CEO Divorce: Impact on Shareholders

By: Timothy P. Flynn

There is no doubt that a divorce proceeding affects any professional's work routine; that includes, of course, corporate executives.  The distraction of a divorce in the board room, however, affects others outside the company; it pulls the corporate shareholders within its scope.

We're not just talking about guys like Mad Men's Don Draper, whose divorce temporarily but significantly affected the partners of a successful NYC advertising agency.  A CEO's divorce can affect the bottom-line for the shareholders in the company.

There are several ways that an executive's divorce could affect the company for which he or she manages.  First, if the executive has a significant stake in the company, the divorce could affect the executive's controlling interest.  The divorcing spouse will want a portion of the value owned by the executive and that value could affect control of the company.

Second, the divorcing executive's corporate focus and energy levels will be impacted by the trajectory of his or her divorce proceeding.  It is no surprise that business studies and surveys have shown that well over one-third of companies report a negative productivity impact directly arising from the divorce of an executive.

Third, the divorcing executive's strategic decision making can be influenced by the divorce proceeding.  If, for example, the executive is funding her divorce settlement with personal assets so that she can retain her share of corporate ownership, her outlook toward risk could be impacted: i.e. she may become more risk-adverse in the short term in order to protect her suddenly less-diversified and more concentrated net worth.  Being less risk-adverse may not be good for the company or its shareholders.

All of this affects a shareholder's interest in the company.  In many cases, perhaps because of the above examples, corporate divorces are handled as privately as possible.

The collaborative model we prefer here at Clarkston Legal serves the executive, and thus her company, very well.  The collaborative model is where the divorcing parties, and their team of professionals, meet and negotiate a settlement before a divorce proceeding is officially filed with the family court.

If you or your spouse are considering a divorce and there are corporate implications, you should give serious consideration to the collaborative model.  To learn more, contact us for a free consultation.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: CEO,collaborative divorce,divorce,divorce lawyer,shareholder

Same-Sex Marriage: State Legislatures to County Family Courts

Here come the lawsuits.  In the wake of the SCOTUS ruling in June striking down same-sex marriage bans and granting federal benefits to same-sex married couples, many couples are finding their way to court houses across the country.

Most states that have what could be called "gay-friendly" legislatures, something that we would expect changes over time, have already passed laws specifically granting gay couples the right to marry in a dozen states.  So the strategy among proponents of the notion of gay marriage has shifted from the state capitols to the county courthouses.

In Santa Fe County, NM, for example, a family court judge ordered the county clerk's office to issue marriage licenses to couples without regard to their gender or sexual orientation, ruling within a brief hearing that doing so was now unconstitutional.  At the time of this blog post, 7 counties in New Mexico have followed suit.

In neighboring Texas, the Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for November in two cases where same-sex married couples were granted divorces from Texas county family courts.  The Texas Attorney General has intervened in the divorce proceedings, asserting the divorces issued by the family courts are invalid because they implicitly recognize same-sex marriage; something proscribed by Texas law.

Cases in Tennessee and Kentucky are also percolating through the state courts, testing state laws proscribing same-sex marriage.  In one of the several cases pending in Kentucky, one-half of a same-sex married couple is on trial for murder and the issue in the court is whether his "better-half" can be compelled to testify, or whether he should be granted spousal immunity.

In another high-profile case from Franklin County, Kentucky, a same-sex couple filed suit against the Governor on grounds that Kentucky's outright constitutional ban of same-sex marriages violates the Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions.  This is the same issue that was decided in California in the SCOTUS Windsor case.

Currently, there are too many same-sex marriage cases to track unless you are a law professor or law student writing a law review article on the subject.  Unlike the SCOTUS' 1973 Roe v Wade decision, considered the height of judicial activism, which created a sweeping constitutional ban on anti-abortion legislation, last term's same-sex marriage decision adopted a state-by-state approach.

While the momentum toward recognition of same-sex marriage as a civil right has gained steam since we here at the Law Blogger picked-up on the issue back in 2009, it will take at least a quarter century for the current dust to settle.  At least that is our prediction.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: 14th Amendment,divorce,equal protection,New Mexico,same-sex marriage,SCOTUS,Texas

Epic Divorce Battle: 17-Years and Counting

Law Professors should know better.  In what has to be one of the longest-running open cases in U.S. history, the divorce proceedings between two law professors continues to rage in Hamilton County, Ohio.

The two now-adult children produced from this ill-fated union have never known anything other than their parents locked in an epic divorce battle during which each parent has alternately won, then lost custody.  How utterly embarrassing.

The judge currently presiding over the matter recently chastised both parties for their non-exemplary behavior in the latest hearing conducted in the matter last month.  Over the years, several of the family court judge's rulings have been appealed by both parties; this, no doubt, has gobbled-up some of the years this matter has been pending and active in the courts.

Michigan Connection:  Law Professor Sharlene Boltz, one-half of this divorce disaster, is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.  We here at the Law Blogger wonder whether she ever took a family law course.

Here in Michigan, county family court judges are under a directive of the Michigan Supreme Court to complete all divorce proceeding within one year.  While this is a good rule-of-thumb, it is difficult to accomplish in some cases.

One of the ways we attempt to reduce protracted delays in the divorce matters we handle at our law firm is utilization of the collaborative divorce approach.  In a collaborative divorce, the spouses communicate directly about the ultimate settlement in the case prior to actually filing the initial pleadings.

Once a divorce is filed, the spouses and their minor children are subjected to the public jurisdiction and the timetable of the local family court.

The negotiations in a collaborative divorce proceeding, on the other hand, are conducted privately, often with the assistance of at least one lawyer and, if necessary, a counselor or therapist.  A team approach is used with an emphasis on cooperation and without concern for court-imposed deadlines.

Unfortunately, this divorce model does not suit every family.  For the collaborative divorce model to work, both spouses must commit to on-going communication and mutually reasonable objectives; if one of the spouses insists on the adversarial process, the collaborative model will not be possible.

If you are contemplating divorce and believe you have a rational cooperative spouse, perhaps you should give the collaborative divorce model a try.  To learn more, contact our law firm for a free consultation.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: child custody,collaborative divorce,divorce,Law Professor Sharlene Boltz

Internet Real Estate Appraisals and Divorce

Ever look-up your home on one of the real estate databases like Zillow or Trulia?  Chances are, you'll find the values lower than you expected.  What's up with that?

