The fact that Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers are having a lackluster season despite a hefty $95.4 million team payroll (10th highest in the league according to ESPN), the biggest liability for the team is the ugly divorce of its co-owners, Jamie and Frank McCourt.

While we've been hearing accusations and insults from either side for a while now, USA Today and other major news sources reported that the McCourt divorce is just now underway. The stakes are high, since both parties claim ownership of the storied baseball franchise.

The Dodgers franchise has been valued at anywhere from $750 million to $1.5 billion, a fortune unheard of to most Atlanta divorce lawyers with respect to marital property.

The marriage of actor Michael Douglas and Diandra Douglas was over 10 years ago but a sequel to the popular 1980s film "Wall Street" appropriately titled "Money Never Sleeps" has brought the pair back into court, the BBC reported.

This blog covered the news that Diandra is seeking half the earnings from the forthcoming film, claiming a clause in their divorce settlement in which she is entitled to a portion of earnings from "spin-offs" of his films. The question is whether the film is a "spin-off" or, as lawyers for Michael Douglas argue, a sequel.

Although this is a unique case with entertainment law underpinnings, a Georgia family law attorney could better explain the implications of such a clause.

What started out as a child custody dispute is now a criminal matter. Police in the Denver-area neighborhood of Lakewood said 27-year-old father James Paul Chavez placed a loaded .22-caliber pistol in his 4-year-old daughter's backpack, the Denver Post reported.

Considering that courts are tasked with considering the best interests of the child when deciding child custody disputes, it doesn't take a Georgia family law attorney to know that this incident will not help his case. 

A father in Greenville, South Carolina was in federal court last week after his arrest in Phuket, Thailand, according to NBC Greenville. The man, Samuel Lee Horton, pleaded guilty to violating a child custody order for his 3-year-old daughter.

Samuel Horton was charged by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office on May 5, 2009 after he had taken his daughter across international boundaries to Thailand. He also was indicted on fraud charges for procuring a falsified passport for the child.

He pleaded guilty in federal court.

Sheriff's detectives earlier this week finished their investigation into allegations that actor and director Mel Gibson physically abused his former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, according to Fox LA. He also is embroiled in a child custody and support dispute with his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of their young daughter.

Potential criminal charges against Mel Gibson may severely impact his custody case, depending on how it plays out, as any Georgia family law attorney would tell you. Judges typically consider the "best interests of the child" when determining custody and visitation, including any history of domestic violence and the mental stability of each parent, according to WomensLaw.org. 

Scott Simon, host of National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" show, discussed his experience adopting two children from China on the NPR show "Fresh Air," as recounted at NPR's Web site. 

International adoption has gained in popularity, particularly as more couples wait until they're older to have children. But it's not a simple process, as FindLaw makes clear, and can be expedited with the help of a Georgia family law attorney specializing in adoption.

An article appearing at Jornal.us written by Georgia family law attorney Reynold Mason makes the point that current interpretations of child support laws often are biased against fathers.

It's not the first time fathers' rights activists and others have raised concern that divorced dads don't often get a fair shake. But he dissects a court case in which a mother granted $28,000 in monthly child support ($336,000 per year) for two children allegedly used the money for lavish shopping sprees.

Despite earlier rumors that Elin Nordegren was close to securing a divorce settlement for the unheard-of sum of $700 million, it ended up being settled at a still-astronomical $100 million (based on estimates). But some attorneys say even that much was way too much, according to a CBS News article. 

Any Atlanta divorce lawyers care to weigh in on this one?

Divorce attorney Raoul Felder, at least, believes the golfing star's ex-wife made off like a bandit and that it probably can be attributable mostly to Tiger Woods' desperate situation at the time. He said the real settlement amount, which is confidential, was somewhere between $100 million and $500 million:

A Seattle-area woman has been accused of theft, perjury and fraud after allegedly faking her own pregnancy and stealing thousands of dollars in child support payments from the man she said was the daddy, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

King County prosecutors claim Federal Way resident Carmen Lynn Johnsen told her lover at the time (December 2008) that she was pregnant with his child. She took a couple of pregnancy tests a month later, which showed she actually was not pregnant, but she allegedly kept that to herself.

It's important to point out that DNA tests used to determine paternity are very accurate. Regardless, it's often a good idea to consult with a Georgia family law attorney first before agreeing to child support payments if you're in doubt.

After Cobb County Police raided the Marietta-area home of James and Anne Cardona earlier this month, as reported by CBS News, they found two obese and neglected girls living in unimaginable filth. The girls, ages 5 and 4, were promptly taken from the parents.

It's not clear whether the parents, who were charged with child cruelty, will consult a Georgia family law attorney and try to regain custody of their children. But Normer Adams, executive director of the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children, said he believes any attempt will be unsuccessful given the seriousness of their alleged neglect:

"Any parent in their right mind would see these children are suffering."