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A judge has declared San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White a deadbeat divorcee and ordered the city to start garnisheeing $3,300 a month from her paycheck for spousal support to her ex-husband. Hayes-White says she stopped paying support about 14 months ago, after an incident in which her ex-hubby, Robert "Sean" White, grabbed and choked one of their sons while in a booze-fueled rage. In December, he pleaded no contest in San Mateo County Superior Court to a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment and cruelty. He is serving his sentence on a county sheriff's work detail and living in a...

A bill aimed at reforming the state’s alimony system was unanimously approved Wednesday by the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The bill would establish guidelines for alimony payments, and limit the duration of payments, ending so-called “lifetime alimony” payments ordered by some judges in divorce cases. One of the biggest proposed changes in the bill would set limits on how long a spouse can receive alimony payments, based on how long the couple was married. For example, for marriages of 5 years or less, the maximum alimony term would be half of the number of months of marriage, or 2 1/2...

Drivers in Polk County are used to seeing roadside billboards promoting the Florida Lottery. One is a bit different. There's a small billboard on State Road 60 near Lake Wales bringing attention to what the sign's owner calls "the alimony lottery." The 4-foot-by-8-foot sign, which Steve Hoye erected last year on his property about a mile west of U.S. 27, broadcasts the message: "STOP PERMANENT ALIMONY." It provides contact information for Florida Alimony Reform Inc., a group that promotes changes to the state's alimony laws. Hoye, who said his ex-wife initiated a divorce that became final in 2007, said he...

The other day a friend was telling me about her friend that quit her high-paying marketing job because she absolutely refused to pay her lazy husband alimony after finally kicking him out of the house. Then last night I ran across this story on The Huffington Post examining if it’s fair for women who make more money not to pay alimony or manimony as they are dubbing it? Why should it be any different than when a man makes more and divorces? From The Huffington Post: “There really are two valid sides to this argument. If you think about it,...

A "disabled" Staten Island woman's quest for lifetime maintenance from her husband went belly up after he unveiled her secret life as a belly dancer to the judge. Despite claims that she couldn't work, rarely left home and rarely socialized because of injuries from a 1996 car accident, Dorothy McGurk, 43, was belly-dancing at home and in Manhattan for hours a day -- and then spending several more hours a day blogging about. "My belly dancing is the reason why I adore myself so much . . . That comes from hours of dancing and classes . . . It's...

Steve Niro got married in 1981 at age 23 and divorced less than five years later. At the time of the divorce, he and his wife were in their late 20s, and both were working. Niro remarried nearly 15 years ago, but he’s still paying his alimony. Two years ago, Niro’s youngest son graduated from college, ending child support payments and leaving his former wife with alimony of $65 a week. “The next thing I know, I get summonsed to court for alimony adjustment,’’ he says. A probate court judge increased the alimony to $700 a week even though the...

In every large-scale military conflict, there is the macro war and the micro war. While the macro war fought strategically by the generals has a great influence on the micro war fought tactically by the individual soldiers, the two wars are nevertheless distinct from one another and must be contemplated separately. In this second column in the series related to the war against men, I am focused solely on the micro war that is fought in the houses, classrooms, churches and night clubs of America. In the prelude to a battle, the local commander always considers four things. His resources,...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)—CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz must pay $916,000 yearly in alimony and child support to his ex-wife and give up their Connecticut home under terms of a newly issued divorce decree. The ruling, made Monday in Bridgeport Superior Court, dissolves the 26-year marriage of Nantz and Ann-Lorraine “Lorrie” Carlsen Nantz. It comes after both testified about the breakdown of their marriage; Judge Howard Owens concluded neither was at fault. Nantz, described by Owens as “our nation’s most prominent sportscaster,” filed for divorce last year from his wife after years of marriage counseling, according to the decree. Although Nantz, 50,...

Ex-Wives Eagerly Await UBS Tax-Cheater List By Stephen Gandel It's not just the U.S. government that wants to get its hands on the list of Americans who hold secretive Swiss bank accounts. Ex-wives, creditors and former business partners are also salivating over the idea that a settlement between the U.S., the Swiss government and a Swiss bank may lead to the public disclosure of as many as 4,450 U.S. individuals that used the foreign bank accounts to hide money. Prominent New York City divorce lawyer Raoul Lionel Felder says he is already getting calls from clients who want to know...

