Tag: Relocations Move-away

When Parent Relocation is Murder

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Parent relocations are stressful, but can they lead to murder? Years after a contentious Tallahassee divorce, the trial of the murderers of FSU law professor Dan Markel is underway. Many suspect he was murdered for contesting parent relocation.

Parental Relcation Murder

In Cold Blood

More than five years after his horrific murder, and after numerous delays and postponements, the trial of two of the alleged murderers of law professor Dan Markel got underway in Tallahassee this week.

Professor Markel was gunned down in his driveway after sending off his children for the final time. The trial of two of the alleged perpetrators, Sigfredo Garcia, one of the alleged gunmen, and Katherine Magbanua, the alleged go-between who set up the murder, began this week.

A third man formally accused in the plot — Luis Rivera — says he joined Garcia on the hit and agreed to split $100K with the other two. Rivera already took a plea and will be the star witness.

Unfortunately, Rivera can’t give police the one thing they don’t have: a case against the people who offered up the $100,000 payment he says the crew were promised. Police believe it’s the family of Markel’s ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, who now has custody of the couple’s children and has kept them cut off from their paternal grandparents.

Adelson divorced Markel by moving out of the house and leaving divorce papers on the bed while Markel was on a business trip. After Markel was killed, Adelson told police that her brother joked about hiring a hit man to kill him and she tearfully admitted that she suspected this was done on her behalf.

Miami area Defendant Katherine Magbanua is the ex-girlfriend of Wendi Adelson’s brother, Charlie Adelson, who is also from the Miami area, who may be an unindicted co-conspirator.

Florida Parent Relocation

I’ve written about Professor Dan Markel’s case before. Parent relocations with children during a divorce happens frequently in our mobile society.

In Florida, “relocation” is defined as changing a parent’s principal residence to a new one at least 50 miles away from his or her current address for at least 60 consecutive days. Relocation is a topic that I have lectured and written on before.

Florida has a relocation statute, which in addition to defining relocations, sets out the requirements a parent needs to fill to legally relocate by agreement or court order.

The relocation statute is very technical, and lays out very specific factors a relocation parent must prove, and the court must consider to determine if the proposed relocation is in the best interests of the child.

There is no presumption in favor of or against a request to relocate with the child even though the move will materially affect the current schedule of contact, access, and time-sharing with the nonrelocating parent.

Instead, the court looks at specific factors, such as: the child’s relationship with the relocating parent and with the non-relocating parent, the age and needs of the child, the ability to preserve the relationship with the non-relocating parent; and the child’s preference, among others.

Of course, if one of the parents dies during the divorce proceedings, that would likely cause the divorce, and related issues of parent relocation with the children, to be dismissed.

Murder She Wrote

The divergent theories of Professor Markel’s killing surfaced as attorneys laid out their cases and testimony finally began in the trial of a Miami couple charged in the alleged murder-for-hire plot.

Defense attorneys for Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua sought to distance their clients from prosecutors’ theory that the pair carried out the grisly end of a scheme financed by the family of Markel’s ex-wife Wendi Adelson. Investigators say the motive “stemmed from the desperate desire of the Adelson family” that Wendi and the couple’s two young sons be allowed to move to South Florida in the fallout of a contentious divorce with Markel.

Magbanua is the accused conduit between the Adelsons and the killers, Garcia and his friend Luis Rivera. Prosecutors say they drove from Miami to Tallahassee to shoot Markel in July 2014. The pivotal question is why the Adelson family is not facing charges, Kawass told jurors during her 30-minute opening. She asked them to follow the evidence, which prosecutors will present piecemeal.

“There is no direct evidence (Magbanua) was involved. Zero. And that’s because she wasn’t involved. She had absolutely nothing to do with this case,” she said. “The government made it very clear who is behind the killing of Dan Markel. Why aren’t the Adelsons here? Why aren’t they charged? Because they don’t have the evidence to do it.”

Details of the Tallahassee Police Department probable cause affidavit released the morning of June 2, 2016 reveal the route taken by murder suspect, Sigfredo Garcia.

Before the two defense attorneys made their case, prosecutor Georgia Cappleman traced the murder-for-hire allegations.

“Wendi Adelson had a problem and the name of that problem was Dan Markel. And the solution to that problem was Sigfredo Garcia, Katherine Magbanua and Luis Rivera. I believe that you will be convinced the state is not pulling a fast one on you but rather that Katherine Magbanua was hired to solicit Garcia to in turn solicit Rivera to come to Tallahassee and execute Mr. Markel in cold blood.”

Garcia’s attorney began his opening statements by pointing out that the third man charged, Luis Rivera, only received a seven-year sentence for his confession. But the statements to investigators by the state’s key witness were rife with inconsistencies, he told the jury.

The Tallahassee Democrat article is here.

 

Relocations

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently overturned a decades-old law, and set a new standard, in the best interest of children in relocation disputes. Relocation disputes arise when one of the parents wants to move away with the child after divorce or separation.

The court ruling Tuesday affects cases in which parents have divorced and one wants to leave New Jersey with a child against the wishes of the other parent.

The old law focused on whether the move would “cause harm” to the child. With the court ruling, divorced parents now must prove the move is in the child’s best interest.

Florida Divorce Relocation

In Florida, “relocation” is defined as changing a parent’s principal residence to a new one at least 50 miles away from his or her current address for at least 60 consecutive days. Relocation is a topic that I have lectured and written on before.

