Scottish Husband and Wife have been married for about fifteen years. They have three Children together.

Husband and Wife have been separated for about two years.

Husband owns an oil company, and has been paying Wife a previously agreed upon amount of support.

Until Husband unilaterally cuts back on his payment, without notice to Wife, while he is away on business in the middle east.

Frustrated, Wife drives to Husband’s company’s business location, obstructs the entrance, and, wielding a loudspeaker, carries on a protest, with the intention of obtaining additional funds from Husband’s accountant.

Wife intends to repeat her protest until she get satisfaction.

Husband was fined by law enforcement authorities earlier in the year for e-mailing Wife abusive messages.

Read more in this Aberdeen [Scotland] Press and Journal article: Divorce wife ‘driven’ to protest at company.

Mother and Canadian Father have pre-school Daughter together.

Mother and Father separate.

Father is awarded primary custody of Daughter.

Mother allegedly abducts Daughter two years ago, to China.

China is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Father seeks assistance from the Canadian police. Eventually, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Interpol and the Missing Children Society of Canada become involved.

And now, two years later, Daughter is back in Canada as a result of lengthy diplomatic negotiations.

Daughter is now of school age.

Mother will be appearing before a judge to answer for her actions.

Read more in this Calgary [Canada] Herald article: Girl, dad reunite 2 years after mom took her to China and this Morningstar MarketWire article: Missing Children Society of Canada: Calgary Girl Reunited With Father, Ending 2 Year Abduction Ordeal.

In Louisiana, letters are sent to parents who are behind on their child support obligations … inviting them to come down and collect their economic stimulus money.

But when the deadbeat parents show up, there is no stimulus money. And law enforcement authorities handcuff them, confiscate their car keys and lock them up.

And vow to keep them in jail until their debts are paid off.

Of course, as word gets out, this strategy may not be so effective anymore.

Read more in this New Orleans WVUE Fox 8 TV article: Dads who neglected child support are arrested.

Mother and Father have twenty-one month old Baby together.

Mother and Father break up.

Baby lives with Mother.

Mother and Father are competing for custody of Baby.

Suspect breaks into Mother’s parents home and kills Mother’s parents and one of Mother’s brothers.

Mother manages to hide and then escape.

Suspect claims Father hired him to murder Mother so that Father could win custody of Baby.

Father is arrested and confined without bail until trial.

Family court judge orders that Father and his family have no contact with Baby.

Father now seeks to modify that order to allow visitation and timesharing with Baby for himself and for his family.

Mother’s family oppose Father’s family having timesharing and visitation with Baby.

Father does not appear to have been present at the scene of the murders.

The family court will hold a hearing on Father’s request for visitation and timesharing.

Read more in this Chicago Tribune article: Grandparents of Darien slaying suspect seek access to baby

UK Husband and Wife divorce after forty years of marriage.

Husband and Wife have one adult child, Son.

Couple are wealthy and own a hotel and some other commercial real estate.

Court awards Wife about 5 million pounds UK, to be paid out in installments, plus some property.

The court also orders Wife to exit the business, and Husband to hold Wife harmless from any liabilities arising during her time in the business.

Two months after their divorce is final, Wife, who is 70 years old, unexpectedly passes away.

Son is Wife’s sole heir.

A baby was severely injured in one of the couple’s properties several years ago.

After Wife’s death, the liability insurer denies coverage on a 3 million UK pound lawsuit claim.

In the midst of an appeal, Husband seeks to modify the property division between Husband and Wife in order to set aside the hold harmless and have Wife’s estate bear some of the now uncovered liability for the baby’s injuries.

The justification Husband offers is that he didn’t know the insurer would deny coverage.

Son opposes.

The court takes the matter under advisement and will issue its ruling at a later date.

Under Florida law, a property award is fairly difficult to set aside … unless there is nondisclosure or fraud or overreaching.

Read more in this [UK] Westmorland Gazette article: Father and son fight over £5m divorce payment after ex-wife’s death

Once the final judgment is entered, most exes just want to move on.

But first, you should take care of a few things likely to be forgotten if not attended to promptly. (Some of these may have been handled already, but it is worth double-checking.)