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The wife of entertainer Bill Murray has filed for divorce after nearly 11 years of marriage, alleging he abused her and is addicted to marijuana and alcohol. Jennifer Butler Murray filed divorce papers May 12 in Charleston County. She owns a home on Sullivans Island, S.C., where she lives with the couple's four children. The complaint was first reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston. It also alleges frequent abandonment by the former "Saturday Night Live" star. Bill Murray's attorney, John McDougall, wouldn't comment on the allegations, but said the entertainer "is deeply saddened by the...

ELIZABETH, N.J. -- The nation's first openly gay governor was back in court Thursday, testifying for a second day as he tries to convince a judge he is too poor to pay alimony to his estranged wife. Former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey testified Wednesday that he has limited income, few assets and significant debts. He said he is all but unemployable because of the gay sex scandal that toppled his administration and ongoing publicity in his messy divorce. "Because of this case, I have been financially crippled," McGreevey told the judge. McGreevey, 50, stepped down 13 months before his...

The nation's first openly gay governor tried to convince the judge in his divorce case Wednesday that he's too poor to pay alimony, saying he's been financially crippled by his resignation and marital troubles.

...In the nearly 30 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against gender discrimination in alimony, few male beneficiaries have stepped forward to talk about it. Those who did typically went by pseudonyms or the golden rule of 12-step recovery: first names only. Little wonder, considering the attention that has come to some former husbands of alimony-paying celebrities. "Why the courts don't tell a husband, who has been living off his wife, to go out and get a job is beyond my comprehension," Joan Lunden, the television personality, said in 1992 when a court ordered her to pay her ex-husband...

From TMZ.com's Pam to Rick -- I'm Pregnant, Get Lost! (1/9/08): "TMZ has learned the divorce between Pam Anderson and Rick Salomon is back on and Pam is pregnant! "You'll recall Anderson filed for divorce last month, but called it off just days later. But sources tell TMZ she is now moving forward with the divorce, even though we know she's pregnant with his baby. "Salomon has told friends he believes she is 'acting crazy' because of the pregnancy and hopes she will settle back into the marriage. Interestingly, in her divorce petition, Anderson asked for spousal support but not...

"...in today’s world, in which women have fought for the right to equality, alimony seems more like a kid getting an allowance from daddy and I believe it should be abolished altogether except for extremely dire circumstances where a spouse is older, cannot work at all, and for only a short term period. No man or woman should be held to being a slave to an ex-spouse after a marriage ends. That said, if we are going to have alimony laws, I believe that men and women should be held to an equal standard under the law."

"You've never heard complaints about paying child support until it's a woman who has to pay it."--Seattle Family Law Attorney Lisa Scott "The only way to abolish alimony is to make women pay it."--Tom Leykis, nationally-syndicated talk show host.When men work hard to support their families, they're often accused of victimizing their poor wives who have to stay at home, chained to their children. The National Organization for Women and other feminist groups often argue that these men don't deserve joint custody after divorce because they "never took primary responsibility for raising their kids while they were married." When divorce...

McGreevey tells wife: You'll get zilch from me BY ADAM NICHOLS DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Saturday, September 15th 2007, 4:00 AM Jim McGreevey yesterday accused his soon-to-be-ex wife of "greedily" grabbing at the perks of being New Jersey's First Lady - and refusing to give them back. In legal papers packed with snide and catty comments, the openly gay McGreevey told estranged wife Dina Matos McGreevey she can expect to get nothing from him. Matos McGreevey had asked him to pony up $4,000 a month in alimony to help her live a lavish lifestyle like his. "Her jealousy and contempt...

Background: In my blog post "She Squanders Her Divorce Settlement, so He Has to Pay Her Again--30 Years Later!" I wrote: "Get this: Dennis North gets married and has three kids. His wife cheats on him and they get divorced. Dennis buys her a house and investments as part of the divorce settlement, and raises the three kids himself. Later, he pays her more money, even though she refuses to work. She squanders the money he gave her, and now, 30 years later, guess what? He has to pay her all over again because she's 'fallen on hard times.' Nice."...

Alimony still required after ex-wife enters domestic partnership ASSOCIATED PRESS July 24, 2007 LOS ANGELES – A judge has ordered a man to continue paying alimony to his ex-wife – even though she is in a registered domestic partnership with another woman and uses the other woman's last name. California marriage laws state alimony ends when a former spouse remarries, and Ron Garber thought that meant he was off the hook when he learned his ex-wife had registered her new relationship under the state's domestic partnership law. An Orange County judge didn't see it that way. The judge ruled that...

