Month: September 2024

Fighting A Fraudulent Divorce

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

In Louisiana’s Cajun country, a woman is fighting in a family court after finding out her husband of 12 years is trying to get away with a major fraudulent divorce scam. According to reports, her husband used a woman to impersonate his wife in order to get his divorce decree. What are some ways to protect yourself from a fraudulent divorce scam?

Divorce Fraud Bayou

Divorce Gris Gris

Teqela Mouton is going through a mix of emotions after learning her husband, Kendrick Paul Francis, was allegedly part of a scheme to get a fraudulent divorce from her. A worse surprise was finding out her husband’s friend, LaShonda Pope, allegedly impersonated her to obtain the divorce final judgment.

“The way I’m feeling right now is insane. I really don’t know how to feel that a person could actually steal your identity and get away with it.”

Mouton now lives in Texas where she and her husband have been married for 12 years in November. They have two children together, ages 9 and 14. Mouton said for the past two years, she has been traveling back and forth to the Acadiana region of Louisiana to gather information on how she ended up getting divorced without her noticing?

“My husband did not contact me, told me anything about he wanted to divorce me and didn’t tell me that he filed for a divorce. If he wanted a divorce, I would have given it to him.”

Mouton said she never received a summons and was not present in any court proceedings for the alleged divorce.

Florida Fraudulent Divorce

I have written on fraud in divorce before. But an actual imposter posing as you to get a divorce is a fraud that is not a common occurrence. But fraud can happen. Historically in Florida, a contrived, false or fraudulent grounds for a dissolution of marriage, and then terminating a marriage through fraud on the courts, was not tolerated. This is inherent in the judicial process.

Fraud could also take the form of misrepresentations, concealments or untruths by a spouse. Courts will not indulge or reward falsehoods, and when a fraud upon the other spouse, or on the court, is proved it would be a failure of proof that the marriage was irretrievably broken for instance.

In addition, courts can relieve a party from a final judgment of dissolution of marriage for fraud (whether heretofore denominated intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party under the rules of procedure. However, the motion must be filed within a reasonable time, and not more than 1 year after the judgment unless the motion is based on fraudulent financial affidavits in marital or paternity cases.

A Fraudulent Fais Do-Do

Mouton never received the paperwork, couldn’t get actual copies of the final judgment or pleadings, and the only thing the courthouse let her do was to look at the documents in the court file. She says that the documents she reviewed had a lot of incorrect information, from spelling of names, to children’s birthdays, to wrong addresses.

Then she saw where the summons was originally sent to, LaShonda Pope’s address in Abbeville, Louisiana even though Mouton had been living in the state of Texas since 2022. She gathered the information from the courthouse, and went to an attorney.

In a voice recording shared with local news in Louisiana, the imposter told Mouton:

“You have been divorced, it’s public record. Guess what you see that ring, guess what I’m about to be married to him next. So you can get ready. I’ll get you an invitation.”

According to the state of Louisiana, Mouton and her husband Francis are still married. St. Martin Parish considers the divorce decree to be fraudulent. The police have been involved. The imposter has had an arraignment at the Vermilion Parish courthouse, and is being charged with first-degree injuring public records. She has pled not guilty.

The KLFY article is here.

Paternity and Celebrity

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

Paternity meets celebrity after rocker, Dave Grohl, announces he is welcoming a child, but his wife of 21 years is not the mother. Dave is rumored to have already retained a divorce lawyer. Besides the couple’s raw emotions, what are some of the family law issues involved when a spouse has a child outside of the marriage?

Celebrity Paternity

I have a confession to make

Dave Grohl was the drummer for grunge band Nirvana, and is the founder, lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter of the Foo Fighters. Dave is recognized as the father of rock ’n roll these days: he’s talented, family-oriented, and beloved by fans, musicians and divorce attorneys alike. His nickname is “the nicest dude in rock.”

Dave and his wife Jordyn Blum met in 2001 when she was working as a producer at MTV. They married in 2003. They share three kids. His previous marriage ended in 1997. This week Dave’s reputation may have taken a hit after he announced in a post that he was having a child outside his marriage:

“I’ve recently become the father of a new baby daughter, born outside of my marriage. I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her. I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness. We’re grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together.”

The decision by Dave to make a pre-emptive announcement may well have been an attempt to control the narrative, something that crisis communications experts say is savvy. But there are also important family law issues when you have an extra-marital relationship which results in the birth of a child.

