MacGomery Law

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A fascinating article in the Washington Post confirmed what family law practitioners in Montgomery County have known for some time now – that many people simply can not afford to get a divorce as a result of the current economic recession. For many couples, the downturn in the economy and in particular the fall in housing prices makes it almost impossible to afford to end an unhappy marriage. For most people, their home is their single largest financial holding. When there is no equity in the marital home, most couples have little or nothing available to them to start anew after the divorce. In the past, the home has been one of the items most fought over and now it is the debt owed on that home that is most troublesome.

But a more practical aspect of the economic recession is the effect it has on couples who can not afford to even separate. In Maryland, a couple must live separate and apart for one year in order to qualify for a divorce on the grounds of mutual and voluntary separation. If the parties can not afford to have one spouse move out and get their own separate place to live, then often times they are stuck in a failed marriage. In DC and Virginia, couples can live “separate and apart” while under the same roof if they go to the proper lengths to insure that the intent of the law is met i.e. separate bedrooms, living areas, entrances, etc. Unfortunately, that is not the case in Maryland – although at least one case (Ricketts v. Ricketts, 903 A.2d 857 (2006), 393 Md. 479) has questioned that in terms of a limited divorce.

So what are we seeing in our practices? In my firm, the majority of the clients who come to me seeking a divorce do not own their own home. They are usually renting. My sense is that those who do own their own homes can not afford right now to get a divorce. I think you may also see more couples willing to admit infidelity and seek divorce on adultery grounds since there is no one year waiting period under those circumstances.

Either way, as the Washington Post article points out, there is a backlog of divorces waiting for the economy to improve.

Jeff Richardson publishes a great blog on the intersection of two of my favorite themes: the iPhone and lawyering. While I disagree with his position on the use of Twitter by attorneys, it is easy to understand why he feels that way. One can easily be distracted by the pull of these social networks. But I think the potential can outweigh the downside if used properly and judiciously. Jeff’s most recent post also references a review of all of the current Twitter platforms for the iPhone. Check it out!

So I am reading “Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy Until You’re 80 and Beyond” by Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge, MD. Problem is, I need it to work tomorrow, if not sooner. How come I was the only one who received this as a Christmas gift from a family member? So apparently I have to learn to be a bit more selfish and put myself first when it comes to being healthy. I got the selfish and putting myself first part down pat. I thought that was what I was supposed to be trying to correct. So here goes, I guess. One of the points of the book was to jump into the process with much bluster and noise. I suppose to help make sure you don’t backslide. That’s all I need. This is about as much noise and bluster as I can muster for the time being. But the book also made a point of saying shut up, quit whining, be a man, and just do it. Nice… where’s the love here? So the book has about 50 pages of useful stuff (nothing you really didn’t already know – except for that work out hard six days a week for the rest of your life – yikes!), and another 100 pages of repeating the same thing over and over again. Of course, after reading the important 50 pages, I flipped through the book until I found the chapter on sex – or being sexy. Sad to say that the book only devoted a mere eight pages to the subject. What’s up with that? I gotta find another book…

This whole train of thought flowed (no pun intended) from the water main break that flooded River Road in Montgomery County and stranded several drivers. I was wondering what people, particularly attorneys, thought you should keep in your car in case of emergencies. The following list compiles some of the responses I received.

As a personal injury attorney, these are the things I wish my clients would keep in their cars in case of an emergency:

1. Disposable camera – nothing helps a case more, or kills it, than pictures taken of the scene at the time of the accident. Get a disposable that generates digital pictures and keep it where you can get to it.
2. First aid kit – they are so easy to get and so useful even in non-emergency situations.
3. Lifehammer/ResQMe/Window Punch – see my earlier post regarding the flood on River Road that started this whole discussion. One of these are necessary in case you have to break a window in your car from the insode.
4. Flashlight – I didn’t have one when I got a flat tire on I-270 and I was a major accident waiting to happen on the side of the road. In this case AAA came through like a charm.
5. ICE – In Case of Emergency (ICE) entry in your cell phone or PDA with the contact information of who to reach in case of emergency. First responders are taught to look for this.
6. Batteries – my wife has an entire store full of batteries in the car, mostly to drive the kids entertainment platforms, but when the flashlight battery runs out you will want a spare.
7. Flares & jumper cables – again, one of the best Christmas gifts my mother ever gave her sons was a set of heavy duty, extra long, jumper cables in a case that included instructions (which I needed). The extra long ones are particularly helpful.
8. Boots – I really need these standing in the mud on the side of the I-270.
9. Summary of medical information for each family member, to include blood type and any ongoing medical conditions and medications taken (not the meds themselves necessarily). Remember, you might not be the only one in the car.
10. Copy of your health care power of attorney and/or living will.

