Palm Beach County Family Law Blog

By Charles D. Jamieson, Esq.

Board Certified Atorney in Marital and Family Law

Michael Jackson's unexpected death has shocked the world. Michael Jackson experienced a great deal of controversy and litigation, including criminal cases, during his life. However, he probably never expected that his children would ever be engaged in a full-blown custody battle. However, experienced divorce attorneys in Palm beach and elsewhere know that such a battle may be looming on the horizon.

Michael Jackson had sole custody over his children:Prince Michael (age 12), Paris Katherine (age 11), and Prince Michael II (more commonly known as Blanket) (age 7). The question now is who will raise them during the rest of their childhood. The answer to this issue is not clear cut. Among the candidates are:

1.     Grace Rwaranda. She has been involved in Michael Jackson's life for the past two decades and has been the primary nanny and caregiver (other than Michael Jackson) for these children;

2.     Mark Lester (child star of “Oliver”), godfather of the three children and close friend of Michael Jackson;

3.     Debbie Rowe is the mother of Prince Michael, Jr. and Paris Katherine (the two older children); and

4.     Joe and Catherine Jackson (Michael's parents with whom the children are currently residing.)

It also is not clear if Michael Jackson left a will that addresses the custody question of his children. But these wishes may not necessarily prevail in court. Currently, the candidate who appears to have the clearest, potential legal right would be Debbie Rowe. Debbie Rowe is the biological mother of Prince Michael, Jr. and Paris Catherine. She and Michael Jackson were married for a brief period of time. It had been reported that she had given up her parental rights regarding the children; however, that is not the case. Her parental rights were not terminated. Nevertheless, in the past, there has been custody litigation between Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson regarding the two older children.Those records have been sealed, so we do not know whether there has been some legal finding or admission that, in some fashion, Debbie Rowe's care was detrimental to the children. Absent of a finding of detriment to the children, Debbie Rowe has legal grounds for obtaining custody of the two older children. However, she may have a fight on her hand from Joe and Catherine Jackson. During Michael's molestation charges, Joe and Catherine Jackson offered to adopt all three children in the event that Michael was convicted or the children were taken away from him and his parental rights were terminated. 

Blanket was carried by a surrogate mother whose name is unknown. It is unlikely that she has a claim for custody of Blanket because in most surrogate contracts, the mother carrying the child clearly has executed a release and relinquished all parental claims or rights over the children. 

The custody battle would not be fighting just over the care of the children. The Jackson children will inherit from their father. Although Michael Jackson reportedly was in great debt, he still owned his music catalogue and a share in the Beatles' music catalogue. These catalogues have a great deal of worth in their own right and also generate residual income each year. In addition, it is unknown what life insurances or funded trusts exist for the children’s benefit. Consequently, whoever obtains care and custody of the Jackson children may obtain control and/or access in some fashion over these sources of money.

Family law attorneys in West Palm Beach, Florida and elsewhere across the country will be watching with interest the developments on this custody issue. To learn more about this current issue concerning the Jackson children, click here.

To learn more about our firm and practice, please visit us online at www.cjamiesonlaw.com

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By Charles D. Jamieson, Esq.

Florida Bar Board Certified in Marital and Family Law Attorney 

Divorce attorneys in West Palm Beach and elsewhere are often looked upon by their clients as family legal counselors in areas beyond those encompassed by family law. Marital lawyers often hear about the woes and concerns that their clients have about their children. Teenagers and driving is one such area. Parents concerned about teenagers driving have basis in fact. Teenagers can be inattentive, distracted, and often are tempted to split their attention between driving and other activities. My thanks to Attorney Ted Leopold for the following article that provides a new tool that concerned parents can use to alleviate this concern:

New Electronic Key Device Prevents Driving While Using Cell Phone

A new automobile ignition key can prevent teenagers from talking on cell phones or sending text messages while driving. The invention, which was produced by research at the University of Utah, is called “key to safe driving” and is aimed at cutting down road deaths. It relies on Bluetooth technology to wireless connect keys to phones.

Motor vehicle accidents are the fifth leading cause of all deaths in the country. Among teens, however, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death. Studies by researchers have shown that driving while talking on cell phones is as dangerous as driving drunk. Several states have banned phoning and texting while driving, particularly for novice drivers. While statistics are difficult to come by, one estimate made prior to the rise in the popularity of texting, held that cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 334 injuries in the United States every year.

How it works: The system includes the device that encloses a car key – one for each teen driver or family member. The device connects wirelessly with each key user’s cell phone either via Bluetooth or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technologies.

