From the Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2012:

For years, 51-year-old Dawn and her husband of two decades, Tim, had buried
their differences over finances, child-rearing and religion. But when the last
of the Wisconsin couple’s three daughters was finishing high school in 2009,
those differences were all that Dawn could see. “I had gone back to school to
advance my career as a paralegal, and his work had dwindled, so he was just
basically hanging out with his buddies,” she says. “We had nothing to talk
about, and when we did, it was bickering.”

They had stayed together all those years because of the kids, but now nothing
was left. “He was so uncompassionate, and I had turned to my religion, and he
would never go to church with me,” she says. “I realized that I was alone in the
marriage and would be better off with someone whose values and interests were
more like mine.” She seized the moment and left, filing for divorce.

For the new generation of empty-nesters, divorce is increasingly common.
Among people ages 50 and older, the divorce rate has doubled over the past two
decades, according to new research by sociologists Susan Brown and I-Fen Lin of
Bowling Green State University, whose paper, “The Gray Divorce Revolution,”
Prof. Brown will present at Ohio State University this April. The paper draws on
data from the 1990 U.S. Vital Statistics Report and the 2009 American Community
Survey, administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, which asked all respondents if
they’d divorced in the past 12 months.

Though overall national divorce rates have declined since spiking in the
1980s, “gray divorce” has risen to its highest level on record, according to
Prof. Brown. In 1990, only one in 10 people who got divorced was 50 or older; by
2009, the number was roughly one in four. More than 600,000 people ages 50 and
older got divorced in 2009.

What’s more, a 2004 national survey conducted by AARP found that women are
the ones initiating most of these breakups. Among divorces by people ages 40-69,
women reported seeking the split 66% of the time. And cheating doesn’t appear to
be the driving force in gray divorce. The same AARP survey found that 27% of
divorcés cited infidelity as one of their top three reasons for seeking a
divorce—which is not out of line with estimates of infidelity as a factor in
divorce in the general population.

So what is going on with these baby boomers? Are they finally seeking
adventure, now that their kids are out of the house? Are the women exacting
their revenge, at last, against the feminine mystique?

The trend defies any simple explanation, but it springs at least in part from
boomers’ status as the first generation to enter into marriage with goals
largely focused on self-fulfillment. As they look around their empty nests and
toward decades more of healthy life, they are increasingly deciding that they’ve
done their parental duty and now want out. These decisions are changing not just
the portrait of aging people in the U.S., as boomers swell the ranks of the
elderly, but also the meaning of the traditional vow to stay together until
“death do us part.”

“Some of those marriages that in previous generations would have ended in
death now end in divorce,” says Betsey Stevenson, assistant professor of
business and public policy at the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania, who studies marriage and divorce. In the past, many people simply
didn’t live long enough to reach the 40-year itch. “You can’t divorce if you’re
dead,” says Ms. Stevenson.

But that’s not the whole story, given that the bulk of the increase in
late-in-life divorce has come among people ages 50-64. As a generation, boomers
have changed American notions of marriage—and in the process, they have sown the
seeds of their own discontent.

Most sociologists argue that boomers entered marriage with expectations very
different from those of previous generations. “In the 1970s, there was, for the
first time, a focus on marriage needing to make individuals happy, rather than
on how well each individual fulfilled their marital roles,” says Prof. Brown,
author of the gray marriage paper.

According to Prof. Brown, over the past century there have been three
“phases” of American views of marriage. First, there was the “institutional”
phase, in the decades before World War II, when marriage was seen largely as an
economic union.

This was succeeded in the 1950s and ’60s by the “companionate” phase, in
which a successful marriage was defined by the degree to which each spouse could
fulfill his or her role. Husbands were measured by their prowess as providers
and wives by their skills in homemaking and motherhood.

In the 1970s, the boomers initiated what Prof. Brown calls the
“individualized” phase, with an emphasis on the satisfaction of personal needs.
“Individualized marriage is more egocentric… Before the 1970s, no one would
have thought to separate out the self as being distinct from the roles of good
wife and mother.”

None of this is especially surprising for the “Me Generation,” but today’s
gray divorces include a generational twist: For many boomers, it is not their
first marital split. Fifty-three percent of the people over 50 now getting
divorced have done so at least once before.

