Driving these days can be very challenging. In addition, technological advances provide their own distractions, leaving drivers trying to split their attention between the road and the gadgets. Many experts believe that driving while texting, or “intextication”, is worse than driving drunk. In fact, studies show that 97.5% of people cannot drive safely while using cell phones. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that roughly 16 people are killed every day in auto accidents involving a distracted driver, with over 1,300 more injured. In 2008, almost 6,000 people were killed and a half million more were injured by distracted drivers. It was a surprise to me to read a study this month that showed the American teenagers on average send 115 text messages per day. It is no wonder that authorities claim that the significant increases in texting volumes have resulted in thousands of additional road fatalities in the United States!… View Full Article → ““Intextication”…The Dangers of Texting and Driving!”
10 Tips to Ruin Your Divorce Case and Waste as Much Money as Possible!
Attorney Diana Mercer sent me these tips in her newsletter on January 19, 2011. Her points are excellent and certainly worth repeating. They really made me chuckle because they are spot on! I have also had an opportunity to read the recent book she co-authored with Kate Jane Wennechuk titled Making Divorce Work: 8 Essential Keys in Resolving Conflicts and Rebuilding your Life, available on Amazon. It is excellent! I whole-heartedly recommend it! To learn more about the book, please take a look at the video about it which I have attached at the end of the article. Thanks Diana for your attempts to bring sanity to the chaos of divorce…
Tip # 1
Organize nothing. Either bring none of your financial records or requested documents to your attorney’s office or court hearing, or bring all your financial records in a paper sack overflowing with miscellaneous papers.
Take no responsibility for any aspect of your case.… View Full Article → “10 Tips to Ruin Your Divorce Case and Waste as Much Money as Possible!”
Erma’s House – Dayton’s Supervised Family Visitation Center
On December 13, 2010, I had the opportunity to visit and tour Erma’s House, a Family Visitation Center, located at 1046 Brown Street, Dayton, Ohio. I had the privilege to meet with Peggy Seboldt, Director of Erma’s House, and Shannon Wahrhaftig, Co-Program Coordinator. During the meeting and tour of the facility, it was so very apparent to me that both employees are totally dedicated to the mission of the Visitation Center and that both are committed to their work at the Center.
History:
Erma’s House opened its doors in 1997 and has been providing visitation services to the community for nearly fourteen (14) years. The Visitation Center’s name is in memory and recognition of Erma Bombeck, a native of Dayton, Ohio, and a well-known, respected, and prolific writer of family-oriented books, magazine articles, and columns. Funding for the Center is dependent upon the Montgomery County Human Services Levy. Additional funds are obtained from the annual Pat Rupp Golf Tournament and various charitable contributions.… View Full Article → “Erma’s House – Dayton’s Supervised Family Visitation Center”
Marriage Works! Ohio – Perhaps It’s Just What You Need!
“Wait a minute! Did I read that right? Marriage ‘building’ advice and links to what sounds like a marriage ‘strengthening’ organization on a Divorce Attorney’s website…what’s up with that?” Those thoughts and questions may have run through your mind as you have explored our law firm’s blog and website, but you read correctly. The desire to help strengthen marriages and prevent divorce, if at all possible, may be unusual in our industry, but saving marriages and strengthening families is good for society! To that end, our website, as well as our Ohio Family Law Blog, provides people with links to pro-family organizations like Marriage Works! Ohio, an organization whose mission is helping couples strengthen their relationships.
We have teamed up with Marriage Works! Ohio since 2009 when they agreed to write monthly “Relationship Builder Tips” for our Ohio Family Law Blog. Those tips have been very well received and are an integral part of the blog.… View Full Article → “Marriage Works! Ohio – Perhaps It’s Just What You Need!”
Bringing Laughter Back Into Your Life
Joel Goodman of the Humor Project in Saratoga Springs, New York, says, “Humor is what lubricates life.” Humor can help you deal with all the stressors in your life. Humor cannot erase the situation, but it can take the sting out of many things, thus reducing their negative impact. In order for humor to be curative in your life, you need to find your own laugh button. Remember, divorce is one part of your life, don’t make it your whole life!
Jennie remarked recently how surprised she was that she could still feel joy taking a walk on a beautiful autumn morning, even though she felt devastated by her divorce. Nurture those feelings of joy, laughter, and wonder. Laughter is not just a luxury; it is a vital piece in the healing process. It is especially important during times of stress. It provides our body, heart, and mind with a welcome and necessary reprieve.… View Full Article → “Bringing Laughter Back Into Your Life”
BREAKING NEWS: Secretary of Defense Gates Changes Position to Protect Custodial Parents Deployed Overseas!
On February 6, 2010, I posted an article entitled, “They Fight for America and Upon Return Must Fight for Their Children”. The article addressed the issue of active duty servicemen and servicewomen returning from overseas assignments, often in the Middle East, to find that their former spouses were using the overseas military assignment as a “substantial change in circumstances” to obtain a change in custody of their minor children. At the time of that posting, Michael R. Turner, R-Ohio, was trying to persuade Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, to agree that active duty military parents should receive child custody protection while they were deployed out of the country. The Department of the Defense had opposed this protection and Turner’s proposed legislation.
On February 11, 2011, Secretary of Defense Gates responded to Representative Michael Turner in a brief letter which said that his Department “was/are willing to consider whether appropriate legislation can be crafted that provides Service members with a federal uniform standard of protection in cases where it is established that military service is the sole factor involved in a child custody decision involving a Service member.” … View Full Article → “BREAKING NEWS: Secretary of Defense Gates Changes Position to Protect Custodial Parents Deployed Overseas!”
The Benefits of Four Way Settlement Conferences
The topic for this Family Blog Article is one that is I like to use and one that I highly recommend to clients and to other practitioners. A four (4) way settlement conference is a meeting or conference attended by both parties (Husband and Wife) and their respective attorneys. The meeting generally takes place at one of the attorney’s offices but it could be held at an absolutely neutral location such as the Bar Association, a local library, or a church having meeting rooms available for the public. The meetings can take place during normal business hours but can also be held during evening or weekend hours as no one from the Court needs to be present and no one from the Court needs to oversee or supervise the conference. Therefore, the scheduling of settlement conferences can be done to accommodate each of the parties’ schedules and their respective attorneys’ schedules.… View Full Article → “The Benefits of Four Way Settlement Conferences”