Back when my daughter was in high school, she went through a school-skipping phase. Blissfully unaware, I would send her off to class and she would immediately head in the other direction. This situation was brought to my attention by the helpful folks in the truancy office, who informed me that if she didn't get her butt into class, they would arrest me! Fortunately things didn't go that far and nobody went to jail.

But for a father in Fairfield, Ohio, his wayward daughter's refusal to complete her education did land him in jail. Brian Gegner is serving a six-month sentence because his daughter Brittany failed to get her General Equivalency Diploma (GED) after dropping out of school. But here's the twist - Brittany is 18-years-old and a legal adult.

Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus ordered Gegner to jail on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because he failed to follow a previous court order requiring him to ensure his daughter got her GED. Court administrators admit this type of punishment is rare, but say that despite the fact that Brittany is an adult now, her case remains active because she was a juvenile when the problems began.

There are many who believe that the marriage of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey was doomed the moment they let a camera crew into their home. During a time when most young couples are quietly and privately settling into their newly acquired domestic bliss, these two were starring in Newlyweds. The whole point of that show was to invade their privacy and it makes sense that the presence of cameras would create some strain on the relationship. In the end, the marriage failed and the couple sadly went their separate ways.

There is at least one person who doesn't see a connection between the failed marriage and the intrusion of the cameras: Jessica's dad, Joe Simpson. As Jessica's manager, Joe was the man responsible for making Newlyweds happen and sources say he's now seeing dollar signs when he looks at his younger daughter, Ashlee. Ashlee recently became engaged to Pete Wentz and rumor has it that she is with child. Kaching!

In my opinion, another reality show featuring a Simpson marriage sounds like a snooze-fest, but apparently Papa Joe thinks otherwise. "He knows that no one cared about Jessica before her reality show, and he's hoping a show for Ashlee will have the same effect," a source says.

By "same effect", I am sure he means popularity and ratings, not divorce. At any rate, a publicist for Ashlee and Pete says it isn't true and that the couple have no plans to star in a Newlyweds 2. But that same publicist says Ashlee isn't pregnant, so who knows.

Having finally reached a settlement in his rather long and nasty divorce, you would think the last thing Paul McCartney would want to do is hang out with ex-wife Heather Mills. But according to reports, Paul has invited her to join him on his upcoming world tour.

What in the world would possess him to do such a thing? You can bet it isn't Heather's sweet disposition and smiling face he's looking forward to. Rather, it is the opportunity to spend more time with daughter Bea that has him considering what some feel is a risky proposition.

"He realizes he has to do some kind of deal with Heather, and to keep disruption to a minimum he has come up with this idea," a source told the News of the World. "He feels that letting Heather fly to him where they are touring could be the best way."

Paul's friends are wary. "Many of those close to him are not sure this plan will work. Heather is so unpredictable that anything could happen."

Divorce, like marriage, requires compromise - especially when there are children involved. For the sake of Bea, I really hope these two can work it out. But based on what has gone on in the past, I am not holding out much hope.

So what do you do if your wife can't provide you with kids? Well, if you're in Bulgaria, it seems, you trade her for a goat. It seems that Stoil Panayotov felt it was his wife's fault that they had no children, he struck a deal with a farmer at a livestock market -- the farmer got the girl and Panayotov got the goat.

What's perhaps most surprising about the whole situation is that the wife agreed to be part of the deal. That must have been one heck of a farmer (or Panayotov was no catch to begin with.) As for me, it's a little too late -- my wife has already popped out two kids and has another on the way. Too bad, because having a goat could be kinda cool.

Suspect the mother of your child of being unfaithful? Tired of people saying that the baby looks nothing at all like you? Searching for a gag shower gift for the expectant father? Maybe it's time to head out to Wal-Greens!

Identigene now offers at-home DNA kits for sale in drugstores across the country for $30. The kit consists of swabs, consent forms and a special mailer to hold the samples safely when they are sent back to the Identigene labs. The fee to have the samples analyzed is an additional $120. Test results are available 3-5 days after the samples are received either online or by phone or mail. Legal documentation for use in court matters such as divorce, child support, and custody cases cost an additional $250.

The graphic on the DNA kit package is rather interesting. Is it a mother playing an innocent game with her child, confident her spouse has no idea he's been cuckolded, or is she nervously inspecting the baby's face for clues because she's not even certain who the father might be?

My celebrity news feeds all wanted to share with me the not-so-interesting news that Denise Richards has legally changed her name back to Denise Richards. The judge approved her name change petition Friday, though her divorce from Charlie Sheen was finalized two years ago.

