Word of the Month for June 2019: Scurrility

For the record, I have worked in and around the business of law for little over 30 years. 

In all that time, I have discovered that the single most contentious area of law is that of family law - which is really a misnomer because "family law" has very little to do with creating families.  In fact, I think the person in charge of naming this area of law did it as a prank to fool people into thinking that it actually helps families.

Anyway, I just finished helping a young lady get up and moving with her case.  Seems she had been divorced for a number of years from a particularly cantankerous guy; a real winner he was.  

Notwithstanding a judgement for child and spousal support, guy had never paid a dime.  Christmas, birthdays - nothing.  Then, to top it off, guy has the gall to file for modification every 6 months.  Heretofore no judge had actually granted said modification but he tries and tries and tries.

What set young lady off was that in between each round of modification, guy spews hatred and foul remarks about her (and her character) to their children every time the kids are over at guys' place.  It's not so much that young lady cares what guy thinks of her as it is the damage his language is having on tender ears.

Of course, this all brings us to our word of the month:  SCURRILITY.  According to Black's Law Dictionary (10th Ed.), SCURRILITY is:

One or more slanderous, abusive, or off-color remarks; vulgar, indecent, or abusive language.  2. The quality of whatever is scandalous, abusive, or indecent.

So, young lady is livid about what-all guy is saying about her in front of their kids.  She asks what I can suggest she look at to help with plugging guy's pie hole.  Knowing my collection as I do, I suggest she take a look at:

• Understanding Family Law (Lexis)
• Family Law: cases, text, problems (Lexis)

I also suggested young lady take a look at Developing a Child Custody Parenting Plan put out by the Family Court Services of San Diego County Superior Court and off young lady went to piece together a plan of action in an already delicate situation.

You know, whether you're in the catbird seat or your sitting behind the 8-ball, your local county law librarian is pulling for you.  So, waste not a minute and head on over to see how you can get to your next happily ever after.