Spurred by the outcry from foreign parents separated from their children due to divorce 32 countries have been imploring Japan to join the treaty for some time. Included among these countries are the United States, Britain, and France. Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives turned up the pressure on Japan by voting overwhelmingly for a nonbinding resolution that “condemns the abduction and retention” of children held in Japan “in violation of their human rights and United States and international law.”

Currently, Japanese law allows for only one parent to have custody of the children in divorce cases and that is nearly always the mother. This keeps some foreign fathers from seeing their children until they are grown. Activists of Japan joining the treaty say that this system has been positioned against fathers and foreigners for too long. The treaty will also protect custody decisions and ensure that the rights of access of both parents are protected.

The issue of Japan joining The Hague Convention is nothing new. It gained attention in 2009, when American Christopher Savoie was arrested in Japan after his Japanese ex-wife accused him of abducting their two children as they walked to school. His ex-wife Noriko Savoie had violated a U.S. court custody decision by kidnapping the children from Savoie, the primary residential parent, to live with her in Japan. The case against the father was eventually dropped in Japan.The Tennessean Paper has released an update, now two years later, on what has been done for Chris to bring his two children home. Click here to view the full article.

Christopher Savoie’s ex-wife has been ordered to pay the alienated father$6.1 million for damages. Obviously the father says that no money in the world can replace his close relationship with his children, but believes this recent judgment may open a door for his kids to be returned to him. His attorney, Joseph A. Woodruff said that while Japan won’t enforce U.S. judgments that pertain to custody or otherwise order Japanese citizens to “do the right thing,” they will enforce money judgments. “They will enforce orders that assess damages for breach of contract and civil wrongs,” Woodruff said. “This is a tool we’re going to try to use to convince Noriko Savoie she needs to do the right thing.”

While there are a number of other concerns surrounding the issue, such as how incidents of domestic abuse within the family will be handled with regards to custody, Japan seems to be poised to make strides toward promoting equal rights for both parents.

Jeffrey Feulner and the Men’s Divorce Law Firm believe that both parents should have equal opportunities within the law to see their children. If you’re concerned about your current custody arrangement contact us today to see how we can help defend your rights as a father.

The Court has ordered a strict visitation schedule between Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller. Frequent drug and alcohol tests are required of both parents.

Charlie Sheen and ex-wife Brooke Mueller have come to terms in their custody dispute over Bob and Max, their 2-year-old twin sons, with a strict, step-by-step plan.  Click here to read the full article by Us Magazine.

Court documents recently filed in Los Angeles Superior Court (unearthed by TMZ) detail how the former couple — Sheen assaulted her on Christmas Day in 2009, and they’ve both battled drug and alcohol addictions — will share their little boys.

For the first two months, Sheen, 45, gets the boys every other weekend from Saturday morning until Sunday evening. In the next two months after that, Sheen will have his boys every other weekend from Saturday morning through Monday morning. After that? As long as Sheen Mueller stay drug-and-alcohol free, the former Two and a Half Men star gets the twins every other weekend Saturday through Monday morning, plus Wednesday morning through Thursday morning.

Both Sheen and Mueller must submit to random drug testing three times monthly. Both mom and dad are required to have nannies with them at all time in the presence of their kids.

Charlie’s famous “goddesses” are even included in the terms: They’re not allowed to show any public displays of affection toward the twins. In addition, neither Sheen nor Mueller are allowed to be photographed with the boys while with a romantic partner.

Can’t get enough of the latest Charlie Sheen news?

Charlie Sheen – the highest-paid television actor before being fired from the CBS hit show, Two and a Half Men– has been blasted all over the news due to his bizarre spree of outrageous television interviews, nonsensical webcasts and threatening tweets.

Charlie’s twitter account, opened March 1st, has amassed over 2.3 million followers.  Sign up today and you will be treated to messages such as:

• “101 and on the black. 50 cops in my home. they all left. I’m still here. WINNING? 24/7 c”
• “the global inferno that is me, is now as molten and focused as my afterburners.”
• “Torpedo away… You corporate Trolls were warned. And now you’ve been served! c”

 Alec Baldwin had some advice and a warning for fellow actor Charlie Sheen. In a column for The Huffington Post March 13, 2011, Baldwin — like Sheen a star who has faced a bit of controversy — told Sheen, “You can’t win. You can’t.” Sheen, he said, should “Take a nap. Get a shower. Call Chuck [Lorre, the show producer]. Go on Letterman and make an apology. Write a huge check to the B’Nai Brith. And then beg for your job back. Your fans demand it.”  Visit ABC News for full article and pictures.

The lastest news to hit the press is Sheen’s recent tour of insanity – officially known as “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/ Defeat Is Not an Option Tour“ –  not going so well at their first stop in Detroit. 

As Entertainment Weekly reported, the show began with “a crowd that greeted the actor with an adoring standing ovation and concluded with booing and walk-outs. The padded and disjointed show was a hodgepodge of video clips and Sheen-isms that felt hastily assembled and misjudged the patience of even the hardest of hardcore fans.”

