HoganWillig

With celebrity marriages getting shorter and shorter, especially with the news that Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries were calling it quits after only 72 days of wedded bliss, clients often ask whether their “short” marriage can be annulled.

Even though it may seem as though a short marriage is the key to obtaining an annulment, since Britney Spears and her high school buddy obtained an annulment from their marriage after only a few hours, length really has nothing to do with it. In fact, annulments are quite difficult to obtain.

By definition, an annulment is a matrimonial action to declare a marriage as null or void. Some marriages are void at their inception; others are “voidable” and must be voided by a court judgment. Read on…

Tags: annulment, divorce

Every person who lives in New York State dies in one of two ways: with a Will (testate) or without a Will (intestate).

If a person dies with a Will, that decedent leaves a document directing the disposition of what they own and naming a person to administer their estate (the Executor).  A Will can name a guardian for a child of the person signing the Will (the Testator), in case the child’s parents are deceased. It can provide for special administration of property for the benefit of a child or a disabled person. Read on…

Tags: intestate, last will and testament, living will, testate, testator, will

HoganWillig, a full-service law firm with offices in Amherst, Buffalo, Lancaster and Lockport is proud to announce that Elizabeth M. DiPirro has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Ms. DiPirro joins this elite group comprised of only a dozen top divorce and family law attorneys in WNY, including Nelson F. Zakia and Thomas R. Cassano of HoganWillig. Membership into this premier group requires extensive testing, peer review, evaluation by judges and recognition as a first-rate matrimonial lawyer. Ms. DiPirro has limited her practice to the area of family law for more than 20 years and has been an integral part of HoganWillig’s matrimonial department since 2006 which is the largest Family Law group in WNY.

April 16, 2012 is “National Healthcare Decisions Day.” It is a day set aside to educate the public about the importance of health care planning and to encourage people to express their personal wishes regarding health care, in writing, before a health care crisis occurs.

Over 100 million American adults have not designated an agent to make medical decisions nor documented the type of medical care they desire. Although it is a difficult issue to address, it is important for adults of all ages and stages of life to consider who is best-suited to make medical decisions for them in the event they become too ill speak for themselves and convey their own wishes. Without such directives, these important decisions and related matters may be left to the control of medical professionals, estranged or inappropriate family members or even the Court, all of whom may know little to nothing about you, your values and morals, or your overall wishes. Read on…

Tags: Family Health Care Decisions Act, FHCDA, health care agent, health care proxy, living will, National Healthcare Decisions Day

The video produced by the NGO Invisible Children, released earlier this month, about Ugandan rebel warlord Joseph Kony is now the most viral video in the history of the internet. The goal of the video is to make Kony, accused of kidnapping and indoctrinating children into his rebel force, the Lord’s Resistance Army, “famous,” in the hope that fame will lead to calls to bring him to justice as a war criminal.

However, making Kony “famous” may not be enough.

The world has been attempting to address what to do about war crimes and war criminals for over 500 years. In 1474, an international tribunal was convened to prosecute Sir Peter von Hagenbach for crimes against “God and man” during his military occupation of a civilian community in Austria.

Until the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, no court existed to prosecute states, leaders of states, or individuals for crimes committed against citizens in times of war and peace. Read on…

Tags: International Criminal Court, Invisible Children, Joseph Kony, Kony, Kony2012, Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, Rome Statute

Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1225-c, which initially became effective in 2001, prohibits individuals from operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile telephone to engage in a call while the vehicle is in motion. The law provides specific definitions including that “using” refers to the individual holding the phone to or near the user’s ear. “Engaging in a call” refers to talking into or listening on the device, but does not include holding the phone to “activate, deactivate or initiate a function of” the phone. This law then further provides a presumption that a driver holding the phone to or in the “immediate proximity” of his/her ear while the vehicle is in motion is in fact engaging in a call. The motorist has the opportunity then to defend against this presumption. Read on…

Tags: cell phone driving, cell phone ticket, primary offense, section 1225-c, section 1225-d

The last thing a couple about to be married should be worried about is that one day they may be getting divorced.  However, as Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”  Although the overall rate of divorce in the United States is said to be declining (a notable exception, according to the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, is divorce among people over the age of 50, 25% of whom are getting divorced now compared to 10% in 1990), it’s pretty safe to say that 1 out of 3 marriages ends in divorce.

At HoganWillig we receive calls every day from people who say they are considering divorce and want to know, “What are my rights?”  In many instances had they consulted with a knowledgeable family law attorney before getting married the answer to that question is often going to be considerably different (and probably a happier one) than if they hadn’t. Read on…

Tags: divorce, prenup, prenuptial, prenuptial agreement, prenuptial contact