But beyond those things, the list of items that people carry in their cars was pretty extensive. My mother has the most well equipped trunk of anyone I know. We joke that she could survive a week or two in her car. She has several items on this list (including a baseball bat which isn’t on the list). Here is the rest of the list, in alphabetical order. Tell me what you think should be on the list.

1. aspirin or some other pain reliever
2. bag of sand in the trunk
3. batteries
4. blanket
5. boots
6. can opener
7. candles and a folger’s coffee can to burn them in.
8. cash – at least $100 or whatever is sufficient for a tow
9. cell phone charger
10. disposable camera
11. dog treats as my puppy is often with me,
12. extra business cards
13. extra cell phone
14. extra mirror & makeup,
15. extra pair of shoes
16. extra pantyhose
17. extra top
18. first aid kit
19. flares
20. flashlight
21. food
22. hammer
23. health care power of attorney
24. hedge clippers
25. kleenex.
26. list of phone numbers for family and friends and roadside rescue services
27. living will
28. matches
29. needle & thread,
30. one of the most important things someone can do is to place an ICE entry on their mobile phone or PDA. ICE = In Case of Emergency Create an entry titled ICE and insert the contact information for the person who should be contacted if you can’t respond. First responders are now taught to access a persons phone and look for an ICE contact.
31. paper
32. pen/pencil/magic marker
33. pliers.
34. portable battery operated fan
35. roll of duct tape
36. screwdriver
37. seat-belt cutter
38. shovel
39. sleeping bag
40. something to read while you wait for help
41. stain remover,
42. summary of medical information for each family member, to include blood type and any ongoing medical conditions and medications taken (not the meds themselves necessarily)
43. tea bags
44. tire repair kit including inflator device,
45. towels – 6 or 8 of them if you have room
46. water
47. wet wipes,
48. window punch
49. wire, electrical and binding

I’m starting to get the hang of this blog thing. So I have updated the theme to be more of a legal feel. Not exactly happy with how it looks so now I have to explore other options or developing one of my own. Any suggestions?

I finally was able to upgrade to WordPress 2.7. I am sure that it would have been easier to build a rocket capable of flying to the moon. But the whole concept of how the website and the blog subdomain are organized and how to FTP files to that part of the directory structure is like trying to learn a foreign language for me. I can do it, but it takes forever and is very frustrating. And I have a degree in computer science! Looking back it all seem obvious now.

But it sure doesn’t seem Mac like. How come I have to get into the guts of unix structure just to update the blog software. And while I am at it, updating the blog itself doesn’t feel very Mac like. Maybe I am using the wrong products. Maybe TypePress is better. But it has taken me so long to get here, I ain’t changing now.

Now…to figure out how to change the WP theme. I already have a headache…

So you may have seen the footage of the people being rescued from their cars on River Road in Potomac, MD after a giant water main break on a frigidly cold morning. I travel that road all the time so it hit home just a little too close. One of the issues during the rescue was that the bitter cold, combined with the water and the rotor wash from the rescue helicopter was that the windows could not be rolled down as they were frozen. Someone in the office said “Why didn’t they just break out the windows?” to which another said “It is impossible to do from inside the car. I saw it on Mythbusters”. And it got me thinking… what would you do?Turns out there is a whole set of products for helping you get out of a car that you are trapped in. So as a belated Christmas present, my family are all getting the ResQMe, the keychain version of the LifeHammer. This little baby cuts the seat belt off of you and breaks out the window with little to no effort.Next, I’ll post a list of items, culled from a series of email responses, we all ought to have in our cars in case of an emergency.