The story got me thinking, though, about family names and what they mean to people. Traditionally, women have taken their husbands' last names when married, and then all the children from that marriage also share the same surname. These days, though, the only rule in last names is that there are no rules. Married women keep their maiden names, or hyphenate to include their husband's names. Children might get mom's last name, or dad's, or both. And that's just for married couples having children. Add single parents, unmarried-but-coupled parents, and step-parents to the mix, and it's becoming more rare to have only one last name on the household mailbox.

Yet just as we change it up and break all the conventions, I think we have to recognize that it isn't just a name. Names represent our identities; our choices about them make statements about who we are. Families who adopt a child change the child's last name in a move that says, unambiguously, "You are now part of our family." The decision to change or keep a name, hyphenate a name, or revert back to a maiden name after divorce reflects some meaning about the nature of that family. Often, the choice mirrors the struggles we have between "me" and "us," between honoring each extended family while becoming a family of our own.

What arrangement do you have for last names in your family? What meaning does that have for you?

Actress Julie Andrews has written a book about her life and the story she tells is not a pretty one. In Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, Andrews shares her memories of growing up in England with her mother, Barbara, and her stepfather, Ted Wells. The most disturbing revelation is that her stepfather, the man she called "Pop", was a child molester and Andrews was his victim.

I won't go into the details of just how he abused her because it is heartbreaking and disturbing. You can read excerpts of the book here. Suffice it to say that as a young girl, Julie Andrews suffered terribly at the hands of a man who was supposed to be her protector.

And for Andrews, the heartbreak doesn't end with the abuse from Ted Wells. Growing up, she was told that Wells was her biological father, when in fact he was not. At the age of fourteen, she learned that she was the product of an affair. "That simply knocked me sideways," says Julie.

Andrews' mother did eventually divorce Ted Wells, but it isn't clear from these excerpts how much - if anything - she knew about what her husband was doing to her daughter. As for deceiving Andrews' about her father's true identity, I think her mother made a huge mistake. I understand the desire to do that, but in my opinion, every person has a right to know the truth about where they came from.

Eddie Murphy, who does the voice of Donkey in the Shrek movies, continues to play a jackass in real life.

The number one grossing film star in history ($3.4 billion in the U.S. alone) has still never seen the 11-month-old daughter he had with former flame Melanie Brown. Because he believes the Spice Girl got pregnant by tricking him according to a source, "He says he will have to wait until Angel is older before he can get to know her without any interference from her mother."

According to Murphy, during the relationship Brown said she was on birth control and they only had sex three times. Brown announced her pregnancy shortly after the couple had split. Murphy denied the child was his until a DNA test proved him to be the father.

Perhaps Melanie Brown DID get pregnant on purpose to be able to get some of Eddie Murphy's money, which is crummy. Maybe the birth control failed. Whatever happened, none of it is the fault of little Angel, who is the person being punished and will be messed up the most by all of this.

If Eddie thinks he can ignore his daughter for years and then insert himself into her life at a later date, he's a moron. He has also ruined Shrek for me forever.

When model/reality star, Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental prescription drug overdose a year ago, she left behind a five-month-old baby and a lot of unfinished business, including updating her will to include the baby girl.

Smith's only listed heir was her 20-year-old son, who had died unexpectedly three days after baby Dannielynn was born and the will had not been updated since. Luckily for Dannielynn's sake, her father has been able to provide for her until her mother's estate was sorted out through the court system and she was legally declared the heir.

Wills aren't just for celebrities and their millions. Every parent should have a written, legal directive stating their wishes for their child's future and dealing with their possessions in case the unthinkable happens. A quick google search can yield the estate planning laws in your state, often the process can be done without the expense of an attorney.

If you've ever purchased Airborne in hopes that the effervescent bubbles would knock out your cold as promised on the packaging, they owe you some money.

Good Morning America's investigation found that the "double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study" touted by the CEO of the company was actually a two-man operation started up just for the Airborne study. Company literature referred to Airborne as a "miracle cold buster," and a company press release boasted it would "get rid of most colds in 1 hour."

In response to a class action lawsuit, Airborne agreed to a settlement . Consumers seeking refunds for purchases of Airborne can obtain a claim form by writing to the Airborne Class Action Settlement Administrator, PO Box 1897, Faribault, MN 55021-7152, calling 1-888-952-9080, or by visiting www.AirborneHealthSettlement.com.