Being in the divorce industry, we here at the Law Blogger contract for dozens of real estate appraisals every year.  There are a few licensed real estate appraisers that most of us divorce lawyers know, trust and hire.

Over the past few years, some divorce lawyers have strayed from the concept of having clients pay for an appraisal from a licensed real estate appraiser.  Most appraisers charge between $300 and $500 depending on when the appraisal needs to be completed.

First, lawyers started relying on a basic "market analysis", usually performed via a realtor's drive-by; not an in-home inspection by a licensed appraiser.  Then, from 2008 until just recently, foreclosures had to be factored in or out of the appraisal.

In the last few years, real estate listing and estimate web sites have popped-up.  The two most popular are Zillow and Trulia.  These sites provide quick estimates of the basic value of a home; the problem is the data is too quickly obtained.

These sites seem to under-value real estate by 20 to 25%.  Here's why: the sites use a "secret sauce" that we here at the Law Blogger have learned includes, at least in part, using a distance parameter and simply taking the total square footage of all the homes recently "sold" in that geographic area and dividing that number by the total of the reported sale proceeds.  This calculation yields an average sale per square foot; simply multiply the target property by this average square foot price and, viola, you have an instant estimate; never mind that it will almost always be too low.

The reason the estimate is too low is that the web site formulas catch "dollar sales" and other recorded transfers such as short-sales, and divorce settlements, and lump these nominal net proceeds into the square foot average thus driving that average significantly south.

Also, the Internet estimates do not take a seller's motivation into account, nor are the unique characteristics of a specific home, such as location, taken into account.  For example, a lake-front home is averaged in with non-riparian residences, distorting the intrinsic value of living on the water.

Another  problem with these sites is that the data is not current.  A licensed real estate appraiser must use recent comparable sales.

The lessons here folks: you get what you pay for in appraisals just like anything else; and don't always believe what you read on the Internet.

www.waterfordlegal.com
info@waterfordlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: divorce,divorce lawyer,real estate appraiser,Trulia,Zillow

300th Blog Post - Thank You Readers

We here at the Law Blogger [the attorneys of Clarkston Legal, also known as Karlstrom Cooney] would like to thank our loyal readers and those that follow this blog.

This is our 300th post.  Three hundred: a perfect game in bowling; an excellent batting average in the bigs; the length of Noah's Arc, in cubits, and one of this blogger's favorite movies.

We started this blog with our first post back on March 30, 2009, on the topic of a lesbian couple litigating their right to adopt a child here in Michigan.

In the four years that we've been up and running with the Oakland Press, there have been almost 160,000 page views and we've received 438 published comments.  Minor league stats in the overall blogosphere, but hopefully relevant to our local readers.

In these years we have attempted to post interesting law-related information that our readers find useful and informative.  Some of the more important topics we've covered in our posts include:

• cell phone use and texting while driving, especially where teenagers are concerned;
• the "Superdrunk" driving law;
• same-sex marriage cases from their initial filings through the recent oral arguments at SCOTUS;
• privacy laws in the Big Data era;
• Second Amendment cases at SCOTUS;
• Obamacare at SCOTUS and now that the new laws are scheduled to take effect in the workplace;
• divorce and family law developments, especially child custody matters;
• the juvenile lifer laws recently decided by SCOTUS;
• significant developments in the criminal law; and
• occasionally, high-profile cases and local personalities that have intersected with the legal system or criminal justice system.

Before we begin work on our next 300 posts, we would like to also thank the Oakland Press and its editorial staff for their support and encouragement over the years.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: 300,child custody,divorce,family law,juvenile lifer law,lawyer,Oakland Press,SCOTUS,Second Amendment

Michigan Supreme Court Considers Family Court Judge's Lack of Candor

Wayne Circuit Family Court Judge Deborah Ross Adams

Truly, divorce is Hell.  No one can attest to this more directly than embattled Wayne County Family Court Judge Deborah Ross Adams.

After 3-years of her own gruelling divorce proceeding [understandably transferred from Wayne County to the Oakland County Family Court] during which Judge Adams ducked media-scrutiny of the disintegration of her 30-plus year marriage, the good Judge really hit the jackpot when her attempts to "right a wrong" at the midnight hour of her divorce went totally awry.

The divorce case went awry due to Judge Adams' own self-defeating and over-reaching conduct.  Both the Judicial Tenure Commission and a Special Master appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court found earlier this year that Judge Adams lied to the judge presiding over her divorce proceedings and signed her former attorney's name to a  petition without his permission, recommending a 180-day suspension without pay.

The appellate lawyer for the Judicial Tenure Commission even went beyond the recommended 180-day suspension, asserting in oral arguments before the Michigan Supreme Court that because Judge Adams has such little respect for the truth, that because she willfully misled a tribunal and jurist [i.e. Oakland Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan] in open court, she did not deserve her elected seat on the Wayne County Family Court.

For his part, our friend Cyril Hall had his hands full on behalf of Judge Adams during the High Court oral arguments.  Mr. Hall emphasized his client's exemplary judicial record while downplaying the materiality of her one-time lies under Oath during a pro-confesso divorce proceeding.

Justices Robert Young and Stephen Markman pressed Mr. Hall on the importance of truth within a judicial proceeding, no matter how perfunctory, and queried whether his client was perhaps held to a higher standard, being herself a family court jurist facing a similar docket as Judge Brennan here in Oakland County.

Justice Markman, in particular, asked Cyril to "fill-in-the-blank" for the following statement:

This Court [Supreme Court] preserves the integrity of the judiciary, and maintains public trust in that judiciary, by allowing a judge to remain on the bench despite having testified falsely under oath, because...[why?].

Mr. Hall simply did not have a good answer for Justice Markman.

Having listened to the oral arguments, we here at the Law Blogger predict that the Supreme Court will uphold the Judicial Tenure Commission's recommended suspension, but will decline the request of the JTC's attorney to remove Judge Adams from the Wayne County bench.  Even Justice Young noted that this requested sanction exceeded the appellate attorney's own client's recommendation.

