Cosenza Law Firm

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES… AND SPOUSAL SUPPORT

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:08:41 +0000

The Trial Court refused to find that Jan Morel was at fault in the break up of her marriage because she drank too much. The Court concluded that both Jan and Randall drank heavily during their entire marriage. Randall often bought the alcohol that Jan drank. Jan and Randall encouraged each other in their bad drinking habits. The Court ordered Randall to pay Jan permanent spousal support. The Court of Appeal, in Morel v. Morel, 2011 CA 1134, agreed that the pot could not call the kettle black. It affirmed the Trial Court’s award of alimony.

NO “IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES” IN LOUISIANA

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:00:15 +0000

Heidi Klum and Seal cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their separation. Do “irreconcilable differences” matter in Louisiana divorce law? No, they don’t. Louisiana allows parties to divorce each other for no reason at all as long as they have lived apart long enough for the law to conclude that they have no intention of being husband and wife. For spouses without minor children, that time period is six months. For spouses with minor children, it is one year.

WHERE DOES VISITATION TAKE PLACE?

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:00:15 +0000

In the tragic case Hoover v. Hoover, 2011 CU 1917, the First Circuit was asked whether the Trial Court in Livingston Parish had ruled correctly when it held that a father, rendered a quadriplegic with mental handicaps and limited ability to communicate due to a brain aneurism, would be required to visit his minor son at the home of his sister, Lori. His parents, who were his caretakers, argued that their grandson should visit his father at their home. The First Circuit affirmed the Trial Court. What appeared to matter most to the Trial Court and the Court of Appeal was the need for the child to visit his father in surroundings that were both familiar and free of the hatred expressed by the grandparents for their former daughter in law. Lori and the child’s mother had remained friends after the couple’s divorce while the grandparents were hostile. The Courts both also relied heavily on the opinions of the psychologist treating the child for Aspberger’s syndrome and the court-appointed child custody expert.

HOW DOES DIVORCE AFFECT CHILDREN’S SETTLEMENT MONEY

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:00:21 +0000

Dennis Quaid and Kimberly Buffington-Quaid are divorcing. Before they separated, their twins received money for injuries they suffered while babies in the hospital. Who will control that money when their parents divorce? If your children have property of their own, you should speak with your divorce lawyer about protecting the children’s money. This can be done in what is called a tutorship proceeding. Tutorship is different from child custody although it has similar goals. Be sure to tell your lawyer about any property that your children have or may receive.

WORKING TWO JOBS TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 08:00:43 +0000

For five years during his marriage to Renee Pennington, Christopher Pennington worked forty hours a week at a day job and four nights a week at a steakhouse. He hoped to quit the second job once Renee graduated from law school. Eventually the parties divorced and he paid child support. He continued to work the second job to make ends meet. But he was tired. In Pennington v. Pennington, 2011 CA 1022, the First Circuit held that the Family Court ruled correctly when – after Renee graduated – it reduced Christopher’s child support by refusing to consider the money he had made from the second job. The Court found that the second job had always had a limited purpose – to support the family while Renee was in school – and that requiring him to engage in long-term additional employment would be inequitable.

DIVORCE AGAINST ABSENT SPOUSE: YES, YOU CAN

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:00:56 +0000

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria and singer Eduardo Cruz have separated. Mr. Cruz has returned to Spain. If Ms. Longoria sues him for divorce, how will she serve him with the lawsuit? Most states have ways to serve the absent spouse. In Louisiana, the court can appoint a lawyer to receive the petition and to represent the absentee’s interests in the proceedings. Note however that the plaintiff pays that lawyer’s fees. An alternative is for the absentee to accept service by affidavit. A spouse cannot prevent a divorce by moving away or disappearing.

WIFE WHO REFUSES TO TRAVEL WITH HUSBAND FOR ELECTIVE SURGERY GUILTY OF “CRUEL TREATMENT”

Louis Cosenza — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:00:05 +0000

A 56 yr old woman with severe medical problems, whose husband of 24 years left her and filed for divorce, asked the court in Livingston Parish for an award of final periodic spousal support. At trial, and on cross examination, the woman admitted that she had refused to accompany her husband on a trip to Cancun, Mexico where he was scheduled to have a gastric bypass operation. She testified that she wanted her husband to postpone the operation for 3 months. She was babysitting her grandson during the day, and wanted her husband to postpone the operation until the Christmas holidays, when the baby’s mother, her daughter, had time off from work. The trial judge denied the wife’s claim for child support without hearing any testimony from the husband and held that her refusal to go to Mexico when the husband wanted amounted to “cruel treatment.” A motion to appeal the judge’s decision has been filed. Cauthron v. Cauthron, 21st JDC, No. 130,452.

Consent Custody Provision in a Protective Order Not Binding in Subsequent Civil Proceedings

Louis Cosenza — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:04:33 +0000

The First Circuit Court of Appeal has vacated and reversed an evidentiary ruling that would have prevented a mother from introducing evidence of a father’s unfitness. The Family Court of East Baton Rouge had ruled that testimony regarding facts that occurred before the date of a consent judgment reached in a protective order hearing was inadmissible. See the earlier post on this site regarding the trial court’s ruling. The decision is important because it is the first case to address the question of the res judicata effect to be given to a judgment rendered in a proceeding under the Domestic Abuse Assistance Act. Zycha v. Zycha, No. 2011-CW-2243, March 28, 2012.

DIVORCE AND FAMILY LAW FIRM ANNOUNCES OPENING OF BATON ROUGE OFFICE

Louis Cosenza — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:47:09 +0000

In an effort to better serve our clients living in Baton Rouge, the Cosenza Law Firm has opened an office at 8850 United Plaza Boulevard on Essen Lane between I-10 and I-12 in Baton Rouge. See our website http://www.cosenzalaw.com/offices/baton-rouge-divorce-law-office/ for directions.

Consent Custody Judgment in a Protective Order Proceeding is Ruled binding in District Court.

Louis Cosenza — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:51:01 +0000

The Family Court of East Baton Rouge has ruled that a shared custody agreement, reached by the parties to a proceeding under the Domestic Abuse Assistance Act, triggers application of the “material change in circumstances” rule in civil proceedings before the Family Court. A mother, who had filed a motion to modify the shared custody agreement tried to introduce evidence of the father’s unfitness based upon facts that occurred before the date of the consent judgment at the protective order hearing. The trial court’s ruling is being reviewed by the First Circuit Court of Appeal. Zycha v. Zycha, 2011-CW-2243.