Did you hear the recent buzz caused by the leaked video of Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin dancing at a party? While her actions have absolutely nothing to do with her ability to lead her country, the court of public opinion weighed in heavily—splitting her constituency between those who called for her resignation and those who supported her progressive persona.
This is not unlike many situations that I have encountered in my divorce and family law career. While an individual may have every right to engage in certain activities—and to share such on their social media and other communication channels—the “court of public opinion,” and the actual court, can be a harsh judge and can cause ripple effects that undermine their end goals.
Below is a roundup of the recent awards, recognitions, and other important accomplishments of Blank Rome’s Matrimonial & Family Law attorneys from around the country.
June 2022 – Stacy D. Phillips moderated the panel, “Invention and Reinvention of Yourself,” and presented an award at the Los Angeles Business Journal Women’s Leadership Symposium & Awards 2022, held June 29, 2022, at the JW Marriott L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. Blank Rome is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the event.
June 2022 – Marilyn B. Chinitz was interviewed for the article, “Where There’s a Will,” which was published by the New Yok Post on June 17, 2022. Marilyn stressed that people should consider a medical directive. “That sets out the extent of the care for the parent or loved one, should they become ill or incapacitated,” she said. She also recommended getting a power of attorney for health care. Then, “fast and effective decisions can be made on behalf of the patient,” she said.
An ongoing feature here is a roundup of the recent awards, recognitions, and other important accomplishments of Blank Rome’s Matrimonial & Family Law attorneys from around the country.
September 2021 – Michelle M. Gervais was named to Tampa Style’s 2021 Attorneys of the Year list. According to the magazine, the Attorneys of the Year, who were nominated by Tampa Style’s readers, “exemplify a standard of excellence in their profession and have garnered the respect and esteem of their colleagues.” This year’s honorees were profiled in Tampa Style’s September 2021 special issue. Michelle’s Attorney of the Year profile designated her as “The Fixer.”
September 2021 – Marilyn B. Chinitz was interviewed by The New York Times on how the return to normalcy, or at least semi-normalcy, could mean that couples are finally completing divorces they were forced to delay. Defending a divorced client now “is a lot more complicated and detailed than it used to be,” Chinitz explained. “I’ve had to work through the kind of custody issues that did not exist before COVID-19 struck,” she said. “I mean, who could have ever thought back then that we would be hearing plaintiffs and defendants arguing over whether or not the nanny should be vaccinated, or a request that only people wearing masks could play with their children. And then there’s ‘I do not want my child to be educated remotely — I want him or her in school.’”
August 2021 – Jacqueline Combs served as a panelist for the University of California, Los Angeles (“UCLA”) UCLA Extension course “Women, Wealth and Wisdom: Legal Updates,” which was held on August 25, 2021. Jacqueline and her fellow panelists shared their experiences with and knowledge of important legal topics such as family law, including planning for marriage, divorce, minor children, and pets.
A new feature here is a roundup of the recent awards, recognitions, and other important accomplishments of Blank Rome’s Matrimonial & Family Law attorneys from around the country.
November 2020 – The 2021 “Best Law Firms” survey by U.S. News & World Report – Best Lawyers® has highly ranked Blank Rome’s Matrimonial and Family practice group in Los Angeles and New York City.
November 2020 – Stacy D. Phillips has been named to the Daily Journal’s 2020 list of Top Women Lawyers in California, which recognizes regional women attorneys who have made a difference to their clients, their firms, and their profession. Stacy has been recognized every year since the list’s inception in 2003.
October 2020 – Anita (Nicky) Rooz, an associate in New York, received a Certificate of Recognition for dedicated service to the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program at a virtual pro bono awards event on Thursday, October 29, 2020. The certificate was presented by the New York Unified Court System Office for Justice Initiatives, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyers Association.
September 2020 – Michelle M. Gervais, a partner in Tampa, has been named to the “Florida 500” for the second year in a row. Published annually as a special supplement of Florida Trend magazine, the notable “Florida 500” list highlights the most influential executives in different economic sectors throughout the state.
On behalf of the Blank Rome family, I wish you and yours a healthy and peaceful holiday season.
At the altar, you make hopeful and sincere vows to love and cherish each other until death do you part. Your goals for your long and successful marriage include many milestones: opening your first joint savings account, buying your first home, having a child, getting a dog for your child, having another child…another dog…travel and adventure…planning for a comfortable retirement. Then, out of nowhere, you get an unexpected and devastating phone call. Your spouse of 15 years has dropped dead of a heart attack. An emotionally jolting, dark cloud descends.
