Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Chatter > General Discussion


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 05-30-2003, 07:07 AM   #1 (permalink)
The Griffin
 
Hanxter's Avatar
 
OK Guys - You've Been Warned...

Not even death can stop alimony payments to divorcee

by David Weber
Friday, May 30, 2003

"Til death do us part'' has a whole new meaning in marriage now after a state court ruled yesterday that a woman should continue to receive alimony payments from her husband even though he died five years ago.

The Appeals Court said death is no excuse for Dr. Henry H. Cohan, formerly of Newton, to stop sending $475 a month to his wife, Barbara Cohan of Philadelphia, because the couple entered into a specific agreement in 1983.

The court said it is "well-established'' that alimony payments cease with the death of the husband if there is no court-approved decree.

But in the Cohan case, the divorced couple agreed to language stating the payments would continue "until the death or remarriage of (Barbara Cohan).'' The Appeals Court cited a 1932 case that paved the way for the justices to reach their decision overturning Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer's ruling in favor of Henry Cohan's heirs.

"It is a great decision. My client is thrilled. She is in some pretty severe financial constraints right now,'' said Barbara Cohan's attorney, Shannon Fitzpatrick.

The attorneys for Henry Cohan's estate had argued that the language of the 1983 alimony agreement was ambiguous and that Henry Cohan never intended the payments to continue after his death. But the Appeals Court found no ambiguity in the agreement.

"Barbara has neither died nor remarried, and therefore Henry's estate is bound to continue making payments,'' Justice Mel Greenberg wrote in the Appeals Court opinion.

LINK
Hanxter is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 07:25 AM   #2 (permalink)
Oracle & Apollyon
 
Prophecy's Avatar
 
Location: Limbus Patrum
Be careful what you write.... I also wonder if he had any kids and if this cuts into their money supply....
__________________
La Disciplina È La Mia Spada,
La Fede È Il Mio Schermo,
Non salti Ciecamente In Incertezza,
E Potete Raccogliere Le Ricompense.
Prophecy is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 07:28 AM   #3 (permalink)
Psycho
 
Location: PacNW
Damn lawyers. Now the IRS isn't the only one to take your money after you've kicked the bucket.
__________________
One step closer to the edge...
zf0enix is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 07:32 AM   #4 (permalink)
Squid
 
MikeyChalupa's Avatar
 
Location: USS George Washington
He must really have been a bastard for her to stick it to him like this.

Anyone need more proof about a woman scorned?

-Mikey
MikeyChalupa is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 09:12 AM   #5 (permalink)
Addict
 
Location: around the corner
Crap...she prob. took him to the cleaners the first time and she's still sticking it to him now that he's dead !!
Wow she's a little nasty.
bender is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 09:22 AM   #6 (permalink)
another passenger
 
cdwonderful's Avatar
 
Location: Youngstown, Ohio
now that is long time spousal support....
__________________
Never try to teach a pig to whistle
it wastes your time,
and annoys the pig.....
cdwonderful is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 09:40 AM   #7 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Daval's Avatar
 
Location: The True North Strong and Free!
now thats just ridiculous. make her get a damn job.
__________________
"It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it."
Winston Churchill
Daval is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 09:40 AM   #8 (permalink)
Appreciative
 
Location: Paradise
Divorce is so ugly in this society. Divorcees try to screw each other even after they stop sleeping in the same bed.
teflonian is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 11:06 AM   #9 (permalink)
Addict
 
Location: Wherever I am!
That gives another meaning to "sucking him dry"!
__________________
If ignorance is bliss, then wipe this smile off my face!
Hard8s is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 11:28 AM   #10 (permalink)
Banned
 
I vaguely remember hearing in the high school something like mormons wed their ancestors so that they can get to Heaven or something...
suviko is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 12:03 PM   #11 (permalink)
Insane
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Just another one to add to my list of "Reasons not to get married."
Spungfoo is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 12:08 PM   #12 (permalink)
who?
 
phredgreen's Avatar
 
Location: the phoenix metro
Quote:
Originally posted by MikeyChalupa
He must really have been a bastard for her to stick it to him like this.
not necessarily... some guys (like myself) get stuck with a blood-sucking evil witch banshee whore of an ex who will go to any measure to take advantage of anything they can possibly get their claws on... perhaps this was something planned from the get-go... but i could be slightly jaded. who knows.
__________________
My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.
- Thomas Paine
phredgreen is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 12:15 PM   #13 (permalink)
Big Julie
Guest
 
Damn.