To turn on the engine, the driver must either slide the key out or push a button to release it. Then the device sends a signal to the driver’s cell phone, placing it in the driving mode and displaying “stopped” sign on the phone’s display screen. While in driving mode, teen drivers cannot use their cell phones to either talk or to send text messages except for calling 911 or other numbers pre-approved by the parent – most like the parent’s own phone numbers. Incoming calls and texts are automatically answered with a message saying:“I am driving now. I will call you later when I arrive at the destination safely".

I believe that all parents of teenagers who drive will find the above information quite useful. You can reach Attorney Ted Leopold at his office: Leopold–Kuvin, PA in Palm Beach Gardens. The website for the law firm is www.leopoldkuvin.com.

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By Charles D. Jamieson, Esq.

Board Certified in Marital and Family Law by The Florida Bar Association 

Family lawyers throughout Palm Beach County are familiar with the continuing debate concerning children's rights, both in the context of divorce cases and elsewhere.  However, a decision from a Canadian Court during the past year will have most attorneys and parents throughout Florida scratching their heads.  Apparently, a divorced Canadian father caught his 12 year old daughter accessing banned websites and posting inappropriate photos of herself on a dating website.  Like most responsible parents, he grounded her and her restrictions included not being able to participate in the class end of the year camping trip.The young lady then found a lawyer to represent her and was able to convince a judge to overturn her father's decision and have the judge enter an order requiring the father to permit the 12 year old to participate in the class camping trip.   

Understandably, this decision should have most Floridian parents scratching their heads in disbelief.  Nevertheless, Floridian parents and the majority of parents around the United States should not be fearful of seeing a similar type of decision occurring in their local courts any time soon.  The state (including its court system) may not interfere in parental decision-making absent a significant harm to the child threatened by or resulting from those decisions.  To permit the state to do so would be to violate a parent's constitutional right to privacy to raise his or her child free of state interference.  The emotional upset suffered by a 12 year old after being grounded by a parent in the same fashion as the Canadian father would not reach the required level of significant harm to the child. 

Family lawyers in West Palm Beach recognize that Florida's constitutional right to privacy is much broader in scope, embraces more privacy interests, and extends more protection to those interests than does its federal counterpart (F.S.A. Const. Art 1, Section 23). Nevertheless, the same argument should be used by those attorneys representing parents by using the federal right to privacy and their own state's constitutional right to privacy language. 

To learn more about this rather strange Canadian court decision, please click here.  

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When does the date of your separation matter?  When you are Mel Gibson.  Family lawyers in West Palm Beach, Florida know that Florida is an equitable distribution state.  Consequently, the marital estate (consisting of the assets and liabilities to be divided in a divorce) commences on the date of the marriage and ends upon the filing of the divorce petition or on an alternative date agreed upon by the parties.   

Divorce attorneys know that California (where the divorce of Mel Gibson and his wife has been filed) is a community property state.  In such states, the conclusion of the time period for the acquisition of marital assets and liabilities is the date of separation, not the date of the filing of a divorce petition.  In the community property state, the post-separation earnings of a party comprise separate property of that party.  Acquisitions during a marriage prior to separation are presumed to be community property.  In his divorce pleadings, Mel Gibson has indicated a date of separation in 2006.  His wife has not yet declared the date of separation.  However, fans of Mel Gibson would know that his films Apocalypto and The Passion of Christ were both released subsequent to the date that he has labeled as his date of separation from his wife.  The money generated by Mel Gibson from these movies could total well in excess of a hundred million dollars.  Consequently, with no prenuptial agreement, the Gibsons may be heading toward a "date of separation” battle.  Hopefully, calmer heads will prevail.  With a marital estate worth estimated between $800 million and well in excess of a billion dollars, one would hope that there is plenty of money to divide between these parties without having a contentious court battle. 

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You can buy and sell almost anything on the Internet. Just log onto eBay some time and you will be amazed by what people are selling. How and what you sell is limited only by your own creativity. Recently, a divorced man apparently got a little too creative on Craigslist while attempting to terminate his alimony order. My thanks to divorce lawyer Robert M. Kisselburgh of the Mississippi Family Law Blog for the following post:

"Man offers to pay for someone to marry ex wife."

"Imagine sitting at your computer and you are browsing the classified ads on Craigslist and suddenly you come across the following ad:

Nice well taken care of ex wife. Mid 40's. Pretty and loyal. Never smoked and very little drinking. Will make someone a good companion (I know)…. Will pay 10K to the man or woman who marries her in a way that stops me from having to pay her alimony.