As you start to pick up the pieces of your life and shield your children from the unknown, the financial setback of your loss begins to set in. You remember your spouse had a life insurance policy, but can’t remember the name of insurance company or where the policy is located. While your life turns upside down both emotionally and financially, you turn the house upside down to find the vital information you need to move on. Where is the list of user names and passwords for your bank accounts and investments? What is the name of the financial planner we saw? Are the pink slips for the cars and deed to the house in the safe deposit box? Where are the keys to the safe deposit box? If only you had sat down together to get organized.
It makes you think: what vows do you promise to keep if death does part you and your spouse?
Imagine if your bank froze your assets because the only person with the combination to the vault had died. Incredibly, in a widely reported case earlier this year, the wife of the CEO and co-founder of a Canadian crypto-currency exchange (along with the company’s investors) found herself in exactly that position. This CEO, who died unexpectedly while traveling in India in December 2018, was the sole keeper of the password to accounts valued at $190 million in U.S. dollars. Forced to file for creditor protection with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, his widow said his death left the company unable to access the bulk of its cryptocurrency funds.
While your individual portfolio might not include cryptocurrency investments, this is a cautionary tale for every married couple. Complete transparency during the marriage is the key to not leaving your family in a lurch. As unpleasant as it may be to think about, and as difficult as it may seem to find an extra hour to put together, organizing your family’s financial life benefits you now and in the future. It is a way for you to minimize the financial agony your spouse and children may face after your death. It may also prompt important financial discussions to have now with your partner, as uncomfortable or unromantic as they may seem at first. At the very least, this process will give you a clear picture of your financial wellbeing.
There are dozens of workbooks and resources for organizing available in print and online. No matter which one you select, this process will educate both you and your spouse about each other’s finances and records. Start by compiling a complete list of passwords. Take some extra time while you’re focused to identify all your assets and liabilities (those in your name, your spouse’s name, jointly held), and note when and how these assets were acquired. List your family’s insurance coverage (medical, dental, property, auto, life, umbrella) and take steps to fill in any coverage gaps you may find. Talk about making an estate plan if you haven’t already, or updating the one you have—including medical directives for each of you.
While all of this may take you away from Sunday football or Tuesday night Real Housewives, consider the long-term benefits that your short-term sacrifice will have for those you love and cherish.
Today is International Women’s Day, a worldwide initiative by U.N. Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. This year’s campaign is #BeBoldforChange. Individuals and organizations around the world are celebrating bold ideas and actions to advance gender parity. Please join us in being catalysts for change–helping women and girls achieve their ambitions, challenge bias, and take more leadership roles.
There are so many ways, large and small, public and personal, in which you can participate and make a difference. We hope these suggestions will spark your interest, and ignite your involvement:
Take a junior woman to a client or sales meeting.
Launch a purposeful female-focused initiative in your company or community.
Start conversations to educate boys about stereotypes and violence against women.
Nominate women for senior jobs.
Encourage female colleagues to serve on corporate boards.
Donate your time and talents to a female-focused nonprofit organization.
Mentor a woman or girl.
Form a support network or commit to advancing an existing one.
Encourage outstanding women to run for elected local, state, and federal positions.
Celebrate individual women’s journeys and the barriers overcome.
Include more women on expert panels.
Raise women’s visibility as spokespeople in the media.
Drive fairer recognition and credit for women’s contributions.
Showcase the success of women leaders in your company or community.
Applaud social, economic, cultural, and political women role models.
Launch or fund a women-focused scholarship.
Encourage more girls into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and careers.
Support women inventors of new products and services.
Celebrate women researchers discovering new knowledge.
Each one of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence. Through purposeful collaboration, we can help women advance and unleash their limitless potential the world over. #BeBoldforChange.
Even in the best of times, family dynamics can be fraught. At holiday time, emotions are heightened for myriad reasons, and when separation, divorce, or custody issues are thrown into the mix, this time of year can be challenging. This may be your first holiday sharing your children’s vacation time. Perhaps your communication with the other parent isn’t at its finest, or financial concerns are part of your new normal. All of these—on top of visiting relatives, travel arrangements and hectic schedules—can be anxiety-provoking.
We hope that the following suggestions will help you through the season and bring better communication in the New Year.
