13 Wednesday Dec 2017
Most Popular South Carolina Blawgs, Blawg Search, Justia
https://blawgsearch.justia.com/blogs/countries/united-states/south-carolina
For my paralegal friends in South Carolina, here’s the top legal blogs in South Carolina sorted by popularity. There’s a little bit of everything here, and several caught my eye. It will take a while to digest it all. I recommend bookmarking this site, and visiting it often. -CCE
20 Saturday Jun 2015
Posted in Cross-Examination, Divorce, Family Law, Trial Tips and Techniques
≈ Comments Off on Ex-Wife Cross-Examines Former Husband – No Squabbling!
Biglaw Divorce Gets Nasty As Ex-Wife Cross-Examines Former Husband, by Joe Patrice, Above The Law
http://abovethelaw.com/2015/06/biglaw-divorce-gets-nasty-as-ex-wife-cross-examines-former-husband/
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where this was a good idea.
Hydee Feldstein, a retired Sullivan & Cromwell partner, decided to cross-examine her ex-husband Peter Gregora, a former tax litigator at Irell & Manilla, in their contentious divorce case — a case where Feldstein alleges Gregory stole nearly $20 million from her. They say a lawyer representing herself has a fool for a client. Well, Feldstein has outside counsel — indeed counsel from two firms, Miller & Ayala LLP and the Rudd Law Firm — yet it was Feldstein who cross-examined her ex in open court. After reading the resulting train wreck, perhaps there are fools on all sides of Feldstein’s defense. . . .
23 Saturday May 2015
Posted in Family Law, Limited License Legal Technician Program, Paralegals/Legal Assistants, Regulation, Unauthorized Practice of Law, Washington Supreme Court
≈ Comments Off on Limited License Legal Technicians – Can They Really Practice Law?
Future or Folly: Limited License Legal Technicians, by 2Civility, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism (with hat tip to William P. Statsky)
It’s graduation time. This year, there is a brand new class of graduates in the State of Washington: Limited License Legal Technicians (LLLTs). These graduates are from a unique legal educational program—not a traditional law school. Yet they will eventually have a law license to perform limited legal services in family law. . . .
12 Tuesday May 2015
Posted in Family Law, Hidden Assets, Marital Asset
≈ Comments Off on When A Divorcing Spouse Hides Assets, How Do You Find The Red Flags?
Divorce & Hidden Money: Searching For Assets By Recognizing Red Flags, by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
If a divorcing spouse hides marital assets there usually are red flags. Red flags are also often found when assets have been hidden by tax fraudsters, Ponzi schemers, bankruptcy debtors, money launderers & narco-traffickers. This 16th post in the ‘Divorce & Hidden Money ‘ series examines the red flags.
Red flags indicating assets might have been hidden are listed at my post ‘Locating Hidden Assets By Spotting The Red Flags.’ The list describes 18 red flags including the use of: multiple jurisdictions, sham trusts, bulk-cash smuggling, etc. In addition to the 18 on the list, below are 6 more red flags of asset concealment. The 6 red flags or money laundering indicators were published by the Egmont Group, an international organization which fights money laundering and terrorist financing.¹ Even though some of them discuss criminals or laundering, the 6 red flags might be used to help locate assets hidden by a divorcing spouse ….
24 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in Discovery, Family Law, Hidden Assets, Interrogatories, Requests for Production, Trusts
≈ Comments Off on What Can You Do When The Divorcing Spouse Hides Marital Assets In A Trust?
Tags
Asset Search Blog, Discovery, Divorce, Fred Abrams, Interrogatories, Marital Assets, Requests for Production, Trusts
Divorce & Hidden Money: Collecting Evidence About Assets Concealed By A Trust, by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
Mroy post ‘Four Asset Concealment Tools‘ says that assets can be hidden by fraudulently transferring them to a trust. This 15th post in the ’Divorce & Hidden Money’ series concentrates on the evidence a divorcing spouse might try to collect if marital assets are concealed by a trust.
