Articles Posted in Child Support

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How Can an Attorney Help With Family Court Order Modification?

How Can an Attorney Help With Family Court Order Modification?

Life can pose unpredictable challenges for anyone. When changes in your lifestyle occur due to forces beyond your control, some of these changes can have a material impact on any standing family court orders that you must observe. For example, if you have a family court order requiring you to pay child support and you lose your job due to company-wide layoffs, you may not be able to meet your child support obligation by no fault of your own. When these things happen, and you are concerned about your ability to abide by a standing family court order, it’s vital to understand how the modification process can help your situation.

Family law is unique in that it is possible to alter your family court order without a complex, time-consuming appeal process. Instead, modification allows any party beholden to a family court order to request reasonable changes to their family court order through a simplified process. While this may seem straightforward at first, consulting an experienced California family law attorney before filing your petition for modification is a wise choice. Your attorney can help you determine whether you have grounds for a modification, guide you through the process, and may even have suggestions for other alterations you could reasonably request that could make it easier for you to manage your court-ordered obligations in the future.

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Divorce Mediation Vs. Litigation

Divorce Mediation Vs. Litigation

The divorce process is never an easy experience, even for couples who have reached completely mutual decisions to divorce without any second thoughts. The formal steps required to end a marriage in the California family court system are more stressful and time-consuming than many people realize, and it’s vital to approach this situation armed with valuable information that will help you make informed decisions about your options. One of the most vital considerations you must make is how you should go about handling your divorce. You don’t necessarily need to prepare for a difficult court battle; alternative dispute resolution can potentially offer a more streamlined, less stressful, and ultimately less expensive divorce.

Alternative dispute resolution allows a divorcing couple to avoid the typical stress, expense, and time commitment divorce usually entails. Divorce mediation has quickly become the most popular form of alternative dispute resolution for divorcing couples throughout California, and it’s essential to consider the potential benefits this process may hold for you in your situation. It’s also necessary to understand what the divorce litigation process involves and how mediation can help you avoid much of the litigation divorce usually entails.

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Everything to Know About Premarital Agreements

Everything to Know About Premarital Agreements

Marriage is one of the most important decisions an individual will ever make. There are many diverse factors that go into choosing a partner, and they can differ widely depending on the individual. What does not differ, however, is the human drive to protect ourselves in the event that these major decisions fail to work out. That’s why many individuals opt to create a prenuptial agreement before marriage. In doing so, they are protecting themselves from future financial problems.

Prenuptial agreements, also known as prenups or premarital agreements, can be especially beneficial for couples who bring significant assets into the marriage. Prenups are also popular for individuals who have experienced divorce before. However, a prenuptial agreement is not the right decision for everyone. To accurately assess if a prenup is right for you, it’s essential to understand the basics of what a prenuptial agreement entails.

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Understanding the Differences Between Writs and Appeals

Understanding the Differences Between Writs and Appeals

Navigating the court system can be exceedingly difficult for those new to the experience. In particular, many individuals are unfamiliar with the often-prevalent legal jargon—especially when it comes to the complex processes and legal documents this jargon can describe. Fortunately, the average person is not expected to understand each detail of our complex legal system or the nuances within the law. Skilled attorneys exist to demystify the legal system and guide their clients through their court proceedings successfully.

However, it is important to be aware of the most common legal terms, especially those that pertain to your case. To that end, one of the most asked questions our attorneys receive is regarding writs and appeals. These two legal petitions can dramatically affect how a case proceeds and the differences between them can make a major difference in the timeline of a case. Further, some legal proceedings require a writ, while others require appeals.

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What Happens When a Parent Violates a Custody Agreement in California?

What Happens When a Parent Violates a Custody Agreement in California?

When divorced or unmarried parents have a child custody agreement in California, both of them need to abide by the terms of the agreement to the letter. While life is unpredictable, and a parent may have an emergency or other unforeseen issue that interrupts their regular custody or visitation schedule, these one-off events are typically easy to manage between the parents. However, if a parent repeatedly violates the terms of a custody agreement or violates the terms to an extreme degree, the other parent must know how to address the situation and prevent similar issues in the future.

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When Is it Appropriate to File Contempt Proceedings in California Family Court?

When Is it Appropriate to File Contempt Proceedings in California Family Court?

If you recently completed divorce proceedings in California, or if you and your co-parent have recently completed a child custody determination, reaching these milestones does not necessarily mean that your time in the family court system is entirely complete. You may need to revisit your family court order for many reasons. For example, some individuals need to file petitions for modifications to their family court orders due to recent major life events. It is also possible that you may need to return to court to file contempt proceedings against your ex-spouse or co-parent due to their behavior.

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Making a Change in Divorce Judgements Due to a Change of Circumstances

Making-a-Change-in-Divorce-Judgements-Due-to-a-Change-of-Circumstances

Life can change in an instant, and individuals who are divorced are not immune. In fact, divorced people frequently experience changes in their life circumstances that may necessitate changes in terms of their divorce regarding spousal support, child support, or child custody and visitation. If you are in a similar situation that has made the terms of your divorce untenable, it can be difficult to know where to start. However, it is important to know that you are not alone.

The first step toward changing a divorce judgment is to request a hearing. A hearing allows you to prove in court that you have experienced a significant lifestyle change since the time that your divorce was settled. The courts do not provide a specific outline for what constitutes a change of circumstances, but they will consider various factors that may affect the terms of your divorce.

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Understanding Child Support in California

Understanding-Child-Support-in-California

When a couple with children goes through a divorce, one of the most important decisions included in the final terms is the amount one parent will pay the other for child support. Unfortunately, however, it is increasingly rare for both parents to be happy with the decision. For this reason, regardless of whether you are the party making the support payments or the one receiving them, this can be one of the most stress-inducing parts of the divorce process.

A primary issue with child support in California, as with other states, is that the parent ordered to pay support often feels that they are paying too much, while the parent receiving the payments can feel as if they should be receiving more funds to care for the child. However, child support decisions are not made arbitrarily—if you are facing divorce, it is vital to understand how child support is intended to work and that its purpose is to benefit the child.

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Acceptable Grounds for Family Court Order Modification in California

Acceptable-Grounds-for-Family-Court-Order-Modification-in-California

Family law is unique in many ways. Perhaps most notably, the family law system offers a more streamlined alternative to the standard appeal process when an individual accountable to a family court order believes the order to be unreasonable or untenable due to recent events. Family law acknowledges that life is unpredictable. Due to the nature of most family court orders, the terms of an order may not be as reasonable in the future as they are at the time they are signed into effect by a judge.

If you have recently experienced any major life events that have materially influenced your standing family court order, the modification process can allow you to make simple changes that reflect the recent changes in your life. This does not mean you can repeatedly pester the court until they modify your family court order to suit your exact preferences. There are certain conditions that must be satisfied if the court is to approve of any proposed modification.

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Is There a Difference Between Alimony and Child Support?

Is-There-a-Difference-Between-Alimony-and-Child-Support

Individuals face a laundry list of issues and questions when they are going through a divorce, and it can be challenging to find a reasonable answer to simple questions. Couples that were once very much in love may be consumed with bitterness and anger when their marriage fails. Details such as spousal support, alimony, property division, child support, and child custody often drive a wedge even further between them. Most couples find that the most difficult challenges they face when going through divorce are spousal support and alimony. These controversial determinations are among the most common to go to court for a ruling by a judge.

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