Avoid engaging in the “divorce war games” with one another. In the end, it’s the children who suffer, becoming collateral damage.
Forgo the “one-upsmanship.” Be mindful not to try to out-do the other parent with gifts or vacation plans. Your children are likely to feel torn, no matter their age.
Don’t go it alone. Give yourself the gift of some “centering.” Whether in the form of therapy, yoga, or a daily walk with a close friend, both you and your family will benefit.
Be flexible. Easily said, more difficult to do—especially if custody arrangements are relatively new. Try to take the pressure off of transition times. Your children will notice.
Show your children what the holidays really mean: They are all about giving. Ask your children to join you in a kind act for those less fortunate. It will divert your focus away from your own hurt or pain.
Make plans for 2017. Discuss what good will come after the holidays and let your children help schedule activities to look forward to.
Promote peace. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs may be, harmony is the ultimate goal, and it starts with you.
All of us at Blank Rome wish you a peaceful holiday season filled with opportunities to create new memories.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. The world of social media is ever-evolving. And in the world of divorce and custody litigation, the use of social media is also evolving. We can’t always control what our clients decide to post on their social media accounts—but we can certainly try! We routinely advise clients not to post anything derogatory or defamatory about their ex-spouse. However, what can be done when one parent insists on posting pictures of minor children on his or her social media account that is available for public view? Parents with shared legal custody often do not agree that their minor children should be regularly featured on such accounts. While one might think you would need both parents’ consent to post pictures of a minor child on public social media accounts, that is not always the case. Courts may be reluctant to infringe on a parent’s right to free speech by placing restrictions on his or her ability to feature their children. At the same time, courts may recognize the potential danger of exposing children to child predators when pictures of minor children are posted on public social media accounts.
If you are a parent who does not want images of your children on publicly viewed social media accounts and the court will not impose a restriction on the other parent, you should regularly monitor your co-parent’s account and read the comments. If you see anything alarming and concerning, immediately contact the other parent and request that they remove the post. Take a screen shot of the post and the concerning comments. If the other parent refuses to remove the post, contact your attorney. While the court may not initially be inclined to issue a restriction, if you can show that the postings are receiving disturbing comments, the court may then be inclined to act.
If you are parent who wants to be able to post photos on publicly viewed sites—use caution! Monitor your own account and be proactive in removing photos that garner concerning comments and blocking users who make such comments. You may need to convince a court that you are using photos of your children on public social media in a responsible way. Also, stop and really assess whether it is necessary to have your children featured on a publicly available account and if it is going to be worth the ongoing animosity between yourself and the other parent. If the reason for wanting a public account is so you can share pictures with family and friends, then it may not be worth the battle. Opt for a private account and invite your family and friends to follow you. Children always benefit when parents are able to compromise.
And, as a final note, parents also need to use good judgment when sending sexually explicit private photos over social media. Children should never be included in any such photos. (Yes, Anthony Weiner, we are talking to you!) If your spouse or co-parent comes into possession of “sexts” that show your children, not only could it affect your custody rights, but you could also become the subject of a social services investigation. Adults are free to do as they please, but when it affects children, courts will always act swiftly and harshly to protect them.
One of the hottest topics in the Assisted Reproductive Technology (“ART”) community today is the Zika virus and its impact on gestational carrier agreements from both the standpoint of Intended Parents and Gestational Carriers. As has been widely publicized, the Zika virus has been directly linked to severe birth defects. While most gestational carrier agreements contain a provision regarding the right to terminate a pregnancy under certain circumstances, there is a debate on whether the agreements should contain more specific agreements to address the Zika virus.
Even if you determine that your agreement does not need to have a specific provision to terminate a pregnancy if the Gestational Carrier tests positive for Zika (because it is covered in a more general provision), there are other issues to consider. For example:
Travel Restrictions: The Intended Parents may want a provision that restricts the Gestational Carrier from traveling to areas where Zika cases have been confirmed. If you are going to include a travel restriction, the agreement should perhaps specify not only known areas but also a specific radius from known areas. Parties should look to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and treating physicians for advice.
Removal from Zika Area: If the Gestational Carrier resides in a place where Zika cases have been confirmed or become confirmed during the pregnancy, the Intended Parents may want to require the Gestational Carrier to relocate. The agreement would then require additional provisions regarding the costs and additional payments to cover the relocation.
