apparently the statute is exerting a positive impact on support compliance.

Read more in this [Monroe, LA] News Star article: Mom owes $18k, faces extradition.

In some divorces, equitable distribution or asset division is more complicated than in others.

For example, the nature and source of ownership of any particular item of property can create various variables that may muddy the straightforward fair market valuation always desired.

Small businesses are almost always complex to value, particularly closely held service businesses.

Another aspect of property that adds considerable complexity to valuation is where the property is premarital property of one of the spouses.

Despite property being premarital and seemingly separate, there may be factors that, depending upon your point of view, re-cast or taint part or all of that property as marital.

One of those factors is appreciation during the marriage of what came into the marriage as separate property. But not any and all appreciation.

Appreciate can categorized as one of two types: active or passive.

In Florida, among some other states, active appreciation during the marriage, or appreciation as a consequence of the efforts of a spouse, is considered marital property.

But passive appreciation during the marriage of what came into the marriage as separate property, or appreciation deriving from larger or outside market influences during the marriage, is nonmarital property.

If this isn’t enough complexity, a single item of property may potentially undergo both passive and active appreciation. On top of that, some active appreciation may be attributable to the efforts of actors other than the spouse, rendering such appreciation equivalent to passive appreciation.

Depending upon all the particulars for a particular item of property, tracing valuation components and then assessing a valuation of certain assets for purposes of asset division in divorce can be somewhat elusive.

Read more in this forensic CPA’s article: Divorce Valuation: Active vs. Passive Appreciation.

An intriguing question that doesn’t come up too often.

Husband and Wife divorce.

Husband agrees to pay Wife alimony as part of their divorce settlement.

Such alimony is deductible by Husband on his income taxes and includible by Wife on her income taxes.

Now, after the divorce is finalized, Husband and Wife agree that Husband will pay Wife some additional spousal support. It isn’t entirely clear whether this would happen just once, or each and every month.

Does this additional support receive the same tax treatment?

Based on these facts, no.

For spousal support to be deductible by the paying spouse and includible by the receiving spouse, that spousal support must be mandated by a settlement agreement and/or court order.

Of course, if Husband is willing to commit to paying the additional support over time, Husband and Wife can formally modify their divorce settlement.

If they did so, then the additional spousal support should be deductible by the paying spouse and includible by the receiving spouse.

Failing that, the additional alimony is deemed to be a gift for tax purposes.

Please note that any U.S. federal tax advice contained here is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter that is contained in this blog.

Read more in this Wall Street Journal piece: Ask the taxgirl: Voluntary Spousal Support

Israeli Husband and Wife have secular divorce.

Wife seeks a Jewish divorce, called a get.

Husband refuses, in effect shackling Wife to him and blocking any remarriage in her faith.

Husband heads to Brooklyn.

And a New Jersey Rabbi, looking out for Wife, allegedly arranges for Husband to be kidnapped and roughed up in an effort to secure Wife’s get.

Husband grants Wife the get.

The Rabbi allegedly is no longer satisfied with just that, and tries to extort $100,000 for Wife from Husband’s father.

Now Rabbi and his wife face a federal prosecution on charges of kidnapping and coercion, which could culminate in life imprisonment if they are convicted.

Read more in this New York Post article: Silly rabbi! Bust for divorce force.

StepDad of nine years and eighteen year old Daughter are arguing.

StepDad becomes livid.

StepDad allegedly hefts a boot and suddenly begins to beat Daughter with it. Over and over again.

StepDad reportedly strikes Daughter’s head against a banister.

Daughter passes away under the apparently unprovoked onslaught.

StepDad allegedly flees.

StepDad is arrested.

Relatives are left stunned by StepDad’s actions.

Read more in this New York Daily News article: Brooklyn man Jean Simon beat teen stepdaughter to death with boot, cops and family say.

Mother and Father have Child.

Mother and Father provide food, clothing and shelter to Child.

Child becomes overweight, in fact, clinically obese.

And the problem is growing worse, not better.

Childhood obesity reportedly sets Child up for a host of health problems in both the short term and the long term.

Which is why the medical establishment now advocates that Child be removed from his parents’ home and placed into protective custody to address Child’s obesity, where his parents have failed to get it under control. They argue that this is less extreme than surgical remedies.

And in a small number of extreme cases in a handful of states, such as New York, California and Texas, obese children have been taken into temporary protective custody.

About two million kids in the US are obese.

Read more in this Yahoo Shine Health article: Should parents lose custody of super-obese kids? and Foster Care Proposed as Solution for Extreme Childhood Obesity.

