If you are curious about how the rich and famous settle, TMZ.com has posted the Stipulated Judgment which contains the settlement agreement between Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller.  They will have joint legal custody and Brooke will have primary physical custody of their two children.  Charlie will have them on the first, third and fifth weekends of the month from Saturday at 10 AM until Monday at 10 AM.

Charlie will pay Brooke $55,000 a month for child support, plus other expenses, but not less than the child support paid to Denise Richards.

No alimony, but Brooke will get a million dollars for her share of the house, several bank accounts and other assets.  Both agree not to disparage each other in front of the kids.

Following reconciliation of the house and senate bills, the Maryland Legislature has passed HB 500 – Child Support Guidelines Revision.

The bill has a new matrix for child support, which goes into effect for new cases filed on or after October 1, 2010, and it will increase the amount that most non-custodial parents will have to pay.  The new guidelines will go up to $15,000 in combined income instead of the old cap of $10,000.   However, you cannot petition for an increase in old cases just because the new law has passed.  There would have to be some other change in circumstances.

The legislature did not pass two other proposed bills discussed here:

SB 577 – Family Law – Grounds for Absolute Divorce – Time Requirements.  This bill would have shortened the required separation period from one year (voluntary) and two years (involuntary) for no fault divorces to six months and one year respectively.

SB 578 – Family Law – Grounds for Divorce.   This bill would have allowed people to obtain no fault divorces while separated but living in the same house.

Senate Bill

The Senate passed a bill by a vote of 44 to 2 that would increase Maryland Child Support Guidelines for the first time in more than two decades, increase the matrix from a combined gross income of $10,000 to $30,000, effective October 1, 2010, and permit recalculation of past child support awards if the new law would make a substantial difference in payments.

House Bill

On Saturday, the House voted 114 to 25 to pass its own revision to the guidelines.  The differences are that the combine gross income is capped at $15,000, the changes would not take effect until October 1 of 2011 and the new guidelines by themselves would not be a reason to recalculate past child support.

The bills will now go to conference to reconcile these differences.

A Maryland bill to revise the state’s twenty year old Child Support Guidelines has passed in the  Senate by a vote of 43-2, and is up for a vote today in the House Legislative Subcommittee.   A similar bill died in committee last year.

The new guidelines would go up to a combined gross income of $30,000 a month instead of the current level of $10,000 a month.  They would also increase child support payments from the non-custodial parent.

Some lawmakers are asking, however, whether it is a good time to increase child support payments in the middle of a recession.  Since Maryland uses a shared income model, proponents note that the custodial parent is already paying increased costs and the new guidelines would only cause them to be shared more fairly.  The new guidelines would apply to new cases and cases where parents ask the court for a modification.

Read more.

In Greenwich, Connecticut, publishing mogul Peter Brant has filed new pleadings in his divorce from Victoria’s Secret model Stephanie Seymour.

He alleges that she is spending $257,000 per month.  Her clothing bill alone is $50,000 a month.  She must have a big closet.

I can’t feel too sorry for Brant, though.  He is worth about $489 million.

Read more here.

Nelson A. Garcia will present Divorce Legal Seminar in Spanish at the Commission for Women’s Counseling and Career Center in Rockville Maryland on October 13, 2009, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.  This seminar will help you to learn the different aspects of the process of separation and divorce. You will learn how to choose an attorney, how property is distributed, and how to get a restraining order, in case of domestic violence. How to obtain custody and alimony for your children will also be discussed. At the end of the session, you will have the opportunity to ask questions.  The cost is $30.  Here is the seminar announcement in Spanish.

SUS DERECHOS LEGALES EN EL DIVORCIO:

RESUMEN GENERAL Y TEMAS RELACIONADOS CON LOS HIJOS

Martes, 13 de Octubre, 2009, 6-9 pm

Este seminario, presentado en español, le ayudará a conocer los diferentes aspectos del proceso de separación y divorcio. Se discutirá cómo escoger un abogado, cómo conseguir separación de bienes y la forma de obtener una orden de protección en casos de violencia doméstica. También se discutirá cómo obtener la custodia de sus hijos y asistencia para su manutención. Al cierre de la sesión, habrá oportunidad para preguntas y respuestas.  Costo: $30

Nelson A. García, a family law attorney in the firm of Thyden Gross and Callahan, LLP has volunteered for several years at the Commission for Women as a presenter.  Mr. Garcia also volunteers in free legal clinics at a number of organizations including CASA de Maryland in domestic violence, child custody and divorce matters.  He received his J.D. from Boston College Law School and his B.A. in English and Business co-majors from Florida State University.  He is a member of the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar and is currently Secretary of the Maryland Hispanic Bar Association and a member of its Legislative Committee.

WashingtonPost.Com received over a thousand comments on its front page story Sunday by Anne Hull about Laura Steins, 47, of Harrison, New York.

Steins got the $2.5 million dollar house in her divorce and $75,000 a year in child support.  She makes $150,000 a year plus a bonus at her job as a MasterCard VP.  She also has about $50,000 a year in investment income.  That’s over $300,000 a year.

But it costs her $8,000 to $10,000 a month to keep up her 4,000 square foot house on three acres. Her property taxes are $35,000 a year, the nanny is $40,000, the gardener is $500 a month and there is someone to plow the driveway in the winter.

“A), I couldn’t sell the house right now,” she says, citing the slow real estate market. “B), this is where my kids go to school. And C), it’s where my job is,” says Steins.

A lot of comments, some from people who make closer to what the nanny makes than what Steins makes, were not sympathetic to her plight.

The first image broadcast by network television was a picture of Felix the Cat.  I remember watching Felix on tv when I was a kid.  He had a Magic Bag of Tricks and whenever he got stumped by a problem, he would reach into his bag and pull out some tool or device that would help him solve the problem.

I wish I had a Magic Bag of Tricks in real life.  A lawyer can do a lot of things, but sometimes the tools in my toolbox are limited.  Clients look to their lawyers to solve all sorts of problems.  But first you have to have a problem that the law recognizes as a problem.  For example, I wrote recently that not every marital agreement is recognized by law as an enforceable contract.

The law does not provide a remedy for every wrong.  There is no legal tool that will turn your difficult spouse into a nicer, more reasonable and responsible person.   I can get alimony and child support and property, but I probably cannot recover damages for the hurt you felt during your marriage.  The court can give you a visitation schedule, but it can’t make your child want to visit with you.  I can’t make your spouse settle on your terms and I can’t make opposing counsel return my calls if they don’t want to.

As a mediator said to one of my clients, “I only have a pen, not a magic wand.”

TGC Attorneys James J. Gross and Nelson A. Garcia will speak at the Commission for Women tonight at 7:00 pm on Negotiating a Separation Agreement with Your Spouse.

The seminar will include the advantages of an agreement over a contested divorce, what to include in an agreement, tips and tactics, strategies for negotiation, the different stages of negotiation and different negotiation techniques.

The cost is $20.  Call (240) 777-8300 for more information.  The Commission for Women is located at 401 N. Washington Street, Rockville, Maryland.

It may not be a good idea to try to increase child support during a recession.  House Bill 1401 which would have increased Maryland Child Support Guidelines, for the first time in 20 years, did not make it out of committee.  The House Judiciary Committee plans do a “summer study” of the bill.