Hopefully for the family law litigants that will appear before Judge Adams in the upcoming years, assuming she survives this personal and professional setback and retakes her position on the Wayne Circuit's Family Court, she will have learned a valuable bedrock lesson upon which our entire legal structure is based: the truth matters in any and all judicial proceedings.

Post Script:  Judge Adams was removed as a judge by the Michigan Supreme Court's decision.  In August 2013, Governor Snyder appointed Bodman attorney Charles Hegarty to fill this judicial vacancy.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: Cyril Hall,divorce,Judge Deborah Ross Adams,Michigan Supreme Court,Oakland County divorce,Oakland County Family Court,Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan,Wayne County Circuit Court

You Get What You Pay For With Divorce Lawyers

Over the past several years, we here at the Law Blogger have noted several catchy marketing schemes involving divorce lawyers, especially from New York.  These schemes involve a bait and switch by promising a quick result for cheap, or just offering a divorce for an impossibly low fee.

Key word: impossible; at least in most cases. 

The first campaign we noted was touted in Manhattan as the "one-hour-divorce" for about $500.  For the low fee, clients meet with a paralegal and lawyer at the NYC firm to provide their personal information.  The details of their settlement are also, briefly, discussed.

The clients are next provided a ten dollar gift certificate to either McDonald's or Starbucks to burn-up the last hour of their ill-fated marriage while the law office prepares the canned document package for a "one-size-fits-all" divorce.

You cannot have issues, however, or it will cost you extra. The basic premise is that the divorce has to be absolutely 100% "pro confesso" (i.e. uncontested). Basic input is collected from the client and a set of pleadings are prepared within the alotted hour. A standard judgment is generated and executed for entry and filing with the court at the appropriate time, usually six months.

Hopefully nothing changes during the statutory wait period, or all bets are off. Also, under general rules of legal ethics, the firm could not represent both parties to the divorce; but they've apparently figured out which one is their "client".

If the divorcing couple has children, property, or needs support, these issues can be handled in an hour; but will cost more than double. A Prenuptial agreement would all but disqualify the client from the discount program, although a "conventional" divorce would still be available.

Not to be outdone, there is a storefront in Brooklyn that has a sign advertising divorce for $399.  It turns out that this storefront is not a law firm, but rather the office of a paralegal that merely acts as a scrivener for the divorce forms required by New York state laws. 

For the stated fee, the paralegals will assist you in the completion and filing of the forms which are then filed with the court.  Then, it's "up to the judge".  Translation: you are on your own.

This advertised fee is also a classic bait and switch.  Not only are there extra fees for just about everything, you also need to pay filing costs and court fees. 

Apparently, the idea behind the sign is to get you in the door for the advertised low fee.  Once inside, then you learn that you, like 99% of the rest of the population, do not qualify for the low fee, but for a few hundred more bucks, they will take care of you.

It is "buyer beware" for these outfits for sure.

Here in Oakland County, we here at the Law Blogger and at Clarkston Legal, believe that the most important asset of any divorce lawyer is their reputation.  If the attorney is experienced and gets good results, it will be reflected in their fees.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: Brooklyn,child custody,divorce,divorce lawyer,legal fees,marital estate,New York City,Oakland County

Social Security Assistance for Low-Income Former Spouses

Worries about finances typically go hand in hand when one begins the divorce process.  Most couples experience serious financial concerns when looking at maintaining two separate residences with the income that once only supported a single marital household.  

During the divorce process, the “we” becomes “only me” and everything from retirement assets to the kitchen pots and pans are divvied up during the settlement process.  Typically, this means a much leaner financial lifestyle for the spouse that wasn’t the earner, at least for a transitional period.  Financial concerns are especially immediate for those who divorce later in life and who haven’t regularly earned income during the marriage.

However, the Social Security Administration may offer a silver lining to those who earn considerably less than their former spouses.  There is the possibility that a low-earner may be able to collect Social Security benefits based on the higher earnings of their former spouse.  The best part is that doing so does not impact your former spouse’s ability to collect their benefits.

In order to collect benefits based on your ex-spouses earnings, the following eligibility requirements must be met:

• You were married to your former spouse for at least 10 years and you are at least 62 years old.

• You have not remarried.  If you do remarry, you are no longer eligible to receive social security benefits based upon the earnings of a former spouse.

• The amount you would receive based upon your own earnings is less than what you would receive based upon the earnings of your former spouse.

Also, if you have been married several times, and are currently unmarried, you may be able to choose the highest yielding benefit from your ex’s as long as you meet the above-mentioned criteria.  

If your former spouse yet to apply for Social Security benefits, you may still apply and receive divorce spouse benefits as long as you meet the eligibility criteria and you have been divorced from that spouse for at least two years.

While the divorced spouse benefit is not a financial savior for everyone going through the difficult ordeal of divorce, it is important to remember that this benefit exists. Every little bit helps when trying to adjust to a new financial lifestyle.

For more information from the Social Security Administration Website, click here.

www.clarkstonlegal.com

info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: divorce,Social Security Administration,spousal benefit,SSA

Sibling Visitation – Does it Exist?

We have all heard the term “visitation” before, especially if you have been involved in a child custody dispute or divorce.  The term most often used by family law lawyers and professionals is “parenting time”; referring to the legal right [and obligation] of a parent to spend time with one’s child following a divorce. 

Even grandparents, under limited and specific circumstances, may have a legal right to visit with their grandchildren according to Michigan law.

But what about siblings?  Does a brother or sister have the right to visit their sibling, if for some reason they are no longer living within the same household? 

The short answer is that sibling visitation is not recognized as a legal right in Michigan.   The Child Custody Act does not provide for visitation rights between siblings.  Add adoption into the mix and the result remains the same – but for a more specific reason.  

Earlier this month, the Michigan Court of Appeals grappled with, and attempted to decide

this very issue in Wilson v King; a published thus binding opinion of the intermediate appellate court.

Marquita Wilson, the plaintiff-mother in this case, had three children who were eventually adopted into a new family in 2008 after her parental rights had been terminated.  Ms. Wilson then gave birth to a fourth child; Mac.  

