Honoring Michigan Mothers

by Wendy Alton

"I’ll be a wife and mother first, then First Lady.” ~Jackie Kennedy

Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and it is fitting to take a moment to honor some Michigan mothers who were not only role models for their own children, but pioneers in their field. Because I am a lawyer, I am obviously drawn to Michigan mothers who were pioneers in the field of law.

Martha Strickland Clark (1853-1935). Martha was a single mother when she began law school at the University of Michigan Law School in 1882. In 1887 she became the first woman lawyer in Detroit. She was also the first woman to argue a case before the Michigan Supreme Court, and argued that a woman could divorce a husband who was abusing her. She was back in front of the Michigan Supreme Court in 1890 arguing that a woman could hold the office of deputy county clerk. She won both cases.

Rachel Andresen (1907-1988). At the age of 28, Rachel was widowed, left to raise three children on her own. Perhaps this was why she focused on children, founding Youth for Understanding, an international exchange program for high school students. Youth for Understanding still exists today, and provides opportunities for thousands of high school students. For her pioneering work and founding of Youth for Understanding, Rachel was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

Anne R. Davidow (1898-1991). Anne was actually denied admittance to the Detroit College of Law because she was a woman. So she attended another law school. She married and had two children, and became famous for a case she argued in front of the United States Supreme Court in 1948, Goesaert v Cleary. In that case, she argued against a law in Michigan that did not allow women to tend bar unless their fathers or husbands owned the bar. While Anne lost the case, the law was actually repealed, and the case of Goesaert v Cleary is taught in law schools around the country.

Cornelia Groefsema Kennedy (1923 - ). Cornelia Kennedy was the second woman to serve as Judge in Wayne County Circuit Court and the first Michigan woman to be appointed to the federal bench by President Nixon in 1970. She was then appointed by President Carter to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. I have a special place in my heart for Justice Kennedy. When I had just passed the Michigan Bar, Justice Kennedy administered my oath to the federal bench, and swore me in as an attorney to the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. I also had the privilege of working for her son, Charles Kennedy, also a lawyer.

I couldn’t close this without thanking my own mother, Dorothy Sluka, for her constant love and support, for without that, I wouldn’t have the inspiration to be both a mother and lawyer today.

“All mothers are working mothers.” (author unknown). Take a moment this Sunday to thank those mothers who have made a difference in your life.

If you are interested in learning more about family law, please call Wendy Alton at 248-380-9976 or email her at walton@fb-firm.com

Making College Expenses a Priority after Divorce

by Wendy Alton

According to a recent study, divorced parents contribute a significant amount less toward college for their children than parents that remain married. The study was discussed in a Washington Post article, and revealed that divorced parents spend nearly 1/3 less on college expenses than married parents. Obviously this is a huge difference and disadvantage to children of divorce. What can you do as a divorced parent to ensure that college expenses remain a priority?

First, to clarify, Michigan does not require a divorcing couple to have an agreement about college tuition or expenses. In fact, Michigan courts can only make or enforce decisions about your child until the child is 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later. Thus, college expenses are frequently not addressed in a divorce, especially when the children of the divorcing couple are very young.

However, there are a number of things you can include in your divorce to help pay for college expenses. Of course you and your spouse will have to agree, because absent an agreement, the court will not force you to do it. Some ideas are as follows:

• You can agree as parents to equally share the college expenses incurred by your children, or share them on a percentage basis.
• You can agree to each contribute to a college fund that is held in trust for the children.
• You can formulate an agreement that has one parent paying tuition costs, while the other parent pays books, boarding, etc.

What is especially important, though, in formulating such an agreement to pay college expenses, is to define what college expenses will be paid, particularly:

• Will you pay for in-state or out-of-state tuition?
• Will you only pay if their grade point remains passing or above a certain grade?
• Will you require the student to obtain loans/grants/scholarships first?
• Is this for undergraduate only or post-graduate work?

The lesson is that if college for your children is important to you as you are divorcing, try to work out an agreement with your spouse to make it a priority. Be careful to negotiate exactly what each parent is prepared to provide, and what expectations are required. Also, you must have an attorney review such an agreement, because once it is signed, absent an agreement to change it, the agreement is binding and not subject to modification.

You can read the Washington Post article here:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/college-inc/2010/12/divorced_parents_contribute_le.html

If you are interested in learning more about divorce or family law, please call Wendy Alton at 248-380-9976 or email her at walton@fb-firm.com.

Planning Ahead Makes Holidays Special for Children of Divorce

by Wendy Alton

One of the most frequent questions & concerns I hear as a Michigan divorce lawyer is how to share time with the children around the holidays after a divorce. This can be one of the more difficult issues to work through, particularly because each parent wants to keep their holiday traditions alive, but will now need to share that time with the other parent.

