Law 102: Michael Jackson’s kids - not over yet
Today, I read in the paper where Katherine Jackson and Debbie Rowe have come to an understand about Michael Jackson kids. Ms. Jackson will have custody and Ms. Rowe will have visitation. Ms. Rowe’s parental rights are restored. Ms. Rowe will not receive any money beyond what she’s receiving.
They should have added a phrase that says “……..For NOW”.
Now, some of you are probably thinking, “yaaaaay, the kids stay with the Jacksons and Ms. Rowe won’t get any money.”
Again, I say “……. For NOW”.
Now, I’m not an expert but this move may have been a brilliant move on the part of Ms. Rowe:
1) Visitation re-establishes a relationship. The simple fact that may have hurt Ms. Rowe was that she had NO relationship with her children at all. They didn’t know who she was. They didn’t know she was their biological mother. They didn’t visit her. Her ability to demand their custody may have been hampered by these facts (coupled with the alleged fact that she relinquished some of her parental rights). By allowing visitation, she may be able to establish a relationship with the children. Depending on the type of visitation (overnight, extended visits, etc.), she may be able to spend a great deal of time bonding with the children.
2) Agreement revives parental rights. The agreement allegedly revives her parental rights which gives Ms. Rowe the ability to assert an interest in the children as it relates to their well being. As time progresses, the more time she spends with the children, the stronger her position becomes as it relates to asserting her parental rights.
3) Ms. Jackson’s age may be an advantage. I know this is a morbid point but Ms. Katherine Jackson is 79 years old. Hopefully, by the grace of the almighty, Ms. Jackson lives to be 109 years old. With one child being 12 and the other 11, these kids could reach the age of majority (18) by the time Ms. Jackson turns 86. However, with the youngest being, 7 years old, Ms. Jackson may be 90 years old. If everything works perfectly, Ms. Jackson will have the pleasure of watching all 3 children graduate from high school. However, if she passes away before this time, Ms. Rowe may be able to use the time she has had establishing a relationship with her children as an opportunity to modify the custody arrangement.
4) No money now may mean more money later. Recognize one fundamental point - ‘The money follows the kids’!!! If Ms. Jackson passes and Ms. Rowe is awarded custody, she still stands a great likelihood of receiving money on behalf of the children. Now, someone can easily argue that a trustee should handle the money but make no mistake, she can still make a compelling argument that if she gets the kids, she should be able to handle the money.
5) Estates rights v. Parental rights. I know this is prospectively speaking but the simple fact is that if Ms. Jackson passes away over the next years, Ms. Rowe (depending on how often she visits the children) may be able to assert her custody rights. This situation may get tricky if Ms. Jackson inserts a provision in her will regarding the children OR if the estate emphasizes that the children should go to the secondary custodian, Diana Ross. Make no mistake, Ms. Rowe will have a compelling argument that her Parental rights trumps any will that may be in effect at the time of Ms. Jackson’s passing.
6) Best interest of the child. All of these points sound like a very elaborate and integrated chest match. However, at the end of the day, the governing factor will always be “What’s in the best interest of the children”. Whatever course of action, this factor always takes precedence.
Right now, both parties did the smart thing. They didn’t go through a lengthy fist fight which would have been extremely high profile. For Ms. Jackson, she has the ability to ensure that her children maintain a close relationship with the only family they know. Ms. Rowe will develop the relationship she never had with the children. In the end, this looks like a very elaborate and complex chest match with the children being used as pawns. In any legal proceedings, you have to move one piece over and lose a piece before you get a check mate.
Just remember, this situation is far from over.
Law 101: The MICHAEL JACKSON case
I know this sounds blasphemous to all of those die hard and loyal MICHAEL JACKSON fans but I truly believe that Michael Jackson will teach us MORE in death than he did in life.
Now, before you start calling me a devil, set my name on fire and condemn me to the dark depths of the abyss, hear me out.
It is fairly well settled that Michael Jackson was a very private person. His affairs were private and there were a multi-tude of things that attributed to this privacy. Now that he has passed, we are getting access into his life in ways we never imagined possible. Before you spend countless hours rummaging through the tabloid for needless info about the King of Pop, stop for a second and look at all of the legal lessons we can learn from the King of Pop:
1) CONFIDENTIALITY agreements - Most people don’t realize that the reason Michael Jackson was able to keep a great deal of his employees from communicating his private exploits were due to confidentiality agreements. These agreements were probably written in the form of basic contract provisions. (i.e. you provide a service, I’ll pay you this amount). However, when you have the ability to have access to icon like MJ, you are going to have access to information the general public would want to know. As such, these ‘confidentiality agreements’ typically allows for legal remedies if they are broken (i.e. if you talk about something, we will sue). DO you think you have enough money to go against the King of Pop for Breach of Contract?