The adoptive parents of Ms. Wilson's three children initially allowed Mac to visit with his siblings.  Sadly, for reasons not stated in the Court of Appeals opinion, the adoptive parents ultimately discontinued these sibling visits.  

Ms. Wilson filed suit on behalf of Mac in Wayne County Family Court.  The family court judge dismissed the claim on the basis that the right to “sibling visitation” does not exist under Michigan Law.  On appeal, Ms. Wilson argued that Michigan law does provide for a cause of action for sibling visitation and that the lower court had erred in dismissing her case.  

The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s decision – but did not find one way or the other on whether or not Michigan law provides for a cause of action for sibling visitation.  Instead, the Court focused on the fact that Mac’s older siblings had been adopted.  

Adoption legally severs any ties to the prior, natural family, and creates, in its place, a new adoptive family recognized at law.  This means that, legally speaking, Mac’s older siblings (once they had been adopted) were no longer his legal siblings in the eyes of the law.   

The Court of Appeals held that even if a cause of action regarding sibling visitation existed (which the Court made sure to footnote that they offered “no opinion as to the viability of such a claim”) in Mac’s instance the claim must fail as the three adoptive children were no longer his siblings. 

While we recognize the psychological importance of eliminating contact with biological parents in order to facilitate growth in the new adoptive family, this ruling strikes us as similar in spirit to the old paternity act that denied a biological father standing to seek any parenting time with his child whatsoever.

The ruling seems to foster the notion of wiping-out all traces of the adopted child's  biological family.  Many adopted children, as they mature, seek out traces of their biological families.  Some of these children, as they mature into adulthood, obsess over their lost families and seek therapy to deal with the loss.

At base, however, there is really no-way in cases like this to allow sibling visitation, without also focusing on the biological parents.  Our adoption laws currently do not provide for the maintenance of two families; just one: the adoptive family.

www.clarkstonlegal.com

info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: adoption,child custody,Child Custody Act,divorce,family court,family law,family law lawyer,Michigan Court of Appeals,Wayne County Circuit Court

Women Often Lose Health Insurance Coverage After Divorce

Long-term marriage has been an endangered species for some time in our society.  Couples in the United States divorce at the rate of approximately one million times each year.

Divorce is Hell for both men and women.  Even in our post-modern society, however, women still seem to get the brunt of the pain.

According to a recent study published by the University of Michigan, approximately 115,000 women nationwide lose their health insurance coverage as a direct result of the divorce process.  Of these, some 65,000 never re-gain coverage.

The study was conducted by Bridget Lavelle, a UM sociology doctoral candidate.  Ms. Lavelle examined literature and data from survey respondents who divorced between the years 1996 and 2007.  The December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior will feature the study.

Lavelle postulates that women's loss of health insurance benefits is not just a temporary disruption resulting from the divorce process.  Rather, she concludes that the loss of health insurance coverage for women is a long-term problem that compounds the economic losses of divorced women.

What's worse is that mid-income women have the greatest risk of loss of coverage because they do not qualify for Medicaid or other safety-net coverage options available to lower income divorcees.

We here at the Law Blogger wonder what effect Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act will have on this equation next year when everyone must carry insurance by mandate of federal law.

When facing a divorce, if you are at risk of losing your health insurance coverage, consider demanding some form of short-term alimony payments sufficient to cover the 3-year period of COBRA available from your spouse's employer.  Or, in the alternative, shop for comparable affordable health insurance.

The short-term alimony approach will at least cover women during the initial transition from marriage when, as posited by Ms. Lavelle, they are most at risk to lose health insurance coverage, and suffer even greater economic hardships as a result.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: Affordable Care Act,alimony,Bridget Lavelle,COBRA,divorce,health insurance,Obamacare,sociology,University of Michigan

Is it Ethical for a Lawyer to Have Sex With a Client?

Attorney Henry Baskin

Technically, the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct do not expressly proscribe a lawyer from having sexual relations with a client.  The lack of a specific ethics provision, however, did not prevent the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission from issuing a reprimand and assessing costs against well-known Birmingham attorney, Henry Baskin, for allegedly conducting a long-term physical relationship with a female divorce client.

We here at the Law Blogger know Henry, having worked with him on a few matters over the years.  So we are compelled to ask, Henry...Henry...of all the women you could persuade to, er, date you, why select a client; and a divorce client to boot?

The Attorney Discipline Board [a panel of lawyers assigned to decide Henry's case] had this to say in disposing of this matter:

Although there is no evidence of actual injury to the client, the potential injury under these circumstances is clear to any lawyer, and certainly to someone with [Baskin's] experience.

Never one to shirk the white-hot spotlight, Henry has publicly commented that he disagreed with the decision, and thought the matter should have been resolved privately long-ago; the relationship apparently was conducted from 1999 through 2004.  Henry also noted with some apparent pride, that his client was well-served in the divorce to the extent she received a record-breaking alimony award.

Perhaps this ruling will have some interesting future implications.  For example, what if the lawyer has a long-standing committed and pre-existing relationship with the client, say in a probate or commercial matter?  Obviously divorce clients are always going to be "taboo".  Or what if a lawyer represents his spouse?

The Attorney Grievance Commission always takes the unique facts and circumstances of a particular case into account.  We have to agree with this one.  Of all the people a divorce lawyer may elect to date, it just should not be from among the corps of that lawyers clientele.

So folks, beware of the horny divorce attorney!  Caveat emptor on that one for sure...

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: alimony,attorney,Attorney Grievance Commission,Birmingham,divorce,ethics,Henry Baskin,lawyer,sex

Ten Tips for Social Security Planning

We here at the Law Blogger are quietly aging along with the rest of our fellow Baby Boomer generation.  A good chunk of this generation is slipping into retirement mode; slowly, but as surely as ever.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you approach the age where certain decisions need to be made; and elections need to be taken relative to the mighty Social Security Administration.

Many folks are faced with a bewildering array of options regarding their social security benefit.  When should  you start taking the benefit?  At the earliest possible age of 62; or should you wait [can you afford to wait] until age 70?

