Important Changes to the California Family Code in 2015 On January 1, 2015, several changes to the California Family Code took effect. It is important to know these changes because they may apply to your case. Important changes to the Code include the following: Multiple Section Changes to Reflect Gender Neutrality Effective January 1, 2015, several Family Code sections have… READ MORE
Stepparent Adoption Procedure
Procedure for California Stepparent Adoptions – a Practical Guide Stepparent adoption proceedings are relatively common in San Diego County, California, although they can be extremely difficult to complete depending on the circumstances. A stepparent adoption always begins with the filing of a petition for the adoption. The petitioner is the stepparent that hopes to adopt the child, and the case… READ MORE
Meaning of Cohabitation in Family Law Support Cases
In a recent, unpublished case IRMO Wollard (2nd Dist., Div. 6, January 14, 2014), the California Court of Appeals heard a case involving a post-judgment motion relating to a former wife’s cohabitation with another man. The case had to do with modification proceedings stemming from a spousal support order in a divorce judgment. The parties judgment required the Husband to… READ MORE
Recent Changes in Post-Judgment Discovery in Divorce Cases
Is Discovery Allowed After a Divorce Case is Completed? Can I Conduct Discovery if a Post-Judgment Motion is Filed After a Family Law Matter has Ended? What if I am Served with Discovery Demands After My Divorce Case Ends? These are many of the questions that we have answered over the years when people visit our office and have questions… READ MORE
For Our Attorney Colleagues – Conflict Check Software
Valuable Resource for Attorneys – Client Conflict Check This article is for the many lawyer colleagues throughout the country that visit our website for useful information about family law. There is an exceptional resource that has become recently available for attorneys to efficiently check for conflicts of interest. Client Conflict Check provides a cloud-based, extremely fast system that allows attorneys in… READ MORE
Imputed Income for Child and Spousal Support Based on Expenses
Determining Child & Spousal Support by Attributing Income Based upon Family Expenses In the recent unpublished case of In re Marriage of Farida, decided June 25, 2013, the California Court of Appeal held that it was not an abuse of the trial court’s broad discretion to calculate child and spousal support by attributing income to the obligor, based upon family… READ MORE
Immigration Sponsorship Payments are Income for Child Support
Child Support May Be Calculated Using Immigration Sponsorship Payments as Income In the recent unpublished case San Bernardino DCSS v. Gross, decided July 23, 2013, the California Court of Appeal upheld a child support judgment based on a non-custodial mother’s sponsorship money. The sponsorship money was paid to her by the children’s father’s parents, as contracted when she came to the… READ MORE
Failure to Disclose Assets in Divorce Cases
SANCTIONS FOR NON-DISCLOSURE OF SEPARATE AND COMMUNITY PROPERTY DURING DISSOLUTION In the recent case of In re Marriage of Simmons, 215 Cal.App.4th (2013), the court interpreted Family Code § 1101, subsections (g) and (h). According to the statute, one party is entitled to sanctions in the event the other party fails to disclose assets. Under subsection (g), the aggrieved party… READ MORE
Importance of Effective Counsel in Family Law Cases
INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL IN FAMILY LAW PROCEEDINGS In the recent case of In re Marriage of Campi, 212 Cal.App.4th 1565 (2013), husband and wife of a twenty-year marriage decided to separate, and then disputed over the dissolution of their marriage for the following seven years. The husband requested a community property home become his separate property. The parties agreed… READ MORE
Modifiability of Spousal Support Orders
UNINTENTIONAL WAIVER OF THE ABILITY TO MODIFY A SPOUSAL SUPPORT ORDER In the recent case of In re Marriage of Hibbard, 212 Cal.App.4th 1007 (2013), the court refused to modify a spousal support order to an amount less than $2,000 per month, despite husband’s proven disability. The parties divorced in 2002, after thirty years of marriage. The husband served in… READ MORE