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Law Offices of Sharyn T. Sooho
©1995 Sharyn T. Sooho
all rights reserved
Our Father’s Rights? Wrong! editorial brought unprecedented reader response. Several lawyers commented that we were "off base" (to quote one letter) attributing domestic violence to appeals court decisions.
In response, here is an excerpt from Reuters as reported by the Boston Globe within weeks of our controversial comments.
Gubernat, 33, apparently shot and killed his 3-year-old son and took his own life in his trailer home, Cpl. Steven Junkin of Pennsylvania State police said. The bodies were found on Sunday."
Listen to the question carefully, make sure you understand it, and then answer truthfully. If you did not understand or hear the question, say so. Never volunteer information beyond the scope of the question, and never guess.
Avoid saying "and that’s the truth" because it tends to cast doubt on your truthfulness. If you use notes to refresh your recollection, be prepared to show your notes to opposing counsel. A court stenographer or tape recorder is making a record of the proceedings so:
Volunteer lawyers offer free advice at county probate and family courts. If appropriate, volunteers refer cases to legal aid offices or bar association referral services.
You can perform many simple tasks to cut down legal fees. The following is the list of documents you can obtain yourself:
Avoid using your lawyer as psychotherapist. Lawyers refer to long telephone calls as "hand holding," an expensive and inappropriate use of legal resources. Before calling your lawyer, make a list of discussion items. Ask your lawyer if it is a convenient time to talk. If not, schedule a telephone conference, and keep your line free.
The usual case involves remarriage or new job opportunities for the custodial parent, who argues that the move is "clearly advantageous." The parent opposing the move argues that the children will lose their close emotional ties to the Massachusetts parent.
If you and your former spouse disagree about the move:
Also consider reducing the amount of insurance over time. For example, if you agree to pay fifteen years of alimony at $10,000 a year, reduce the insurance coverage each year by $10,000. Talk to your lawyer about other cost savings techniques such as present value discounts.
If you are unfamiliar with using the Internet, the above must sound like gibberish. The Internet (Information Superhighway), is a loose, international coalition of universities, government organizations, commercial Internet providers, and commercial corporations -- approximately six million directly connected computers.
The Internet was originally developed by the US Department of Defense in the 1960’s to provide a secure, computerized means to launch missiles. Since much government research is done on college campuses, the Internet eventually evolved into a means for academicians and researchers to communicate via electronic mail (e-mail), transfer files across the network (ftp) as well as coordinate and share research information.
World Wide Web (WWW or W3) is a graphical user interface (gui) which became popular at the end of 1993. Today, WWW is probably the most popular interface used on the Internet. WWW’s greatest feature is it makes the underlying technology invisible and its greatest strength is hypertext (the electronic linking of related documents).
WWW’s ease of use and hypertext links allow the user to transcend traditional national and commercial boundaries by simply "clicking" their mouse on the linked text to jump from document to document (surfing). At one moment, you may be reading a document on a computer in Switzerland, the next moment you have jumped via hypertext link to a computer in Great Britain, next you are accessing a computer in Boston and are reading the Family Law Advisor.
"What constitutes optimal child development, parenting and family relationships...may be decided according to nothing more than theoretical bias."
-- Alan Levy, MD, "Major Pitfalls in Child Custody Evaluation," ABA Section of Family Law, "What’s Blooming in Washington and Its Impact on Your Family Law Practice," Spring 1995, p. 588
(source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
"When does divorce begin? When the 'I want out' thoughts dominate the desire to work things out."
-- James T. Friedman, The Divorce Handbook
"Settle!"
-- Jeanne Fong, divorce attorney
"My son doesn’t come from a broken home. I fixed it. I divorced his father."
-- Former client