These tips are merely general principles, not intended as specific legal advice.  Here are some things to consider:

1.  Spousal Benefits.  If you are married, and at full retirement age [66], you and your spouse, but not both, can elect to receive a spousal benefit while deferring on your retirement benefits, thereby enabling those retirement benefits to grow.  If you are the low-earning spouse, however, it could make more sense to take your benefit at the earlier age of 62, then switch to your [presumably higher] spousal benefit upon reaching full retirement age.

In general, there is no advantage to waiting to start collecting either spousal benefits or survivor benefits after you reach your full retirement age.

2.  "Start Stop Start" Strategy.  Complicated, but worth it, this strategy involves electing to take your social security benefit at an early age, say 62, then suspending the benefit at the full retirement age of 66, if you can afford to do so.  Then, at age 70, you start the benefits back up, taking advantage of a much higher [over 30% higher] monthly benefit checks for the balance of your life.

3.  One-Year Repay Option.  This one is interesting.  If you elect to begin taking your benefit, but later decide it was not the right move, you have one year to pay back all the benefits you received.  Then you can re-apply for [higher] benefits at a later point in time.  

4.  Working Into Your 60s.  If you are blessed with good health, and are fortunate enough to be in a profession or job you can handle deep into your 60s, the result will be a significantly higher social security benefit when you finally do hang up the cleats.  This benefit will also accrue to any spousal and child benefits; so your family will benefit as well.  If you opt to receive benefits at an early age [62], you could be locking in on a permanently lower benefit.

5.  Divorced?  Depending on the length of your marriage, you or your ex-spouse may be able to file for benefits based on each other's work histories.  This is beneficial for the divorcee that was married to a high earner.

6.  Federal Income Tax Exposure.  When it comes to calculating your income for tax purposes, disbursements from a Roth IRA are not counted [because you already paid the taxes], but withdraws from a regular IRA, 401(k) or 403(b) are included as income.  Therefore, it may make sense to stage your withdraws on these accounts, taking disbursements from the tax deferred accounts prior to your social security election.  Also, as a general principle, it would make sense to deplete your tax-deferred accounts first.

7.  Survivor Benefit Election.  Widowed?  Some folks will want to elect to receive their survivor benefits at age 60, and to take their retirement benefit after full retirement; others will benefit by electing to take their retirement benefit at age 62, and deferring the survivor benefit until full retirement age.  The difference depends on individual circumstances and the projected benefits.  A careful calculation is needed here and a professional should be consulted in most cases.  The differences in strategy could be significant.

8.  Beware of the SSA's Benefit Calculator.  The SSA's on-line benefit calculator does not adequately handle spousal, divorcee, child, mother, father, widow or widower benefits.  Because the benefits calculator does not factor-in wage growth or inflation, a projected benefit output for a younger worker performing a calculation will be distorted; the worker's actual benefit could be much less than anticipated.  The best practice is not to rely on these calculations as accurate benchmarks.

9.  Children's Survivor Benefits.  Provided they are under the age of 18 [age 19 if still in high school], your children can receive a survivor benefit from your deceased spouse, or ex-spouse.

10.  Enjoy Your Retirement!  This tip is the most important in this  post.  You have worked your entire life; now it's time to take your foot off the gas and cost a bit; take a look at the scenery.  By all means take care of your family, but remember that you cannot take it with you.  So be sure to spend at least a portion of your retirement on yourself.

www.clarkstonlegal.com
info@clarlstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: divorce,estate planning,income tax,lawyer,retirement,Roth IRA,Social Security,spousal benefit

Selling or Refinancing Your Marital Home During Divorce

This is the second contribution from local mortgage professional and licensed realtor Natalie DeLeo.  In this guest post, Natalie points out three things to consider when you are selling or refinancing your marital home in the divorce context.

1.  How do the terms "upside down" or "underwater" play into your decisions relative to your marital home?

Lower property values can affect your decision on what to do about your martial home.  For many people, the marital home is the largest asset they own.  Most couples cannot afford to own and operate two households: the soon-to-be former marital home, plus another home that one spouse moves into during the separation process that is divorce.

If the value of your marital home is less than the mortgage that is owed on it, selling the home will, in many circumstances, take much longer than a standard sale.  This is because you are in a “short sale” position.  Sometimes, short sales can take up to one year to obtain the necessary approvals from the mortgage lender; a second mortgage further complicates [and delays] the process.  

You could be in the marital home longer than you think.  Therefore, it is imperative that you plan to maintain the marital home as long as necessary to preserve the value.  If you find yourself in this situation, you need to hire a realtor that is a short sale real estate expert to broker your sale. 

If you or your soon-to-be-ex-spouse are not selling the home, then how do you must determine the equity or value of the home in this down market.  With home values bottoming out, there is less equity to distribute between the spouses. Sometimes debt is apportioned rather than equity being divided.

Some couples have considered maintaining a joint ownership of the home post-divorce [i.e. ownership as tenants in common, without rights of survivorship].  Their hope is that the real estate market will significantly rebound someday and both spouses can share in the net proceeds from the sale of the former marital home.  Check with your divorce lawyer about protecting your interest should you both decide to retain the marital home.

The mortgage economic crisis also has made it more difficult to refinance a mortgage to make payments more affordable for the spouse retaining a marital home. There are only two ways to remove a spouse from the liability of the martial home.

• Sell the home if it is not upside down.
• Refinance the home into the spouse’s name that is retaining the home.

Most homes in an "underwater" or "upside down" position will not have an available refinance option.  Contact a mortgage professional to find out about all the refinance plans to determine whether you qualify for any.  When doing so, be prepared to disclose whether you will be receiving [or paying alimony] or whether you can take advantage of a co-signor to get the deal done.

2.  What to consider when selling the marital home.

If you have determined that your home is not upside down and there is equity then you will have to have a licensed real estate appraiser determine the current value of home. There are many different formulas to determine the value of your home.  Ask your divorce lawyer for an explanation and a referral to get your home appraised.  

Each appraiser has their own opinion of what your home is worth; these opinions could be quite disparate. Your attorney will guide you through the process of how the home will be sold and assets distributed. Your realtor can help market the home so that you can get the best price for the current market.  

Your divorce attorney will have input about how to determine the value of the marital real estate; how the property will be marketed; and the timeline of a potential sale.  The goal in each case is to solicit a viable offer and to process the offer so that the home can be sold and closed in a manner that makes sense within the divorce framework.  