A spouse can use the pretrial discovery phase of a divorce to gather evidence about any marital assets concealed by a trust. Based on this evidence, the divorcing spouse may be able to credibly argue that assets at the trust are marital property subject to distribution by the Court. A divorcing spouse might also claim the trust was void if the trust was ‘self-settled‘ (i.e. the grantor and beneficiary were found to be one and the same). Under certain circumstances a divorcing spouse can additionally assert the trust veil should be pierced because the trust wrongly concealed assets &/or facilitated fraudulent transfers. See Babitt v. Vebeliunas (In re Vebeliunas), 332 F.3d 85, 91 (2d Cir. 2003) (discussing New York cases where right to pierce trust veil was preserved). . . .
04 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted in Divorce, Family Law, Finance and Banking Law, Hidden Assets
≈ Comments Off on Hiring A Private Investigator To Find Hidden Assets?
Private Investigators: 5 Things To Be Aware Of When Hiring A PI For A Bank Account Search, by Fred L. Abrams, Asset Search Blog
This is the first post in my new series about what private investigators can & cannot do legally when searching for hidden assets. Divorcing spouses, creditors bringing forced collection proceedings, etc., may search for assets by hiring private investigators and/or information brokers who try to detect secret bank accounts. The post asks: what standards should be followed when investigating bank accounts at U.S. financial institutions? At the conclusion it discusses some best practices. . . .
31 Friday Oct 2014
Tags
Asset Search, Asset Search Blog, Child Support, Divorce, Finance, Fraud, Fred Abrams, Money Laundering
Recovering Assets By Identifying & Immobilizing Them, by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
Identifying and immobilizing assets in a timely fashion can be paramount to asset recovery cases ranging from an ultra-high net worth divorce to a forced collection proceeding against a debtor.
The abstract about ‘Suspending Suspicious Transactions’¹ similarly mentions the ‘timely identification and immobilization’ of assets. The abstract discusses this with regard to money laundering and terrorist financing:
‘Seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime, and funds intended to finance terrorism, are key objectives of the global initiative to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The timely identification and immobilization of such funds are critical to permit the action necessary to prevent the flight of illicit assets beyond the reach of national law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities.’
Suspending Suspicious Transactions was published during July 2013 by the World Bank. It examines the role Financial Intelligence Units, (‘FIUs’), can have in freezing assets and/or postponing financial transactions at banks.
Suspending Suspicious Transactions also supplies fact patterns showing how FIUs work under anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism, (‘AML/CFT”), laws. . . .
21 Sunday Sep 2014
Posted in Family Law
≈ Comments Off on Alimony Reform in New Jersey.
New Jersey Alimony Reform Is Here – What Does It All Mean? by Robert A. Epstein, NJ Family Legal Blog
Change is finally here – On September 10, 2014, Governor Chris Christie signed into law substantial and significant amendments to New Jersey’s alimony law. The law took immediate effect on that date. I previously blogged about the now effective changes after the legislature passed the bill during the Summer, and we have prepared an Alert on the final bill that you can read here. . . .
30 Saturday Aug 2014
Posted in Android Phones, Apps, Cell Phones, Family Law, iPad, iPhones, Legal Ethics, Legal Technology, Social Media, Tablets
≈ Comments Off on Jim Calloway’s Recent Technology News and Developments.
Tags
Androids, Facebook, iPhones, Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog, Legal Techonology, Oklahoma Bar Journal
Recent Technology News and Developments for 2014, by Jim Calloway, Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog (Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal , August 9, 2014 — Vol. 85, No. 20.)
I can always depend on Jim to recommend the best practices to keep a law office moving smoothly, as well as a preview of new technology. Although Jim’s home base is the Oklahoma Bar Association, he is in national demand. If you like what you see, I recommend checking out his articles at the ABA web site. Better yet, especially for Oklahoma solo and small firms, the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Annual Conference is a fabulous event due to Jim’s leadership and connections. You will meet technology experts from all over the country.
