Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog

Carl La Bove, who was good friends with comic Sam Kinison before his 1992 death caused by an auto accident, has prevailed in his fight to invalidate a child support agreement with his former wife that required him to make payments to her. But the child was likely fathered by Kinison, not La Bove.

However, the man is still on the hook for the child support arrears of nearly $188,000. Superior Court Judge Thomas Trent Lewis informed La Bove that he was years late in contesting paternity and is still responsible for the past payments.

Continue reading "Court Invalidates Kinison Support Order" »

A Montana man, apparently upset over his wife filing divorce, used his divorce papers to help start a fire to his estranged wife's beauty salon. After a standoff with sheriff's deputies when they responded to the scene of the 3:40 AM fire last week, deputies found the man, 33-year-old Shawn Gawronski, with a Browning 9mm handgun, a milk jug half-full of gasoline, a folding razor blade knife, a matchbook with all but two matches missing, and two pairs of gloves that smelled of gasoline. When they searched the salon, they discovered divorce papers with his name on them, as well as several gas cans around the room.

Gawronski waived his Miranda rights and informed deputies that he spread gas through the salon, and when he had trouble lighting it, he used some mail and the divorce papers. "He returned to his truck and watched the fire burn. Shawn said he did not want to hurt anyone and was just very angry at his wife," according to an affidavit in court documents.

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Michael Lohan, the 50-year-old father of actress Lindsay Lohan, has found himself in trouble with the law again. On Monday, the West Hollywood, California sheriff's department responded to a domestic violence report from a woman later identified as his former fiancee, Kate Major. Sheriff's deputies arrested him on suspicion of injuring a cohabitant and false imprisonment.

One celebrity website reported that Lohan got into a violent argument with Major and tried to choke her with a towel. Lohan, who is scheduled to appear on this season of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" for treatment for anger management, has gone to prison twice before and has a history of being accused of domestic violence.

Continue reading "Legal Troubles Mount for Lohan Family" »

New research from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Brookings Institute indicates that women in the military are two times than their male counterparts more likely to have their marriages end in divorce. Enlisted women have an even higher rate of divorce - they're three times more like to have their marriages end in divorce.

According to Pentagon statistics, 7.8% of women in the military divorced last year, compared with just 3% of men. Why the discrepancy? Some think it might have to do with societal pressure. David Segal, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Research on Military Organization said, "There's a fair amount of equality in terms of their military roles, but as the military increasingly treats women the same as it treats men in terms of their work expectations; however, society still expects them to fulfill their family roles."

Continue reading "Divorce Rate For Military Women Higher Than For Military Men" »

The legislatures of many states have recently passed legislation intended to overhaul the process and rules judges must follow when deciding custody. South Dakota, Iowa, and Maryland have recently been added to that growing list. Last week in a vote of 20-13, South Dakota's Senate recently defeated a bill that would've created a presumption that judges divide physical custody between both parents unless one parent waives custody or proves that the other parent doesn't deserve equal time with a child. Opponents argued passage of such a bill would limit a judge's ability to decide custody cases.

In Iowa, some legislators believe the courts award custody to mothers too quickly. As a result, more than 70% of the Iowa House voted in favor of passing a bill that states that joint physical custody is in the best interests of a child, unless one parent can prove to the court otherwise. One of the 26 legislators that voted against it, Mary Wolfe (Clinton, IA-D), thinks the courts already operate in a gender-neutral way, and such a bill would force judges to give more consideration to the disagreements between parents.

Continue reading "State Legislatures Address Custody" »

On Monday, a Superior Court judge in Wake County, North Carolina has handed down a $30 million judgment to the ex-wife of a trucking company owner in her alienation of affections lawsuit against his current wife. In an unprecedented move, Judge Carl Fox awarded $10 million in compensatory and $20 million in punitive damages against Betty Devin, who married Raleigh-based company owner Donald Puryear following his divorce from Carol Puryear, the victor in this case.

The award, which is the largest of its kind in North Carolina history, was part of a default judgment - Devin neither appeared in court nor was she represented by an attorney.

Continue reading "Big Award in North Carolina Alienation of Affections Suit" »

In February, singer and actress Ashlee Simpson, 26, filed for divorce from her husband of 2 years, rocker Pete Wentz, 31, seeking sole custody of their son, Bronx, with visitation for Wentz. Since then, Wentz has filed his answer in which he seeks joint custody.

But it's too soon to tell whether they're heading for a legal fight, which sources say he's not looking for with his recent filing. Even Wentz's own words demonstrate his desire to avoid a battle. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM, Wentz said, "[Ashlee]'s the mother of my child. I have nothing but love and respect for her. Going through something like this isn't easy, but we're friends, and the most important thing is to put our son first."

Continue reading "Pete Wentz & Ashlee Simpson Facing Custody Battle?" »

Remember those television commercials in which the voice over informed viewers that this was there brain on drugs before an egg was cracked in a hot skillet? In a new study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, researchers took that concept to a new level when it took brain scans of long-married people who claimed to still be in love with their marital partners.

The researchers, from New York's Stony Brook University, took fMRI scans of people, married an average of 21 years, as they looked at pictures of their spouses. Like newly in-love couples, the participants' brains showed similar activity in dopamine-rich areas. Unlike those newly in love, though, scans failed to show activity in the areas of the brain associated with anxiety and fear.

Continue reading "20 Years After Marriage, What a Brain Looks Like" »

Seven months after oral arguments were made to the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach, FL, two women are awaiting the Court's ruling regarding the custody of their child born in 2004. On its face, the custody dispute appears to be one that would partially clarify Florida's murky guidelines regarding the custody of children born to or adopted by gay parents.

But this case is unique because the mother who donated the egg was not only donating genetic material to her partner who carried the baby, but also she was set to be one of the child's parents. Before the medical procedure was performed, the doctor's office had her sign a standard form giving up her rights to the egg and baby. "When Florida's laws were written, the Legislature [or medical community] never contemplated a case like this," the donor's mother commented.

Continue reading "Florida Law Tested with Landmark Custody Case" »

In a closed meeting at a Los Angeles County courthouse last week, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry and her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Autry reached a resolution regarding the child custody and child support complaint Autry filed in December regarding the former couple's 2-year-old daughter, Nahla.

Although family law cases are sealed in California, court records indicate the presiding judge dismissed the claim at Autry's request.

Continue reading "Halle Berry Custody Fight Dismissed" »

Shape and Men's Fitness magazines have recently released findings that show nearly 80% of women and 58% of men said they believe that using social media tools with new partners leads to sex sooner in the relationship. Whether it's because texting and online relationships make a days-old relationship seem more intimate or because they numerous texts increases anticipation, only 38% of women indicated they had actually slept with a partner sooner than they otherwise would have.

Regardless of its effects on sex, more communication between couples is happening electronically - 39% of men said they texted more than called, and women reported texting 150% more often than phoning, with more than 65% of respondents saying they have been asked out via text message.

Continue reading "Growth of Social Media and Texting Impacting Relationships" »

Researchers at Elon University have released findings from a poll indicating that more residents of North Carolina believe that gay couples should have the same domestic rights as their straight counterparts. In fact, more than one-half said they support legal recognition of same-sex couples, while only 35% of respondents opposed any legal recognition for same-sex partners, down from 44% just two years ago.

"That's a substantial move," said Elon Poll Director Hunter Bacot. "We're seeing people becoming more comfortable with the issue." 28% of the respondents support full marriage rights, whereas 29% support civil unions or partnerships for gays, but not full civil rights.

Continue reading "Survey Finds North Carolinians Open to Increased Domestic Rights for Gays" »