Testing Frequency: Given the potentially devastating effects on pregnancy, the parties may want to include a provision requiring the Gestational Carrier to be tested periodically after the Gestational Carrier may have been exposed to the Zika virus. The agreement could also potentially include specific provisions regarding the Gestational Carrier’s responsibility to report potential exposure. The parties may also want to include a provision requiring consultation with an infectious disease specialist.
Clearly, all of the foregoing examples carry with them the problem of not only the enforceability and damages related to Zika provisions in agreements, but ethical and moral issues.
Information regarding the Zika virus and its effects continues to develop. Parties should pay close attention to information and recommendations from the CDC and their treating physicians. Most importantly, Intended Parents and Gestational Carriers should share information, communicate, and agree on all relevant terms regarding this serious issue when negotiating an agreement.
Please contact a member of Blank Rome’s full service Matrimonial and Family Law practice group for further information regarding this topic and other family law issues.
Your client never entered into a prenuptial agreement and when there was a crisis impacting his marriage, he was unsuccessful in broaching the issue of a postnuptial agreement with his spouse. After years of frustration and riding the roller coaster of emotion, he’s finally ready to end his marriage and to ask his spouse for a divorce.
Before your client moves forward and announce his intentions, you should first take steps to arm him with necessary information (both financial and custodial related) to ensure that he’s in a position of strength when negotiating the finality of his marriage. Here are seven recommendations you should make:
1. Get Good Counsel
An essential step in this journey is to have an attorney who knows the law, has experience dealing with these sensitive matters and, most importantly, with whom your client feels comfortable. Whether your client’s been married for a year or twenty years, he must find an advocate who can help him make very important decisions not only impacting himself but also his children, someone who has the ability and temperament to negotiate a settlement and the skills to navigate through the court system, if necessary. Even if you think that your client and his spouse have resolved all of the necessary issues amongst themselves, he may have rights of which he may not be aware. Educate your client with more than one consultation both to get opinions regarding his rights and remedies and to see the attorneys’ different approaches to the issues to ensure that they’re a good fit for your client.
2. Do Your Financial Homework
What you need to piece together is what assets and liabilities were acquired by your client and his spouse during the course of the marriage. What sources of income do family live on? What are the family’s monthly expenses? Look for such documents in the household, such as tax returns, financial statements, bank and brokerage statements, mortgage statements, closing binders, credit card statements, insurance policies and estate planning documents, then copy, copy, copy these important papers.
3. Identify Valuables
Over the course of a marriage, your client may have accumulated important pieces of jewelry, paintings, antiques, rugs, furniture and collectibles. Make a list of such property and make videotapes of what’s located in the residence(s). Locate bills of sale and other evidence of purchases not only for proof of their existence and value but also for potential capital gains if such items are sold. Insurance riders are also helpful in this endeavor.
4. Claims of Separate Property
Separate Property is property that your client came into the marriage with, which was inherited by your client, distributed to your client through a trust or gifted to him (except gifts between spouses, which are marital property). Try to make a list of the items that would qualify as your client’s separate property in order to prevent his spouse from making a claim against such property.
5. What Type of Access Does Your Client (Or His Spouse) Have to Funds
It’s important to have access to funds, whether to hire an attorney or to ensure that your client has a safety net if the spigot of support gets turned off by an angry spouse. If your client has access to a joint account, transfer one-half of the value of the account to one titled solely in your client’s name to ensure that your client isn’t vulnerable to economic pressures. Moreover, if your client is the monied spouse, you want to ensure that your client’s spouse doesn’t attempt to transfer all of the funds that are in joint names into their own name to prevent your client access to funds to pay bills.
6. Speak to a Child Therapist (if there are children involved)
It’s essential to get the advice of a child psychologist regarding how your client and his spouse should tell the children about the divorce and obtain ideas as to how parental access should be shared based on the ages and issues facing your client’s children.
7. Same-Sex Marriage Considerations
Same-sex married couples may find themselves in a vulnerable situation if the parties were in a long-term relationship but were only married a short time. Without a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement expanding the definition of marital property or support obligations, they’ll be constrained to what the law provides both for equitable distribution and support in that short-term marriage. The Court may, under such circumstances and, as a matter of equity, compensate the non-titled spouse by providing a greater distribution of .
“Seven Ways to Help Your Client Prepare for a Divorce,” by Marilyn Chinitz and Lois Liberman was published inWealthManagement.com on September 14, 2015. Reprinted with permission. To view the article online, please click here.