Florida Husband and Wife separate.

Wife is now dating another man.

Husband refuses to bow out gracefully, continuing to call Wife against her wishes.

Months later, as Wife gets to her job at a medical facility, while still in the parking lot, she is shot seven times – twice in the head – and killed.

The shooter is alleged to be her Husband.

Husband is arrested and charged with first degree murder. He faces a sentence of life in prison, without parole.

The incident raises local awareness of domestic violence and brings a new battered women’s shelter to the area.

At Husband’s trial, the prosecution puts on about thirty different witnesses.

But the defense doggedly maintains that there is insufficient physical evidence to tie Husband to the murder.

And the jury is unable to come to a unanimous verdict. Resulting in a mistrial.

It remains to be seen whether the state prosecutes Husband again.

Read more in this Florida Today news article: Trial under way in wife’s slaying at Parrish Medical Center and this Florida Today news article: Jury deadlocks in Williams murder trial.

West Virginia Husband and Wife divorce.

The family court orders Husband to pay Wife alimony and child support.

Two years after the divorce is final, Husband discovers that one of the couple’s children is not his biological offspring.

But, under state law, Husband must continue to pay child support despite conclusive proof of nonpaternity.

So Husband stops paying alimony. To the tune of $27,000.

Wife takes Husband to court to enforce his alimony obligation and to collect accrued arrearages.

Husband is sentenced to six months in jail.

Interestingly, an internet dating site for people currently in a relationship but who are looking to wander outside their relationship, offers to pay Husband’s accrued alimony obligation. Husband refuses on principle

Two months into serving his sentence, Husband agrees to pay Wife’s alimony. $15,000 in a lump sum, with the balance in monthly payments.

Husband vows to mount campaign against paternity fraud.

Read more in this Parkersburg [WV] News and Sentinel article: Keefe agrees to pay alimony.

Father and Mother have a Son together while living in Massachusetts.

Father and Mother break up.

Father returns to Costa Rica.

Massachusetts child welfare agency removes Son from Mother’s care after Mother allegedly tests positive for cocaine and marijuana use and suffers a seizure.

Father’s Mother, Grandmother, cares for Son for about a year.

Then Son is returned to Mother.

About a year later, Mother again allegedly tests positive for drug use.

Then Mother turns Son over to Father and gives permission for Father to take Son to Costa Rica.

Mother asserts that Father’s permission was conditioned on returning Son to her in the US in September of 2006.

Father denies the existence of any such condition.

Father, worrying about Mother’s chronic substance abuse, keeps Son with him beyond September of 2006.

Mother files for custody in Massachusetts family court and presses criminal charges against Father in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts family court awards Mother custody of Son.

Father is not served with the court order.

In 2008, Father is arrested for kidnapping Son, and Father is extradited to Massachusetts.

All this time, Son remains in Costa Rica with Father’s brother, Uncle.

Costa Rican court grants Uncle permanent guardianship of Son.

Mother is reportedly arrested for hitting a police officer after fainting while driving. Mother confesses to having used marijuana with prescription medication.

Nonetheless, the Massachusetts family court orders Father to return Son to Mother.

Father does not.

Father pleads guilty to one count of parental kidnapping and is sentenced to time served.

Meanwhile, the Costa Rican family court refuses to recognize US jurisdiction over Son, who has been in Costa Rica for five years.

Costa Rica did not enter the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction until 2008.

And summons Mother to appear in court in Costa Rica regarding her parental fitness.

Father is awaiting disposition on another pending criminal charge against him in Massachusetts.

Son remains in Costa Rica, where he is reportedly thriving and excelling, having reportedly overcome developmental and speech delays.

Read more in this South Coast [MA] Today article: Parent kidnapping case drags on.

Every state makes its own laws regarding child custody and parental responsibility, and child visitation and timesharing. Beyond the precise language set forth in the statute books, every state’s divorce courts and family courts impose their own unique judicial interpretation of those laws and implement enforcement based, to a large extent, on that interpretation. For those reasons, among others, rulings and judgments in each state’s divorce courts and family courts can vary dramatically, perhaps even more than the wording of their respective state laws might suggest.

A Michigan father contends that many Michigan fathers divorced or separated from their children’s mothers are largely excluded from their children’s day to day lives. And he reports that a whopping forty percent of kids across the US do not have their biological father living in their home.