In fact, more “complex marital biographies,” as Prof. Brown puts it, seem to
be one of the driving forces behind gray divorce. Having been married previously
doubles the risk of divorce for those ages 50 to 64. For those ages 65 and up,
the risk factor quadruples.

For boomers who have had trouble maintaining commitments in the past, hitting
the empty-nest phase seems to trigger thoughts of mortality—and of vanishing
possibilities for self-fulfillment.

“With the children out of the house, boomers in unhappy marriages often look
at each other and think, ‘I may have another 25 to 35 years to live. Do I want
to spend it with this person?’ ” says Deirdre Bair, author of the book, “Calling
It Quits: Late-Life Divorce and Starting Over,” a chronicle of nearly 400
interviews with people splitting in midlife. “There is an overwhelming, urgent
feeling among them of, ‘I have to strike out now, or I’ll never have the chance
again,’ ” says Ms. Bair.

Many of those now opting for gray divorces, however, fail to foresee its
complications in today’s bleak economic landscape. This is especially true of
women.

Though homes are often awarded to ex-wives, points out Pennsylvania divorce
and family lawyer Elizabeth Bennett, this can be a burden instead of a blessing
in a collapsed housing market. And when it comes to obligations to kids for
things like continuing education, weddings and down payments on homes, according
to Janice L. Green, a divorce and family law attorney in Texas, “it’s always the
mother who is willing to give up settlement money that should be on her side of
the ledger.”

Divorcing fathers have their own reasons to be concerned. According to a 2003
study from the University of North Florida, they are more likely to see a major
decline in contact with at least one child, compared with stably married
fathers, whereas divorced mothers tend to get closer to their children.

Still, many older divorcés say they’re happy. According to the 2004 AARP
survey, the vast majority of divorcés ages 40-79 (80%) consider themselves, on a
scale from 1 to 10, to be on the top half of life’s ladder. A majority of 56%
even consider themselves to be on the uppermost rung (8-10). But “being alone”
was nonetheless the top fear among both men and women, and those who had
remarried reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction.

So would some of these late-in-life divorcés have been better off trying to
preserve their troubled marriages? According to John Mordecai Gottman, founder
of the Gottman Institute in Seattle and author of “What Predicts Divorce?,” the
behavioral precursors to late-life or empty nest divorce are no different from
those for younger couples—criticism, defensiveness, contempt and stonewalling.
And, of course, the longer such behavior has persisted, the more deeply
ingrained it becomes in a couple’s personal dynamic.

In its work with older couples in crisis, Gottman Institute therapists
recommend that spouses “turn toward” each other—that is, that they actively
respond to bids for reconnection—rather than, say, snapping: “Excuse me, I’m
trying to watch ‘CSI’ here!”

Those boomers who can’t manage to hold on to their marriages, though, will
hardly be alone. Prof. Brown’s paper predicts that the number of over-50
divorces in 2030, based on current trends, could easily top 800,000 per year.
And all those new divorcés shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a date.
Indeed, over the past year, the number of dating-site users 50 or older has
grown twice as rapidly as any other age group, according to comScore Inc., an
online data-analysis and marketing company.

Dawn, the 51-year-old who divorced her husband of 20 years, found her current
boyfriend of nine months on the over-50 dating site OurTime.com. He’s a divorcé
with no children, and Dawn describes him as “very religious and compassionate,
the things I was lacking in my former husband.” Her kids—19, 20 and 26—are less
sure, she says. “You can’t expect kids to be excited about a new person who
isn’t their dad…But I’m very happy.”

The Dayton Daily News publised an AP story regarding the increase of pet custody in divorces:

“They still fight like cats and dogs in
divorce court. But more and more they are fighting about cats and dogs.

Custody cases involving pets are on the rise across
the country.

In a 2006 survey by the 1,600-member American Academy
of Matrimonial Lawyers, a quarter of respondents said pet custody cases had
increased noticeably since 2001. The academy is due for another survey, but
there is no doubt such cases have grown steadily since then, said Ken Altshuler
of Portland, Maine, a divorce attorney and AAML president.

If there is a child involved in a divorce, many
judges will keep the pet with the child, attorneys said.

“But what do you do when the pet is the child?”
Altshuler asked.

