Archive for the ‘Divorce’ Category
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
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Adultery, insanity, collusion, cruelty, abandonment: In California, most of these circumstances relate more to the plot of a soap opera than to a divorce. While any one of these could have actually motivated the divorce, a California judgment of dissolution (divorce) will be based only on either irreconcilable differences or (less likely) incurable insanity. That’s because since 1970, California was the first state to implement the no-fault divorce. Since then, many other states have followed suit, while others allow both fault and no fault divorces. With a no fault divorce, the court can terminate the marriage without proving fault. Compare this to a fault based divorce, where the termination will be granted only if you give and prove grounds for divorce within those reasons allowed by state law, or defend against these claims if you’re responding to a spouse’s petition for the divorce. In a fault based divorce, the conduct of the spouse who’s found to be “at fault” may even be considered when deciding issues such as property division. As of now, New York is the last state in the nation that doesn’t have a no fault ground for divorce. (more…)
Posted in Divorce, Domestic Partnerships, Legal Separation
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
When a judge grants an annulment in California, the parties are deemed to have never been married in the eyes of the law (although the wedding guests who witnessed the union may tend to disagree). Compare this to a dissolution (divorce), where a valid marriage is terminated for reasons created post-marriage. Under California law, the grounds for nullifying a marriage or domestic partnership are broader than commonly believed. Even so, most marriages can’t be undone with an annulment, and despite the myths, an annulment is not an easy way out. An annulment is a potential alternative to divorce only when there’s reason to question the validity of the marriage. Immediate regret and disappointment are not legal bases for annulling a marriage. Depending on the basis for the annulment, a judge may either declare the marriage to have been unlawful from the outset (a “void” marriage), or to have been valid until formally annulled by the court (a “voidable” marriage). (more…)
Posted in Annulment, Divorce
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Divorce at the click of a mouse – it may be coming soon to Brazil, according to an AP article published in the San Diego Union Tribune. Brazil’s Senate recently approved legislation allowing online divorces under certain circumstances, and the bill awaits a vote from the House of Representatives. If the bill becomes law, not everyone would be eligible for quick internet divorces, since it’s meant for those with less complicated and consensual divorces. The idea has not come to California yet, but if it did, how well would it work?
As part of Brazil’s online divorce, you’d be able to divide assets. While this seems like it should be simple enough, many of the most difficult issues in a divorce come up when figuring out who gets what. For example, under California law, do you know what happens if one spouse started a business before getting married (making it separate property), and continued working in the business during the marriage? (more…)
Posted in Alimony / Spousal Support, Asset Protection, Child Support, Collaborative Law & Mediation, Community Property, Current Events, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Property: Value & Division
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
If a California family court order is disobeyed, there are many different ways to compel compliance, but can a person be jailed if, for example, child support isn’t paid? Through the court’s “contempt power,” many family court orders that have been violated can potentially be punished with jail time. On the other hand, the U.S. and California constitutions protect people from being put in jail just for having unpaid debts. In the case of spousal support (alimony) or child support, even though money is owed, the payments are not seen as “debts” because they arise from legal obligations created when you have children or get married, which is why jail can be imposed for willfully violating the court order. (more…)
Posted in Alimony / Spousal Support, Child Support, Divorce, Property: Value & Division
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
New jobs and remarriage are two common reasons why divorced parents move out of San Diego or California. If you’re seeking to relocate with your kids, you’ll need the court’s permission first, or else you’ll be in violation of your court order. Not that long ago a parent with sole custody had an almost unrestrained ability to relocate with the child, but California child custody law in move-away cases has gone through many changes in the past several years. To decide whether to allow the move, the family court now looks at many factors, including whether the move would harm the child and how the child’s relationship with the non-custodial parent will likely be affected. (more…)
Posted in Collaborative Law & Mediation, Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Every divorce in California poses its own difficulties, but when children are involved, many parents struggle with how to help their kids deal with the family changes and feel secure. A common mistake is to overlook the importance of sitting down with your children to really discuss the divorce, making sure your children know they can ask anything and be open about their reactions. Psychotherapist Dr. Matthew Capezzuto sets out “Five Steps for Helping Children Cope with Divorce” in his RoadmapstoSuccess.com article, also explaining what a child goes through when parents break up. (more…)
Posted in Child Support, Collaborative Law & Mediation, Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Just recently, an AP article published in the San Diego Union Tribune reports that for a middle-income family, a child born in 2008 will cost (in current dollars) about $221,000 to raise through age 17. When adjusted for inflation, this figure jumps to an estimated $292,000, as forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Their annual report helps state governments and courts determine child support guidelines.
Even without reading the report, you know that raising children is expensive and always a challenge, but for divorced parents, child support can create additional concerns. For example, what happens when a parent’s income grows, or if a parent loses a job? (more…)
Posted in Alimony / Spousal Support, Child Support, Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Friday, August 7th, 2009
Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” but in lands far away from California, two men in Germany and Cambodia have proven otherwise. In 2007, a German man divorcing his wife took a chainsaw to his wooden house, splitting it in two and then transported his newly redesigned home to his brother’s property. The following year, it happened again. This time the setting was Cambodia, where a man similarly decided that the court system’s idea of property division just wasn’t for him. Instead, he sawed his home in half before moving it to his parents’ property. (more…)
Posted in Community Property, Divorce, Property: Value & Division
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