Facebook Cited In 1 In 5 U.S. Divorce Cases | AccuraCast Digital Media News

6th December 2010

It is a well accepted fact that the growing popularity of social networks has resulted in various changes in our lifestyle. However, the most recent revelation about how they have affected our lives is quite shocking.

Facebook LogoResearch from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers indicates that Facebook is now used to procure evidence for 1 in 5 divorce cases in the U.S.A. 81% of lawyers admit that evidence from social networks has been used more and more frequently over the past five years.

People often get in touch with old friends and flames over social networks and can end up rekindling old relationships, often exchanging inappropriate or sexual conversations with each other. They might tag themselves in photographs documenting happenings contrary to what they state in court and they might post status updates that contradict their testimonies.

Of all the social networks, Facebook was used most often as a source of evidence, by as many as 66% of divorce lawyers. MySpace was used by 15%, Twitter by 5% and 14% said they use other social media sources.

Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says, “As everyone continues to share more and more aspects of their lives on social networking sites, they leave themselves open to much greater examinations of both their public and private lives in these sensitive situations.”

It is ironic in some ways that the same networks that help to rekindle past relationships are being used as evidence in court proceedings on the breakdown of current relationships.
© AccuraCast Limited 2010 : London, UK

Please contact your local Knoxville divorce attorney at The McKellar Law Firm, PLLC for a free consultation at (865) 566-0125.

By Joyce Woo (AFP) – 6 hours ago

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s highest court has ordered that divorced couples must split their assets equally, a landmark ruling for the financial hub which could impact heavily on “big money” divorce cases.

Non-working spouses in Hong Kong, usually women, have traditionally been left with far less than half a couple’s assets after they divorce, a key issue in the glitzy metropolis known for its super-rich.

“It’s a landmark ruling,” lawyer Peter Barnes, who represented the ex-wife in the test case on which the court ruled on Friday, told AFP.

“Any remnants of discrimination against non-earning persons, usually being the wife, are now being firmly washed away,” he added.

Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ruled that Barnes’ client, an unidentified 47-year-old, was entitled to half of her ex-husband’s assets, or about 2.68 million Hong Kong dollars (345,000 US dollars).

The decision upheld a lower court judgement in 2008. The woman had successfully appealed against a 2006 court ruling which granted her just one third of the couple’s assets.

“To confine a non-working wife?s award to the sum needed to meet her ‘reasonable requirements’ and to permit the husband to keep the remaining assets is patently unfair and discriminatory,” Hong Kong’s Justice Roberto Ribeiro wrote in last week’s ruling.

Family lawyer Amy Liu told AFP the ruling “will be the benchmark for all divorce cases (in Hong Kong) from this point forward”, adding that courts would be obliged to follow the decision in future.

“In this case, the court has confirmed that, even though the wife did not earn money, as a homemaker she has made contributions in other areas, thereby entitling her to half the couple’s assets,” she added.

Liu said the decision may prompt more people to seek pre-nuptial agreements.

The decision puts Hong Kong in line with Britain where an earlier ruling on asset-splitting sparked concern that London would become “the divorce capital of the world for aspiring wives”.

Ribeiro dismissed concerns about richer divorce settlements for women in Britain.

“I do not consider the higher level of awards necessarily a bad thing since they may merely demonstrate the inadequacy of [previous] awards,” he added.

But the court also said not every case would call for a strict 50/50 split of a couple’s assets, with the marriage’s duration a key factor.

“The duration of the marriage is highly relevant and an equal division is more likely to be sustained after a long, rather than a short, marriage,” Ribeiro said.

In a separate divorce case on Friday, the same court ruled that the ex-wife of a local tycoon’s son should receive only one third of his assets, saying the award “reflects the shortness and relatively unproductive nature of the (three-year) marriage”.

Contact your local Knoxville divorce attorney at The McKellar Law Firm, PLLC for a free consultation at (865) 566-0125.

Advisers playing divorce detectives | Reuters

By Helen Kearney

NEW YORK | Thu Oct 7, 2010 3:13pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The difficult task of dividing assets in a divorce is usually left to attorneys, but financial advisers can play an important role to ensure that clients get their fair share.

Increasingly divorce lawyers are looking to advisers to analyze financial information and uncover assets a spouse may try to conceal.

“We don’t have the power to demand something from the other party,” said Lili Vasileff, president of the Association of Divorce Financial Planners and a Greenwich, Connecticut-based adviser. “But we can tell the lawyer what to ask for and give them the ammunition for their depositions.”

In a typical divorce, both parties must list all of their assets in a net worth statement. Advisers can match this information against other records.

“It’s like playing detective,” said Vasileff. “You get to know the short cuts and where to look” for discrepancies.

The first place to look is the spouse’s tax returns, said Vasileff. In particular, examine the attached schedules which list all of the taxpayer’s interest income, which may come from accounts not listed on the net worth statement.

Also compare reported mortgage interest and real estate taxes against the real estate listed on a net worth statement.