Breakups in same-sex marriages, civil unions and
domestic partnerships are among reasons pet custody fights have become more
common, attorneys said.

Pet custody cases have grown as much as 15 percent in
his office over the last five years, said attorney David Pisarra of Santa
Monica.

He is his own best example. He shares custody of
8-year-old Dudley, a longhaired standard black-and-tan dachshund, with his ex,
who has remarried and introduced a step-dog to Dudley.

Pet consultant Steven May hired Pisarra six years ago
to handle his divorce. Besides a daughter, May and his ex worked out custody of
three dogs, two cats and Tequila the parrot.

Pisarra and May became good friends and often take
their dogs for walks in Santa Monica. They also teamed up last year to write a
book about co-parenting a pet with an ex titled “What About Wally?”

Pets are considered property in every state in the
country. For years, they have been divvied up like furniture during divorce
proceedings. But times are changing.

“Judges are viewing them more akin to children than
dining room sets. They are recognizing that people have an emotional attachment
to their animals,” Altshuler said.

“There is a shifting consciousness,” Pisarra said.
“Pets are being given greater consideration under the law.”

More people have pets than ever before and they
consider them part of the family rather than possessions, said Silvana Raso, a
family law attorney with the Englewood Cliffs, N.J., law firm of Schepisi &
McLaughlin.

“People are not embarrassed to fight for custody of a
pet today. In the past they might have shied away from it because society didn’t
really accept a pet as anything other than an accessory to your life,” she
said.

When Pisarra and Jay Redd (who wrote an introduction
in the book) split up, they agreed to share Dudley.

“There is no law that recognizes visitation with an
animal,” Raso said, so couples have to work it out themselves.

Reaching a pet custody agreement without a lot of
help from attorneys and judges will save money, Raso said. Divorces can cost
$1,000 and be resolved quickly or cost millions and take years.

Pet decisions are often more agonizing to make than
those about mortgages, credit card debt or student loans, Raso said. But if they
can be resolved, the rest usually goes smoother.

After their 2006 breakup, Pisarra and Redd worked out
shared custody, long-distance visitation and a new family (including a beagle)
in Dudley’s life, Pisarra said. Today, they live in the same city, so visitation
no longer includes flight time.

The two have a plan for everyday, vacation and
holiday schedules, travel arrangements, doggie daycare, boarding, food, treats,
grooming, vet care, moving and end-of-life decisions. They split costs and
sometimes, with things like toys, leashes and dog bowls, they buy two of each so
Dudley has one at each home.

May and his wife Nina (who also wrote an introduction
for the book) separated six years ago after 16 years of marriage. “Everything
was fresh and raw. It was not easy.”

It’s taken time, but he and his ex live about two
miles apart in West Los Angeles now and sharing custody of their daughter and
pets is easy, he said. To make it work, “you learn the true meaning of
concession,” May said.

The three dogs the couple had then have died, but
Winnie, his 3-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel, is very much like a family
pet, said May, a consultant to veterinary and other pet-related companies.

Most of the time, custody battles grow out of love.
But there are cases rooted in spite or retaliation.

Pisarra represented a man whose estranged wife had
the family’s two German shepherds euthanized. “They were his running dogs. It
was really cruel and he had no recourse,” he said.

In years past, pets could not be protected in
domestic violence restraining orders in any state. But because abusers can use
pets to threaten victims, maybe even kill the animals, the laws have changed in
states like Maine, New York, California and Illinois. Other states are looking
into changes. And there will be changes in other laws too, Altshuler
predicted.

He believes there will one day be statutes for pets,
much like there are for children, giving judges guidelines to rule by.”