Despite the evolution of the law governing child custody and parental responsibility, this father indicates that Michigan fathers are ten times more likely to “lose custody” of their children in a custody battle with the children’s mothers. In Michigan cases where the family court awards sole custody to one of the children’s parents, it is awarded to the mothers a staggering ninety-two percent of the time.

Perhaps even more shocking in this day and age, Michigan fathers are reportedly awarded joint custody of their children in only thirteen percent of custody disputes.

And, it is said that the typical Michigan visitation and timesharing schedule grants the noncustodial parents a meager four overnight visits per month.

All combining to effectively isolate many Michigan fathers from their children’s everyday lives of school, extracurricular activities and friendships.

This Michigan father advocates for equal timesharing for fit fathers in Michigan. Both for the fathers’ sakes and for the children’s sakes.

All of the above may seem to be a sad commentary on the state of divorce and child custody laws and visitation and timesharing law as applied in Michigan and, likely, other states as well.

Florida’s child custody and parental responsibility laws and timesharing and visitation laws are drafted so as to be more sensitive to the best interests of children whose parents are no longer together. And the policy of Florida divorce courts and family courts is to be more sensitive to the best interests of children whose families are no longer intact.

Of course, each Florida county and each Florida family court room within each county is somewhat unique.

Any father who identifies with what this Michigan father has to say and who has a child subject to the jurisdiction of the Florida family courts should consult with an experienced Florida child custody attorney. Whatever the law and practice in Michigan, a fit father should be able to look forward to a much better outcome in a child custody dispute in a Florida family court.

Read more in this Muskegon [MI] Chronicle letter to the editor: Legal system forces divorced dads out of kids’ lives

Connecticut Husband and Wife are divorcing.

Husband and Wife have seven dogs.

Wife gives one puppy up for adoption at a local animal rescue, blaming economic constraints.

Later, Husband contacts the shelter wanting to retrieve the puppy.

In the end, Wife goes to the rescue facility and gets the puppy back.

While divorce law may view family pets as nothing more than personal property, pet lovers view them as members of the family, even like children.

Sometimes a spouse uses pets as pawns in a scheme to hurt the other spouse, ignoring the pet’s needs and preferences.

This is no more acceptable than using children as pawns in divorce.

Read more in this Westport [CT] Patch article: ‘Ruff’ Stuff – The family dog’s future is often at the center of contentious divorces.

Louisiana Boyfriend is in jail after being arrested on home invasion charges.

While in jail, Boyfriend is served with a temporary domestic violence restraining order of protection sought by Girlfriend.

The temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence prohibits Boyfriend from having any contact with Girlfriend or communicating with her.

While still in jail, Boyfriend telephones Girlfriend … more than one dozen times.

Boyfriend is charged with eleven counts of stalking and violating a restraining order.

Boyfriend could be sentenced to up to twenty-two years’ confinement on the domestic violence charges.

Read more in this [Louisiana] WWL-TV Eyewitness News article: Man booked on stalking charges after allegedly calling girlfriend repeatedly from jail.

Noncustodial parent and kids at the park.

Noncustodial parent and kids at the movies.

Noncustodial parent and kids at restaurant.

One photo after another, capturing … what?

At first blush, the noncustodial parent and children enjoying happy times.

Under closer scrutiny, many divorced custodial parents see something very different in these photos.

A “fraudulent noncustodial parent”. Pressured into doing activities with the children.

Or photographing activities for ulterior motives (such as attracting dates, impressing acquaintances, family members or judges, easing guilt, etc.).

Perhaps.

But sometimes a noncustodial parent changes in response to the changed conditions of their new reality.

Even if there’s a hidden agenda, the bottom line is that the changes, real or feigned, are in the best interests of the children.

Read more in this Macleans article: Ex-wives rail about phony Facebook dads.

Professional Texas football player-Boyfriend gives Girlfriend an engagement ring … a $77,000 engagement ring, give or take a few dollars.

But Boyfriend doesn’t simply hand it to her as he pops the question.

No, he sends it to her, in a box, along with some money for tuition and dental work, a gift ball for her brother and – a recording of his proposal.

And next thing he knows, poor Boyfriend gets an unpleasant surprise. Girlfriend turns him down!

Disappointing, but not the end of the world.

However, Girlfriend allegedly doesn’t return Boyfriend’s ring. Now that could be the end of the world.

It appears that Boyfriend bypasses sending a recorded message about that in favor of a more direct and expeditious “request” for return of the ring.

Only Girlfriend reportedly claims to have lost it. These things happen …

But the insurance company won’t let it go at that. And, lo and behold, reportedly finds the ring …

With Girlfriend’s Father.