Celebrities know how to make a presence and cause a stir inside the courtroom, as well as outside.  Click here to view the top 11 Celebrity Family Feuds.

Attorney Jeffrey Feulner and the Men’s Divorce Law Firm firmly believe in making all family law suits as quick and painless as possible.  There are so many emotions and stresses present when going through a divorce, paternity action or modification.  Contact us today should you need personal and professional support through times that are highly emotional, but require calm and reasoned decision-making.

A Chicago court has granted Dwyane Wade the sole ‘care, custody and control’ of his two sons with ex-wife, Siohvaughn Wade whom he separated in August 2007 but was only officially divorced in June 2010.  

The court granted Wade the sole custody last Friday explaining its decision in a 102—page ruling in which the tone of words according to the Associated Press was a ‘sharp’ attack to wade’s estranged wife.  Read more….

Fathers & Families report:  After two years of rancorous court battles, the Miami Heat star has been named primary custodian of his two sons.  It orders that Wade will have primary custody of the two boys and his ex-wife, Siohvaughn will have visitation every other weekend and various times throughout the year.  Calling the decision a “huge weight off my back,” the Miami guard added,

“My life changed in a huge way,” Wade told the AP. “Mentally, I’ve been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it’s bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids’ lives sometimes. You fight until you can’t fight any more. That’s all I was trying to be, a father in my kids’ lives.” 

Those words sound a lot like what we often hear dads say about their kids and their desire to be part of their lives post-divorce.  But of course the ending of most custody cases is different from Wade’s.  That’s in part because of Wade himself who, throughout the case, has seemed to me to be a thoroughly decent man.  Among other things, he’s often said that he wants his sons to have a healthy relationship with their mother.

But again, a lot of dads are decent men who promote their kids’ relationships with their mother.  So few of them get custody, though.

Perhaps the main difference is the behavior and claims of Siohvaughn Wade that have been both extreme and inaccurate to the point of defamation.  That in fact is what Dwyane Wade sued her for when she claimed he transmitted to her an STD.  That turned out to be false and she withdrew the claim in the face of his lawsuit.

Far worse has been her behavior with their children about which Judge Renee Goldfarb wrote,

“This court finds that [Siohvaughn Wade] has embarked on an unstoppable and relentless pattern of conduct for over two years to alienate the children from their father, and lacks either the ability or the willingness to facilitate, let alone encourage, a close and continuing relationship between them.”

Doubtless the crowd that wants us to believe that every attempt by a father to demonstrate in court his wife’s alienating behavior is just an abuser seeking to prolong his abuse, can explain how Dwyane Wade fits that mold.  Or maybe they’ll just try to ignore this high-profile case and hope the rest of us won’t notice.

One of the truly bizarre sidelights of the case was Siohvaughn’s claim that Dwyane didn’t really want a relationship with the boys because he didn’t work in Chicago where they were living. 

Exactly what her ex-husband’s profession is must somehow have escaped her notice as did the fact that the Chicago Bulls have never offered Wade a job.  Playing in the NBA isn’t like working for IBM where you can just request a transfer.  The claim looks like a sure indication of a litigant with a lousy case grasping at straws.

Whatever the case, I wish Wade the best of luck in his new role as primary custodian of his sons.  From where I sit, they’ll have a fine role model to emulate even if they can’t match his skills on the court and for all I know, maybe they can.

And let’s all hope that Siohvaughn Wade mends her ways.  Let’s hope she understands that the war is over and she lost.  Let’s hope that realization will spur her to start putting the children first and encouraging their relationship with their father.  For what it’s worth to her, if she does that, she’ll put herself in position to have increased time with them later.

Managing Attorney, Jeffrey Feulner, and the Men’s Divorce Law Firm applaud a victory of this magnitude and we praise the Illinois judge for considering the facts and acts of parental alienation committed by their mother.  If you or someone you know is in need of an attorney who will aggressively fight for Fathers, Families, Fairness - contact us today for a complimentary pre-screening interview and assessment of your case.

Missed our last blog on this issue?  To learn more about how Wade’s divorce was finalized and all child-related issues were put on hold, click here to visit our blog: “Dwyane Wade ‘Relieved’ Now That Divorce is Finalized.”

One entity that has not punished or depersonalized Woods, however, is the United States law. As a loving parent of two children, Woods retains the natural rights of a father and will share legal custody of the children. Nordegren will maintain physical custody of the children with Woods being allowed flexible visitation rights, accommodating his schedule as a professional athlete. Woods is able to re-negotiate these terms in five years.

Both Woods and Nordegren were required to take a parenting course, which they respectively completed in July and August of this year. They issued the following joint statement highlighting the importance of their children’s well-being:

“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future. While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us. Once we came to the decision that our marriage was at an end, the primary focus of our amicable discussions has been to ensure their future well-being. The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”

Although it was rumored that Nordegren was looking at a $750 million divorce settlement, the finalized divorce left the Swedish model with $100 million as well as an agreement for monthly child support. At Nordegren’s request, Woods is not allowed to expose their children to any female companions outside of the family “unless he is married to said person.”