Jim has moved his blog to a new address: www.lawpracticetipsblog.com. The old one still works, but I do not know how long it will work. -CCE
There’s been quite a lot of technology-related news over the last several months. Some of it is directly related to the legal profession. Much of it is at least indirectly related to the legal profession. There have also been some interesting court rulings related to technology. Rather than featuring just a few items, I decided to do a roundup of many of these items with a few comments. . . .
18 Monday Aug 2014
Posted in Child Abuse, Divorce, Family Law, Parental Rights
≈ Comments Off on If You Can Stop Your Divorce Client From Doing This, You Get A Prize.
Tags
Alan Childress, Child Visitation, Divorce, Family Law, Judge Larry Primeaux, The Better Chancery Practice Blog
Top Ten Ways To Destroy A Child In A Divorce Or Custody Case, by Judge Larry Primeaux, The Better Chancery Practice Blog
If you have spent any time at all in family law, then you know too well how destructive divorce can be. The court may admonish the parties against involving their children. The parties’ attorneys may give them the same advice. Why is it so unusual for a parent to resist using the child to hurt the soon-to-be ex-spouse? Judge Primeaux lists ten ways parents or others often hurt children in various ways during a divorce and urges lawyers to influence their clients to avoid this abusive and damaging behavior. -CCE
04 Friday Jul 2014
Posted in Family Law, Marital Asset
≈ Comments Off on Four More Ways Soon-To-Be-Divorced Spouses May Use To Conceal Assets.
Tags
Asset Search Blog, Divorce and HIdden Money, Financial Institutions, Fred Abrams, Hidden Assets, Marital Assets, Money Laundering, Tax Fraud
Divorce & Hidden Money: Four Methods Spouses Sometimes Use To Conceal Assets, by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
This is the eighth post in the ‘Divorce & Hidden Money’ series. Like ‘Four Asset Concealment Tools’ and ‘Four Ways Assets Can Be Secretly Transferred,’ the post reveals methods a spouse may use to hide marital assets and keep more than his/her fair share of the marital estate. . . .
23 Monday Jun 2014
Posted in Adoption Law, Appellate Judges, Appellate Law, E-Filing, Family Law, Juvenile Law, Legal Technology, Minnesota, Recent Links and Articles
≈ Comments Off on Reminder – Minnesota Court Rules Are A-Changing.
Tags
Adoption, Appellate Court Rules, Brief Writing, E-Filing, Juvenile Law, Minnesota, Minnesota Judicial Branch
In an earlier post, (https://researchingparalegal.com/2014/06/14/recent-court-rule-changes-for-minnesota-courts/) I mentioned that changes to appellate, juvenile, and adoption court rules in Minnesota’s would go soon go into effect on July 1, 2014. They are:
(Effective July 1, 2014) Supreme Court Promulgates Amendments to the Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure and the Rules of Adoption Procedure.
(Effective July 1, 2014) Court of Appeals Issues Standing Order Regarding Paper Copies of Briefs
(Effective July 1, 2014) Supreme Court Issues Standing Order Regarding Paper Copies of Briefs
(Effective July 1, 2014) Supreme Court Promulgates Amendments to the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure
The orders for the appellate courts look especially important. You can find hyperlinks to these orders here: http://tinyurl.com/nxawksy. -CCE
14 Saturday Jun 2014
Posted in Divorce, Family Law, Hidden Assets
≈ Comments Off on Divorce Asset Concealment Tools.
Tags
Asset Concealment, Divorce, Dummy Companies, Foreign Bank Accounts, Hidden Money, Offshore Banking, Shell Corporations, Trusts
Divorce & Hidden Money: Four Asset Concealment Tools, published by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
This is the sixth post in the ‘Divorce & Hidden Money’ series.
‘Four Ways Assets Can Be Secretly Transferred’ mentioned methods some use to move assets across international borders. My post regarding the 2011 divorce between Helga and Gaston Glock discussed additional asset concealment tools. Any one or a combination of these additional tools can be used to hide marital assets. . . .
