Tony Danza’s Divorce Filing Timing Means No Custody Battle

Tony Danza has filed for divorce from his estranged wife, Tracy, after 24 years of marriage, reported TMZ.  Although they have been separated since 2006, the ‘Who’s the Boss’ and ‘Taxi’ alum cited irreconcilable differences for ending the marriage.

The couple has two daughters, Katherine, 23, and Emily, 17, which means Danza waited just long enough to file so that he does not have to pay child support or deal with a custody battle. Even on the March 4 2011-filed court papers he checked “there are no minor children.”

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Larry King Files for 8th Divorce with Contested Issues

Talk show host Larry King is divorcing 7th wife Shawn Southwick King, who cites irreconcilable differences in her April 14 filed divorce papers, part of which can be viewed at TMZ.  Papers for Larry, who filed a few minutes before Shawn, can also be downloaded at TMZ. The couple, who married in 1997, have contested issues. 

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When Kid’s Religion is Divorce Issue

When interfaith parents divorce, religion of the children can often become a contested issue, even if during the marriage they had agreed on how to raise the children.

The issue can be further complicated when one parent converted to the religion of the other spouse before or during the marriage, but then wants to revert back to a previous religion after the marriage—and convert the children as well.

How courts handle the issue, if it is brought before them, can be a delicate balance of separation of church and state while respecting each person’s right to freedom of religion.

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Mom Jailed for Letting Son Use Step-Dad’s Last Name

A mother must spend 10 days in jail for signing her son up for a baseball league using his stepfather’s last name instead of that of his biological dad, the Alabama Court of Appeals ruled.

Lisa Preston was required to have her son use the last name of her former husband, Matthew Saab, when playing sports, according to the parties 2005 divorce decree, but in 2008 she did not use the Saab last name when she registered the 13-year-old.  She claimed it was the boy’s choice. But as we all know, children can be influenced.

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Mom Can Keep Kids in U.S. Although Dad Left Country

A divorced mother won a battle that allows her to keep her children in Missouri after her ex-husband moved from the Show-Me state to Israel, ruled the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Tamar Barzilay says in the court documents that when she took their children on a vacation to Israel in summer 2006, her ex, Sagi, who had moved to Israel six months prior, under a year after their January 2005 divorce, forced her to sign documents agreeing to move permanently with the children to Israel by August 2009.  She signed, but said she never had any intention of complying.

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Divorced Woman Who Lost Frozen Embryo Fight Has Options

A 10-year legal battle over a divorced woman’s request to be implanted with the embryos she and her ex-husband had frozen and stored might not be over given a recent ruling from the 8th Circuit federal appeals court that says it lacked jurisdiction to hear her claim against the medical center that will not release the embryos to her. She does, however, have other options available to her without having to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Should Divorced Parents Always Get Equal Time?

A new bill under consideration by the Tennessee State Legislature would evenly split parenting time between divorcing parents with exceptions only being made when one parent can prove the other is completely unfit, or the parents otherwise agree to their own parenting-time schedule.

It must be noted that many other articles on the ‘net refer to “custody” vs “parenting time.”  These phrases are not interchangeable.  The bill before the Tennessee legislature is about equal parenting time, not joint legal custody.  Yes there is a big difference.

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Divorcing dad drops 4-year-old daughter off bridge; she dies

Sometimes settling a case can actually be unsettling. A Melbourne, Australia man involved in a custody battle faces murder charges for allegedly dropping his 4-year-old daughter off a bridge apparently a day after he and the mother of his three children reached a settlement to share custody. No doubt the mom will be back in Court and will obtain custody of the other two children. Police say the dad is, “psychologically unfit.” Duh.

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