Tips for Avoiding a DUI This Holiday
As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, we tend to start gathering for the holidays. For many, that means get-togethers, dinners, and parties with food and alcohol. It sometimes feels like a nonstop party from November to January and, unsurprisingly, DUI arrests are highest between Thanksgiving and New Year’s weekend. Thanksgiving Eve…
Read MoreNew Divorce Forms Available for Tennessee Parents
Divorce inherently comes with any number of complications and issues. Until 2017, parents in Tennessee who had come to the difficult decision to divorce were faced with numerous legal constraints that other couples were not subject to. With the publication of new forms streamlining the process for qualifying parents, divorces in Tennessee can be obtained…
Read MoreDivorce Granted to Same-Sex Couple in Controversial Custody Case
When Sabrina and Erica Witt decided to end their marriage, they didn’t expect to become national news. But when protesters and lawmakers tried to intervene in the custody of the couple’s child, conceived through artificial insemination, the simple divorce became much more complicated. Knox County Circuit Court Judge Greg McMillan ultimately changed his ruling to…
Read MoreServing Time in Tennessee While Innocent
After a person commits a crime, serves his or her time, and is released on parole, a certain level of behavior is expected. Any serious legal infraction will send the person back to jail- prior to conviction on the new charges. In the case of John Leon Smith of North Nashville, a loophole in the…
Read MoreUnderstanding Father’s Rights in Your Tennessee Divorce
Fathers may feel guilty when seeking a divorce in Tennessee if they have children they want to remain actively involved with raising. It’s important to understand your rights as a father in your divorce, especially because a marital split does not in any way mean you are foregoing your paternity rights. If you want to…
Read MoreMaking Sense of Tennessee’s DMV Point System
Some states, including Tennessee, have instituted a points system for motorists. If you hold a state driver’s license from Tennessee, you are subject to this system. Points are awarded to you as demerits of a sort if you commit a driving or traffic infraction. These points are associated with your driver’s license number, so if…
Read MoreCongratulations, Adrian Altshuler, on Your Latest Award!
The Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates is proud to announce that firm founder Adrian Altshuler has recently been named a Silver Client Champion by Martindale-Hubbell. The Client Champion awards are a new way to “recognize those attorneys who excel at service as affirmed by their clients. The awards, based on the quantity…
Read MoreGuardianship vs. Adoption: Which One Is Right For You?
Making a decision about the caretaking of a child can be one of the most rewarding yet difficult undertakings. If you are charged with the care of a child, you have serious decisions to make that will affect this young life for years to come. You will have to decide whether guardianship or adoption is…
Read MoreA Field Guide to Tennessee Sobriety Checkpoints
DUI checkpoints, or sobriety checkpoints, are on the rise in Tennessee. Police officers will section off part of an intersection or roadway in order to slowly filter cars through in a line. Legally, officers can check any car in the line for sobriety or a suspicion of drunk driving. When you are pulled over at…
Read MoreThe Benefits of Establishing Paternity in Tennessee
Establishing paternity doesn’t always mean that you are the biological father of a child. Paternity, as a term, does mean fatherhood; but in the family law of Tennessee’s legal sense, establishing paternity is actually the act of determining a child’s “legal” father. Fathers, whether they are biological parents or not, have both rights and obligations…
Read MoreDUI by Consent in Tennessee a Risk for Vehicle Owners
You don’t have to be driving under the influence to be arrested for your first, second, or third DUI in Tennessee. If you’ve let someone drive your vehicle who is knowingly intoxicated, state law provides for charging car owners with a DUI by consent (also called DUI by proxy). Most of the time, DUI by…
Read MoreParental Kidnapping and Family Law in Tennessee
This past May, a woman from Memphis temporarily lost custody of her young toddler son during a difficult divorce. In June, the woman was arrested in Michigan for kidnapping. But it gets worse. When she was found in a Dearborn, Michigan hotel room, not only was her son kidnapped, but so was the boy’s 30-year-old…
Read More700 Pounds of Marijuana Seized in Dickson Country Traffic Stop
It is common knowledge that marijuana is illegal in Tennessee, as well as a federally prohibited Schedule I substance. It’s also well known that many Tennesseans smoke or grow marijuana, and that this doesn’t necessarily make them hardened criminals. Decriminalization efforts in Nashville and Memphis have been getting traction since late last year, but the…
Read MoreIs Your Former Spouse Padding Their Expenses to Get Higher Alimony?
Divorce is a difficult time emotionally and can also be financially complex. When one spouse is ordered to pay the divorcing spouse alimony, financial documents and evidence must be prepared, and expenses are considered by the court. When expenses reported are disingenuous however, it presents a problem under Tennessee law, as well as for the…
Read MoreTennessee Prosecutors Suing Drug Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
As reported by USA Today, three Tennessee prosecutors filed a suit this week against drug makers in an attempt to highlight the opioid epidemic that is ravaging the state. The district attorney generals for three east Tennessee judicial districts, that together represent nine counties in our great state, filed their lawsuit in the Sullivan County…
Read MoreDo Grandparents Have Visitation Rights in Tennessee?
Families can be complicated and, often, parents are not the sole caregivers to their children. Grandparents often have a special relationship with their grandchildren and, in many cases, might function as a parent or legal guardian to a child for some or most of their lives. In Tennessee, there are three specific statutes of family…
Read MoreDon’t Get a Day-After-DUI in Tennessee
When you’ve been drinking, you know it’s unsafe and not smart to get behind the wheel. Most people who imbibe know they should never drive after alcohol-related festivities. To be sure, many law abiding Tennesseans have done their best during a night of drinking: they have enlisted a designated driver, or decided to stay in…
Read MoreLifestyle Analysis as a Tennessee Alimony Strategy
When you are going through a divorce in Tennessee, spousal support or alimony is sure to be part of the proceedings. It is common for lawyers to cite spouses’ need and ability to pay alimony as critical reasons and components for mandating it in a divorce. When you are trying to establish a reason for…
Read MoreWho Pays an Attorney’s Fees in Tennessee Divorce?
When you and your spouse are seeking a divorce in Tennessee, you may be worried that it will be prohibitively expensive. Realistically, some couples can seek a frugal divorce, but there must not be much legally contested property, complicated child custody battles, or other adversarial actions. The average divorce in Tennessee costs $12,600, with almost…
Read MoreTennessee DUIs and Mandatory Blood Draws
In June of last year, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that mandatory warrantless blood draws at DUI stops are unconstitutional and too intrusive. Although police can still mandate onsite breathalyzers without a warrant, warrantless searches are generally only intended for extraordinary circumstances. Blood draws at DUI stops do not fall under this…
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