___

Q: Are there any special rules for medical retirees?
A: Yes. Retirees who received disability (Chapter 61) retirements from their parent service will be exempt from the proposed increases. But those who received service-based retirements from the military and then were awarded disability ratings by the VA would be subject to the new fee hikes.
Q: Do the changes apply to TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) and TRICARE Retired Reserve (TRR)?
A: TRS and TRR premiums, deductibles and copays would not be affected. Premiums for those plans already are based on actual program costs and the new proposals wouldn’t change that. Beneficiaries in TRS or TRR are subject to the new pharmacy copayments.
Q: Will the proposed enrollment fee and deductible increases apply to active duty family members who use TRICARE Standard?
A: No. Pentagon officials say the Standard changes will only apply to retired beneficiaries, survivors, and their families. However, active duty family members will be subject to the new pharmacy copayments for any medications obtained outside military pharmacies. The proposed TRICARE Standard fee will only apply to retired beneficiaries under 65 and their families.
Q: Your alert said that survivors of servicemembers who died on active duty would be exempt from the proposed fee increases, but what about survivors of other members? How would they be treated under TRICARE Prime and TRICARE For Life, for which the Pentagon proposes to base fees on military retired pay?
A: Pentagon leaders told us that survivors of servicemembers who died after leaving active duty would be subject to the new fee increases. We have asked how they would be treated under the income-tiering plans (e.g., whether they would be placed in the lowest income tier, or whether Survivor Benefit Plan annuities would be counted like retired pay), but have not yet received a final answer.
Q: Does the proposal envision any change to the $3,000 annual catastrophic cap on out-of-pocket expenses?
A: The proposal would increase the $3,000 cap each year by an index of health care inflation (previously estimated by DoD at about 6.5% per year). Enrollment fees would not count toward the catastrophic cap.
Q: How would retirees who are dividing retired pay with a former spouse be treated under the retired-pay-based fee tiers? Would they only count the portion of retired pay the retiree actually receives?
A: We have asked that question, but haven’t yet received an answer. MOAA opposes the whole concept of basing health care fees on retired pay or any other means-testing method. See this month’s As I See It column<http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/14876248:17821906893:m:1:233182234:FA3060B87D7082D4AF175D3C4D9614DF:r>.
Q: How can we stop these proposed fees?
A: Act now by sending your legislators a MOAA-suggested message<http://echo4.bluehornet.com/ct/14876249:17821906893:m:1:233182234:FA3060B87D7082D4AF175D3C4D9614DF:r> asking them to oppose disproportionate TRICARE fee increases, and then ask your friends to do the same. We’ll need the grassroots advocacy of all MOAA-members if we’re going to successfully challenge these drastic proposals.
Q: What is MOAA doing to oppose these unfair fee hikes?
A: MOAA is mobilizing its membership and has already generated nearly 75,000 messages to Capitol Hill so far this week. MOAA leaders also have started rounds of visits to Hill leaders to highlight our opposition. This coming spring, MOAA and The Military Coalition have opportunities to present our views to the House and Armed Services Committees that have purview over TRICARE. In April, we’ll bring our state Council and Chapter leaders to Washington to “Storm the Hill” on this issue

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Same-sex couples can’t get married in Ohio but they can get divorced.

Maybe.

A divorce case filed recently in Franklin County Domestic Relations Court exemplifies the dilemma faced by same-sex couples who marry in other states but decide to split up in Ohio.

The case was accepted by the clerk of courts and assigned to a judge but has not been finalized.

Jonathan E. Baize, 31, and Stephen J. Wissman, 31, of Columbus, married in New York on Sept. 1. Now, they want to divorce agreeably.

But that’s easier said than done in a state where gay marriage has been prohibited since Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2004 that defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman.

Would granting a divorce to a gay couple, by default, mean the marriage was officially recognized?

“I am aware of the fact that Ohio law does not recognize same-sex marriages that are performed and recognized in other states,” Baize and Wissman said in separate, duplicate affidavits. “I am not asking the court to recognize me as legally married.

“It is essential that I obtain a judicial determination that I am no longer married … so that I can go on with my life,” they said.

Each said if his divorce from the other is not granted, he will be in an “untenable legal situation. I will be considered married in several states … but not in Ohio.” That could affect retirement benefits, ability to buy and sell property, adoption rights, and opportunity to remarry, they said.

Although the couple were married in New York, getting a divorce or dissolution there, and in most other states, requires residency.

Ned Kirby, compliance officer for Franklin County Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, said he is aware of two or three similar cases since 2004. What happened in those cases is unclear; at this point they are filed amid the thousands of heterosexual divorce actions in recent years.

“From a clerk’s standpoint, they file the complaint and, like any divorce, as long as all the required attachments are provided, basically, we file the paperwork. Then it’s up to the judge to decide.”

Ed Mullen, executive director of Equality Ohio, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group, said same-sex divorce is “going to become a bigger and bigger problem over time as more and more states recognize same-sex marriage.”

