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DON’T LET FEAR AND ANGER DERAIL YOU
My job as a family law attorney is to try to help people get through the worst time in their lives. Their most personal relationship is crumbling - the one they thought would last forever. They are afraid for their children. They are forced to divide assets that they may have slaved their lives away to accumulate. They fear what the future might look like and wonder how they will survive. Their whole world is being torn apart. They feel powerless. In difficult times it is easy for us to get...
BABY VERONICA CASE TAKES A HEARTBREAKING TWIST
I have written several times over the past year about the Baby Veronica case. As an infant, little Veronica was given up for adoption by her birth mother after it appeared that the father had abandoned her. However, the father. who was part Native American, later asserted his custodial rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act. In 2011, a South Carolina family court judge ruled in favor of the father. As a result, the child - who had now lived with her adoptive family for almost all of her two...
Our Changing World – A Victory for Tolerance
Working mothers. Stay-at-home dads. Gay marriage. Single-parent adoption. Interracial marriage. Interfaith marriage. Blended families . . . Our world, and the very concept of "Family," is changing in ways that our grandparents never could have imagined. And it is changing for the better. It is a victory for freedom. A victory for tolerance. We live in the only society in human history where something like this could be possible. The Law Office of Gary J. Frank has been a fixture in the...
DWAYNE WADE IS LEARNING ABOUT FATHERHOOD – JUST LIKE YOU
Today is Father’s Day. So, here is a story about a father. Someone who loves his children, just like you love your children. Someone who wakes up every day and works hard to be a better dad, just like you do . . . Dwayne Wade is a basketball legend. He’s a fierce competitor who has been criticized for complaining when a referee makes a call he doesn’t like. It never bothered him that his every move on and off the basketball court is dissected by critics, and emulated by children who look up to...
HERE ARE THE NEWEST STATISTICS ON COHABITATION IN THE U.S.
Couples moving in and living together, outside of marriage, was once frowned upon in our society. Now it is commonplace, and the stigma is long gone. For some, cohabitation is a stepping-stone to marriage. For others, it is an alternative to marriage. The Center for Disease Control recently published a report on Cohabitation in America, chock-full of interesting statistics. I have included parts of that report below. NATIONAL HEALTH STATISTICS REPORT April 4, 2013 “The current report presents...
WHY IS STEVE NASH TRYING TO STOP HIS EX-WIFE FROM MOVING WITH THE CHILDREN?
At first, it sounds like a typical “Relocation” battle: A father is asking the Court to prevent his ex-wife from moving out of Arizona with the children. But this is not a typical Relocation case. This one involves basketball superstar, Steve Nash. And he isn’t trying to stop his ex-wife from moving the children further away from him – He’s trying to prevent her from moving them to Los Angeles, where he lives! Nash wants the judge to prevent the mother of his children from moving the...
TODAY’S PARENTS CAN DO IT ALL
It should come as no surprise that fathers can be loving, caring, and nurturing parents - just as mothers were always expected to be.It should come as no surprise that mothers can excel in the business world and be family breadwinners - just as fathers were always expected to be.In today's society, women can be not only nurturers but also breadwinners. Men can be not only breadwinners but also nurturers. And our children are all the better for it. The Law Office of Gary J. Frank has...
IMPORTANT ADVICE FROM A MINNESOTA JUDGE
Nothing is more important to us than our children -- we always try to do what is best for them. Of course, we all know this. None of us would disagree. But when two parents are embroiled in a contentious divorce or parenting dispute, it can be easy to forget. So just remember this: What we say about the other parent, in the heat of anger, can cut our children like a knife, and leave lasting wounds.Here are some words of wisdom, from a Minnesota judge. Although the words were spoken many years...
CUSTODY BATTLES OVER PETS ARE ON THE INCREASE
Pets are part of the family. So, it is no wonder that custody battles over pets are on the increase. But the problem is that pets are considered to be property in every state. There are no laws establishing custody for cats, or parenting time for poodles. Judges are aware that a person’s relationship with his or her pet can be deep and meaningful. They know that dividing the owners’ time with their furry loved-one cannot be handled in the same manner as dividing a piece of furniture. However,...
THE BABY VERONICA CASE IS NOW BEFORE THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
The case involving the adoption of Veronica is before the U.S. Supreme Court. It is a heartbreaking case that pits state adoption law against the Indian Child Welfare Act. There are legitimate legal interests on all sides. Until the 1960’s Native American children were often stolen from their mothers in hospitals shortly after birth, and given up to Anglo families for adoption. Sometimes the “kidnappers” were state agencies. The Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted for the purpose of...
STRANGE DIVORCE LAWS
Do you know that? -- In Kentucky, It is illegal to marry the same person four times. In Wichita, Kansas a man’s mistreatment of his mother-in-law is not grounds for a divorce. In Delaware, a marriage can be annulled if it was entered into on a dare. Under the “Alienation of Affection” laws of New Mexico and Mississippi, a scorned spouse can sue his or her former spouse’s lover for damages. In England, where a couple must have legal grounds for divorce: (1) A man filed for divorce based on the...
HELP SUPPORT “FOOTSTEPS FOR COREY”
Corey Vargas is a 21-year-old kid who was walking his dog in the desert outside of Phoenix, AZ, and fell 30 feet into a dry riverbed. He broke his back in several places and laid there, paralyzed and helpless, for three long days. That Corey survived is a miracle. He surely had a guardian angel watching over him (and sometimes guardian angels come in animal form). It was his dog, Ace, who stayed by his side and kept him safe until he could be rescued. Thankfully, Corey has his life back. But...
MORE WOMEN ARE FAMILY BREADWINNERS THAN EVER BEFORE
Our society is changing fast. Today, women have opportunities like never before, and they are making the most of their new situation. A USA Today analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data reveals some startling statistics: In 1976 only 6 percent of families consisted of a wife who was the sole breadwinner. Today, wives are the sole breadwinner in 23 percent of all families;Wives now out-earn their working husbands 28% of the time. Twenty-five years ago only 16% of wives out-earned their husband;In...
IN A SETTLEMENT MEETING, THE PARTIES ARE IN CONTROL OF THE OUTCOME
I attended a settlement meeting yesterday. The clients and their attorneys met for an hour and made a good faith effort to resolve their family law dispute but were unable to bridge the gap. In the parking lot, on the way out, the former spouses began to talk once again. I watched through a window as they stood there speaking to each other. Ninety minutes later, they came back inside and announced that they had reached a settlement.This is what can happen if parties to a family law dispute...
IF OUR LEGAL SYSTEM WAS A GAME OF PING PONG, CHILDREN WOULD BE THE BALL
Ever since the Arizona legislature passed its new law replacing "custody" with "legal decision-making" and "parenting time" something has been bothering me that I couldn't quite put my finger on -- until today. In reviewing the development of custody law for an upcoming trial, it occurred to me that the history of Family Law in America has always been a battle between "Mothers' Rights" and "Fathers' Rights." . . . But what about Children's Rights? Who speaks for them?From the time this...
Ratings and Reviews
Client Reviews
Very honest
November 2009 I retained Mr. Frank almost two years to represent me in a visitation modification filed by my ex-husband. Mr. Frank quickly and efficiently became familiar with my case and was very honest about all the potential results that could occur. I truly feel that Mr. Frank had my children’s best interests in mind…
– Judy K