Boyfriend sues Girlfriend. And Father.

(This case would appear to be controlled by Texas law. There is some recent flux in this area of the law in some states. But if this couple lived in Florida, Boyfriend would be on stronger footing.)

Father tells reporters that he plans to return the ring to Boyfriend. Although he doesn’t say exactly when.

But he’s probably good for it, right?

All’s well that ends well?

Read more in this New York Daily News article: NFL receiver Roy Williams sues ex-girlfriend for $76,600 ring after proposal rejected.

A study conducted by the University of Iowa concludes that early teens who become sexually active are more likely to divorce than those whose first sexual experience occurs later in life. This is particularly true where the early teens’ first sexual experience was not wanted or where they were ambivalent about it.

The statistics are dramatic. Thirty-one percent of sexually active teens divorce within five years after marriage and forty-seven percent within ten years after marriage.

This contrasts with fifteen percent and twenty-seven percent for women who abstain from sex until reaching adulthood.

The study also reports that the overwhelming majority of teens who become sexually active are ambivalent about it.

The study does not draw any clear cut conclusions as to the why behind its findings. It is possible that early teens who become sexually active are simply predisposed toward divorce, but it seems more likely that their sexual precocity fosters ideas and conduct that contribute toward divorce.

Read more in this University of Iowa press release: UI study examines link between teen sex and divorce rate.

Twenty-three year old Boyfriend and seventeen year old Girlfriend live together.

Boyfriend has criminal record, including an arrest for resisting arrest.

Girlfriend reportedly tells Boyfriend that she is leaving him.

Boyfriend and Girlfriend argue.

Boyfriend allegedly “roughs up” Girlfriend.

Girlfriend allegedly obtains a knife from their kitchen.

Boyfriend gets stabbed …

When he runs into the knife, according to Girlfriend.

Boyfriend dies of his stabbing wound.

Girlfriend is arrested on charges of second degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

She awaits arraignment.

Read more in this New York Daily News article: Teen girl charged with murdering her boyfriend says he ‘ran into the knife’.

To a large extent, alimony is a roll of the dice. Not so much whether alimony will be awarded, but how much – and for how long.

Not just in Florida, but in many states.

By contrast, most states, like Florida, have child support guidelines. A formula or calculation to determine child support.

This simplifies child support calculations and facilitates amicable resolution of child support disputes.

But such clarity continues to elude alimony.

But when New York finally adopted no-fault divorce last year, it legislated a formula for calculating temporary alimony.

Yet, for whatever reason, the New York legislature stopped at temporary alimony. It might have pushed the envelope just a little bit further and applied the formula to all alimony cases, at least as a starting point.

Two other states have adopted formulae for temporary alimony. At the same time, there is currently a good deal of pressure to broadly modify alimony laws across the nation.

The latter seems almost inevitable. If so, perhaps legislatures will seize the opportunity to implement guidelines in temporary as well as final alimony determinations.

Read more in this New York Times editorial: Ending the Alimony Guessing Game.

Times have changed.

A Canadian survey approximately ten years ago concluded that working moms and dads devoted roughly equal time to parenting.

And parents reaching amicable settlements of their divorces these days tend to end up with equal parenting time.

But, as of 1995, only about 49,000 fathers were designated as primary residential parents.

As of 2010, however, about 154,000 fathers were designated as primary residential parents.

Children generally do better when both of their parents are actively involved in their lives.

And fathers generally do much better when they are actively involved in their children’s lives.

Read more in this [Canadian] National Post editorial: Denying fathers their rights.

Tennessee Husband and Wife are divorced.

They have a Child together.

Husband has reportedly been battling to see his Child for fourteen years.

It isn’t clear whether the Wife is arbitrarily denying Husband visitation or whether it is really the family court denying Husband visitation.

Because Husband’s visitation is frustrated though, Grandmother, his mother, has also been denied timesharing with Child.

But that may be about to change.

Tennessee has just passed a statute that authorizes judges to award grandparents timesharing with their grandchildren.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the new law will survive a constitutional challenge.

Ironically, Tennessee’s neighboring state of Alabama has just struck down a statute mandating timesharing for grandparents as unconstitutional under settled federal law upholding the fundamental right of fit parents to determine their children’s best interests.

Read more in this [Knoxville, TN] WBIR-TV 10 news article: Judges could soon decide grandparent visitation rights and this New England Cable News article: Ala. court strikes down law for grandparent rights