I got a dollar says her lawyer wrote the agreement.
 
Old 05-30-2003, 12:48 PM   #14 (permalink)
Upright
 
Always gotta watch out for those technicalities. That's what's going to kill you, or steal your money after you've died.
I Brow is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 01:44 PM   #15 (permalink)
Psycho
 
Location: The Granite State "Live Free or Die"
Too bad he died. He would have better odds at a malpractice case against his attorney if he were still alive.

Bloodsucking exwives and incompetent attorneys. Now there's an all too common pairing.
__________________
"I'd like to meet the person who invented sex and see what they're working on now."
-Groucho Marx
riskybiz is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 02:40 PM   #16 (permalink)
Conspiracy Realist
 
Sun Tzu's Avatar
 
Location: The Event Horizon
Hanxter I apologize for straying, but I had to comment on how cool your avatar is, being this is the first time I've seen your latest one.
__________________
To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.- Stephen Hawking
Sun Tzu is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 03:37 PM   #17 (permalink)
Insane
 
nefarious's Avatar
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
those damn word details ..

they will be the end of us all..
__________________
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
- Vegetius "Do Re Mil.3, Prol.
nefarious is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 04:53 PM   #18 (permalink)
Super Agitator
 
Liquor Dealer's Avatar
 
Location: Just SW of Nowhere!!! In the good old US of A
She should sue him! If that doesn't work then she should dig him up and see if she can squeeze another red cent out of him.
__________________
Life isn't always a bowl of cherries, sometimes it's more like a jar of Jalapenos --- what you say or do today might burn your ass tomorrow!!!
Liquor Dealer is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 05:36 PM   #19 (permalink)
Fledgling Dead Head
 
krwlz's Avatar
 
Location: Clarkson U.
Ussualy I do not post short one sentence posts but...


What the fuck is wrong with us americans?
krwlz is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 06:28 PM   #20 (permalink)
Loser
 
Quote:
Originally posted by krwlz



What the fuck is wrong with us americans?
Well, any time there is a lawyer around,the only interest they have is for themselves. That and the equally corrupt judicial system,... By the way ,..superb set of avatars you are putting forth krwlz.
gibber71 is offline  
Old 05-30-2003, 07:13 PM   #21 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Location: Sydney, Australia
Did he have a terminal illness and no offpring? If he'd seen this coming he could have liquidized all his assets, put them in a numbered swiss bank account and then destroyed the account details.

Everything but for a single stale chocolate cake in a safety deposit box with the words "Here you go, you damn vampire." written on the top in icing.
Macheath is offline  
Old 05-31-2003, 03:14 AM   #22 (permalink)
Disorganized
 
sbscout's Avatar
 
Location: back home again...
another reason to live in the midwest...

there's no alimony in Indiana!
__________________
Always question authority... it'll keep the bastards on their toes!
sbscout is offline  
Old 05-31-2003, 05:31 AM   #23 (permalink)
Neo
Insane
 
Location: Louisiana
He jilted the hit man he hired, she should have been dead long before he was. LOL
__________________
Life isn't how many breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away!
Neo is offline  
Old 05-31-2003, 06:20 AM   #24 (permalink)
Watcher
 
billege's Avatar
 
Location: Ohio
Women may be the sweetest, most loving creatures, but they have more capacity for evil than any man alive.
__________________
I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence:
"My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."
billege is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 10:09 AM   #25 (permalink)
Upright
 
A response from a source closely tied to the case...

