There are two types of support in Family Law cases in California. There is child support, which refers to support intended to assist in providing for the needs of the children involved in the case. Then there is spousal support, sometimes called “Alimony” (The two terms are interchangeable) which is…
It is often said that when one marries his or her spouse, he or she is also “marrying their debt.” Is that how it works in California, too? It depends. Family Code section 910 provides the following: “(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, the community estate is liable…
If you are considering a divorce or are already involved in the divorce process, you have likely done some research and been left scratching your head in bewilderment. Divorce is so common these days that you may assume it’s easy to do. Unfortunately, however, it’s not the most “user friendly”…
It’s no secret that divorces can get expensive. The divorce between Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt exceeded $20,000,000 in fees! There are three fairly simple steps that every single person can take before and during marriage to make any potential divorce less expensive. 1.Keep your separate money separate. One…
Janus Friis, the co-founder of Skype, gave his Danish pop star girlfriend Aura Dione (real name Maria Louise Joenson) a $471,942 engagement ring when he popped the question in July of 2013. Among the platinum ring’s many diamonds are a 1.76 carat center diamond, two pear-shaped blue diamonds weighing in…
In my last blog I talked about how a custody evaluation is ordered, what it costs, and how long it takes. If you have not read that blog, it may be helpful to go back and take a look before you continue. If you prefer to get right into the…
Full, honest, and complete disclosure is a critical part of divorce in California. Family Code section 2100 explicitly calls for “full and accurate disclosure of all assets and liabilities” because doing so furthers the sound public policy of “the reduction of the adversarial nature of marital dissolution and the attendant…
In earlier blogs I discussed what a parent can expect during child custody mediation, both private mediation and court connected mediation. Both scenarios, while nuanced, are quite straight forward. What happens if you are involved in a high-conflict child custody case and the court orders a custody evaluation? What does…
When the marriages of most couples become irretrievably broken, the most common way to end these marriages is to file for divorce. However, certain extenuating circumstances call for annulling the marriage rather than dissolving it. There are two distinct categories of marriages in the context of nullities. There are marriages…
On October 7, 2015 news broke that the richest man in Illinois, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, came to a settlement in his divorce from Anne Dias Griffin. The two had entered into a prenuptial agreement (also referred to as a “prenup” or “premarital agreement”) prior to their marriage in…