Co-parenting tips before school starts; Rose Law Group family law attorney Audra Petrolle says lots of agreements are necessary to keep blended families stable

By Diane L. Danois, J.D. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Edited for length and clarity Potential battlegrounds for divorced parents are in abundance when it comes to school, especially if stepparents are part of the picture.  [With a new school here], I’d like to offer some tips for the newly divorced or new members of …

‘Real Housewives of Orange County’ star Gina Kirschenheiter’s estranged husband unable to pay support; Rose Law Group family lawyer Audra Petrolle comments on the report

By Frank Lovece | Special to Newsday Matt Kirschenheiter, the estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” star and Long Island native Gina Kirschenheiter, says he has lost his job and cannot pay the nearly $10,000 a month in spousal and child support he had agreed to earlier this month. According to court documents obtained by TheBlast.com, People …

Arizona Supreme Court to review decision over use of frozen embryos when couples split, a case with no clear rules, says Audra Petrolle, Rose Law Group family lawyer

By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Star The state’s high court has agreed to wade into the controversial issue of the rights of parties in a divorce to decide what happens to eggs they had fertilized — and whether one can be forced to become a parent against his or her will. In a brief order …

Separate bank accounts will not protect your money in a divorce; insulate separate assets says Kaine Fisher, Rose Law Group partner and director of Family Law Department

By Megan Leonhardt | CNBC Millennials, once again, are doing things differently than prior generations. It turns out 28% are forgoing the traditional joint bank account after marriage and opting to keep their finances completely separate, according to a Bank of America survey. That’s more than double the number of Gen X and baby boomer couples who keep their money separate. …

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Indian Child Welfare case; curtailing Indian Child Welfare Act would be an intrusion on sovereignty, says Rose Law Group Family Law Attorney Audra Petrolle

By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times The U.S. Supreme Court has rebuffed a bid to void a federal law that challengers claim is racist because it places the desires and rights of Native American tribes over the constitutionally protected best interests of children. That, however, does not mean the justices believe the Indian Child Welfare …

LGBT couples told ‘You’re ‘out of wedlock,’ kids aren’t citizens; such action obstructs our core values, says Audra Petrolle, Rose Law Group family law attorney

Children of U.S. citizens are falling victim to a policy that de-recognizes their parents’ marriage—and strips them of their birthright citizenship By Scott Bixby | Daily Beast No parent can ever be fully prepared for the arrival of a new baby. But when Roee and Adiel Kiviti brought home their newborn daughter Kessem two months ago, they figured that they …

Arizona Supreme Court sides with father in dispute over child’s gender identification; ‘more of a developmental issue,’ says Rose Law Group family attorney, Audra Petrolle

By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times Family courts have no right to interfere with the decisions of a parent given sole legal custody of a child after a divorce absent some showing of specific harm, even when the issue involves the youngster’s decisions about sexual identification, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a warning …

Children’s best interest trumps parental rights, state Supreme Court says; analysis provided by Rose Law Group partner, director Family Law, Kaine Fisher

By Mary Jo Pitzl | Arizona Republic A judge’s decision that it was in the best interest of two children for their mother to lose parental rights was correct, the state Supreme Court found, reversing an earlier decision that such a move was based on shaky facts. The unanimous ruling last week made clear that when it comes to child …