• revoke any medical power of attorney, living will or health care surrogate designation of your ex

• execute a new health care surrogate designation, living will or medical power of attorney naming someone else

• revoke any will designating your ex as your personal representative / executor and/or beneficiary

• execute a new will designating someone else as your personal representative / executor and substituting another beneficiary for your ex. Also, designate a guardian for your child(ren) in case your ex dies first or is unable or unwilling to serve

• amend any trust designating your ex as a trustee and/or beneficiary

• revoke any general power of attorney in favor of your ex

• execute a new general power of attorney appointing another agent

• change designated beneficiaries on non-probate property, such as life insurance policies, IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions, death benefits and annuities

• change designated beneficiaries on non-probate property such as POD (payable on death) accounts and re-title joint accounts with your ex

• update titles on real property and homeowners insurance policies, and borrower on note and mortgage (see settlement agreement and/or final judgment)

• update titles on motor vehicles and related insurance

• set up a trust / amend trust trustee designation for any assets your child will inherit in the event of your death so that your ex will not have control of the assets and

• close any joint credit card or charge card accounts with your ex

Read more in this Green Bay Press-Gazette article: Estate planning after a divorce.

Kuwaiti Husband and Wife made sexually explicit videotapes of themselves.

Husband and Wife are now divorcing.

The divorce court awards Wife alimony.

Husband is not happy about having to pay Wife alimony.

Husband threatens to put videos of Wife on the internet … unless Wife agrees to let Husband off the hook for alimony.

Police are investigating.

Similar scenarios are playing out increasingly frequently in divorces.

Read more in this [Dubai] Gulf News article: Wife gets blackmailed over alimony in Kuwait.

Stepparent adoptions are simplified, streamlined adoption procedures by which the new spouse of a biological parent may relatively easily adopt their new spouse’s child.

The plain language of stepparent adoption statutes contemplates a legal marriage between a child’s existing parent and their new spouse.

In Missouri, as in Florida, homosexual couples may not legally marry.

But may they adopt using stepparent adoption?

Well, in Missouri, two or more judges have permitted just that.

It’s not clear precisely how many judges, in which counties, are approving stepparent adoptions by gay couples.

But one Missouri judge called another Missouri judge a “knucklehead” for doing so.

While blanket prohibitions of adoption by homosexual couples are being struck down in some states, such as Florida and Arkansas, lately, that, in itself, does not legalize the use of stepparent adoptions by gay couples.

Read more in this St. Louis Today piece: POKIN AROUND: When it comes to same-sex adoption, ‘knucklehead’ in eye of the beholder .

Florida family court enters temporary domestic violence restraining order of protection against Aggressor.

In the few short weeks thereafter, before the court has a chance to rule on whether to extend the injunction for protection against domestic violence, Aggressor allegedly violates protective order … twice.

Aggressor reportedly drove through the alleged victim’s neighborhood one time. And confronted the victim the second time … right in the courthouse where Aggressor’s case is being heard.

Aggressor is a Florida police officer, serving on Jacksonville’s force for over fifteen years.

Despite numerous citizen complaints – and two internal police department complaints against him.

Aggressor had previously been threatened with termination for further misconduct.

But that threat was never carried out. It was followed by more ineffective disciplinary measures.

Aggressor is now confined without bail in connection with one of the two charges pending against him.

Aggressor reportedly remains on voluntary leave without pay from his apparently continuing employment as a Jacksonville police officer.

It is unknown whether conviction and prolonged incarceration would jeopardize Aggressor’s law enforcement employment.

Read more in this [Jacksonville] Florida Times-Union article: Jacksonville officer finds himself on other end of law in Clay.

A study conducted by Virginia’s Radford University correlates divorce risk more highly with certain professions than the general population.

Specifically, the study reports that the occupations facing the greatest risk of divorce are:

• performers
• athletes
• massage therapists
• telemarketers
• waiters
• baggage porters and
• roofers.

Who knew?

Somewhat less scholarly in approach, a poll of a so-called “infidelity” website’s seven million members suggests that the male professionals most likely to cheat on their spouses are:

• physicians
• police officers
• lawyers
• real estate agents and
• engineers.

The poll also suggests that the occupations of women most likely to cheat on their spouses are:

• teachers
• stay-at-home moms
• nurses
• administrative assistants and
• real estate agents.

Read more in this Toronto Sun article: Professional break-ups – Can some careers cause more divorce than others?.