Family lawyers don’t run into the 5th Amendment often but when it happens time stands still. If we lived in a world where lawyers engaged in free discovery and
Continue Reading Coping with the 5th Amendment BluesNY State Rifle Case “Recoils” to Re-Arm Domestic Abusers
By Mark Ashton on
In a decision published on February 2, 2023 the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that a federal law barring domestic abusers from possessing guns while protection from…
Continue Reading NY State Rifle Case “Recoils” to Re-Arm Domestic AbusersPET PEEVED: Dividing “Les Animaux” in Divorce
By Mark Ashton on
Updated 2/02/2023
70% of U.S. households own a pet. Thirty-five years ago it was 56%. Today only 40% of households have minor kids and that number is slowly shrinking. So…
Continue Reading PET PEEVED: Dividing “Les Animaux” in DivorceIs Spousal Privilege Relevant in the 21st Century?
By Mark Ashton on
This writer, in his more grandiose moments, likes to think himself a legal historian. And in these “fantastic” moments he will (a) write in the third person and (b) indulge…
Continue Reading Is Spousal Privilege Relevant in the 21st Century?EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE FATTENING CALF
By Mark Ashton on
In olden days, which is to say about 20 years ago, divorce clients would see their lawyers and discuss the family business as just that, the family business. It could…
Continue Reading EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE FATTENING CALFCan Divorce & Retirement Be Compatible?
By Mark Ashton on
The demographics of family life have changed a lot in recent decades. Young people are marrying less and later in life when they do. The number of young people interested…
Continue Reading Can Divorce & Retirement Be Compatible?Paternity by Estoppel Takes on Genetic Testing and Testing Wins, for Now.
By Mark Ashton on
V.L.-P. v. S.R.D., a published decision by a three-judge panel on January 6 breaks ice that has been forming since genetic testing first became accepted in the mid-1980s. It…
Continue Reading Paternity by Estoppel Takes on Genetic Testing and Testing Wins, for Now.South Carolina Weighs In; Privacy Rights in the Wake of Dobbs
By Mark Ashton on
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of South Carolina offered its response to the decision last June by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Until last June, this…
Continue Reading South Carolina Weighs In; Privacy Rights in the Wake of DobbsCHRISTMAS BRAWLS
By Mark Ashton on
People in just about every form of business find a time of year when life becomes difficult. For accountants it’s tax season. Firefighters have August when forest fires rage. For…
Continue Reading CHRISTMAS BRAWLSYour Holiday Guide to Prenuptial Agreements
By Mark Ashton on
We just published something about this topic only to find an email inquiry from a client asking what are the basics to such agreements. Here’s a crib sheet which is…
Continue Reading Your Holiday Guide to Prenuptial Agreements