There are no hard and fast rules in Michigan for sharing holidays after divorce. In fact, the courts generally encourage parents to come up with schedules that work best for them, and stick to those schedules. This is because each family has their own traditions, their own families, and often the parents can come up with a schedule that is far better for them than the court could ever impose.

In the absence of any kind of agreement between the parents, many courts do have parenting time guidelines that are published merely as “suggestions.” Each county differs, and the following represent some of the ideas or suggestions for how to share parenting time during the holidays.

• Macomb County: http://www.macombcountymi.gov/circuitcourt/friendofthecourt.htm:
o Dad: in odd years (2011, 2013, etc) has the children from 6pm on the last day of school for Christmas break through Christmas Eve at 9pm, at which time, Mom takes the children from Christmas Eve at 9pm until 7pm on the day before school begins. This would then reverse in even years.

• Livingston County: http://www.co.livingston.mi.us/friendofthecourt/pt4.htm:
o Alternate all holidays (parents decide who takes what holiday in what year)
o Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, New Years are defined as 9am to 6pm

• Marquette County: http://www.co.marquette.mi.us/departments/friend_of_the_court/docs/ParentingTimeGuidelines/LOCAL.pdf:
o Dad: in odd years (2011, 2013, etc) has the children from 6pm on the last day of school for Christmas break through Christmas Day at 2pm. Mom has the children from Christmas Day at 2pm until 6pm on December 27th. Then the normal parenting time schedule resumes. This would then reverse in even years.

• Cass County: http://www.casscountymi.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=DMsKstaerpA%3D&tabid=92&mid=800:
o Dad: in odd years (2011, 2013, etc) has the children on Christmas Eve at 9am until Christmas morning at 9am. Mom would have Christmas Day from 9am until December 26th at 9am. Normal parenting time would resume after that. This would then reverse in even years.

The State of Michigan also has extensive parenting time guidelines found here: http://courts.michigan.gov/SCAO/services/focb/parentingtime/FOC_Forms/pt_guidelines.pdf. Regarding holiday parenting time, the State of Michigan’s suggestions are identical to those of Macomb County. Again, these are merely suggestions in absence of a formal agreement between parents.

While it is easy to get wrapped up in what holiday time you want or feel as though you deserve with your children during the holidays, it is always helpful to try to look at the holiday schedule from your child’s perspective. The holidays are a magical and special time—keeping this as the main focus during your discussions and negotiations about holiday schedules will keep you focused on what is going to best for your children.

Divorced parents can make the holidays special for children by creating a holiday schedule that best suits their family, sticking to it so that the children know what to expect, and then making their holiday time with the children magical and memorable for years to come.

If you are interested in learning more about divorce or family law, please call Wendy Alton at 248-380-9976 or email her at walton@fb-firm.com.

In Custody Hearings, the Judge Cannot Just Rely on Friend of the Court’s Recommendation

by Wendy Alton

In Michigan, if a parent has proven to the court that there has been a change in circumstance or proper cause to consider a change in custody, the court will generally ask Friend of the Court to make a custody recommendation. Friend of the Court will investigate and make a recommendation to the Court after a full analysis of the best interests of the child by weighing the following factors:

(1) The love, affection & other emotional ties existing between the parties involved & the child.
(2) The capacity & disposition of the parties involved to give the child love, affection & guidance and to continue the education & raising of the child in his or her religion or creed, if any.
(3) The capacity & disposition of the parties involved to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care or other remedial care recognized and permitted under the laws of this state in place of medical care, and other material needs.
(4) The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment & the desirability of maintaining continuity.
(5) The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes.
(6) The moral fitness of the parties involved.
(7) The mental & physical health of the parties involved.
(8) The home, school & community record of the child.
(9) The reasonable preference of the child, if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express preference.
(10) The willingness & ability of each of the parties to facilitate & encourage a close & continuing parent-child relationship between the child & the other parent or the child and the parents.
(11) Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child.
(12) Any other factor considered by the court to be relevant to a particular child custody dispute.

After analysis of these factors, the Friend of the Court will then issue a written report and recommendation that is submitted to the parents and to the Judge. The Judge will review and consider the recommendation.

However, the Judge cannot just adopt the recommendation without hearing testimony and considering evidence. This requirement was reiterated in the case of Deling v Lam, unpublished case per curiam of the Michigan Court of Appeals, issued October 7, 2010 (Docket No. 295272). In that case, the trial judge merely adopted the recommendation, which radically changed the physical custody arrangement from joint physical custody to giving the father sole physical custody. The trial judge did not hear testimony or consider evidence—the judge just adopted the recommendation. The mother appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s decision, stating that the trial judge improperly delegated its authority by failing to independently evaluate each of the best interest factors. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s decision and sent the case back to the trial court for a new custody hearing.

In issues of custody and parenting time, it is extremely important to understand not only what your rights are as a parent, but also to fully understand every step in the process.

If you are interested in learning more about divorce or family law, please call Wendy Alton at 248-380-9976 or email her at walton@fb-firm.com.