In July of 2004, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on this case, and sided with the family of Dr. Cohan, awarding the Plaintiff - Barbara Cohan, the person who sued for continued alimony - absolutely NOTHING.

Dr. Cohan did have two teenage children (15 and 18) at the time his estate was sued, and the money she was going after was to be inherited by his children. The money used to pay lawyers to fight her off for 8 years (1998-2004) also came out of their inheritance.

Dr. Cohan did not have an illness - he died quite suddenly as a matter of fact.

"He must really have been a bastard for her to stick it to him like this."
No, he was not.

"Some guys (like myself) get stuck with a blood-sucking evil witch of an ex"
Yes, she was.
ForumUser is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 10:34 AM   #26 (permalink)
Asshole
 
The_Jazz's Avatar
 
Administrator
Location: Chicago
Hey, the decree says what it says. If it doesn't mention his death, then she's entitled to the money. She may be a blood-sucking whore for taking it, but it may also be her only source of income besides SS. Maybe he cheated on her with the mother of the kids who had to fight her off. Anyone know? Regardless, the decree's in black and white, and its unfortunate for the kids.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
The_Jazz is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 10:39 AM   #27 (permalink)
Too Awesome for Aardvarks
 
stevie667's Avatar
 
Location: Angloland
So, shes taking money from what he was going to give to his kids?

I hope she has a nasty accident involving a moose, 3 bricks and a herring.
__________________
Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.
stevie667 is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 12:15 PM   #28 (permalink)
...is a comical chap
 
Grasshopper Green's Avatar
 
Location: Where morons reign supreme
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Jazz
it may also be her only source of income besides SS.
My mom had no skills, no education, and no prospects after she and my dad divorced. She also just had knee replacement surgery and she has a cashiering job and supports herself. Sounds like the woman in the story is a lazy bitch that tried to take advantage of the kids to me. I'm glad she got nothing. I hope there's some left over for the kids.
__________________
"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa
Grasshopper Green is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 12:27 PM   #29 (permalink)
Junkie
 
kutulu's Avatar
 
Why don't you guys quit blaming her for expecting a contract to be followed. They both signed it, so his heirs get a little less. They didn't work for that money either.

Here is a little more on it:

Quote:
GREENBERG, J. Pursuant to a New Jersey judgment of divorce that took effect on July 17, 1973, Barbara Cohan (Barbara) was awarded $540 in monthly alimony payments and $460 in monthly payments for the support and maintenance of their three minor children. Thereafter, Henry H. Cohan (Henry), her former husband, now deceased, failed to make the required payments and was jailed in New Jersey for contempt. To avoid payment, Henry left New Jersey and eventually relocated to Massachusetts.

In 1977, when Henry's whereabouts became known to Barbara, she initiated proceedings under G. L. c. 273A (Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act(3)) and obtained an enforcement order against him. About five years later, and without an evidentiary hearing, a judge of the District Court modified the order so that Henry's alimony payment was reduced. Dissatisfied with the modification, Barbara sought, in the same District Court, restoration of the original amount of alimony contained in the New Jersey decree. As a result, on February 23, 1983, the parties entered into a stipulation that Henry would pay $150 per month for child support until June, 1984, and alimony in the amount of $475 per month "until the death or remarriage of [Barbara]" (emphasis ours). Consideration for the agreement was Barbara's waiver of her claim for reinstatement of the amounts contained in the New Jersey decree. Both parties were represented by counsel, and the handwritten stipulation was approved by a judge of the District Court.
Yes he was a bastard. He got a divorce and failed to make child support and alimony payments. He ended up going to jail for it and when he was released, he tried moving to another state to again avoid making payments. The stipulation that alimony would continue either to her death or remarriage was a compromise on her part in exchange for payments that ended up amounting to just over half of what was agreed to 10 years earlier.
kutulu is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 01:15 PM   #30 (permalink)
Asshole
 
The_Jazz's Avatar
 
Administrator
Location: Chicago
Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
My mom had no skills, no education, and no prospects after she and my dad divorced. She also just had knee replacement surgery and she has a cashiering job and supports herself. Sounds like the woman in the story is a lazy bitch that tried to take advantage of the kids to me. I'm glad she got nothing. I hope there's some left over for the kids.
Good for your mom. You should be proud of her, and I hope you tell her that. You know all the facts in her case - will you conceed that you don't in this one? With kutulu's post, it's sounding more and more like the asshole in this story is the deceased. I read the brief, and the guy doesn't sound like a very nice guy, at least as far as his treatment of his exwife is concerned.