She Squanders Her Divorce Settlement, so He Has to Pay Her Again--30 Years Later! July 3, 2007 at 9:08 am · Filed under Vox Populi Several of you sent me this amazing story--Court ordered payout 30 years after divorce. Get this: Dennis North gets married and has three kids. His wife cheats on him and they get divorced. Dennis buys her a house and investments as part of the divorce settlement, and raises the three kids himself. Later, he pays her more money, even though she refuses to work. She squanders the money he gave her, and now, 30 years...

CLEARWATER, Florida (AP) -- Lawrence Roach agreed to pay alimony to the woman he divorced, not the man she became after a sex change, his lawyers argued in a Florida court Tuesday in an effort to end the payments. But the ex-wife's attorneys said the operation does not alter the agreement. The lawyers and Circuit Judge Jack St. Arnold agreed the case delves into relatively uncharted legal territory. They found only a 2004 Ohio case that addressed whether or not a transsexual could still collect alimony after a sex change. "There is not a lot out there to help us,"...

A retired St. Louis police captain must continue to pay his ex-wife $2,425 a month in maintenance, even though he claimed in a civil action that she tried to have him killed, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled this week. In a unanimous decision, the judges said Tuesday that neither the settlement agreement of Joseph and Ida Richardson, nor the divorce decree, nor Missouri statutes allow for a change in the financial arrangement. Ida Richardson's attorney, Elizabeth H. Christmas, had argued before the court in December that the so-called plot was never the subject of a police report or a criminal...

BAGHDAD - Fatima Ali was a 24-year-old divorcee with no high school diploma and no job. Shawket al-Rubae was a 34-year-old Shiite sheik with a pregnant wife who, he said, could not have sex with him. Ali wanted someone to take care of her. Rubae wanted a companion. They met one afternoon in May at the house he shares with his wife, in the room where he accepts visitors seeking his religious counsel. He had a proposal. Would Ali be his temporary wife? He would pay her 5,000 Iraqi dinars upfront — about $4 — in addition to her monthly...

The biggest fiction behind James Bond is that the fantasy master spy and world-class heartbreaker lived past 40-something. It’s not just the death traps and vodka martinis, or even the three packs of cigarettes a day, that would have shortened his life. His naked ring finger would have too. Because real men need wives. Consider the data: Married men—regardless of age, sex, race, income or education—consistently have been found to be healthier than men who are single, divorced or widowed. This so-called “marriage benefit” begins to kick in right after the wedding, then builds. Husbands ages 18 to 44 are...

Tina Monaghan despises the busy signal. Three times a day, at least twice a week, the Loxahatchee mother dials Florida's Child Support Enforcement hotline, trying to outwit the perpetual beep. "It's almost like a part-time job. I do my 40 hours a week job, come home and do the mom thing and then call them," she said of the agency that monitors whether her ex-husband in Broward pays support for their two daughters. "My cell phone, I have programmed an alarm to go off every day at 5:30 [p.m.] because I figure if it's close to 6, I might get...

Divorced Iranian slapped with 10,000-year alimony order Tue Nov 29,12:07 PM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - An Iranian man has been ordered by a divorce court to pay his ex-wife one gold coin a month in alimony for the next 10,000 years. Under Iran's marriage law couples sign a pre-marital agreement where the bride must stipulate the level of compensation they can demand during the marriage or in the event of separation and divorce. In this case the Tehran woman -- who was not named -- had asked for 15 million dollars worth of gold coins, the governmental Iran newspaper said....

SEATTLE -- A man carrying an unusable hand grenade and a sheaf of papers including a "living will" was fatally shot by police Monday in the lobby of the downtown federal courthouse, authorities said. The Seattle man, born in 1952, had often expressed "a disdain for the federal government as well as some of its policies," U.S. Marshal Eric Robertson said, and often frequented the courthouse as well as the federal office building. Police could not tell that the grenade was inert as the man held it in his hand, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said. Several news organizations identified the...

NEW YORK — P. Diddy likes to brag about having the biggest yacht, the most expensive parties, the grandest houses and more. Now he's been ordered to pay what could be the biggest child support order in New York state history, and he's not happy. Last month, the New York State Supreme Court's Appellate Division approved an increase from $5,000 to $21,782 per month to P. Diddy's ex-girlfriend, Misa Hylton-Brim. Representatives of both P. Diddy and Hylton-Brim say it's the highest child support payment in state history. In an interview with The Associated Press Tuesday, the hip-hop mogul vowed to...