Fortunate for Woods, Nordegren finally agreed to sign Woods’ Lifetime Confidentially Clause, which prohibits her from ever publicly speaking about anything relating to her relationship with Woods.

Fathers, Families, Fairness.

In 2003, Fathers and Families publicized a story of a San Diego-based US Navy Seal who was quickly deployed after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  While overseas fighting for his country, the military father had his minor child relocated from California to the Middle East by the mother against his will and without his consent.  He opened up to Glenn Sacks and painfully admitted, “Sometimes I wonder what I risked my life [in Afghanistan] for. I went to fight for freedom but what freedom and what rights mean anything if a man doesn’t have the right to be a father to his own child?”  To read the full story of this brave military father, click here.

Like this Navy Seal, many military servicemembers are not able to have a voice in the courtroom as they fight thousands of miles away for their country.  In the past, the primary residential parent of the parties’ child could relocate to another state or country and change the child’s residency without the consent of the other parent.  They could enter a courtroom and file for divorce immediately after the deployment of the soldier; making him not part of the decision process and dictating a visitation schedule upon his return.  Father/child bonds were lost due to extreme absence and lack of contact; letters to children never delivered and phone calls from overseas never answered.  In an effort to make the family law system more balanced for both parties, supporters and advocates of equal rights have joined their voices together and we now have begun to see the fruits of their labor.

According to Florida’s recent legislation concerning temporary and concurrent custody of a child, effective July 1, 2010, military fathers can rest easier knowing that the bill states:

• Parents assigned to military service on orders may designate a person to exercise time-sharing on that parent’s behalf.
• Parents assigned to military service may petition for expedited hearings.
• Requires non-military parent to cooperate to resolve issues and share information regarding the child.
• Protects military parents that object to custody modifications and allows them to state their objection formally, prior to any final order being awarded.
• States that any order granting concurrent custody does not affect ability of the other parent to obtain physical custody of child at any time.

To read the general bill and/or receive additional information, please visit MyFloridaHouse.gov.

To see the original article posted by Fathers and Families, please click here.

Military separations and divorces must be handled by competent attorneys that are equipped to handle the complex, time-sensitive and unique issues that arise in servicemen’s domestic dissolutions. As such, it is vital that you select a law firm with military-related family law experience to represent your best interest.  

The Men’s Divorce Law Firm proudly represents Husbands and Fathers that are both active-duty and retired military. 

Fathers, Families, Fairness.

To buy the book from Amazon, click here.

In a strange twist of events, the biological mother (Mike’s now ex-wife) remarried to his daughter’s biological father. Although his daughter was now living with both biological parents, he was still being forced to pay child support. Why would he still be willing to do so? As quoted in the article, “Just because our relationship started because of someone else’s lie,” he said later, “doesn’t mean the bond that developed isn’t real.”

Despite the situation, Mike still loves his daughter more than anything and proves a great example of a father who would do anything for their child.

Click here to read the full article from the New York Times

Baskerville quotes about the book, “Taken Into Custody is the most comprehensive exposé yet published by a major publishing house on the depredations of the divorce industry.  I say this conscious that I am standing on the shoulders of others.  This book was made possible by the pioneering efforts of authors who have preceded me (all of whose work it draws upon): Jed Abraham, Sanford Braver, Warren Farrell, Jeffery Leving, David Levy, Melanie Phillips, Dean Tong, Cathy Young, plus Richard Doyle, Bai Macfarlane, Judy Parejko, Robert Seidenberg, and others (including, most recently, Phyllis Schlafly in the revised paperback edition of her latest book).  Yet because they were breaking ground, most of these writers were either pressured to tone down their language or forced to self-publish.  This is the first book from a major publisher that has been permitted to speak the unvarnished truth about the divorce machinery: its destruction of families, its violations of the Constitution, its disregard for due process of law, its voracious appetite for children, parents, and families.  This is no tirade however but a thoroughly documented study of a previously neglected abuse by a credentialed political scientist.  The result is a major breakthrough in exposing the greatest civil rights abuse of our time and the most repressive government machine ever created in the United States.”

Click here to order the book from Amazon.com.

From a book made mostly of pictures to an hour and a half movie, a lot more story had to be added in order for the film to fill in the extra time. The movie is about a boy, Max, who is dealing with his parents’ divorce by rebelling and acting out. Although the detail and animation is superb, the storyline seems to send the wrong message in that it suggests the children are the ones responsible for moving past their parents’ divorce.

Children going through a divorce can be on a steep emotional edge. It is important for both parents to stay involved to reassure the kids that they are still loved equally and that the divorce is not their fault.

For more information on “Where the Wild Things Are,” click here.

Mark Heller, an attorney for Jon, said his client had repaid the money the octodad had removed from a joint bank account he shared with his soon-to-be ex but Kate had yet to return the $33,000 she had taken from the bank.

“Jon Gosselin has met all of the obligations he was required to make,” Heller said outside a Pennsylvania courthouse today. “The obligations that Kate Gosselin has were not fulfilled. Maybe that explains why she didn’t appear in court today.”

To read the full article click here.

Article by | www.nbcchicago.com