Next, check credit card and loan applications, which usually list the applicant’s assets. Also look at bank and brokerage account records to trace any large transfers or withdrawals, and track where the money went.

Many spouses may “loan” money to a family member and then have it paid back once the divorce is finalized, say advisers.

OTHER TRICKS

The spouse’s pay stubs can also be revealing. Advisers need to ask for the W-2 form summarizing the year’s earnings, as well as records from around the time the spouse is usually paid a bonus, said Vasileff.

The spouse may have asked his boss to hold off on paying his bonus until after the divorce is finalized so it is not included in the asset calculation.

Things become far more complicated if the spouse owns his own business. It is easy to inflate business expenses, especially items such as “travel” or “entertainment,” to reduce the income available to split, said Leonard Florescue, a New York-based partner at law firm Blank Rome.

When examining the company books, look for any notable increases in spending, such as a jump in the advertising budget, said Ginita Wall, a San Diego-based financial adviser.

Sometimes, it helps to snoop around the office. Wall recalls visiting the office of one client’s spouse and being struck by the amount of artwork on the walls as well as paintings stacked behind doors.

Contact your local Knoxville divorce attorney today for a free consultation at The McKellar Law Firm, PLLC at (865) 566-0125.

The USA Today ran an article yesterday about misconduct of federal prosecutors.  The article is a worthwhile read and touches upon a growing area of concern for criminal defense lawyers and innocent citizens: how to combat a prosecutor who is willing to be unethical in order to “win” a case.

As the article notes:

Federal prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely score convictions. But a USA TODAY investigation found that prosecutors repeatedly have violated that duty in courtrooms across the nation. The abuses have put innocent people in prison, set guilty people free and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and sanctions.

From personal experience, I have found the overwhelming majority of prosecutors to be honest and ethical.  However, one unethical or overzealous prosecutor can destroy a citizen’s life, just like the examples provided in the USA Today article.

If you are the target of a federal or state prosecution, contact Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125 to discuss how we can help you.

Brunell Set to File Bankruptcy Plan – Bankruptcy Beat – WSJ

With his spot on the New York Jets’ bench secured, National Football League quarterback Mark Brunell is close to filing a bankruptcy-exit plan, his attorney said.

Attorney Robert Wilcox told the Jacksonville Daily Record that Brunell couldn’t file a plan detailing how he intends to repay creditors sooner because he was unsure if he would make the Jets’ opening-day roster – no sure thing at the age of 39.

But Brunell was on the sidelines for Monday night’s season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Brunell is slated to make $1.5 million this season.

Brunell filed for Chapter 11 protection in June, listing of $24.7 million in debt mostly tied to failed real-estate investments. The former Jacksonville Jaguars star filed for bankruptcy protection in the city where he played for nine seasons.

Wilcox told the newspaper that Brunell is negotiating with key creditors and is likely to allow secured lenders to take back properties that are worth less than their mortgages.

While Brunell earned more than $50 million in his NFL career, he was only collecting a $5,000 monthly salary from his youth football camp operation at the time of his Chapter 11 filing.

Brunell won a championship ring last year as a member of the New Orleans Saints, but played sparingly behind Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees.

Brunell’s future as an NFL quarterback was in doubt until late this summer when the Jets tapped him to serve as a backup, and mentor, to young Jets starter Mark Sanchez.

Most of Brunell’s debts are connected to his personal guarantees of loans made to his real estate businesses. The three-time Pro Bowler was also named in a lawsuit filed in connection with the Florida project that sought $2.24 million from Brunell and former Jaguars teammates Joel Smeenge and Todd Fordham.

When ‘happily ever after’ tanks, now there’s divorce insurance | The Columbus Dispatch

When ‘happily ever after’ tanks, now there’s divorce insurance
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 02:50 AM
By Mark Williams
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
WEDLOCK DIVORCE INSURANCE

Love and marriage, like cars and boats, now can be insured.

A new insurance company is selling a policy that pays off if a couple divorces.

“Your odds of getting divorced are real and tangible,” said John Logan, the founder, chairman and CEO of Safeguard Guaranty Corp., who operates the company from his home in North Carolina. “Your circumstances change, people change, your life changes.”

Called WedLock, the product allows policyholders to buy units of coverage. Each unit costs $15.99 per month and provides a cash payoff of $1,250 if the policyholder divorces. A spouse who, for example, buys 10 units stands to collect $12,500 in the event of a divorce.

Logan understands that the product might seem unseemly, as if those who buy it are taking out a wager on the institution of marriage.

“If someone offered me this product the day I got married, I would have punched them in the nose,” he said.

The concept of collecting from an insurance policy by getting divorced doesn’t sit well with many. Even the underwriter had some qualms.

“We had to really think long and hard about the ethical side of the product and the insurance side of the product,” said Jeff Leman, chief operating officer of Prime Insurance Co., the underwriter.

“In the end and after many revisions to the approach, we decided the idea had potential and served a legitimate insurance purpose,” Leman wrote in an e-mail.

Buying divorce insurance is similar to buying homeowners insurance or life insurance – products meant to protect against disaster, Logan said.

