California Divorce Weblog

Doggie Divorce Survivors

Remember "The War of the Roses?" The Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner characters have nothing on some divorcing New York couples. These days they're not fighting over who gets the apartment, or the china. They're squaring off over who gets Fido or Fluffy. Here's Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Rossen.

As manager of a swanky doggie day care center on Manhattan's East Side, Michelle O'Connell has seen how heated things can get between divorcing couples when it comes to their pets.

Michelle O'connell, Ritzy Canine: "I had one client who gave me strict instructions not release dog to her ex-spouse."

Pet custody is becoming an increasingly hot topic in divorces, especially in New York where pets can provide a warm refuge from the cold city. But when a divorce threatens to take that four-legged friend away.. the fur can fly.

Raoul Felder, Divorce Attorney: "The trouble is, the courts don't treat pets like people but like things- like just another coffee cup."

So courts award custody of pets just like they do personal property- like the china or silver. But pet owners say that's not the way it should be done, since animals mean a lot more to people than, say, a simple place setting.

Felder: "Pets have meanings. they have a deep-bonding sense of attachment to their owner."

Many Manhattan dog owners have been through it -- one woman we met almost lost her two dogs in a divorce. But she bought them, so the judge ruled she got to keep them. And another woman had a dog when she first got engaged...

Elizabeth Morgan: "Then when we broke off the engagement it was like, 'who's dog is it?' But i have the dog now."

Not without a bitter fight- that's why animal rights experts say the law needs to change..

David Wolfson, Animal Law Expert: "What people want is to make judges, etc realize that aninmals are not the same as chairs-- they have personalities."

A few court cases have started that change, ruling animals aren't just property- but feeling beings. It's a first step for those who believe animals are people too!

(New York -WABC, March 15, 2005)

The Early Warnings of Divorce

Nearly a quarter of divorcees consider leaving their partner within the first two years of marriage, according to research commissioned by the London law firm which handled the divorce of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Despite couples' dread of partners succumbing to the "seven year itch", a third of divorcees had filed for divorce before their fifth wedding anniversary, said the study, conducted on behalf of lawyers from Mishcon de Reya. More than a quarter (27 per cent) of divorcees said that their "sexless" marriages drove them apart while one in 10 said their spouse's family had forced them to divorce.

Women say they come off worse in divorce, but more men say their divorces would have been less costly if they had a pre-nuptial agreement. Sandra Davis, head of family law at Mishcon de Reya, said: "People start to think about divorce many years before they actually get divorced." Couples should have "clearer expectations" and a "frank discussion about where they are going".

She said there was a strong case for making the "pre-nup" – the essential ingredient of any Hollywood break-up – legally binding in Britain. "Pre-nups are not just for the rich and famous. They can help people appreciate what their prospective spouse's attitude to money is."  Ms Davis said: "You would not enter into a commercial transaction without a contract. Marriage is a business contract with emotion laid on top."

A total of 546 divorcees were interviewed by YouGov, the polling organisation, for Mishcon de Reya. For women, divorce is highest among those aged 25 to 29. Divorce for men peaks among the 30-34 age group.

By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent, News.telegraph
(Filed: 09/03/2005)

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 2003

Effective January 1, 2005, adults who are not married are entitled to most of the legal benefits that are afforded married couples. This is the result of the enactment of the Domestic Partnership Act of 2003 by the California Legislature, which can be found the California Family Code, commencing at section 297.

Legislative Intent

As is often the case with California legislation, certain sections of the Act set forth the legislative intention behind the legislation. However, these portions of the Act are uncodified and do not appear in the Family Code. The first section of the Act describes its purposes as: (1) To assure that elderly and homosexual citizens are included in the California Constitution’s guarantee of inalienable rights, liberty, and equality, and (2) to protect elderly and gay Californians from the economic and social consequences of abandonment, separation, the death of loved ones, and other life crises.

The overall purpose of the act is to insure that domestic partners are not treated differently from married couples under California law. To achieve this goal, the act enumerates specific rights that are to be extended to domestic partners. Recognizing that it could not possibly address all potentially affected rights, Section 15 of the Act mandates that it is to be ". . .construed liberally in order to secure to eligible couples who register as domestic partners the full range of legal rights, protections and benefits, as well as all of the responsibilities, obligations, and duties to each other, to their children, to third parties and to the state, as the laws of California extend to and impose upon spouses."

Smelly divorce hits Iranian court

An Iranian woman says she wants to divorce her husband because he has not washed for more than a year, according to a press report.

The 36-year-old woman, identified as Mina, reportedly told a court in Tehran that her husband smells so bad even their children will not go near him.

She said that when she met her husband eight years ago, he was obsessive about staying clean.

Women in Iran have fewer rights than men when it comes to getting divorced.

A woman normally has to prove that her husband has neglected her financially or sexually, is a drug addict or is physically abusive.

Mina reportedly told the divorce court the smell of her husband was so bad that it was making her family a laughing stock.

"We cannot go to any parties. I feel so ashamed," she was quoted by Iran's state-run newspaper.

Divorce criteria

She said he "does not like water and does not want to take a shower. He doesn't even wash when he wakes up in the morning."

She said that when they first married, he had an obsessive compulsion to stay clean.

"He spent hours taking showers three times a day and washed his hands every few minutes," she reportedly said.

"But he suddenly changed... Now nobody, including me, my children and his colleagues, can stand him."

A legal expert told the AFP news agency that being smelly was not a valid reason for divorce in Iran.

But Mina could argue it had caused her to hate her husband so much that she could no longer live with him, which would meet the criteria.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/4312873.stm

Published: 2005/03/02 18:19:23 GMT

© BBC MMV