3.  Potential Problems when refinancing your Marital Home.

In the divorce context, the biggest problems arise when one spouse receives the home and agrees to refinance to remove the other spouse's name from the mortgage note.  In these tough economic times, couples are faced with: the lower average home values and tightened guidelines to qualify for a refinance transaction.  Sometimes, no matter how hard a spouse tries to refinance the home, they find they simply cannot close the deal.  

The spouse vacating the marital home is often required to execute a quit claim deed in favor of the spouse who receives the home.  Keep in mind when executing a deed that transfers 100% of your interest that it may be impossible for your former spouse to refinance.  

Or worse, we have seen where the spouse who remains in the home stops paying the mortgage and the home goes into foreclosure, with the missed payments and foreclosure proceedings appearing on the innocent spouse's credit report. Keep this in mind when making decisions relative to the marital home in your divorce proceeding.

If possible, get the issues worked out before the divorce is complete.  At least know that the spouse who is trying to refinance is a qualified candidate for the mortgage and has secured pre-approved before the judgment of divorce is executed.  Your divorce lawyer can put stipulations that the closing and disbursement can take place within so many [weeks or months] of the entry of your judgment of divorce.

The key is to prepare and think through all the options first, then direct your attorney to go out and negotiate your interests. Understanding and working through your particular situation and creating a plan with your attorney and his experts will give you peace of mind. 

Call Natalie DeLeo, Mortgage Consultant-on “The Cauley Team” NMLS LO# 138228 Mortgage Resource Plus 111 S. Old Woodward Suite 205 Birmingham MI 48009Office: 248-642-4600 Ext. 110. or Email Natalie@mrploan.com

www.clarkstonlegal.com

info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: attorney,divorce,lawyer,mortgage,real estate,real estate appraiser,short sale,tenants in common,underwater,upside down

New Social Class Division: Married vs Single Parent

We here at the Law Blogger are truly amazed at how often the New York Times carries above-the-fold front page stories that involve families from our neck of the woods.  The latest example is a story in last Sunday's NYT that proposed an entirely new social classification, not based on race or gender, but on one's marital status.

The premise of the article is that a correlation exists between one's net worth and one's marital status, particularly among women; married two-parent households tend to do better economically than single parent households.

Beyond just stating the obvious, the article profiled two local families: a married couple located in Livingston County, and a single mother living in Ann Arbor.  The NYT cited to statistics suggesting a rapid growth in single-parent households.

What struck us as relevant in the article is the nearly explosive growth of single-parent households.  Once reserved for the "bottom quadrant" of the lower class, single-parent households have experienced the most growth in the second quadrant, among the so-called "working class".

Jason DeParl's article detailed the child rearing advantages of a two-parent household, not just from the standpoint of two incomes, but also from a time and availability perspective.  DeParl sites to statistics that show the long range benefits gained by children raised in a two parent household.  These include better average education and higher self esteem.

By the end of the article, I felt truly sorry for the children of the single mother in Ann Arbor.  That mom struggled to make ends meet and to provide basic extra curricular opportunities for her children.  The married Livingston County couple, on the other hand, used their dual incomes to provide their children with a host of enriching activities in which both parents participated.

The trend cited in the article is that the wealthier among us are more inclined to embark upon building a family under traditional means: marriage, with both parents contributing to the economic and social development of the children.  For the less wealthy among us, single-parenthood looms as a growing specter, with the promise of begetting more single-parent households, as the children born into these arrangements tend to eschew traditional marriage, and embrace the same living arrangement as the parent who raised them.

The article draws no conclusions about our ever-present high rate of divorce and is silent as to how divorce affects the long-term health of family members, particularly children.  We here at the Law Blogger believe divorce is perhaps the most significant factor in one's marital status.

As a caveat to this thesis, Mr. DeParl does point out, however, that 2 of our last 3 presidents came from single-parent households.

Go figure.

www.clarkstonlegal.com

info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: Ann Arbor,divorce,Jason DeParl,Livingston County,marriage,New York Times,single parent

5-Things to Know About Your Marital Home in a Divorce

This is the first of two guest blog posts by Natalie DeLeo on the subject of your marital home in the divorce context.  

Ms. DeLeo has been serving Michigan's homeowner's for over 25-years.  Her background in real estate sales, relocation, and new construction set the stage for a clear understanding of potential pit-falls in this rough economy.  For the past 22-years, Ms. DeLeo has been with Mortgage Resource Plus in Birmingham, MI.  She is a mortgage consultant and the marketing director for the firm.

This is what Ms. DeLeo has to say about your martial home...

1. The Martial Home

When a martial home is involved in a divorce, you should think, “What is my objective for this crucial asset?” Will it be sold, refinanced, or retained at this point? 

Keep in mind when both people are on the mortgage, the only way someone is removed from this liability is to either refinance the mortgage, or sell the house and pay it off.

2. Can I qualify for my own mortgage if I am still on the original note?

You should be able to qualify as long as the payments are current through the completion of your divorce, and you have been taken off the title to the marital home; then a lender does not have to qualify you with the liability on the marital home.

Very Important note: Keep in mind that since you are not on title but remain on the mortgage, missed payments will damage your credit. 

3. How little can I put down on a home, if I’ve never owned one by myself?

You can put as little as 3.5% down on an FHA mortgage (only on a primary home) or there are some programs as little as 3-5% on a conventional mortgage.  Meet with a mortgage professional to go over minimum down payment programs, closing costs, and your pre-paid items like property taxes and homeowners insurance.

The seller may agree to cover some of these costs for you. It is important to keep your home purchase within your post-divorce means, especially if you are not use to making the house payment on your own.

4. After my divorce, do I have sufficient credit to purchase my own home?

Review your credit report shortly after your divorce is final. It takes about a month to get everything reported correctly. The key word is “correctly.”

Accounts that were ordered to be paid in full at the final divorce can be reviewed to make sure everything is accurate on the credit report. Warning: if you close an account with a balance during your divorce, so that neither party can use it, your credit scores will drop until the account is paid off.  You should have three open trade lines on your credit report to qualify for a mortgage.  There are exceptions depending on what you are trying to achieve.