Florida has a relocation statute, which in addition to defining relocations, sets out the requirements a parent needs to fill to legally relocate by agreement or court order.

The relocation statute is very technical, and lays out very specific factors a relocation parent must prove, and the court must consider to determine if the proposed relocation is in the best interests of the child.

There is no presumption in favor of or against a request to relocate with the child even though the move will materially affect the current schedule of contact, access, and time-sharing with the nonrelocating parent.

Instead, the court looks at specific factors, such as: the child’s relationship with the relocating parent and with the non-relocating parent, the age and needs of the child, the ability to preserve the relationship with the non-relocating parent; and the child’s preference, among others.

New Jersey Supreme Court Case

The recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision stems from a 2015 case in which a father tried to keep his daughters from moving to Utah with his ex-wife after the divorce.

Jamie Taormina Bisbing, the primary custodian of her twin daughters, planned to move with them to Utah after getting remarried.

Her divorce settlement required she get written consent from her ex-husband, Glenn, before moving. Glenn Bisbing argued that his daughters should remain in New Jersey.

A trial court permitted the girls and their mother to move to Utah, but an appellate court later reversed that decision, saying the “best interests of the child standard” should be applied.

Matheu Nunn, the father’s attorney, said the state Supreme Court ruling resolves the issue of why the “best interest” standard was applied to all other custody rulings except for cases where a parent is separated from a child.

The New Jersey Supreme Court changes the burden of proof in New Jersey from the old standard in which there was a presumption that children were happiest when their custodial parent was the happiest.

The new standard brings New Jersey law into line with Florida, which puts the burden of proof on the parent who wants to relocate and it reflects a growing trend in New Jersey to consider the rights of both parents.

The US News article is here.

 

Speaking Tonight on Parental Relocations with Children

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By The Law Offices of Ronald H. Kauffman of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Relocation on Tuesday, February 10, 2015.

I will be speaking on a panel at the First Family Law American Inns of Court on the topic of Relocations. The topic addresses Florida’s relocation statute, expert evidence, the international aspects of relocations, and a view from a sitting circuit judge.

take off

Florida’s Relocation Statute is Highly Technical

I’ve written about relocations before. The relocation statute, unlike much of family law, is highly technical. It involves fast deadlines, mandatory language, detailed service of pleading rules, font size requirements, detailed pleadings, and the list goes on.

Judges report that people frequently overlook key provisions of the statute, and children are losing in relocation cases because these strict pleading requirements and deadlines are not being met.

Florida’s Relocation Statute has an Intricate Analysis

There is no presumption in Florida anymore on whether you can move away with your child more than 50 miles from your principal residence.

Instead, courts evaluate 10-detailed and objective factors, and one catch-all factor. These factors cross over between legal standards developed over many decades litigation.

Relocations with Children Involves Risk

There is always a risk of harm associated with relocations. Your child could face difficulties in adjusting to a new environment, or have developmental needs which are impacted. Or, they simply are baseball fanatics and a move to a country without a baseball league could be devastating.

International Relocation

Moving away with a child to a foreign country raises other concerns, in addition to the in-state or in-country relocation. For instance, what are the new country’s cultural differences? Language and religious barriers could be an issue. Enforcing American orders in foreign countries is another big concern. The distance from the United States is also a big concern.

Inns of Court is an association of lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals who share a passion for professional excellence.

Relocations: Domestic & International

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By The Law Offices of Ronald H. Kauffman of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Relocation on Thursday, December 24, 2015.

A Mother needs to move away with her child. Do courts apply a different standard if the mother’s relocation is to a different country? A British court just answered that question.

In London, the Court of Appeal handed down an important judgment which makes it clear that there is no reason to differentiate between cases of domestic child relocation and international relocations.

Her Majesty’s Court of Appeal in England, commonly known as the Court of Appeal, is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it.

In the recent case, the Court of Appeal had to consider the proper standards to be applied in cases involving a child relocating within Britain, as opposed to another country.

In the case, the mother wished to move from London to Cumbria, taking her 10-year old daughter with her. Cumbria is about a five hour drive from London, so the move would have a big impact.

The father, who has always had a considerable involvement, opposed the relocation. The CAFCASS officer (sort of a social investigator) assigned to the case recommended against relocation.

The trial court granted relocation, placing a lot of emphasis on the 10-year old’s preference. The court ordered timesharing with the father on alternate weekends between Cumbria and London, plus daily contact by phone, and holidays were divided equally.

Domestic relocation cases and international relocation cases have historically been kept separate in Britain, and the courts approach them differently.

In this case, the court held that the same welfare principles dictate the same result in internal relocation cases as it does in international relocation cases.

In the appeal, one parent argued that should not be the binding legal principle, but the best interests of the child should, irrespective of whether the relocation is internal or external.

Although the problems may be worse in cases of external relocation, serious disruption can be caused to established arrangements in situations of moves within the UK.

I’ve written about relocation many times. Florida’s relocation laws are slightly different. Florida has a multi-factor test the court considers to determine the best interest of the child.

There is no longer a legal presumption in favor or against relocations. Instead, Florida courts have to evaluate several factors such as:

The age of the child

The child’s preference

The reasons for moving

History of drug abuse or domestic violence

Whether they are domestic or international, relocation cases are very emotional, fact intensive, require a lot of work, and are very high stakes.

The court decision In Re C is available here.