“Ultimately, there are going to be a lot more problems when there are property and custody issues.”

“I think it’s a really important public policy issue Ohio is going to have to address,” Mullen said.

“If you have people working, living and paying taxes in this state, but were married somewhere else, this is not treating your people fairly.”

Six states currently allow gay marriage: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. The District of Columbia also allows same-sex marriage, and lawmakers in the state of Washington have approved legislation that is expected to be signed by the governor.

California allowed gay marriage between June 16, 2008, and Nov. 4, 2008, when a statewide proposition overturned the law. However, a federal appeals court recently ruled the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. The case is likely to end up the U.S. Supreme Court.

Columbus attorney Thomas J. Addesa, who represents Baize, said he could not talk specifically about the divorce case. However, he said Ohio’s gay-marriage ban is unconstitutional under the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“Our law (the gay-marriage ban) says nothing about divorce,” Addesa said. “In fact, our law says there is only one way to be legally divorced and that’s to get

a legal decree of divorce from a domestic-relations court.”

The architect of Ohio’s gay-marriage amendment, Phil Burress of Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values, said he thinks “there’s no way the courts are going to recognize a same-sex divorce unless it’s a judge trying to rewrite the law.”

“We’ve been involved in this since 1996. They (advocates) have been looking for a way to force same-sex marriage on people and they’re looking for the courts to do it.”

Burress said he isn’t dismayed that seven states have approved gay marriage. “There’s 31 states that have said ‘no,’  ” he said.

                There are no magic formulas for successful co-parenting. Divorce ends a marriage, but it doesn’t end a family.  Melinda Blau, author of Families Apart, Ten Keys to Successful Co-parentin gives some guidelines for co-parenting after divorce.  Her “keys” have been identified as principles of sound parenting and can help make the road a little smoother. These keys can also help divorced parents work together for the same of their children.

Rebuild your own life.  Your children need you even though you may be struggling with your own life.  Heal yourself so that you don’t lean on your kids

Act maturely.  You are the parent even if you don’t feel like parenting right now.  You and your former partner need to work for the best interests of your children.

Your mutual concern is your children.  Even though you are ending the marriage, get along as parents so that you are both there for the children.

Listen to your children.  Their views of the divorce may be different from yours.  Children may not tell their parents how they feel and many parents are too quick to assume that silence means everything is fine.

Respect each other as parents.  The parenting relationship needs to be separate from the marital relationship. Treat your former partner the way you would like to be treated and don’t expect perfection.

Divide parenting time.  Children need to feel that they have two parents. Give them the support they need to continue a relationship with each.

Give your former partner the benefit of the doubt.  When it comes to behavior, give your former partner the benefit of the doubt, as you would a stranger.  Avoid assuming something based on past experiences.  There may be current reasons for your former partner’s behavior, thoughts, feelings, and/or decision.

Accept each other’s differences.  This isn’t easy, because people frequently divorce over the differences which they must now learn to accept.  Remember that you can’t change someone else, but you can change yourself and how your react.

Don’t expect approval from your former partner.  You will need to have your personal and emotional needs fulfilled elsewhere.

Communicate with your spouse directly.  Avoid going through the children. Don’t put children in the middle of hearing your complaints or ask them to deliver messages to the other parent.

Say something positive if you are able.  Expressing appreciation can lead to a more successful  co-parenting experience.

Get out of your traditional gender roles.  Both parents need to learn how to do things the other parent might have taken care of before the divorce – play or learn about sports your children like, take your child shopping, cook, fix a broken toilet, etc.

Discuss only matters related to the children, unless your former partner agrees to talk about other issues.  Respect each other’s privacy and avoid asking about details in his/her life.

At any age, children experience many complicated emotions when dealing with the challenges of divorce.  Parents sometimes struggle with determining how to give their children the right support.

Although this transitional time will involve some hardship, parents can help children avoid stress by striving to maintain a good working relationship with the other parent.  Additional ways to help children during this unsettling time include providing:

Reassurance

Assure your children that the divorce is not their fault.

Assure your children that both parents love them.

Tell your children that it is okay to feel sad because they miss their other parent.

Stability

Maintain the individual relationships you have with each of your children. Encourage the other parent to do the same.