10 Saturday May 2014
Posted in Divorce, Family Law, Intellectual Property, Marital Asset, Patent Law
≈ Comments Off on Are Patent Rights A Marital Asset?
Tags
Dennis Crouch, Divorce, Family Law, Infringement, Intellectual Property, Marital Asset, Patent, Patently-O Blog
Patent Rights are a Marital Asset and Non-Inventing Spouse is a Co-Owner, by Dennis Crouch, Patently-O Blog
James Taylor v Taylor Made Plastics (Fed. Cir. 2014)
I should note here that this case is neither about the musician or the golf club company. Rather, it is about the now fractured Taylor family and their patented pipe plugs. I discussed the district court decision earlier here.
Several years ago James T. invented storm drain equipment and obtained a patent in his name only. U.S. Patent No. 5,806,566. When he and his wife Mary T. later divorced, the divorce court ordered “equitable distribution of marital property” with Mary T. receiving 60% of proceeds from the patent and James T. receiving 40%. The divorce court seemingly only dealt with equitable title in the form of rights-to-proceeds and not with legal title to the patent itself. And, in particular, the divorce court did not identify who held the exclusive rights associated with the patent. . . .
02 Sunday Mar 2014
Posted in Affidavits, Appellate Judges, Appellate Law, Disaster Preparedness, Document Retention, Family Law, Law Office Management, Legal Writing, Notary Jurat, Paternity
≈ Comments Off on From The Michigan Bar Journal, The True Meaning of “SS” And More.
Tags
2012 Revocation of Paternity Act, Appellate Practice Compendium, Audra McClure, Dana C. Livingston, JoAnn L. Hathaway, Michael J. Sullivan, Michigan Bar Journal, Notary Jurat, Phillip J. DeRosier, Plain Language Committee, Record Retention Policy, Spiritual Wellness, SS, Thomas Selden Edgerton
Michigan Bar Journal, 93 Mich. B. J. 2 (February 2014)
http://www.michbar.org/journal/home.cfm
In this post, I had planned to focus on only one article from the Michigan Bar Journal’s Plain Language Committee — “After Seven Centuries, the True Meaning of SS,” by Thomas Selden Edgerton. But, after seeing the quality of the other articles, I could not choose just one. So, here you will also find:
The 2012 Revocation of Paternity Act, by Audra McClure;
A Sound Record Retention Policy: A Matter of Self-Preservation, by Michael J. Sullivan and JoAnn L. Hathaway;
A Spiritual Focus Can Strengthen Wellness, by Molly Dean; and
Book Review: Appellate Practice Compendium, reviewed by Phillip J. DeRosier.
-CCE
24 Monday Feb 2014
Posted in Child Abuse, Expert Witnesses, Family Law, Judges
≈ Comments Off on Expert Witness Lesson – Don’t Do This.
Tags
Attorney Fees, Dr. V. Kavirajan, Dylan Farrow, Expert Witnesses, Family Law, New York Times, Rita Handrich, The Jury Room Blog, Woody Allen
What Expert Witnesses Should Not Do (Dylan, Woody & the Judge), posted by Rita Handrich, The Jury Room Blog
http://keenetrial.com/blog/2014/02/24/what-expert-witnesses-should-not-do-dylan-woody-the-judge/
The sad and painful tale of Dylan Farrow has emerged again following her letter to the NYT after Woody Allen received the Golden Globes Lifetime Achievement Award. Woody Allen responded to Ms. Farrow’s open letter and she responded to his response. The internet has been on fire with reactions, pro-Farrow, pro-Allen, and everything in between. You can find them with a simple internet search and we won’t link to them here.
This post isn’t really about the letter, the responses, or the internet reaction to them. Instead, it’s about the original judge in the dispute and a cautionary tale for the attorneys who hire expert witnesses everywhere. I first saw the judge’s written opinion when it was sent around on a mailing list. It reads like a ‘don’t do this’ text for the would-be forensic expert witness. There are so many legitimate reasons this case would not have succeeded at trial–regardless of Mr. Allen’s actual culpability. . . .
