Charlottesville Divorce Lawyer Rob Hagy

Father Who Lost Job After Beginning to Live As a Woman Was Not Voluntarily Unemployed or Underemployed

In the unpublished opinion of Dorough v. Dorough, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled in an action to reduce child support by father that father previously working as a photographic lab technician making $52,000.00 who lost his job after beginning to live as a woman on the advice of his counselor was not voluntarily underemployed or unemployed even though father was received a pre-termination reprimand for not attending manager's meeting and completing operational checklists.  No evidence indicated that father's work performance was substandard before the reprimand.  Father unsuccessfully sought work but received no call backs after giving his masculine name to verify past employment history.

Parents Have Constitutional Rights to Direct Children's Education

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in the case of Barrett v. Steubenville City Schools that parents have a constitutionally protected liberty interest in raising
and directing the education of their children and a state employer
cannot condition employment upon the waiver of that right.

QDRO Does Not Include Pre-Retirement Death Benefits

In the case of Kazel v. Kazel, the New York Court of Appeals has ruled that a judgment of divorce and qualified domestic relations order awarding an interest in the husband's pension plan did not automatically include pre-retirement death benefits available under the plan.

Unenforceable Promissory Notes Not Martial Debt

In the unpublished opinion of Garrett v. Garrett, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a trial court decision refusing to classify a number of promissory notes as martial debt where the statutes of limitation to enforce the notes had expired.  Further, the Court of Appeals upheld the trial court's refusal to classify the proceeds of the notes, even assuming they were unenforceable, as gifts to husband and thus his separate property where the evidence failed to prove any donative act or donative intent by the holders of the notes, husband's parents,   The notes were never marked paid. Nor did his parents state an intention to discharge the debt.

Husband Fails to Impute Income to Wife

In the unpublished opinion Brown v. Brown, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld trial court ruling that husband failed in his burden of proving that wife, who was a realtor, was underemployed in an effort to imput income to her to reduce his spousal support obligation where husband failed to call any local realtors to testify about the real estate market, failed to call anyone from wife's real estate firm to testify about the typical salaries earned by other agents, and failed to put on any evidence that wife did not work full time.

-Rob Hagy, Virginia Family and Divorce Lawyer

Tax Consequences Could Be Considered in Establishing Amount of Marital Property Award

The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in Solomon v. Solomon that tax consequences may be considered in establishing the amount of a marital property award as an “other factor,” under section 8-205(b)(11) of the Maryland Family Law Article, when they are immediate and specific, or not speculative. In addition, the court ruled that a country club membership is not “property” to be divided, since it cannot be sold, transferred, exchanged, redeemed, inherited, or liquidated.

-Rob Hagy, Virginia Family and Divorce Lawyer

Award of All of One Asset in Equitable Distribution Justifies Award of Greater Portion of Remaining Assets to Other Party

In the case of Ketterle v. Ketterle, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals upheld trial court award of all of the husband’s Nobel Prize money to the husband, and then award of a larger portion of the remaining property to wife since the Nobel Prize would increase the husband’s ability to acquire income and assets in the future.

Failure to Pay Marital Debt Contempt Despite Bankruptcy Discharge

Wife could seek to hold a husband in contempt in the Georgia Supreme Court case of Rogers v. McGahee for failing to pay joint debts that were assigned to him in the divorce proceeding even though husband had the debts discharged in bankruptcy.

Failure to Allege Property Interest Prevents Lis Pendens Filing

The California Court of Appeals ruled in Gale v. Superior Court of Orange County that a petition for dissolution of marriage which does not allege a community property interest in certain real property cannot support the filing of a lis pendens on that property.

Out of State Pre-Nup Not Recognized

In In re Estate of Davis, the Tennessee Court of Appeals refused to recognize a prenuptial agreement entered into in Florida because it did not meet Tennessee’s stricter requirements of full and fair disclosure between the parties.