Stick to a daily routine with your children.

Make changes in your children’s lives slowly, letting them discuss these changes with you.

Encouragement

Encourage your children to interact with friends and participate in other age appropriate activities.

Encourage your children to continue to pursue their interests.

Fairness

Do not ask your children, either directly or indirectly, which parent they love more.

Be fair in sharing your children’s time with their other parent.

Honesty

Acknowledge that your children may want you and your former spouse to reunite. Do not encourage or support this wish.

Talk with your children honestly about any changes that will affect them, before they occur.

Support

Support your children’s need to visit the other parent.

Support your children’s desire to love both of you. Tell them it’s okay.

Security

Avoid using your children a counselor or source of emotional support.  Seeing parents as needy and dependent may make children feel insecure.  Find an adult who can fulfill these needs for you.

Remind your children that you and your former spouse will still take care of them and that they will never be alone.

Trust

Show your children that you trust their ability to adapt to these changes.

Demonstrate to your children that they can trust in what you say, and that you will honor your promises.

Ask yourself…in this whole process…who gets to act like a child?  You?  Or your children?

~Patricia Campbell: Dayton Divorce Attorney.  Practicing exclusively in divorce, child support, child custody, family law, military divorce & marriage dissolution her service area includes Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering, Centerville, Dayton, Ohio and surrounding areas.

What and How to Tell Children

Parents often find that telling children about the separation or divorce a particularly difficult experience.  Some parents find their own emotions coming to the surface as they think about sharing the decision with their children.

Other parents feel unsure about what is appropriate to tell their children and how to tell them.  Children need information about the changes which will be occurring in their lives.

Plan How, When, and Where:

• Set aside time to meet as a family.
• Stay calm.
• Be as honest as possible.
• Explain that there is a reason for the divorce.

Decide What To Tell:

• Try to agree on an explanation.
• Avoid discussion the details of what went wrong in the marriage.
• Explain you will love them forever, but your feelings for each other have changed.
• Be fair.  Don’t express negative feelings about the other parent.
• Avoid giving children the message that one parent is good and the other is bad.

When we talk about a divorce being granted, often we say, “My divorce is final.”  But that doesn’t really describe what has happened.

On the day that your legal divorce is granted, it is your marriage that is final, or over. Your divorce is just beginning.

Divorce is a new relationship.  A relationship which the courts will require you to maintain in some form while you go about the business of continuing to care for your children until they reach a certain age.  If both parents intend to stay involved as the children grow up and establish families of their own, your divorce relationship can easily be a much longer relationship than your marriage.  There are three directions that your divorce relationship can go. It can be:

• The same as your marriage.
• Worse than your marriage.
• Better than your marriage.

A wise man once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Most couples entering marriage do not have a plan for handling conflict or differences and the result is that the marriages in the United States fail 50% of the time.  One out of every two marriages ends in divorce.

So as we enter the divorce relationship, it can be useful to have a plan.  A plan that helps couples to negotiate the how, what, when and where of managing the practical details of everyday life with children being cared for between two homes.  A plan that provides communication tools that will minimize conflict.  A plan that will make life easier for everyone.

~Patricia Campbell: Dayton Divorce Attorney.  Practicing exclusively in divorce, child support, child custody, family law, military divorce & marriage dissolution her service area includes Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering, Centerville, Dayton, Ohio and surrounding areas.

The holidays always present numerous questions regarding parenting time. To help answer questions I have attached the Greene County Standard Order of Parenting Time, recently revised. DRC_PARENTING_TIME

~Patricia Campbell: Attorney practicing exclusively in divorce, child support, child custody, family law, military divorce & marriage dissolution. Includes Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering, Centerville, Dayton and surrounding areas.

Military Divorce Lawyers …

Last Friday the Alaska Supreme Court decided Burts v. Burts, holding that
the trial court may value military medical coverage [TRICARE] in an
equitable distribution proceeding.  This is a cutting-edge issue, important
for domestic cases involving a retiree who has medical care and a spouse who will not.

Alaska Burts Decision (PDF)

~Patricia Campbell: Attorney practicing exclusively in divorce, child support, child custody, family law, military divorce & marriage dissolution. Includes Beavercreek, Fairborn, Kettering, Centerville, Dayton and surrounding areas.