21 Friday Feb 2014
Posted in Adoption Law, Family Law, Indian Child Welfare Act, Legal Directory, Parental Rights, References
≈ Comments Off on Compilation of Resources on Adoption Law.
Tags
Adoption Law, Closed Adoptions, Family Law, HG.org, Indian Child Welfare Act, Legal Directories, Open Adoptions, Step-Parents
Adoption Law, HG.org
http://www.hg.org/adoption.html
A compilation of information about adoption, starting with a brief explanation of this area of law, termination of parental rights, open vs. closed adoptions, adoption by a step-parent, and working with an adoption law. This is interesting but the meat comes next, in my opinion, in the sections on knowing your rights, articles on adoption law, and so on. You might also take note at the top of the web page of a hyperlink to “Family Law,” which provides a good overview of that area of law as well.
HG.org (formerly Hieros Gamos.org) is a free legal directory with an abundance of information about American law. It provides a search engine to look for attorneys, topics of law, and more. If you have not already spent time looking at each section of this legal directory, I encourage you to do so.
HG.org is not the only legal directory, but I think it is one of the best. I have already provided a list of similar resources on the Internet at https://researchingparalegal.com/2013/10/23/some-of-the-best-free-legal-research-guides-on-the-internet-no-wikipedia-does-not-count/. If you have not already had an opportunity to visit that link, I think you will find the resources there worth bookmarking. -CCE
16 Sunday Feb 2014
Posted in Child Support, Divorce, Family Law, Hidden Assets
≈ Comments Off on Divorcing Husband’s Hidden Assets and Tax Fraud.
Tags
Asset Search Blog, Beth M. v. Joseph M., Child Support, Divorce, Fred Abrams, Hashimoto v. De La Rosa, Hidden Assets, Internal Revenue Service, Tax Fraud
Divorce & Hidden Money: Whistleblowing, Tax Fraud & Tipping The IRS, by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
The post ‘An Asset Search, Tax Fraud & Divorce’ was first published at the Asset Search Blog on January 16, 2008. It is republished below as the seventh post in the ‘Divorce & Hidden Money’ series. The post describes my investigation of a divorcing husband.
01 Saturday Feb 2014
Posted in Child Support, Contract Law, Family Law, Litigation
≈ Comments Off on Recent Kansas Case Ignores Sperm Donor Parties’ Written Agreement.
Tags
Artificial Insemination, Child Support, Contract Law, Craigslist, Judge Mary Mattivi, Kansas Department of Children and Families, Kansas District Court, Parental Rights, Shawnee County, Sperm Donor, William Marotta
Sperm Donor Ordered to Pay Child Support Despite Agreement, by Nancy Kim, ContractsProfBlog
A man responded to a Craigslist ad for a sperm donor posted by two women. Each of them signed an agreement that the man waived his parental rights and responsibilities. A child was born as the result.
Regardless of the parties’ written agreement, the Kansas Department of Children and Families, not the two women, sued to have the man declared as the legal father of the child. As the legal father, the Kansas Department of Children and Families asked the Court to award it $6,000 award against the man for past and future child support.
Because a Kansas statute requires a physician to perform the artificial insemination procedure, a Kansas District Court ruled that a sperm donor’s self-designation in the parties’ agreement was insufficient to waive parental rights and responsibilities. Therefore, the Judge decided that the Kansas Department of Children and Families was right – the man was indeed the legal father and owed the demanded child support. -CCE
17 Thursday Oct 2013
Posted in Divorce, Family Law, Finding Assets, Fraud, White Collar Crime
≈ Comments Off on Divorce and Hidden Assets
Tags
Assets, Divorce, Financial Institutions, Fraud, Fred Abrams, Money Laundering, White Collar Crime
Divorce & Hidden Assets: Alaskan Plastic Surgeon Accused Of Concealing Millions In Central America, by Fred Abrams, Asset Search Blog
(The first post in the Abram’s “Divorce & Hidden Assets” Series)
http://bit.ly/1gLpR72