Finally, it really doesn't matter who's nice and who's not. The decree is the decree and it says what it says. The heirs just have sour grapes, but that's really too bad for them. If their father had signed a contract stating that he would fund something in perpetuity, they would be stuck then too. If he had made a provision for it in his will, they'd be stuck too. I'm sorry that they're kids and they loose out on their father's legacy (let alone his presence in their lives), but this is the reason that contracts and decrees exist.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
The_Jazz is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 02:37 PM   #31 (permalink)
Junkie
 
SirLance's Avatar
 
Location: In the middle of the desert.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phredgreen
...some guys (like myself) get stuck with a blood-sucking evil witch banshee whore of an ex who will go to any measure to take advantage of anything they can possibly get their claws on...
Phred, you and I should start a club...
__________________
DEMOCRACY is where your vote counts, FEUDALISM is where your count votes.
SirLance is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 03:34 PM   #32 (permalink)
In Transition
 
CaliLivChick's Avatar
 
Location: Sanford, FL (between Daytona and Orlando)
Quote:
Originally Posted by phredgreen
...some guys (like myself) get stuck with a blood-sucking evil witch banshee whore of an ex who will go to any measure to take advantage of anything they can possibly get their claws on...
Quote:
Originally Posted by SirLance
Phred, you and I should start a club...
Ooh, my bf would join that club! He's making half the money he was making when they divorced, and has been paying the same amount of child support since then, yet when he tried getting it lowered because of the lack of funds, the child support was raised! And to top it off, she doesn't even let him see his son, because a visitation schedule wasn't put into writing at the time of divorce. =P
__________________
Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me.
CaliLivChick is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 04:47 PM   #33 (permalink)
...is a comical chap
 
Grasshopper Green's Avatar
 
Location: Where morons reign supreme
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Jazz
Good for your mom. You should be proud of her, and I hope you tell her that. You know all the facts in her case - will you conceed that you don't in this one? With kutulu's post, it's sounding more and more like the asshole in this story is the deceased. I read the brief, and the guy doesn't sound like a very nice guy, at least as far as his treatment of his exwife is concerned.
I am proud of her, and I've told her that many times. She pulled herself up by her bootstraps when a lot of people would take the easy way out and mooch.

As far as the topic at hand...well, it angers me that the ambiguity of the contract could allow money to be taken from his kids to be given to her. I've had several family members get screwed because of poorly written wills/legal contracts, and that probably biases me in this case. I guess this should be a lesson to all to make sure that legal documents be very, very specific.
__________________
"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa
Grasshopper Green is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 06:17 PM   #34 (permalink)
Psycho
 
That's an interesting idea on "Death do us Part". Hmmm.
Really makes you think.
FallenAvatar is offline  
Old 05-11-2006, 06:43 PM   #35 (permalink)
Eat your vegetables
 
genuinegirly's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: Arabidopsis-ville
I really wish that I knew more about the background behind this story.
is she a money-grubbing loser? or just super desperate for some sort of income? Is she disabled and cannot work? Is she old, was he rich? Do his family members hate her, or do they just not want to pay? The agreement is fairly straightforward. I see their logic with the wording. Did she choose for it to be worded as such, or did he? did anyone realize what this would mean when they worded it this way?

well... there we go. Another reason to have a good lawyer on your side. Even after death.
__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy
genuinegirly is offline  
 

Tags
guys, warned

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:21 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360