5. How is the marital home valued and what if it is less than the amount owed on the mortgage?

An independent appraiser comes out to appraise the marital home.  If three appraisers come out, they may give you 3 different values. With the assistance of your attorney, there can be an agreement in how this value is determined.  Two common methods used in divorce are to: a) get a single appraisal and agree to accept the value; or b) each of you obtain you own appraisal and then have the two averaged. 

The key is to watch your finances closely before and during the divorce process.  Obtain a qualified attorney to assist you in addressing the crucial issue of your marital home.

Take heart; there are viable options.

        

Call Natalie DeLeo, Mortgage Consultant-on “The Cauley Team” NMLS LO# 138228

Mortgage Resource Plus 111 S. Old Woodward Suite 205 Birmingham MI 48009

Office: 248-642-4600 Ext. 110. or Email Natalie@mrploan.com

Read more »

Posted in: divorce,FHA,marital home,mortgage,Mortgage Resource Plus,Natalie DeLeo,refinance

Military Divorce: Part 1

This post is the first in a three-part series addressing divorce in the context where one or both spouses are in the military.  With so many returning servicemembers, our hope is to provide some guidance for those who find that their pre-deployment marriage is no longer tenable.

Divorce is a painful enough when it’s relatively straightforward—a couple living in the same state, no children, pre-nuptial agreements, etc. However, when one of the divorcing spouses is a member of the armed services, a series of other complications exist. 

Laws, codes and manuals all contain regulations intended to protect both service members and their soon-to-be former spouses. Generally, the various branches of the armed services view divorce as a civil matter best left for state family courts to sort out. One exception, where the armed services can become directly involved (addressed in a later post), involves adultery.

What Law Governs?

First things first.  What law do we need to look at when diving into divorce among military members? For the most part, the laws of the state court where the divorce is occurring govern divorces involving military spouses. However, there are two federal statutes that anyone facing the prospect of a military divorce should be aware of.

The first law is the Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act(USFSPA). Passed in 1982, the law serves the exact function its title suggests—protecting ex-spouses by ensuring they don’t lose entitlement to benefits gained from having been married to a military spouse. 

In particular, the law allows state courts to divide military pensions as marital property. This does not mean that an ex-spouse will automatically receive a portion of her service member husband’s (or visa versa) benefits. However, it does give the courts the option to award the ex-spouse a portion of the benefits if the laws of the state and the interests of justice allow it. There are certain limitations to the amount of benefits an ex-spouse will receive, but that will be discussed later.

Another law of import is the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act. One of the main purposes of this law is to suspend court proceedings that would “adversely affect the civil rights of service members during their military service.” In other words, the law protects those in the military from the proverbial rock and a hard place that can occur when military service conflicts with pressing civil obligations, in this case, divorce proceedings. Articles 522 and 524 are particularly pertinent.

Section 522 allows any active or recently released (active service must have ended within the previous 90 days) service member to ask for a stay of any civil proceedings. The service member will have to explain how “current military duty requirements materially affect the service member’s ability to appear and stat[e] a date when the service member will be available to appear.” Section 524 allows the court, either on its own or at the behest of a service member, to stay a judgment or vacate any court order (such as a garnishment) if it can be shown that the member’s active military service prevented him or her from complying with the original judgment or order.

There are a few other important documents that require mention in any discussion of military divorce procedure. The Uniform Code of Military Justice gives military tribunals jurisdiction over all armed service members. While it generally does not cover divorce, there is one provision that is often used to prosecute adultery, which we will tackle later. The Manual for Courts-Martial is an executive order that provides administrative rules to enforce the UCMJ and also has a section directly addressing adultery. 

Over the next two weeks, the Law Blogger will post the rest of this series for our readers affected by, or interested in the military divorce.

info@clarkstonlegal.com

www.clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: adultery,divorce,military divorce,Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,UCMJ,Uniform Code of Military Justice

When Dementia Renders Your Spouse a Stranger

Richard Webber & Adele of Grey's Anatomy

Dementia, always a sad development for any family, is particularly cruel in long-term marriages where one spouse is afflicted, and the other is left to pick-up the pieces.  In such cases, marriages are often stressed to the break-point.

This issue has received national attention lately, courtesy of the hit television series, Grey's Anatomy, where Dr. Webber's character is losing his wife, Adele, to Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of progressive dementia.  Recent scientific findings, however, suggest that there may be many sub-types of dementia.

For example, frontotemporal degeneration [also known as Pick's disease] manifests itself much earlier than Alzheimer's and progresses faster.  Frontotemporal degeneration is believed to afflict between 50-60 thousand adults in the United States, compared to the 5 million Americans afflicted with Alzheimer's.

Frontotemporal disease is particularly threatening to a marriage due to the swift onset of symptoms which attack a spouse's personality directly; not just with the onset of memory loss, as in much older Alzheimer's patients.  The non-afflicted spouse often feels ignored, snubbed or maligned because of the most common characteristic of the disease: silence.

Like many diseases, frontotemporal degeneration progresses differently in individuals, taking on a life of its own.  Most cases feature a prominent and swift deterioration of the patient's overall personality; a complete breakdown in the patient's ability to communicate with and care about others.

Obviously, the patient's ability to hold down a job, or to hang onto their marriage, is put to the test.  This is because frontotemporal degeneration attacks the frontal temporal lobe of the brain; the region responsible for decision-making and judgment.  The frontal lobe actually shrinks.

Sometimes, one disease is mistaken for the other, leading to confusion among the family care providers and a confusing series of hospital stays, doctors visits and testing.

Dementia, in general, highlights the need to secure a solid estate plan early in a marriage, before the onset of any incapacity.  Once a dementia sets in, an individual could lose their mental capacity and have a guardian and conservator appointed to manage their affairs.  While this fiduciary could be, and usually is, a family member, no estate planning is possible while a loved one is under such legal incapacity.

