Abuse victims can obtain orders of protection, called injunctions for protection against domestic violence in Florida.

The purpose of these orders is to deter further violence. And to facilitate a swift and appropriate remedy for any violations of the order.

Now Illinois has taken an additional step. Under a new law, violators of orders of protection must wear global positioning devices (GPSs) as a condition of parole and judges may order accused violators to wear them as a condition of bail.

The devices will keep authorities and victims apprised of enjoined aggressors’ whereabouts – and, hopefully, one step ahead of aggressors, if necessary. It is hoped that the technology will ease victims’ minds, facilitate assessment of threats and act as an early warning signal of true danger.

Illinois follows in Massachusetts footsteps with this legislation. Presumably, other states will follow suit in time.

Read more in this Chicago Sun-Times article: New law allows judges to order GPS on violators of order of protection

A Canadian Wife recently challenged her divorce attorney’s invoice in Canadian court.

That’s a pretty extraordinary thing to do. And, not surprisingly, she wasn’t successful in it.

After a thorough review of the record, which took more than 10 days, the British Columbia Court of Appeal found the attorney’s invoice was reasonable under all of the circumstances of the case.

The divorce was between a wealthy couple who had accumulated an approximately $12 million fortune over approximately 42 years of marriage.

The couple were pretty litigious and chose to litigate just about any issue that could be litigated – both at trial and all the way through appeal.

Family businesses, real estate, art, jewelry, inheritance, airline points, etc., you name it, they litigated it.

This couple was in court for nearly a month of days, spread out over a three and a half month period.

The Wife was awarded well over half (64%, to be precise) of the family’s remaining fortune, approximately $6 million.

The Wife chose a commercial litigator as her lead counsel, rather than a divorce lawyer. As a result, a divorce lawyer had to be consulted as well.

All told, the case took about 2,500 lawyer-hours of effort on behalf of the Wife.

The total fees and costs billed to the Wife: over $1 million.

Read more in this Toronto Globe and Mail article: B.C. court upholds $1-million legal bill for complex divorce.

California Husband wanted a divorce. A special kind of divorce.

Outside the courts …

He did not want to divide the marital assets with Wife. Or to pay her alimony.

He wanted everything for himself. But he had put everything in Wife’s name.

Husband’s solution to his dilemma?

He abducted Wife, drugged her and tortured her for five days.

Until she managed to escape.

At which point he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and kidnapping for ransom, grand theft of personal property, making a criminal threat and corporal injury to a spouse.

The Husband’s accomplice has not been taken into custody yet.

Now Husband is in jail with his bail set at $10 million …

Read more in this [LA] Daily Breeze article: Hawthorne man accused of torturing his wife; second suspect remains at large.

Maryland Husband is charged with murdering his three children, ranging in ages from 2 to 6.

For five months, Husband, who confessed to the murders, has tried to change his defense counsel’s plea to guilty, and now has requested to represent himself.

Before the court rules on his request to represent himself, a competency evaluation will be performed. A psychiatric evaluation for purposes of an insanity plea was never completed.

But a different psychiatric evaluation was completed for purposes of Husband’s divorce and child custody case.

The psychological expert in family court diagnosed Husband with “mood and narcissistic personality disorders and borderline and histrionic personality traits.” All very serious and difficult to treat diagnoses.

The Husband allegedly had made threats to murder his children – because Wife had reported them to the police.

Nonetheless, the Maryland family court had awarded Husband unsupervised visitation.

And, had the Wife not complied with the Court’s visitation order, she might have been held in contempt. Or the court might even have found her guilty of trying to alienate the children from the Husband – and transferred primary residential custody to the Husband as her punishment.

But the Wife complied with the Court’s order. And now the children are dead. And the Husband admits that he is responsible.

Read more in this Baltimore Sun article: Father seeks to plead guilty to killing children.

Nineteen year old woman (Mother) and a fifteen year old boy (Boy) have sex, and a Baby is conceived.

The Mother is under a grand jury indictment for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, which could lead to incarceration for a year and one-half as well as having to register as a sex offender.

Mother got acquainted with Boy and moved in with the Boy’s family after complaining of abuse by her stepfather.

Mother’s stepfather was allegedly convicted of domestic violence against Mother’s minor sister, specifically, striking, choking and pointing a gun at her.

For now, Mother and Baby are living with the Mother’s family, including the stepfather.

The Boy’s parents are seeking to obtain custody of the Baby due to the asserted unfitness of Mother and reported abusiveness of Mother’s stepfather.

In the meantime, an Ohio Family Court has ordered the Boy-victim to pay Mother $50 per month in child support.