2) FAMILY LAW - Get ready for the RUMP SHAKER of all Family Law cases. You have 3 kids involved. A will that designates a grandmother as primary and a non relative secondary. A mother who’s parental rights have NOT been terminated but may not have had any role in the kids’ lives for more than 10 years. The “BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILDREN” standard typically dictates most jurisdictions but this situation is going to be unique in terms of where these children should be raised.
3) ESTATE LAW - We all know the importance of having a Will. For a brief second, we thought that MJ didn’t have one. What’s wild is that MJ has a complicated estate with his minor children as heirs and various monetary, real, and intellectual property as part of the estate. At some point, somebody is going to contest the validity of the will and so now, you have the mother of all fist fights regarding the assets laying in wait.
4) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - The trickiest part of the puzzle is MJ’s Intellectual Property. Intellectual Property is that property that was created as a result of your intellect. Intellectual Property consists of property such as Trade Secrets, Trade Marks, Copyrights and Patents. Most people probably think that MJ should have been oozing with money. However, they don’t realize how much of his property actually were intellectual property such as royalties and the Beatles Catalogs of music. As each day passes, you’re going to find out that MJ probably had more intellectual property in hand as opposed to real property. You’re going to, also, find out how much value his albums were worth and how profitable was each album AFTER Thriller!
5) MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - With the death of MJ being ‘allegedly’ attributed to the medication that he was taking, be prepared for some concern about the possibility of medical malpractice. Any time you have a situation where an individual may die while in the care of a health care provider, medical malpractice is something that usually comes into play.
6) BUSINESS LAW - This part of the law is probably the most profound. As you are probably hearing, alot of information is coming to light regarding the advice MJ was receiving from his business confidants. As such, you will start to get a great deal of insight into the decision making and feedback MJ was receiving that may have guided his decisions (especially as it relates to Civil Cases that he may have settled)
7) CRIMINAL LAW - As most of you remember, the MJ trial was extremely high profile. However, a great deal of information about the details of the case was not provided. In light of recent ‘allegations’ that some of the victims may have ‘potentially’ fabricated the charges against MJ, the public will be reintroduced to the details and nuances of the trial in a whole different perspective.
I know this may sound harsh but there are so many people out there who want money, power, fame and everything that comes along with it. Here’s a man who STILL holds the world’s record (25 years later) for the most albums sold and is STILL in the GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS as the world’s greatest entertainer. He has been in the music business as a top selling performer since the age of 5. Now, if he can have all the money problems and asset problems that he had and he was CLEARLY a multi-millionaire entertainer, what makes you so special?? Take a moment to really study the blessings and hardships that this man experienced. Maybe you will learn some valuable lessons from MJ that can benefit you through your career.
Divorces are RARELY nice
You know, no one ever talks to you about divorce. The reason is that most of us have this romantic idea that when the minister says “Til DEATH do us part”, he means it and you and your spouse means it! That’s the lovely “We are the world” thought process. For all of those glorious couples who have been married for decades or even half a century, this phrase is very truthful.
Now, come out of the haze and let’s get down to the rump shaker. Some people realize that they are not meant to be with each other. There’s nothing wrong with that thought process. However, by the time they get there, they may not LIKE each other too much.
Now, if you find yourself in this position, there are few things that I HAVE to share with you:
1) Nothing personal. It’s just business! Recognize that when you are in a position where you must NOW divorce your significant other, it’s really all about what you can get. Don’t be surprised if that nice, timid, and weak woman or man hires a PITBULL to RAKE you through the coals. It’s nothing personal but they are trying to get as much out of this situation as possible.
2) Stop dwelling. The damage is done! You can’t believe he slept with the tramp! You can’t believe she left you for that idiot! Well! He DID! She DID! The damage is done! GET OVER IT! SO many times, people use the legal system as an opportunity to go to WAR and punish the other person for putting them through those changes! Recognize, the legal system is for you to get an appropriate remedy. NOT WWIII!
