As an attorney that deals with family court on a very regular basis, it can be easy to get caught up in the special jargon used by lawyers and judges during a divorce or custody case.  Go to an ICMC and get ordered to participate in a FENE and SENE?  Obviously!  Of course, not everybody speaks in acronyms and obscure Latin phrases in their regular lives, so it is helpful to take a step back and explain exactly what Early Neutral Evaluation (or ENE) is all about. 

I had originally written this week's blog post on the ins and outs of spousal maintenance, but couldn't resist commenting on recently released financial details of the indie darling, Zooey Deschanel's split with Death Cab for Cutie frontman, Ben Gibbard. Often, we hear news of celebs spending way beyond their means, owning property they can't afford, and ultimately, dissolution disaster with massive amounts of debt to divide. Not the case with this particular couple.

Over the holidays, my little brother (who just got accepted to Lewis & Clark law school – yay!) told the fam a story about a client he encountered at his workplace a few weeks ago. He works for a non-profit agency in Minneapolis that helps low income people prepare their income tax returns at no cost, and was helping a client with taxes from 2006 that he hadn't filed yet. After filling the fellow's name on the 1040, the next box was a pretty easy one to complete: marital status. Unfortunately, the client did not know if he was single or married, which shocked my brother, but is unfortunately not as uncommon as you may think. What you may not know is how the timing of the divorce process and delaying the inevitable can have serious impact on your life.

As family law attorneys, we deal with a lot of personal and sensitive information over the course of the attorney-client relationship. We take pride in getting to know our clients, but just as importantly keeping what we know private and confidential. Except as allowed under the Minnesota Rules of Professional Responsibility, it is our policy to never knowingly reveal information that relates to the representation of our clients.

Now that the holidays are over and everyone is gearing up for the winter months ahead (assuming that the cold and snow eventually arrive), I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on what 2011 meant for us at Vox Law, and maybe take a quick peek into the future.  Can businesses make new years resolutions?  I suppose Vox could promise to go to the gym more often and eat more vegetables...

This summer sure did go by fast!  September is almost over, and we all know what can happen in October - especially those of us who got caught out trick-or-treating on Halloween in 1991.  I think there is a policy against use of offensive four letter words on this blog, so I'll just say the "white fluffy stuff" is right around the corner.  Even though part of me loves the Minnesota winter, another part of me asks "why do I live in this state" sometimes.  I have to remind myself of the reasons that we all like living here - friendly people, quality of life, the lakes, Grand Old Creamery, and for some people because they share parenting time or custody of their children.  For those people in the last category, what happens when a job opportunity, school, or a new love interest makes it desirable to take the children and move out of state?  That is where things can get complicated - and we're here to help.

Let me start by saying that I've always wanted to be on TV.  If awkwardly saying a line at the end of my own commercial is what it takes to be "discovered", then so be it.  I always imagined my first role to be more Brandon Walsh (90210, duh) and less TV divorce lawyer, but it's a start.  That being said, I'm pretty proud of the way our commercial turned out.  If you're not lucky enough to have seen it on air, as it only plays in Minneapolis proper, here is a link to a low-quality youtube version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIg6wUptD2w

I recently had occasion to be in Las Vegas for the second time this year (c'mon - the pinball hall of fame is out there, so who can blame me) and witnessed the apparent counterpart to the Vegas Chapel of Love quickie marriage - the $499 divorce.  Loud billboards with cartoon superheroes proclaiming "Captain Divorce will save you for only $499" were everywhere.  After questioning the wisdom of trusting the legal division of every important facet of your life to a cartoon character, I wondered who would fall for this marketing ploy.  It reminded me of the TV and newspaper ads of years ago where a seedy fellow would loudly proclaim "Riiight...  I'll paint any car for $99.95".  I never had occasion to purchase a $99 paint job for one of my cars, but I'm guessing there may have been some quality and longevity issues, along with some likely hidden fees.  I'm sure the old "no runs, drips, or errors" claim didn't apply, and I'd be willing to bet you had to pay extra for such niceties as sanding down the old paint, and taping off your windows and brake lights before they were painted over.  I'm also guessing the $99 paint job didn't look nearly as good two years down the line as when it rolled out of the shop bay.

Back in the boom times of a few years ago, the biggest asset at stake in many divorces was the family home.  The financial equity, sense of stability, and emotional attachment made it very attractive to each spouse to end up with the home when the divorce was over and done with.  Fast forward a few years to the current housing market - it seems as if nearly every divorce we handle involves a home that is under water or close to it.  It also seems that with many people becoming unemployed or underemployed, neither party is able to take on the house payments on their own after the divorce goes through.  The fight has changed from who gets the house to who gets stuck with the house.

While this is unquestionably the worst blog entry title yet, it is a topic that seems to come up quite a bit in our line of work. We handle so many cases with children involved, and we always try our hardest to end up with a parenting schedule that everyone can understand and abide by. However, we also know that it is inevitable that conflict will rear its ugly head at some point, even under the most skillfully crafted parenting plan. When it does, the parents need to have a method in place on how they want to address the disagreement.