Archive for the ‘Divorce’ Category
Friday, August 20th, 2010
The division of assets and debts in a California divorce depends on their character. Giving assets and debts a “character” sounds quite odd. But how assets and debts are labeled ultimately determines who gets to keep what, and who is responsible for what.
Under California Family Code section 910 the community (meaning both spouses) is liable for all debts incurred during the marriage and prior to separation. It does not matter whether the debt was incurred by one spouse for his or her own benefit or for the family. It also doesn’t matter whose name appears on the bill or the credit card statements. If the debt was incurred during the marriage and before separation, it is a community debt and both spouses are equally liable. Debt incurred after separation may be either community or separate debt, depending on the circumstances. (more…)
Posted in Divorce
Friday, August 20th, 2010
One would think that the spouses with assets worth millions of dollars would have entered into an iron-clad prenuptial agreement for dividing those assets if there was ever a divorce. However, even seemingly iron-clad agreements are often challenged in California divorce cases involving well-to-do spouses.
Grounds for Challenging a Prenuptial Agreement
The method for challenging a prenuptial is to demonstrate that it is defective in some manner and therefore should not be enforced. This is never an easy undertaking, because much of the evidence will be disputed testimony about what each spouse said or did, or did not say or do – facts that are very difficult to establish without other supporting evidence. The dispute typically centers on whether the prenuptial agreement was revoked, amended, or invalid from the start because it was entered into as a result of fraud or duress. (more…)
Posted in Alimony / Spousal Support, Divorce, Marriage, Premarital agreement
Friday, May 14th, 2010
Let’s say that a husband works full-time to support his wife while she goes to medical school. The couple’s joint money is used to pay for the wife’s medical school, but not long after the wife becomes a doctor, the two decide to divorce. Since the money used to pay for the wife’s education was community property (usually property is “community” if it was earned while married), should the wife pay this money back to the community estate upon divorce?
Many married couples in California have spent a lot of money on one spouse’s education. Despite the steep price of an education, many couples feel it’s worth the cost because of the potential financial benefits they’ll both share down the road. But what if there’s a divorce? (more…)
Posted in Alimony / Spousal Support, Divorce, Premarital agreement
Friday, May 14th, 2010
In most California divorces, the family home is one of the biggest assets at stake in the divorce. No matter what you do, remember that how your property is divided can affect you long after the divorce is final.
What happens if one spouse keeps the house?
Option 1: The Buyout
If one of you does keep the home, then you’ll have to buy the other spouse out. To buy out your spouse’s share, you might even things out by making trade-offs. Often, the spouse keeping the house will give up a share in other community property with equal value. As with your other assets, getting an accurate appraisal of the property’s value is critical. (more…)
Posted in Divorce, Marriage, Property: Value & Division
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Courts throughout California and the country have dealt with questions about child custody and religion for decades. What will happen if divorced parents (or unmarried parents who are no longer together) have different religions and disagree about which faith to raise their children in? The truth is, unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court decides this question, there’s no black and white answer that applies nationwide. (more…)
Posted in Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
The road toward getting your California divorce judgment probably felt long and rough at times. You worked hard to protect your family and financial interests during the divorce, and now you need to do the same after the divorce. While not quite “deadly sins,” it’s still essential that you avoid these post-divorce mistakes before any damage is done. You may want to ask yourself, are you guilty of any of the following? (more…)
Posted in Divorce
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Divorces in San Diego and throughout California can’t become final until at least six months after a spouse is served with divorce papers. Usually, a divorce will take longer than this minimum waiting period. Many steps need to be taken during the transition to protect your family, business, and finances.
For divorcing spouses who have kids, a Divorcesupport.com blog provides advice on how to best meet your children’s emotional needs during a divorce. It cautions that you shouldn’t be the only one providing your kids with emotional support. When family and friends aren’t enough, then look for counseling options. You’re also encouraged to get emotional support for yourself, such as through a local support group, family, and friends. (more…)
Posted in Alimony / Spousal Support, Asset Protection, Child Support, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Property: Value & Division, Restraining Orders
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Here in San Diego, there’s no shortage of ways for a divorcing spouse to spend away all of the couple’s assets during a divorce, if he or she really wanted to. Thankfully for the other spouse or domestic partner, one important way that California deals with this concern is with “automatic temporary restraining orders.”
An automatic temporary restraining order (ATRO) sets out many ground rules that both spouses have to comply with during the divorce process, known as “dissolution of marriage” in California. For the spouse who begins the divorce, the ATROs are effective when the divorce papers are filed in court. For the spouse responding to the divorce, the order goes into effect once the divorce papers are served. (more…)
Posted in Divorce, Restraining Orders
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Hard financial times are still troubling many parents in California who have been laid off from their jobs. The Associated Press reports in the Los Angeles Times that nationally, new jobless claims have recently risen higher than expected, although California has fortunately seen some decreases. For many of these parents who owe child support, the question is, when unemployment benefits end, will that parent be excused from paying the support until a new job is found? On the other hand, if the paying parent is lucky enough to be in a better financial position than when the child support was first ordered, will that parent automatically pay more now to support his or her child? The short answer in either case is no, and will continue to be no, unless and until one of the parent’s gets the child support order modified in family court. (more…)
Posted in Child Support, Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
No one who is about to go through a divorce wants to be subjected to the type of spiteful and hostile divorces that are routinely portrayed in movies and television, but many feel that an adversarial contested divorce is inevitable to the process. A “contested divorce” means that the parties can’t agree on all the issues, such as property division, custody and visitation with children, the amount of spousal support (alimony), how to divide debts, or payment of attorney’s fees. In these cases, a family court judge will ultimately have to decide these questions after divorce litigation. The reality is that a contested divorce is usually not inevitable, and although a divorce will always be difficult, for many divorcing couples in San Diego much of the emotional and monetary cost of a contested divorce can be avoided. (more…)
Posted in Collaborative Law & Mediation, Divorce
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