According to a poll of 1,500 people conducted by GFK Roper, 60 percent of people going through a divorce are most likely to turn to friends and family for support before professional or spiritual advisors.  Furthermore, 26 percent of men said they would turn to family first, while 25 percent said they would go to friends first.  Among women, 45 percent said they would go to family and 25 percent said they would first turn to friends for support.  In general, men were more likely to turn to professional support first than women.

In addition, only 7 percent said they would turn to professionals like lawyers, accountants, or financial planners for advice, and another 7 percent said they would go to a religious or spiritual institution.  Five percent told surveyors that they would first turn to therapists for help, and another four percent said they would go to support groups.  

If you or someone you know is in need of support or advice through a divorce, contact the Raleigh divorce lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

38-year old Samuel Lee Horton was arrested and brought back to the United States after FBI investigators discovered that he had fled to Phuket, Thailand with his 3-year old daughter.

Horton and his wife are divorced and have a son and daughter together.  Horton was granted visitation rights, but denied custody rights of his children after the divorce.  Last year, Horton forged his wife's signature in order to obtain a passport for his young daughter before fleeing to Thailand with her.  Horton had told his wife we was taking their daughter to Disney World.  Horton had a job and had enrolled the girl in school in Thailand.

Horton has already plead guilty to the charge of falsifying a document and will face a charge of violating a custody order in federal court.  Horton faces up to ten years in prison for the charges.

If you or someone you know is fighting for their child custody rights, contact the Raleigh child custody lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

55-year old Kelsey Grammer, star of the hit television series Frasier, and his wife 41-year old Camille Donatacci announced their plans to divorce in July.  Earlier this week, Grammer made headlines after news that his 29-year old mistress was pregnant with his child.

Now, Donatacci is demanding over half of Grammer's $119 million fortune.  In the couple's divorce filing, Donatacci asks for $71.5 million.  The couple also has a $56 million television company together called Grammnet.  

Sources say that Donatacci was devastated when she heard the news about Grammer's mistress and marital misconduct.  Donatacci did not sign a prenuptial agreement.

If you or someone you know has suffered from their spouse's marital misconduct, contact the Raleigh marital misconduct lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

A new study conducted by a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia shows similar personality traits in male and female perpetrators of domestic violence.

The study used 567 psychiatric patients to analyze if they exhibit normal personality characteristics, psychopathic characteristics, or mentally ill characteristics.  138 women and 93 men in the study had histories of domestic violence.

Zach Walsh, the author and professor leading the study, stated, "These new findings are among the first to highlight similarities between subtypes of domestically violent men and women".

The three subtypes and similarities found in the study are: low pathology perpetrators have generally normal personalities and are rarely violent outside of the relationship, dysphoric perpetrators suffer from mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental illness, and antisocial perpetrators exhibit high levels of psychopathic characteristics and are violent outside of the relationship.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic violence, contact the Raleigh domestic violence lawyers of Marshall & Taylor, P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

This week, 44-year old actor Charlie Sheen plead guilty to a misdemeanor third-degree assault charge as a part of a plea bargain.  Two charges were dropped in the bargain, including a criminal mischief misdemeanor and a felony charge of menacing.  Sheen was charged after attacking his wife, Brooke Mueller, on Christmas day last year.  Court documents revealed that Mueller feared for her life during and after the attack.  "My husband had me with a knife and I'm scared for my life," stated Mueller in her 911 call after the attack. 

This was not the first time Sheen found himself in court for domestic violence.  In 1996, Sheen was charged with assault for attacking his girlfriend.  The actor plead no contest and served two years of probation.

As a result of the plea bargain, Sheen was able to avoid jail time by spending 30 days in a rehabilitation center, serving 30 days of probation, and completing 36 hours of domestic violence and anger management counseling.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of domestic violence, contact the Raleigh domestic violence attorneys of Marshall & Taylor, P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

Last Thursday, over 100 people gathered together at the Johnston County courthouse to remember victims of domestic violence incidents in the county.

In the last month Johnston County has seen a number of high profile domestic violence cases, including one recent one resulting in the death of a 4-year old girl.  A week earlier, Devinne House and her son were killed by her husband and on July 1st, Elizabeth Reyes was shot by and killed by her husband.   

A spokesperson for Harbor Inc., a Johnston County non-profit helping domestic violence victims, stated, "This is a severe problem in all communities, not just Johnston County...It's all across North Carolina and the United States".  

Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle stated, "As friends, as neighbors, as family members, we can make a promise to do a better job; to be aware of circumstances that might be occurring right next door or in our families and not be afraid to step in".  

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the remembered victims. 

ABC's "Primetime" recently followed an Arizona couple, 50-year old Chris and 52-year old Shari Stewart, through their mediation and divorce process.  While most couples working through a divorce chose to live separately, the Stewarts have been forced to continue living under the same roof due to the nation's economic troubles and housing market downfall.  

The Stewarts live in a 5,000 square foot million-dollar home in Tempe that has dramatically fallen in value over the past few years.  The couple has been married for 18 years and have three children, ages 16, 12, and 11.  The two told their children last August they would be getting a divorce and would stay living together until they sold the house, but they still continue to live together today.

"Primetime" has documented the Stewarts' nine months living together and working with a mediator to try to resolve their problems.  

If you or someone you know is in need of divorce mediation, contact the Raleigh divorce mediation attorneys of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more.