There’s something else to consider: 32 percent of first-time marriages break up within eight years, he said, adding that another spike in divorces is seen after couples are married longer than 20years. Two-thirds of second marriages fail within 15years, and nearly three-quarters of third marriages end in divorce, he said.

Even with that failure rate, financial planner Eric Bishoff of Bishoff Financial Group of Worthington thinks the concept is a bad idea.

“That’s an awfully expensive policy for that small of payout,” he said.

Bishoff said the money for premiums would be better spent shoring up other forms of insurance that families need, or saving it.

But Logan said any savings could end up being split during a divorce or might be spent by a spouse before the divorce. So many spouses are in dire need of cash after a divorce – money that could be used for legal fees or to set up a new household, he said.

Then there is the idea itself.

“In some ways, it’s betting against yourself,” said marriage counselor Matt Orlousky of Gahanna Counseling.

He said policyholders might opt to skip the work needed to improve a marriage and instead take the payout.

Trois Lauber, 50, of Powell, who is married, said the money would be better spent for counseling and classes to keep a relationship strong.

“It’s like starting a marriage ready to fail,” she said of the insurance policies.

So far, Safeguard Guaranty has sold just a handful of policies, which are offered individually, but the company has done little to promote the product beyond its website, wedlockdivorceinsurance.com. It also just launched a website for the United Kingdom.

Logan said he has built-in safeguards to protect the company from a spouse divorcing immediately after buying the product.

The policy does not mature for four years. Policyholders can buy riders that reduce the maturity time or allow them to recover their premiums if they divorce before the policy matures.

After four years, the units increase in value by $250 per year. Premiums remain the same.

As is the case with many business ventures, Logan came up with the idea based on his experience: He and his wife split after seven years of marriage.

“It was world-class ugly,” he said. “It was one of those things I didn’t see coming. When the dust settled, it was a situation where I was broke, for all intents and purposes.”

Logan said he figured that he couldn’t be “the only schmuck this had happened to.”

Please contact your local Knoxville divorce attorney for any questions you may have about the divorce process at The McKellar Law Firm, PLLC at (865) 566-0125 for a free consultation.

Do you think your tax problem is bad?  It may be, but I doubt it’s worse than the collective amount owed by Department of Justice employees, who owe $14.3 million.  The DOJ is the same group that prosecutes alleged tax criminals.  Details below from the ABA Journal:

Nearly 2,000 Justice Department employees collectively owe the Internal Revenue Service $14.3 million.

But it’s not the only federal agency with a legal focus with delinquent taxpayers on staff. Employees of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts collectively owe $11.8 million, while employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission collectively owe a little more than $1 million.

The Washington Post collected the figures on back taxes owed by federal workers and published a story last week that emphasized the $9.3 million owed by Capitol Hill employees. A separate chart had the breakdown.

The total taxes owed by federal workers and retirees in 2009 was 3.3 billion, TaxProf Blog says. NewsMax.comand Main Justice noted the Justice Department figure.

The Justice Department is a large federal agency, Newsmax.com writes. “Still, Justice is conspicuous in its employees proportionately stiffing Uncle Sam in comparison with other federal agencies.” The Justice Department ranked 15th on the list of federal agencies with the most outstanding tax delinquents, Main Justice says.

Judge tosses Prichard bankruptcy | al.com

MOBILE, Alabama — Prichard’s bankruptcy case was dismissed this morning, after a judge agreed that the city was not eligible for Chapter 9 under Alabama law.

A crowd of city retirees and current employees applauded when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William Shulman read the decision.

Shulman granted a motion filed by a group of current employees whose attorney, Donald Stewart, said outside of court that they wanted to “prevent the city of Prichard from destroying the pension plan.”

An attorney for the city, C. Michael Smith, refused to comment after the ruling.

The city had filed for bankruptcy in October, a month after retirees stopped receiving pension checks.

In a plan to emerge from bankruptcy, the city had offered to pay pensioners $190,000 to divide, and then give them $200 a month for 10 years.

A group of retirees had sued the city, but that case was put on hold, along with all other civil suits against the city, during the bankruptcy. Stewart said he believed those civil cases would now be able to move forward.

After the hearing, one pensioner walked out of the courtroom and said, “We won the first round.”

The New York Times reported on the settlement reached between an engineering company, URS Corporation, and the victims involved in the collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis that broke apart and fell into the Mississippi River.  13 people died and 145 were injured.  URS agreed to pay $52.4  million, bringing the total settlement amogst all defendants to $100 million.  At issue was whether URS was aware of a design flaw that was later uncovered, and possible punitive damages if the case went to trial.

If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident or hurt on the job, call the personal injury attorneys at The McKellar Law Firm today for your FREE Consultation, at (865) 566-0125.

Norman McKellar - Top Attorney Knoxville Tennessee

The July-August 2010 Cityview Magazine announced that Norman D. McKellar is a “Top Attorney” for Income Tax and IRS Resolutions.

If you need assistance with your tax problem, contact Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125 for a free consultation.