Much ado has been made over the Kentucky Supreme Court footnote 16 in Lisa Baker v. Ernie Fletcher, but on June 15, 2006, (now final) it appears that another gratuitous footnote was made. In B.F. v. T.D., the same-sex custody case based on the defacto custodian statute, at footnote 1, the court says “We also...Read More

“The Michigan supreme court reversed the court of appeals’ decision in Barnes v Jeudevine, in an opinion released on July 26, 2006. Docket No. 129606. As a result, Barnes, who filed an action seeking a determination of paternity of a child conceived while the child’s mother was married to another man—a child whom he co-parented...Read More

Last week the Family Law Prof Blog posted four child custody articles, no doubt inspired by the Time cover story.Read More

The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts has published Model Standards for Child Custody Evaluators. The American Psychological Association has long had standards, but the problem arises when the evaluator is not a psychologist. This model should help fill the gap and be a useful resource in cross-examining those evaluators.Read More

As client handouts go, The AAML’s Stepping Back From Anger is the best for divorcing parents. The brochure is available for purchase at a nominal cost ($1 per pamphlet) online.Read More

Case Law Development: Appointment of GAL for parent in dependency action requires notice and hearing, from the Family Law Prof Blog. In states where there is statutory authority for a GAL in dependency cases, including Kentucky, this case may be inapplicable. But see our prior post on Guardians Ad Litem where there is not statutory...Read More

“Should Step-Parents Be Legally Equal to Parents? At first glance, most people would probably answer a resounding “no” to this question. However, a recent column in Time magazine by Po Bronson says stepparents should have the legal rights of parents — though it doesn’t specify if that means all the same rights, or a partial...Read More

DAVIS v. WASHINGTON (Nos. 05-5224 and 05-5705) together with No. 05-5705, Hammon v. Indiana, on certiorari to the Supreme Court of Indiana, was handed down yesterday. The link is to the syllabus, which states the holding of the opinion by Justice Scalia is as follows: 1. The Confrontation Clause bars “admission of testimonial statements of...Read More

“Today’s divorced fathers pursuing substantial timesharing are pioneers,” says Janet Langjhar of the Florida Divorce Law Blog. She links to a Miami Herald story reporting on the juggling divorced dads do in increasing numbers as they assume substantial custodial responsibilities. Check out the Miami Herald’s moving video, Tribute to Fatherhood.Read More

The same-sex custody case decided by the Kentucky Supreme Court is front page, headline news in the Courier-Journal. The Court of Appeals decision in B.F. v. T.D was digested here, and we will post yesterday’s Supreme Court Opinion and a digest of it shortly.Read More