Dorothy Williams Pays Alimony in Flordia

Although it is rare for women to have to pay alimony, they are sometimes faced with the same unjust treatment in family court that men and children more commonly suffer when it comes to alimony. (I include children as victims because alimony by its very nature more often than not reduces the amount of money the responsible and supportive parent has available to benefit the children) Reform it isn't about men vs. women, it is about reducing corruption within the divorce system and equal justice for all.

Dorothy Williams in Florida learned the hard way just how inequitable family court can be. But if I may wallow in self-pity for a moment - I wish my result had only been as unfair as Ms. Williams.

To her credit, Williams now advocates for alimony reform in Florida.

Ellen Langer on Mindlessness and Mindfullness

Mindfulness is an often vague term that has been growing in popularity of late. Some people think it is a new idea but the notion has been around since before Buddha who, in fact, was one of the great popularizes of the concept.

On Being recently had an interview with Harvard social psychologist Ellen Langer. Dr. Langer talks about mindfulness from a western scientific foundation and has been since well before the current fascination surrounding it.

 ...mindlessness is pervasive-- Ellen Langer 

The above quote, and similar ones from Langer, make me wonder whether mindlessness is a factor in how people like Spring, Nelly Wince, Judge Mearly and the many others who have harmed my children and me during the divorce process could act is ways that are so contrary to pretty much any ethical value system out there. One of the recurring refrains that goes through my mind is, "How can people act in such an evil manner?" I have pondered this over and over and over. 

I always thought that people may do bad things out of carelessness, passion, or fear but that few people, at least among those who were lucky enough to have been well educated and had a good upbringing, would act in ways that are, to be blunt, simply evil. Maybe they are acting mindlessly - not thinking about their actions at all. Maybe they need to think about their actions, reflect on what is right, and ask themselves if they are acting in accordance with their professed values. Maybe they need to be mindful. 

The Reality of Alimony

In virtually all cases alimony, other than for a very limited amount of time, is wrong. In my case the award of alimony was criminal. But it is the way the system works. Get a well connected lawyer who knows the judge and you have it made.

This video from Alimony Reform shows how alimony is so detrimental not only to individuals but society as well.

Shelley Kuziak On The FBI and Family Court Corruption

Shelley Kuziak wonders why the FBI is a no-show when it comes to combating family court corruption. I have often wonders this myself. I see stories all the time of FBI going after people for corruption that involved just a few hundred thousand dollars. I wish that was all I was fleeced out of! The thing that is most disturbing is that my evidence is so rock solid, it is simply undeniable.

Although, to be fair, I should point out that I have yet to file a formal complaint with the FBI because from everything I have read it will simply be ignored. Even so, it has been on my list of things to do. I guess I better get to that list.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Beyer On International Justice

In an NPR interview with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Beyer on a his new book, "The Court and the World," that I head this morning, Justice Beyer made the comment:

"I began to understand the important divisions in the world are not on the basis of race or nationality or country or where you live," Breyer said. "They are really between people who believe in a rule of law as a way of deciding significant issues and those who do not believe in a rule of law — who believe in force."

With all due respect Justice Beyer is only 2/3 correct. The missing 1/3 is people who believe in the pretense of rule by law in order to achieve financial and socioeconomic advantage over others. In short - they believe in corruption.

This site as well as many others make it clear that corruption is rampant in Family Court within the United States.  How else can you explain why I have to pay a massive amount of alimony to Spring despite a less that  20 marriage and the fact that she is college educated and an employment evaluation determined she could make just as much money as me, joint parenting during the marriage (as determined by the custody evaluator), joint custody post marriage, strong evidence Spring committed perjury, and absolute evidence her lawyer lied in court. Not to mention that she is the one who divorced me.

I know an Indian living in the U.S. whose husband left her when she was pregnant. In order to get sole custody of her child she went to India and bribed a judge to gain exclusive custody of the child her husband had abandoned.  It is ironic that by simply paying an above board bribe she was able to achieve justice. I have been punished because I did the right thing both during my marriage and during the divorce process. My reward for doing what is right is that now every day I have go to work for the benefit of those who committed crimes. Where is my justice? Where is justice for my kids?

Tom Lee Not Giving Up in Flordia

State Senator Tom Lee won't give up his efforts at alimony reform in Florida. In 2013, alimony reform legislation made it through the legislature only to have it vetoed by Governor Rick Scott. 

Lee's new proposed legislation includes:

• Requiring a judge to “make specific written findings of fact regarding the relevant factors that justify an award of alimony.”
• Changing the calculations for alimony amounts to make it less easy to get. That includes considering what an ex-spouse could be making if he or she is otherwise “voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.”
• Excluding undistributed “earnings or gains on retirement accounts” when determining income for alimony purposes.
• Creating a legal presumption that “approximately equal time-sharing with a minor child by both parents is … in the (child’s) best interest.”
• Requiring a judge to consider “the frequency that a parent would likely leave the child in the care of a nonrelative … when the other parent would be available and willing to provide care” when deliberating custody time. 

Family Court Corruption

Don't believe Family Court is corrupt? Watch this:

The comments by the Clinton, New Jersey divorce lawyer John W. Thatcher are especially telling:

"When you have money, when you have assets, and when you have big income these big firms have absolutely positively no interest in resolving your case, even if you want to. Everybody in the matrimonial business, all the lawyers are buddies. Everybody knows everybody. So if you and I are opposing matrimonial lawyers and Joe Schmo comes in with millions of dollars, you and I are like, you and I go back to the Mercedes dealership and buy another car. We know we're going to make huge dollars and we work it with each other that way."

As I have emphasized in the past, not every divorce lawyer and judge is corrupt but because the system itself rewards those that are, corrupt lawyers and judges are quite common. Common to the point that the divorce system can rightly be classified as institutionally corrupt.