Blog posts have been sparse lately, and here’s why: Administrative Order Number 2011-03. I’ve posted several times about the impending demise of the GAL fund, and it is finally coming to fruition. Judge Kelly’s administrative order, issued on April 19, 2011, requires GALs in all GAL fund marital cases (this excludes abuse/neglect, TPR, guardianship
Courts
Guardian ad Litem fund nears extinction
The Guardian ad Litem fund took a step closer to extinction when the House Finance Committee voted last night to ok HB1 and HB2 and send it to the House for a full vote. The House budget cuts $742 million in spending from the current two-year budget. Among those cuts is the Guardian ad Litem fund, through…
New Hampshire Supreme Court to release opinion in New Hampshire home-school case tomorrow
Tomorrow, March 16, 2011, the New Hampshire Supreme Court will issue its opinion in the New Hampshre homeschooling case. The case of Martin Kurowski and Brenda Voydatch has grabbed national headlines and sparked much debate about the right to home-school. In this matter, a divorced mother and father could not agree on whether their daughter should be home-schooled by…
Leone v. Leone: Testifying Telephonically
On February 25, 2011, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued an opinion in the matter of Leone v. Leone, which deals with a court’s discretion to hear telephonic testimony. In this case, the parties were a married couple with three children who resided together in Mississippi until the mother moved with the children to New Hampshire.
Concord, we have a problem!
Crazy things are going on in Concord that needs your attention. Currently, there are several bills that would dramatically change the practice of family law in New Hampshire, and not for the better. A group of disgruntled litigants are attempting for the third time to remove a distinguished marital master from the bench. Finally, Governor…
An eclectic mix of Christmas, court closings and co-parenting
My blog posts are usually topical – focusing on one subject at a time such as relocation or guardian ad litems. Today I am going in a different direction though, as I have a couple of items to post about. My post is inspired by the wonderful blog at the Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor by Attorney Nancy Van…
Here comes the Merrimack Family Division
The Merrimack Family Division is almost here! The Judicial Branch posted the following announcements on its website:
The Hillsborough South marital department will be closed to the public except for emergency filings from Monday, December 6 through Thursday, December 9. The closing will allow staff uninterrupted time to process cases in preparation for the reopening of the department on Friday
…
Court Clerk’s Office Closures
As budget issues continue to plague the New Hampshire Judicial Branch, the courts have announced reduced hours in the clerk’s offfice in several more locations to allow the staff uninterrupted time to process backlogged orders. Here is the announcement from the Judicial Branch:
The clerk’s office in Nashua for Hillsborough County Superior Court North
…
Upcoming court closures and furlough days
Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. On days where the rest of the New Hampshire government remains open for business, the entire Judicial Branch will close and its employees will take unpaid furlough days in order to accomplish expenditure reduction. The Supreme Court explains these closures in Administrative Orders 2010-03 and 2010-05. The upcoming furlough…
Act Now! Public hearing on the budget cut crisis
Tomorrow, the legislature will hold hearings about proposed state budget cuts, including cutting the judicial branch’s budget by an additional 4 million dollars. The hearing begins at 11:00 am and the public testimony will begin at 1:00 pm in room 210 of the Legislative Office Building.
The legislature needs to hear from the families that this will effect…