I get a lot of questions about prenups and postnups and why I loooove them so much. Divorce is a Big D that can affect family farms – the topic shouldn’t be taboo. Instead, farm and ranch families should look at prenups as an insurance policy. Nobody gets on an airplane thinking it will crash but you still go over …
I just love it when my writing hits the press! And I especially love it when it combines my two passion areas — family law and agriculture law. I am honored to have authored the Fact Sheets on family law issues in agriculture with the National Agriculture Law Center. You can review them individually here or the packet here.
The transgender community is growing, and with that comes unique legal needs. One issue that has come up quite a bit in our practice lately, is a name change of a minor due to a change in gender. About one-third of the people I saw in court for name changes were transgender or transitioning. Having a name you feel connected …
Child support in most states is largely formulaic (i.e., a math equation)– basic support is typically calculated by looking at the income and qualified deductions of each parent. However, for most involved in farming and ranching or other kind of agri-business, finding the numbers for the math equation is anything but straightforward. This figure is also used to help calculate …
An Order of Protection is available for parties who are being stalked, harassed, or abused by their partner (physically, verbally, or sexually). It is available not only for romantic relationships (e.g., spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend), but also other family relationships (e.g., between a farmer landlord uncle and farmer tenant niece). Although the procedures for filing and defending against an order of protection …
Most parties going through a divorce do not consider the option of keeping the farm business intact. Everyone’s brains (including the lawyers’) typically go to dividing the farm/ranch assets, along with its inventory. However, there is another option: keeping the business intact. This has several advantages, especially if this is a multi-generational farm family business. This requires careful planning and …
Divorces among farm families inherently have animal issues – not only with live animals but also with genetic material (e.g., embryos, semen). These are important property disputes for some farm families. Depending on the state, companion animals can be treated differently. Companion Animals To begin, companion animals typically include dogs and cats, but can also include some exotic animals and …
Not only am I on the GAL roster for the Sixth Circuit (including Champaign and Douglas Counties) and the Fourth Circuit (including Shelby County) but I am now on the GAL roster for the Fifth Circuit which includes Coles County, Vermilion County and Edgar County. Working with children is a passion of mine and looking forward to continuing to serve …
