Our firm handles complex family law issues. We see good people at their worst. We help people with custody fights, child support struggles and divorce complications. During our more than 20 years of experience we have seen it all. Some of what people and the Court’s do make us scratch our heads. In the spirit of the season, we will analyze the Christmas story through the lens of our Family Law Practice.
As the story goes Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem. Mary, however, was not pregnant with Joseph’s child. This immediately would cause concern on many levels. First, Joseph must consider a possible paternity suit. It would be very important for him to have a DNA test done to determine if he had an obligation for child support after the birth of Jesus. There is a presumption that Joseph is the father if the child is born while Mary and Joseph were married. Before any potential paternity suit, however, Jesus’ grandparents probably should raise concerns about the fitness of the parents allowing the baby to be born in a manager. Doesn’t this meet the definition of unfit? Thus, the grandparents may want to consider filing a Kinship Guardianship action. This would allow them to get custody of their grandchild due to the inability of the parents to care for baby Jesus. As the story goes, Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger. Joseph was present for the birth so that is good that he was allowed to participate, but shouldn’t Joseph had planned better for the birth and contributed to the birthing expenses under the Uniform Parentage Act? Shortly after birth, the wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. This leads to many potential conflicts and issues. Are the gifts considered community property? Are they sole and separate property of Mary? Can Joseph use the gifts to meet his child support obligation? Assuming Mary and Joseph were married at the time of birth, Joseph would have an ongoing obligation to support Jesus, absent a finding that he was not the father. However, because Mary and Joseph were living together it is presumed that his obligation is fulfilled due to their cohabitation as husband and wife. The gifts were given to Jesus so it would be Mary and Joseph’s obligation to hold the gifts for the benefit of Jesus and his future education, training and raising. Fortunately, Mary and Joseph didn’t have to go to Family Court because they were able to work together for the benefit of their family. As such, Jesus was raised in a loving household and went on to accomplish many great things.
As you can see, the Christmas Story could have turned out differently had they gone to Family Court. While not all families are able to handle their challenges like Mary and Joseph we are able and willing to assist those families who need help through the Court system. If you need help analyzing your own personal story then contact us at info@JusticeLegalGroup.com or call us at 505-880-8737.