There's the hitch. The man, trying to end his alimony payments to his ex wife, is offering to pay a potential suitor to marry his ex wife. Not being totally callous, the guy actually had some 'terms and conditions' for this transaction.

1. – This transaction offer only valid if she is not aware of it.

2. – Must treat her good, no abuse tolerated by me.

3. – This offer is null and void if it is determined to be illegal in any way – I am not a lawyer.

4. – The end result must be that I am no longer liable to her for alimony and you make best effort to be good to her.

5. – This ad is not in any way intended to demean my ex wife. She is a nice person and is a fine catch for anyone.

OOPS. I think the cat's out of the bag on condition #1. With news of the post hitting newspapers, she or some friends might find out. He might also have a problem with condition #3. At least he did not want to 'demean' his ex wife in any way - - - what a guy.

In Mississippi, if you are paying alimony to your ex, don't use this tactic to end the alimony. Not only will it fall flat in front of the judge, but you can be assured your ex will not find the humor in being marketed on Craigslist.

Family law attorneys in West Palm Beach, Florida would concur with the analysis of Attorney Kisselburgh. Divorce attorneys would inform this creative former husband that his scheme is doomed to failure. Alimony can be modified and/or terminated under certain circumstances. The above scenario is not one of them. The moral of this story is that before engaging in self-help, consult with your divorce attorney. If the readers know of any other kinds of creative use of the Internet in divorce cases, please send us your story.

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During my 30 years of practicing family law, I have had the opportunity to observe courtroom dress in divorce cases throughout Palm Beach County, around the State of Florida, and in several states. I am still sometimes shocked at what I see people wearing in the courtroom. People seem to forget that they are appearing in a court of law. Divorce attorneys around the country also would agree with me. In a court of law, judges, court personnel, attorneys, and other litigants are entitled to respect. Part of showing respect for the court and its participants is dressing appropriately. Some basic rules to follow are: 

1. Understand that the courtroom is a formal, serious place and that judges are generally conservative;

2. Choose appropriate clothing that you are comfortable wearing.You will look nervous and shifty if you are constantly adjusting your clothes in court;

3. Wear a suit, dress, or blouse and skirt if you are a woman. Do not wear spike-heel sandals or open-toed shoes. Be sure that your bra and slip are not showing;

4. If you are a man, then wear a suit, jacket and tie, or shirt and tie (only if you don’t own a jacket);

5. Don’t wear too much “bling”. Your selection of jewelry should be modest an conservative; and

6. One also should avoid sneakers, trendy clothing, lots of jewelry, loud colors (especially red), and revealing outfits. Don’t wear a lot of perfume, cologne, or aftershave. Wearing leather often is not advisable. Please remember not to wear jeans, mini skirts, shorts, tube tops, halter tops, T‑shirts, sweatpants, hats, and flip-flops.

This does not mean that a person has to be rich or spend lots of money in order to wear appropriate attire in the courtroom. My mother always told me: “As long as you are clean and dressed in your Sunday best, you should never be ashamed to go anywhere”. This common sense approach will go a long way in making a good presentation to the judge and to the court. If you ever find yourself in court, use this tried and true principle. If you do so, you should not go wrong.

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Divorce attorneys are experienced in assisting people in dissolving their marriages. Consequently, we are often asked how can one keep a marriage from breaking up West Palm Beach and elsewhere will shake their heads in disbelief regarding the results of this recent study. The University of Denver Center for Marital and Family Studies recently studied the divorce rates before and after cities received a major league baseball team. This study found such cities did experience a lower divorce rate. In addition, it also found a 28 percent lower divorce rate for such cities than cities without a major league baseball franchise. There may be many explanations for this significant difference. Professor Howard Markman cites the importance of fun and friendship in a healthy marriage. Going to baseball games is one way couples can have fun together and talk as friends. One may wonder whether marriage counselors will be passing out passes to baseball games to couples seeking to better their marriages.  To learn more about this study and whether baseball truly helps save marriages, click here.
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As family law attorneys around Palm Beach County have found, many potential clients are enthusiastic about the concept of collaborative divorce. They see the advantages of spending less money and time than they would in using other methods for reaching resolution of separation and divorce problems. They are excited about producing an agreement better suited to their family’s own unique needs in a less stressful environment than traditional adversarial litigation. Nevertheless, many clients often are at a loss as to how to convince their spouse to engage in a collaborative process. The following are some hints and suggestions that my office has passed on to clients in the past:

 1.         Talk with your spouse to determine if there is a shared commitment to a collaborative win‑win conflict resolution.  Let your spouse know that you are determined to behave in a respectful, ethical manner and want to ensure that both of you engage in a process that permits you to do so; that you believe you and your spouse value a negotiated solution that meets your needs now and in the future rather than putting those decisions in the hands of an uninterested judge; and that you believe both of you should commit your energy towards creative problem solving rather than blaming and revenge that may occur in the heat of a combat of a contested divorce; 

2.         Prepare an information packet about collaborative divorce to share with your spouse.  Sometimes the written word is more convincing than a conversation.  If you have contacted a collaborative divorce attorney, they may have materials for you to use; 

3.         You may be able to obtain the aid of your marriage counselor or your children’s counselor.  If the counselor is educated and can speak knowledgably about collaborative divorce, then that mental health professional may be able to convince your spouse to engage in a collaborative divorce or separation; 

4.         Provide your spouse with a list of websites that discuss and/or offer collaborative divorce services.  One such website exists for the International Association of Collaborative Professionals at  www.collaborativepractice.com ; 

5.         Invite your spouse to call and talk to a collaborative divorce lawyer or coach.  You may be able to provide your spouse websites for your local area which identify attorneys and other related professionals who are educated and trained in collaborative divorce.  If you have selected a collaborative attorney, then he or she may be willing to send an introductory letter and information packet to your spouse; and 

6.         Consider asking a close family member or friend to discuss the positive benefits of a collaborative divorce with your spouse.  Individuals whom your spouse trusts may be able to offer sufficient encouragement for your husband or wife to try this very rewarding alternative.

You never know what combination of the above may be enough to convince a reluctant spouse to become an enthusiastic participant in a collaborative process. Your future, your children’s future, and a civil continuing relationship with your spouse are the rewards that you may gain from engaging in a collaborative process. Those rewards certainly are worth an additional effort to convince your significant other that the rewards of being creative far outweigh any fears or hesitations either one of you may feel in engaging in a collaborative divorce.

This is a line from a song made famous in the 1970s. However, it also can apply to a Wisconsin father who recently won an appeal from that state's intermediate level appellate court. His victory saved him from having to pay nearly $4,000.00 in legal fees. However, the case is somewhat noteworthy because the father represented himself and composed his legal brief in rap lyrics. In its ruling, the appellate court made no mention of his musical presentation, but the father is convinced that this form of expression played a significant role in his prevailing in his appeal. While the case is probably not likely to set a new standard in legal drafting, it highlights that creativity sometimes can be awarded in the legal arena. That being said, I do not anticipate that divorce lawyers in West Palm Beach or elsewhere will be using rap lyrics to make their points in court. To learn more about our musically inclined pro se litigant, please click here.

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Many couples search for a process to dissolve their marriage in a less expensive, less acrimonious fashion. When conducting their search, they have often come across the term “collaborative divorce” or “collaborative law".

Collaborative law or collaborative divorce is a dispute resolution system that permits the parties to a divorce or a family law issue to settle out of court in a respectful, private, and mutually agreeable manner. The parties each have their own attorneys, but they agree at the outset not to go to court. Instead, they set goals, gather information, create solutions, and reach agreements in a series of relatively short meetings which they schedule themselves. The parties and their attorneys control the timing, the subjects and, most importantly, the solutions. The courts are used to formalize the agreements, once the parties have worked things out.

One of the reasons why collaborative law works is that once the Collaborative Participation Agreement is signed by the parties and their attorneys, the attorneys are required to withdraw from representing their client if the process fails to reach an agreement and someone wants to go to court. Those attorneys cannot represent those clients in a contested divorce in court afterwards. That clause creates a huge incentive for both attorneys and clients to stay with the process and look for other solutions when the going gets a little toug. In a regular litigated divorce case, the easy cop‑out is for one or both parties to tell the other that they will just let the judge decide if the parties won't agree to an offer. That can't be done without costing both parties a lot of money and without the attorneys losing business. Everyone loses by that alternative, so everyone generally keeps trying to find an acceptable solution.

The collaborative divorce process enables parties to emerge from a divorce with a "good settlement" without sustaining the scars inflicted in a contested litigated family law action. This process works best with attorneys and other paraprofessionals trained in collaborative divorce. Our office has been trained in this process and we look forward to offering this creative alternative to the more traditional litigation method of divorce. Whether you reside in Palm Beach County, Florida, or elsewhere in the country, collaborative divorce is an option to be considered by spouses who may be contemplating dissolving their marriage.
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