In my regular visits to the family law courtrooms of southeast Texas, I stopped in recently to watch the divorce hearings in one of the local courts. Several cases were very short and sweet, but one case took up the majority of the morning. A couple was not only fighting for custody of their children, but they were also trying to decide who would get their dogs.

The husband had agreed that the children would continue living with their mother, with him having liberal visitation. However, a problem arose with the children's pets. The mother had never wanted the children to have pets and refused to let the children keep the dogs at her house. The children's father had bought both children a dog for a Christmas present against his wife's wishes. The children had their pets for two years and now with their parents divorcing, they wanted their pets to live with them. The children's mother insisted that the pets should live with her soon to be ex-husband, and the children could see their pets when they went to visit their father on weekends.

Their mother's refusal to let their pets stay with them had upset the children so much that the father was considering asking for custody of the children. He was trying to get the children's mother to reconsider her decision and she was refusing. The judge stated he could not force the mother to keep the dogs against her will and told the father if he wanted to ask for custody, it would be considered, but not based on his wife's refusal to keep the dogs.

The case was not settled and had to be set for trial. The parents will now fight a bitter battle for custody of the children because of the children's desire to live with their pets full-time.

What do you think? Should a parent be flexible when a child is already attached to a pet or is it acceptable for these children to only see their pets on the weekends with their father?

Is sending a deadbeat dad or mom to jail for not paying their child support the best solution? Most states take drastic measures to collect child support from parents who are avoiding paying their child support by suspending their driver's license, garnishing their wages, or even putting them in jail. Putting someone in jail never made sense to me, because how can someone make money to pay their child support from jail?

A program has been started in Iowa that offers help to parents who are not paying their child support by job training or substance abuse rehabilitation. Parents who are delinquent on their child support can avoid jail time by participating in this program.

A program coordinator helps identify the reasons why the parents are unable to pay their child support and attempts to find community resources to help them, such as transportation, employment or substance abuse. They will also be required to attend a parenting class.

Barbara Lacina, a regional director for the state's Child Support Recovery Unit, says that Polk County has already been able to collect over $316,000 in past-due child support from parents involved in this program. The program has also helped these parents avoid over 8,000 days of potential jail time.

Lacina stated that she has also seen an improvement in parental relationships in some of these cases, including one father who was able to regain custody of his children from foster care after completing a substance abuse program.

A lot of parents might not be the stereotypical "deadbeat parent," where they just choose not to pay their child support. Do you think this program would be helpful in other states? Isn't rehabilitation and assistance a much better solution than putting the parents in jail?

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A Florida minister has challenge the married members of his congregation to do "It" every day for a month. Why? He thinks sex, and lots of it, might be a way to prevent divorce by strengthening relationships between husband and wife.

Relevant Church head pastor Paul Wirth also issued a challenge for unmarried members of the church: abstain from sexual activity for 30 days.

I was raised in a Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell brand of Lutheran church and I'm just trying to imagine the collective gasp of horror that would occur if particular topic or idea was ever brought up in a sermon. I'm also trying to imagine the awkwardness of kids in the congregation finding out every married couple of the church has been officially ordered to get busy by order of the pastor.

EWWWWWW. Just EWWWWWW.

This past Saturday quietly marked another reunion for the soap-opera-like Spears family: Britney was reunited with her boys.

Sure, it was only for three hours I doubt it could have been a tender mother and child reunion with her father, her psychiatrist, and a body guard all keeping a watchful eye and not allowing her to leave their line of vision, but for the first time since January 3rd, Sean Preston and Jayden James were in the same room as their mother.

This is probably the best thing for those little boys, they get to see Mommy, but aren't dependent on her in any way to take care of their needs.

At least it's a start, anyway.

Heather Mills' divorce has made her one very wealthy ex-wife. The $108 million arrangement she hammered out with Paul McCartney comes out to a salary of $27 million for the blonde for every year of their marriage.

Per the agreement, the couple's four-year-old daughter, Beatrice, will live mainly with Mills but McCartney has equal visitation rights and Mills can never speak publicly or write in detail about the breakdown of the marriage.

Mills has said she's planning on setting up a home in Eastern Europe to escape the vitriol most in Great Britain have for what has been called her "gold digger" ways. Part of the divorce settlement shows her concern, it includes a 24 hour security team for Mills whether Beatrice is with her or not. McCartney has to cough up an immediate $40 million lump sum payment, with $5 million annual payments to Mills until Beatrice turns 18, but he won't be working eight days a week to do it. The former Beatle is estimated to be worth 1.2 billion dollars, which means he can afford to marry and divorce dozens and dozens more gold diggers, if that's what he wants.