Fort Worth Family Law Blog

The federal government has officially unveiled a new weapon in the fight against those parents who refuse to pay child support and have accumulated significant arrears. Here, the weapon of choice is not necessarily more funding to the states or more manpower, but a fugitive website that lists the names, descriptions, warrant dates, child support arrears and last known whereabouts of the nation's top offenders.

While it may seem curious that federal authorities would become involved in child support matters as they are largely a state issue, there are specific circumstances under which the Office of Inspector General can -- and will -- intervene.

These include the following:

• The noncustodial parent willfully chooses not to pay court-ordered child support for over a year and lives in a different state than the child,
• The noncustodial parent is behind by over $5,000 in child support payments and lives in a different state than the child,
• The noncustodial parent moves to another state or country to elude paying child support

New research conducted at the University of Arizona suggests that individuals who have undergone a divorce are perhaps more likely than married individuals to suffer an early death.

The research found that adults who had been divorced were 23 percent more likely to die early than members of a married couple. The risk is significant, ranking divorce among chain-smoking, binge drinking and obesity in terms of its damaging effect on one's health.

The effects were more extreme among men than they were women. According to the research, divorced men were 31 percent more likely to suffer from early death, while divorced women were only 18 percent more likely.

"We thought there was some risk," said Professor David Sbarra of the University of Arizona and one of the study's authors. "But we didn't think the risk elevation would be as substantial as other very serious public-health risks."

With 2012 now upon us, many people are looking to make some changes in their lives. This may be something as simple as shedding a few unwanted pounds or finally extinguishing a smoking habit. However, it may also mean implementing some major lifestyle changes, including getting out of an unhappy marriage by seeking a divorce.

While this decision may ultimately be the best for a dissatisfied spouse, it's still very important for them to proceed cautiously and avoid taking any actions that could potentially jeopardize their post-divorce life.

Today's post will take a brief look at four simple suggestions offered by financial experts for those spouses who recently initiated the divorce process.

Manage bank accounts wisely

Financial experts recommend that those spouses who recently initiated the divorce process take steps to open their own bank accounts accessible only by them. This means that paychecks and other vital funds will remain secure.

In addition, experts also advise people in these situations to keep a close eye on any jointly held checking or savings accounts to ensure that a spouse isn't depleting funds. In fact, many advise consulting with a legal expert to see what can be done to prevent this from occurring.

How does someone who makes $8 million a year wind up even richer after a divorce? When his former spouse makes $45 million, and there is no prenuptial agreement.

This could be the sad but true story of celebrity couple Russell Brand and Katy Perry, who are now spitting up after a mere 14-month marriage.

Brand, an actor and comedian, is the relatively "poorer" of the two. Forbes magazine estimates that in the last year, Brand made $6 to $8 million from his films, performances and books. In contrast, Katy Perry, a superstar singer, is believed to have made about $45 million during the course of the marriage.

"The vast majority of her money is coming from touring," said Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes magazine. "She's also really smart, she makes a ton of money from her endorsements and she's even launched a perfume line (called Purr) and that's all a great source of money too, but most of her money comes from being on tour."

When it comes to child custody agreements, most people would probably think that they were generally straightforward and could even be somewhat open-ended when it came to such matters as health, education or religion -- perhaps indicating that the parents will solve such matters jointly.

While this is certainly true of many agreements, it appears that more and more parents are now choosing to spell out in greater detail how they will handle matters of religious faith in their child custody agreements.

For example, instead of simply listing which parent will get the children for holidays, the child custody agreement may outline the faith under which the child will be raised, the number of years the child will attend Sunday school, the type of services to be attended and the degree to which a non-custodial parent may discuss matters of faith.

While spelling out a child's religious upbringing in such a precise and detailed manner may seem somewhat unrealistic and perhaps even awkward, some family professionals argue that it can help prevent fighting among divorced spouses and even introduce some much-needed stability for the children.

In a rather shocking development, it appears that more and more men are doubting that the children their significant others are carrying are actually theirs. And because of this, a growing number of them are requesting that the women claiming to be pregnant with their children take paternity tests. It's an interesting wrinkle that could have a significant impact on future child custody cases.

According to a recent report, Identigene -- a company that sells paternity tests -- conducted a survey that found that one in 10 people would prefer a paternity test.

The survey also found that one in five respondents have known a family member or friend who questioned the paternity of the child that their significant other was carrying.

"It's important for children and families to know the truth about paternity as it can impact a child's health, as well as their emotional health and well-being for years to come," said Steven Smith, executive director of Identigene.

With the New Year here, many cohabitating couples are undoubtedly examining where their relationships are headed in 2012. Specifically, they may be wondering if they are going to take the plunge and get married, or whether they are going to maintain their current living arrangements. As it turns out, many of these cohabitating couples may actually be hesitant to enter into a marriage. The reason? Fear of divorce.

A recently published study in the December issue of the Journal of Family Relations asked 61 cohabitating couples living in Columbus, Ohio, and ranging in age from 18 to 36, a series of detailed questions about marriage and divorce.

Here, researchers found that roughly 67 percent of these cohabitating partners had significant concerns about the social, financial and emotional fallout of divorce, an attitude that they believe helps explain the recent decline in marriage rates and increase in cohabitation.

Simply put, researchers believe that the predominant attitude among cohabitating couples is that the potential consequences of divorce make marriage an altogether undesirable option.

Many divorced parents are breathing sighs of relief now that Christmas is finally over. However, these sighs of relief may have nothing to do with the end of the busy holiday shopping season or hectic holiday travel schedule, but rather with the end of emotionally draining child custody/visitation disputes.

It's a simple fact that many divorced couples -- particularly those who separated only recently -- can experience a multitude of emotions during the holiday season (excitement, anxiety, sadness, or even anger) and that these emotions can lead to child custody disputes.

These disputes may be over major issues such as who gets the children during the holidays (unless already established in a child custody/visitation agreement), or minor issues such as pick-up times or locations.

Fortunately, there are a few ways in which former spouses can limit these arguments and help ensure that their kids enjoy the holidays.

Talk about your holiday arrangements as early as possible

As stated above, your child custody/visitation plan may already grant one spouse time with the kids over the holiday season. Nevertheless, touching base with one another as soon as possible to coordinate dates, times, locations, contact information and other vital information can help you avoid unnecessary anxiety.

Another benefit of these early conversations is that you and your former spouse can amicably discuss how you want to proceed if no holiday plans are firmly in place and give you time to think things over.