3) In the end, it’s all about equity! The idea of an ‘equitable remedy’ is based on the notion of a ‘just’ remedy. The idea of a ‘just’ remedy is putting people in the position to receive the things they are entitled based on fairness. Unfortunately, too many of us feel that we should be given as much as possible (while at first blush, there’s nothing overly wrong with that thought process but you can’t have it all).
4) You can’t bring a knife to a gun fight! I hate to tell you but no matter how smart you are, if you are representing yourself against a seasoned attorney, WATCH OUT! The simple fact of the matter is that most attorneys take care of things like this on a daily basis. I’m not saying you can’t represent yourself. I’m saying that you may not be as well equipped to get as much as possible for yourself when you’re going against someone skillfully trained.
5) Kids make it worse. Parents shouldn’t use their children as leverage or as a weapon but it doesn’t stop them from trying. The simple fact is that parents are emotionally tied to their children and if this can be used by some parents to their advantage, they will.
Divorce can be simple in some instances. You would like to believe that at the end of the day, we can all simply work out our difficulties. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always go the way we plan. Try to be civil when you must part company with your spouse. If you can’t be civil, be prepared.
From LOVE to LEGAL Service: The UNSEXY nuts and bolts of a DIVORCE
“Til Death do us part!”
Those words sounds so romantic when we are standing in front of god (or whoever you worship), our family and our friends. We genuinely believe that we are going to be with that special someone for the rest of our lives.
Sadly enough, the phrase probably should say:
“Til Death or DIVORCE do us part!”
I’m pretty sure that everyone is intimately familiar with the various divorce rates in different parts of the country. Despite these rates, people still find themselves in the unique position of availing themselves of the legal proceedings when things go bad.
If you are one of those individuals who are curious about whether you should explore your legal rights to dissolve your marriage, here are a few things for you:
1) To separate or NOT to separate, THAT is the question. It is important to check your state’s separation requirements. Some states requires couples to be separated for a period of time before they are allowed the ability to dissolve their marriage. Part of this is based on the notion that an appropriate cooling off period may resolve the marriage. In addition, this allows the courts to determine WHO is serious about dissolving their marriage.
2) Have you REALLY lived in that state long enough? Some people will separate and try to relocate to a state that may have more favorable family laws. However, most states have a ‘residency requirement’ which means you would have had to have lived in that state for a particular period of time before you get the opportunity to file for divorce under those state laws.
3) Am I REALLY going to get anything?? Some states have some JAMMING dissolution laws as they relate marital and community property. In addition, these states don’t really care HOW LONG you’ve been married. However, some states are the exact opposite. As a result, just because you have a ’shotgun’ 3 day wedding doesn’t mean you’ll get half of her assets. Nor does it mean that you will get the person’s retirement or automatically get spousal support.
4) The REAL Tug of war: THE KIDS!! If there are children involved, WATCH OUT!! In the best of cases, one parent is taking care of the children already so there is probably not an issue. However, if both parents play an active role in the children’s lives, get ready for a fist fight. Courts don’t usually like to disturb where the child is currently residing but if the non-custodial parent can show that their living arrangement is better, the non-custodial parent may have a shot.
5) If the divorce is dirty, friends may get dirty, too! Listen, friends DON’T like to get in the middle of messy divorces. However, the simple fact is that your friends may have information that may help your case. Your friends can testify if your spouse lives an lifestyle that is harmful to children or has made threatening remarks to you or the kids. It is not pretty but it is a reality.
6) If it’s simple, you may be able to get it done fast! Alot of states have family law assistance programs which enable you to get a divorce on your own. These programs will provide you the forms and the assistance to fill out the forms. These programs are great for short term marrigages or marrigages where there is not alot of assets and no kids.
7) If it’s complicated, get ready to wait! Recognize that if you got alot of assets or if your spouse or YOU are prepared to be a COMPLETE ASS, don’t expect this divorce to be quick. If your spouse is a JERK or you are being a JERK, be prepared for a fight. If you are being nasty, your spouse is going to want to defend themselves just as aggressively. If your spouse is being a jerk, you are NOT going to want to let them run over you.
In a perfect world, you want to believe that you can live happily ever after. If not, you want to, at least, believe that you can walk away from each other amicably. However, this may not always be the case so be prepared if you must get down and dirty.
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