Tallahassee -- After debating the heartache of divorce, shacking up for convenience and romantics who "still believe in love," lawmakers voted Wednesday to let judges reduce or eliminate alimony when the person receiving it moves in with someone else. "This bill is more like a country-western song than good legislation," complained Republican state Rep. Nancy Detert after the 68-44 House vote. Judges generally end alimony when the recipient remarries, but courts in Florida have disagreed about what to do about people who — in the words of one lawmaker — "take themselves right up to the line of remarrying" by...

Consider a young man or woman who has just graduated from medical school and wishes to become a brain surgeon. Our young doctor will have to spend one year in a general surgical residency program, followed by six more years as a resident in neurosurgery. To recap: brain surgeon, seven years. And yet, the Florida Legislature this past week announced that its members cannot master the demands of their job within the measly eight years allowed by Florida's term limits. Nope. A Florida legislator really needs at least 12 years to learn the ropes in Tallahassee, the Legislature declared. And...

Minnesota's system for calculating child support, now used for more than 265,000 children, is once again the focus of a proposed overhaul at the Legislature. A bill that would base child support levels on the incomes of both parents, not just the non-custodial parent's, passed its first hurdle Thursday when it cleared a Senate subcommittee.

Lottery winnings bring heartache By Gary Taylor Sentinel Staff Writer Posted February 27 2005 Robert Swofford Jr. had $35 million in Florida Lotto winnings, and his soon-to-be ex-wife wanted a piece of it. Swofford solved that problem, but now he's got another one: The ex-wife's sister wants a cut, too, and she's taking him to court to get it. The way Mary Lackey sees it, she deserves part of the money every bit as much as her sister Ann did. And some folks might agree she has a point. Swofford fathered children by both women in 1993.

In a possibly precedent-setting case, the state Appeals Court has ruled that an ex-wife is entitled to alimony even though she signed a prenuptial agreement waiving it. Donna Austin was 37, and Craig Austin was 35 when they were married in May 1989, each for the second time. Two days before the wedding, Craig Austin presented Donna with a prenuptial agreement, which she signed, according to her attorney, Dana Curhan. The Appeals Court upheld the portion of the prenuptial that protected assets Craig Austin had acquired before the wedding. But it said Donna Austin's waiver of alimony was not reasonable...

Laci Peterson left her home in a car, not by foot, the handler of a bloodhound used in the search for the missing 27-year-old Modesto woman told detectives. Peterson, who is 8 1/2 months pregnant, disappeared Christmas Eve. Since then, hundreds of volunteers and police officers have searched parks, neighborhoods, fields, rivers and streams. A $500,000 reward has been offered for her safe return. Her husband, Scott Peterson, told police he last saw her at 9:30 a.m. as she prepared to walk the family's golden retriever in East La Loma Park. He said he was leaving on a fishing day...

A week after Laci Peterson disappeared, Modesto police said Tuesday that foul play had become the main focus of the investigation. Detective Jon Buehler said other possibilities had not been ruled out. But, he said, "as we continue to profile Laci's background, gather witness statements, recognize her close relationship with family and friends, investigate the circumstances of her disappearance, and in view of the timing with the holiday season, it is becoming more apparent that her disappearance is the result of foul play." Police spokesman Doug Ridenour said: "We are hopeful that we will find her alive. But seven days...

<p>Modesto police on Thursday asked the public to help verify the whereabouts of Scott Peterson, the husband of a pregnant woman missing for more than a week.</p> <p>Police released pictures of a pickup truck, boat and boat trailer they impounded from Laci Peterson's husband, and asked the public to tell them if they saw Scott Peterson before Christmas.</p>

Search goes on for their sub Light blue and yellow ribbons adorn trees at Ustach Middle School for missing Laci Peterson, a substitute teacher. Complete Coverage Photos Laci Peterson Website TED BENSON/THE BEE Jacqueline Peterson, mother of Scott Peterson, and Sharon Rocha, mother of Laci Peterson, listen to Modesto police Detective Doug Ridenour update reporters on the search. His words: 'Right now, I haven't got a clue.' January 7, 2003 Posted: 05:35:11 AM PST By TY PHILLIPS BEE STAFF WRITER As the widespread search for Laci Peterson continued Monday, nine divers spent a second consecutive day focusing on a small...