Florida Paternity Law

I have written about Florida family law matters, such as paternity, before. When a child is born during a marriage, the legal duty to support that child presumptively rests with the married couple. This presumption protects the welfare of the child. In Dave’s case, it is unclear if the natural mother of Dave’s child is married to another man.

Florida has specific laws relating to children born out of wedlock. Right now, Dave would be considered a “putative father”, meaning someone who may be the biological father of a child, whose paternity has not been established, and the child’s mother was unmarried when the child was conceived and born.

Generally, the parents of a child born out of wedlock, after paternity is established, are the natural guardians of the child, and are entitled and subject to the rights and responsibilities of parents.

But until the father has established paternity under Florida law, the mother of a child born out of wedlock is the natural guardian of the child. Before a court determines paternity, the mother is entitled to primary residential care and custody of the child unless the court enters an order stating otherwise.

Monkey wrench

The announcement was met with different reactions. Some fans took it as a personal affront. Mockery and memes of a sad-looking Ben Affleck also proliferated online, even as Dave pleaded for “consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together.”

The level of upset by fans speaks to Dave’s place in the music world, where he has reached high levels of adoration and respect. He is one of just a small group of musicians enshrined into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with two bands.

But Dave is not the only celebrity to have paternity issues. He joins a list that includes Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bob Marley, and Eric Clapton. While Dave’s celebrity paternity announcement may have gotten ahead of the news, it also left several unanswered legal questions.

The Newsweek article is here.

Divorce after Death in Japan and Florida

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

While rocky marriages in Florida may end in divorce, in Japan, there is a growing trend for couples to divorce after the death of one of the spouses. Many Florida divorce and family lawyers may not be aware of this Japanese concept of a posthumous divorce. Why is divorce after death growing in popularity in Japan and who is behind it?

Divorce After Death

Lost in Japan

Cases of divorce after death have been skyrocketing in Japan, more than doubling in just a decade. Studies have shown that women are overwhelmingly the ones filing to divorce their husband’s families after death. The reason comes down to cultural expectations toward wives in Japan.

The notion of a meddlesome in-law is a classic in western culture. But in Japan, they have an official process for severing one’s ties with a deceased spouse’s family called 死後離婚 (shigo rikon) in Japanese.

A shigo rikon is not a situation in which a spouse dies during the pendency of an ongoing divorce proceeding. A Japanese shigo rikon – is very different from your basic 離婚 (rikon, “divorce”). A rikon divorce can only be obtained while both spouses are still alive. This allows the surviving partner to inherit the deceased’s legacy and pension.

The technical term for a shigo rikon is “notification of marital relationship termination”, which means one is officially severing ties with the family of a deceased spouse. There are cases where a first-born might specifically leave their inheritance to their spouse in their will, at which time the person seeking the posthumous divorce would have to arrange a successor in the late spouse’s family first.

Even if a spouse is living with the in-laws at the time of the death, they would no longer have a legal obligation to take care of them. It becomes more of an ethical situation whether or not to continue doing so.

Florida Death and Divorce

I have written about divorce and Japan before. There is no similar process for a shigo rikon in Florida. It is the law in Florida that a marriage, being a purely personal relationship, is automatically terminated by the death of either spouse. The reason is simple: a dissolution of marriage action is a purely a personal action, so it cannot survive the death of either person in the marriage.

But, while a Florida divorce court loses jurisdiction if one of the spouses dies, if a final judgment of dissolution has been entered before the death of a spouse, the family court could keep its jurisdiction to determine property rights after the spouse’s death.

If you are involved in a divorce action, it is important to consider your estate planning documents and speak to a specialist in that area of law. While Florida does not prohibit you from amending your will or trust or changing beneficiary designations, some Florida jurisdictions have temporary standing orders impacting amendments to estate documents.

Big in Japan

A shigo rikon has no effect on your legal relationship with your deceased spouse. So, you can still keep your spouse’s surname and are still eligible for all inheritances, pensions, and insurance policies as they were before the posthumous divorce.

According to data from Japan’s Ministry of Justice, the number of posthumous divorces averages around 4,000 per year. Many of these cases use the divorce as a tool when spouses are dragged into inheritance disputes or other problems by order of the deceased’s will.

A shigo rikon shouldn’t be taken lightly though. It may not only impact relationships with in-laws, but could potentially impact relations between children and other relatives. Removing the responsibility for memorial services and grave upkeep may make it more difficult for a widow to participate in those services or visit his grave. And once the documents are filed, the process cannot be undone.

Despite those risks, shigo rikons are viewed as empowering for Japanese women, and an increase in the use of the process may demonstrate a change in family values and mindset in Japan.

The Sora News 24 article is here.