It is unknown whether the amount of child support was based on an afterschool job or on the Boy’s allowance from his parents.

The Boy was also awarded seven hours per week of visitation with the Baby.

Read more in this Columbus Dispatch article: Boy’s Parents Sue to Get His Baby From Mom, 21.

A spouse wants to be able to spend money without having to account to or justify the expenditure to the other spouse.

How to accomplish it?

Either hidden savings or hidden credit cards.

According to surveys, anywhere from 40% to over 80% of couples have money secrets from each other or lie to each other about spending and/or credit.

According to financial counselors, concealing these financial misdeeds can place a strain on the offender and the marriage.

Sometimes it even drives a spouse to drinking or drugs.

“Financial infidelity” is most often discovered by accident.

According to a survey, 9% of couples felt this misconduct was “grounds” for divorce and 55% agreed it was a “major violation” of the marriage contract.

But in a no-fault state such as Florida, none of that really matters. What does matter is how that misconduct may end up haunting the unwitting spouse.

Some spouses may want to act to take steps to protect themselves from the other spouse’s debt, whether it is debt run up on a joint credit account on which a creditor may collect from either spouse, or marital debt that may have to be answered for in family court.

The easy ounce of prevention: frequent credit reports on the other spouse.

Read more in this CreditCards.com article: Hiding credit card debt – Secret credit cards and hidden debt exact high toll on couples.

Parents of a preschool child live several states apart.

How do they timeshare? One possibility …

The preschooler “rotates” from one parent’s home to the other’s, on a monthly basis.

That is possible (if not beneficial) before the child begins school.

But what about after the child starts school?

Typically, where the parents are separated by great distances, one parent or the other will be the primary residential parent.

The other parent may have liberal visitation over summer and other extended school vacations.

The nonresidential parent can have telephone and webcam visitation on a daily basis if desired.

A far less common arrangement is to continue rotating physical custody, but on an annual, rather than monthly, basis.

It can be done. But should it?

Many therapists consider this type of arrangement to be hard on kids, although perhaps “fair” to the non-custodial parent.

Historically, courts have not favored such arrangements.

But that may be starting to change under newer statutory schemes that strive to be more fair to both parents.

For better or worse …

Read more in this Newsday article: Shuttled school-age child can see both parents.

There’s a lot more to divorce than the legal aspects of it, of course. For the other aspects, there are a lot of books out there.

By women. For women.

So one Connecticut man decided it was time for a book by a man – for men. And so he took a stab at writing that book.

The author endeavors to prepare and advise men on successfully coping with the entire divorce process, all told from the male perspective.

Interestingly, the author reportedly describes the divorce as a contract to end a marriage. Perhaps a reference to a marital settlement agreement?

Catering to men, the book is presented as a how-to manual that is about a two hour read.

For just two hours’ investment of time, it might be a valuable read for women too – for insight into their spouses and their cases.

Read more in this Hartford [CT] Courant review: Divorced man uses own experiences to help other men.

Thirty-five year old Indian house-painter has affair with teen-aged girl. He decides to marry her.

Problem: He is already married to a woman of his own age.

Wife leaves Husband due to affair, returning to her parents’ home.

Husband asks for divorce and presents divorce papers to Wife to sign. Wife refuses.

Husband consults attorney.

Husband again demands that Wife sign divorce papers. Wife again refuses.

This time Husband does not take “no” for an answer.

Husband produces a knife and stabs Wife twice. To her death.

Indian police arrest Husband and take his knife into evidence.

Husband’s remarriage to teenager seems less likely now.

Read more in this Times of India article: Man kills wife for refusing to sign divorce papers.

The foster care system falls far short of our society’s needs and expectations. But measures are afoot to help improve it.

Some of the improvements relate to kinship foster care, child care provided to dependent children by extended family members instead of strangers.

Two and one-half million American children live with extended family members, whether within or outside the foster care system.

In New York State, 400,000 kids live with relatives, as compared to 27,000 children in foster care with non-relatives.

Kinship foster care is more successful than foster care by strangers. The caregivers simply have greater commitment.

But they get a lot less support from the child welfare system, both financial and otherwise. Until, perhaps, now.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill called Fostering Connections To Success Act.

Among other things, the bill would provide funding for kinship foster care and kinship guardianship.

Similar bills are pending in the Senate.

If passed by both houses, this type of legislation could make an enormous difference to millions of children in foster care and their caregivers, including extended family members.

Read more in this Rochester Democrat & Chronicle article: Help relatives caring for kids.