<p>By PATRICK GIBLIN BEE STAFF WRITER The state crime lab in Ripon is analyzing evidence collected in the Laci Peterson disappearance, and the evidence could be blood, saliva or semen.</p> <p>The Justice Department's Central Valley Regional Laboratory includes a serology lab that specifically looks at organic materials -- usually blood, saliva or semen -- and extracts DNA from the evidence to match with victims and suspects, said Katy Ciula, assistant lab director.</p>

<p>Officers aboard a San Mateo County Sheriff's Department search and rescue boat check underwater.</p> <p>THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A law enforcement official collects a water sample from the Berkeley Marina on Wednesday while searching for Laci Peterson.</p> <p>By TY PHILLIPS BEE STAFF WRITER Searchers returned to the Berkeley Marina on Wednesday and used underwater camera equipment to hunt for clues relating to the disappearance of Laci Peterson of Modesto.</p>

Fox News has just aired the announcement by police authorities that the 'object' found in Berkley Bay, thought to possibly be the body of 8 month pregnant missing woman, Laci Peterson is a partially submerged, abandoned anchor. The search goes on.

<p>Modesto Police is '99% convinced' that Scott is the suspect they are looking for in the homicide of Laci and her unborn child, but do not have enough evidence to make an arrest.</p> <p>Scott was definitely having an affair with at least one woman (the PE teacher from Fresno) and possibly several others.</p>

<p>Rita Cosby again quoting local LE sources saying that three different samples of blood were found in the Peterson house, not just in the kitchen.</p> <p>Authorities confiscated Scott's computer in the earlier search and some outdoor patio chair furniture.</p> <p>The blood work is taking some time to process and will be ready late next week as was indicated in Rita's initial report, the authorities will wait to make an potential arrest until then.</p>

Scott Peterson admitted he had an affair last year before his pregnant wife vanished, and claimed he told her about it.He also has previously denied killing his wife.'The affair was not a positive, obviously..but it was not something we weren't dealing with,' Peterson told ABC News Good Morning America in an interview broadcast Tuesday.'It wasn't anything that could break up apart.'Laci Peterson 27, disappeared on Christmas Eve from her home in Modesto, CA.Scott Peterson 30, told police he was fishing at the Berkley marina at the time, and that his wife had planned to take her dog for a walk...

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Modesto, CA -[Missing pregnant woman] Laci Peterson's family fired another salvo at her husband Scott during interviews on two national cable shows Tuesday night, demanding he answer both their questions and those of Modesto investigators.Meanwhile a source with inside information about the case told KTVU's Ted Rowlands that Scott Peterson continued to be the focus in the case.The source added that even without a body an arrest 'could come in a matter of weeks, not months.'On FOX News Tuesday night, Ron Grantski-Laci's Stepfather--demanded that Scott answer all the family questions surrounding his possible involvement in Laci's disappearance on Christmas Eve.

MODESTO, Calif. -- Modesto police say that their search of the home of a missing pregnant woman Tuesday has not led to a big break in the case, but that they will return to the home of Laci Peterson Wednesday to continue the search. Modeseto Detective Doug Ridenour is downplaying Tuesday's daylong search at the house. He said unspecified new discoveries led officers to return to the home. Investigators removed dozens of bags and boxes of potential evidence from the house Tuesday, and they also drove away with Scott Peterson's new truck, which was later returned. Detectives with gloves had...

The brother and sister of missing Modesto woman Laci Peterson appeared on the "Today Show" Monday to talk about the continuing search and their feelings toward Laci's husband. Brent Rocha and Amy Rocha (pictured, right) said that they continue to struggle for answers as to what happened to Laci. "I think it has been a difficult process," Brent Rocha said. "We've taken it in phases. In the beginning, when she first went missing, I think friends and family just really focused on getting the word out. And then as time went by, I think that reality set in that the...

SAN DIEGO DETECTIVE AIDS IN LACI PETERSON CASE (03-04-2003) - A private investigator from San Diego made an unusual discovery in Northern California that just might help police in their search for missing Modesto woman, Laci Peterson. Bill Garcia spotted a chunk of cement by a waterway near Modesto. “It was interesting because it was the only patch of cement we saw in about 20, 30 miles stretch. And there was a tire track through it,” said Garcia. Last week, the couple who sold a boat to Laci's husband Scott, said cement residue in the boat wasn't there when they...

Peterson Searchers Return To Bay Waters POSTED: 3:36 p.m. PST March 16, 2003 UPDATED: 8:54 p.m. PST March 16, 2003 Weather permitting divers will return to the San Francisco Bay waters off Richmond on Monday looking for any clue to as what happened to pregnant Modesto schoolteacher Laci Peterson, who vanished from her home without a trace on Christmas Eve. Modesto investigators returned to the Bay Area last week, but a series of winter storms kicked up waves and winds that forced them to call off their operations on Thursday afternoon. It is the third time searchers have been in...