I you or a spouse have been diagnosed with dementia, here are some local support groups that may be of use:

• Alzheimer's Association;
• National Family Caregivers Association - [developing e-communities to provide support and information]
• Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration - [referencing a support group in Grand Rapids, MI]

In the meantime, if you are enjoying the fruits of good health, do not take it for granted.  Be proactive and get an estate plan executed.

www.clarkstonlegal.com

                                                           info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: Alzheimer's disease,conservatorship,dementia,divorce,elder law,estate planning,frontotemporal degeneration,Grey's Anatomy,guardianship,Pick's disease,Richard Webber

Privacy and Tracking Cell Phone Use

Our cell phones have been described as the biographer of our daily lives.  If deconstructed, a cell phone can tell an awful lot about its owner.

Increasingly, cell phone carriers are being subpoenaed in high-conflict, or fault-based divorce cases.  The cell phone records identify the persons with whom an individual communicates throughout the day, and where that communication occurred.

The information contained in cell phones is also important in the law enforcement context.  Formerly reserved for federal agents, local law enforcement is now getting in on this information bonanza thanks to a smorgasboard of services provided by cell phone carriers.

The legal question posed by the practice is whether local police departments must obtain a probable cause-based warrant prior to securing our cell phone information from our carrier.  The answer is unclear.

Recently, SCOTUS decided United States v Jones, requiring a warrant prior to installing a GPS tracking device on a drug suspect's vehicle.  The decision in Jones did not address whether a warrant is needed in the case of obtaining cell phone records; including the geographic information in the now-ubiquitous GPS navigation systems embedded in cell phones.

In addition to geo-tracking data, there is also "cloning": having a cell phone, for example, download [to police] copies of sent and received texts.

This information is deemed so important to law enforcement agencies, some are by-passing the cell phone carriers altogether, purchasing their own cell phone tracking equipment in order to avoid the cost and delay of dealing directly with the various carriers.  In February, police in Grand Rapids, for example, were able to track a cell phone call placed by a stabbing victim who had been secreted away in a basement.

At present, however, there are few guidelines for cell carriers and the disparate local police agencies as to what information can be provided, and what evidentiary standard must be met in such disclosures.

With the SCOTUS decision in Jones less than clear, and with the federal circuit courts of appeal divided on the issue, Congress and the state legislatures are looking at the issue.  Privacy law is going to be a growing branch of our jurisprudence in the next few decades.

www.clarkstonlegal.com

info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: cell phone,cloning,criminal law,divorce,GPS,lawyer,privacy law,SCOTUS

What Makes a Good Family Court Judge?

Attorney Henry S. Gornbein

This post is from the Huffington Post's Divorce Blog.  The author is Henry S. Gornbein, a colleague of ours from Oakland County that specializes in divorce and family law and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.  In this post, Henry really captures the critical elements of a good family court judge.

Here is what Henry had to say on the subject:

In over forty years of practicing family law, I have appeared before hundreds of different judges. I have found that some are rude, arrogant, and suffer from what is known as black robe syndrome. This means that they have forgotten -- or never knew -- what it was like to practice law, and have a holier than thou attitude. Most judges are considerate, will listen, and will try to resolve issues in cases.

Here are some of my thoughts on the attributes of a good judge in family law:

1.       A judge should remember that he or she may also be divorced. I have represented judges in their divorces before, and they are human just like everybody else.

2.       A good judge should listen to the arguments of attorneys and show compassion.

3.       A good judge should not lose control of his or her court room.

4.       A judge should not let arguments go on endlessly, and give everyone a chance to speak. The judge should also know when to cut arguments off in court.

5.       A good judge should be fair and not biased.

6.       A good judge should be decisive. One of the most frustrating things for attorneys are judges who will take matters under advisement, or fail to come up with a ruling. People need rulings so that they can go on with their lives. Even if an attorney or client disagrees with the ruling, it is better to have a ruling than not to have any decision made by the court.

7.       Judges should be on time. If court is set for 8:30 or 9:00 a.m., judges should be prompt. One of the most frustrating things for litigants and their attorneys is to sit around for hours on end waiting for a judge who does not start court promptly.

8.      Some judges will refuse to talk to attorneys in chambers about a case. I think that is wrong. I feel very strongly that a meeting with attorneys through a pre-trial, where a judge will listen to some of the key issues and then send a signal, can lead to a settlement. I also believe that a good judge will set up meetings in order to settle cases rather than just saying, "if you can't settle, then call your first witness." Trials should be a last resort, not a first resort. A good judge knows that.

9.       A good judge should always be in control of his or her court room and docket, but also should not be punitive or refuse to allow people to have their day in court. There is an old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. Cases that are set for trial which are continually adjourned because of court docket conflicts or other reasons, help no one. While I believe that there should be reasonable adjournments granted when an attorney requests one, there should not be unlimited adjournments of a hearing or trial of a case.

10.   I have found over the years that if the judge will start a trial, listen to the parties, allow some evidence, and permit the litigants to get whatever he or she has off his or her chest -- the case can often be settled. Getting that day in court, getting a chance to speak and feeling that a litigant is heard can often lead to a resolution of a case without the need to go through an entire trial. I have had judges over the years who would give people a chance to speak in an informal manner, and then get down to try and settle the case. Letting someone be heard, letting someone feel that his or her thoughts and wishes are important, is a good way to lead to a resolution of a case.

11.    A good judge should show respect for the attorneys and for the litigants, and a good judge should expect respect in return.

12.    In our multi-cultural, social and ethnic society, a judge should be sensitive to religious, ethnic, racial, and cultural differences. I have had judges tell me that certain cultures act in certain ways, and allowing these cultural differences to be recognized in a respectful manner can lead to a resolution of a case.

13.    In making a ruling, a good judge should be clear and concise, and explain what he or she is doing and why. Too many times I have had attorneys and litigants walking out of a court room shaking their heads and wondering what the judge did and clearly not understanding what the ruling was based upon. This is not good for anyone.

14.    Last, but not least, just like a good lawyer understands that a trial before a stranger should be the last resort, not the first, a good judge should understand that also. A judge should leave plenty of opportunity for resolution of a case short of trial either through mediation, negotiations or sometimes, arm-twisting by the judge.

Well put Henry; we could not have stated the matter any better.  Clearly, four-decades of practicing family law has given you some very valuable insight.  Thanks for sharing your thougts.

www.clarkstonlegal.com

info@clarkstonlegal.com

Read more »

Posted in: divorce,family court,family law,Henry S. Gornbein,judge,Oakland County