Articles Posted in Divorce

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Shh. Big Brother is Watching!

Do you use Facebook, Twitter or other social media? If so, and you have filed for divorce in San Diego, you need to be aware that your posts, tweets and pictures may end up being entered as evidence in a court of law.San Diego divorce lawyers are seeing many more cases involving social media. In just a few short years, this technology has become so pervasive that a California divorce lawyer would be remiss for not seeing what public information is available about a client’s former spouse online. Whether as a source of information or evidence in a pending family law action, or the actual impetus for the divorce itself, social media has arrived on the scene in a big way. Consider the following:

  • In March, the U.K’s Guardian reported that social networking sites are becoming a primary source of evidence in divorce proceedings. The article even blames Facebook for connecting old flames and causing marital problems.
  • A survey last year by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 4 of 5 lawyers had seen an increase in divorce cases involving social media evidence.
  • This month’s Men’s Health features an article detailing Twitter relationships a divorcing party participates in with multiple partners.

Although the Wall Street Journal reports the notion that 1 in 5 divorces are caused by Facebook is a fallacy, there is no doubt social media is a contributing cause in a substantial number of divorces. More and more attorneys are asking to see a spouse’s Facebook page as a matter of course.

There have been sociological studies into the issue of why people behave the way they do on social networking sites. These studies reveal that people treat such social technology the way they would a close friend — and that they confide information in a very public way — information that is often best left unsaid, particularly if you are in the middle of a contentious divorce or child custody proceeding. For example:

  • Posting wild and crazy pictures of you while on vacation is not a good idea. You should simply refrain from posting such pictures.
  • Tweeting about job woes or problems with the kids is a bad idea. It is best to keep this information confidential.
  • Posting about your alcohol or drug use (especially pictures) is a very, very bad idea. Do not do this under any circumstances.

A good rule of thumb is to not post anything to a social media site that you would want a judge to see. Otherwise, you may end up in the very uncomfortable position of explaining your posts, tweets or pictures to a judge in a court of law.

One more thing to consider is reviewing your friends as well as your privacy settings on Facebook and any other social media sites that you use. Your friends may still be talking to your ex, or to your ex’s friends, allowing your ex, and his or her attorney, full access to all of the information you share on your social media sites. An increasing body of evidence continues to suggest this is advice best followed even if you are not in the midst of a divorce.

Your attorney will warn you about social media sites. Whether you heed the warning is up to you. There are few things can torpedo your case like your own words or pictures posted on a social media site for all to see.
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Few people would agree that there is a good time to get divorced. It can be a long, drawn out process and complex. Not only that, but it can lead to overwhelming stress and problems with other family relationships if not handled well.

A new article published on MSNBC.com by Investopedia looks at the best and worst times to consider a divorce in San Diego. Many people are struggling financially right now because of the effects of the Great Recession. Some people have the desire to get a divorce, but feel as if they can’t afford it and stay together in order to save money.That can lead to volatile situation that can lead to domestic violence issues as tempers flare, egos are bruised and feelings hurt. Even if you think your finances prohibit you from getting a divorce, it would be prudent to set up a consultation with an experienced San Diego Divorce Lawyer to discuss your options and talk about your situation.

Here are some events that can impact a divorce:

An up and down real estate market: At one time, a house was a major asset that couples might fight tooth-and-nail to obtain, but times have changed. According to foreclosure tracking site Realtytrac, every zip code but one in San Diego has “high” foreclosure activity level, with nearly 1 in every 147 housing units in foreclosure.

San Diego, like many parts of the country, has seen housing prices drop as foreclosures saturate the market, leaving many people upside down on their mortgages. For that reason, a house in a divorce may be less of an asset and more of a debt that must handled. While in past divorces, one spouse may be awarded the house and the other spouse would be awarded other assets in exchange, now the other spouse may have to give up assets if an ex agrees to take on an upside-down house.

A shaky economy: With the economy slowly recovering (and some would argue slowly is an exaggeration), many people are hurting financially. Going through a divorce at this time can be difficult.

A poor credit score: A bad credit history coupled with a divorce can be bad news for a person going through the process. Having to obtain a car loan or perhaps rent a house on your own can be more difficult without the added security of a second income or a house that may already be paid off in full. Again, a trusted attorney will be invaluable in assisting you in avoiding the common pitfalls of the divorce process.

If one of the two spouses has a bad credit score, negotiating to keep the car or house to avoid having to venture out for a loan may be prudent.

Minor children: Divorce is more complex and stressful when children are involved. Child custody in San Diego divorces can make a divorce more contentious and more financially difficult. With two sets of living expenses instead of pooled money, each parent will have less to give to college funds and other expenses, but financial aid may be easier to obtain.
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A recent study conducted by Ohio State University researchers found that women are more likely to gain weight after they get married, while men tend to add the pounds after a San Diego divorce.

Divorce can be a difficult time in the lives of many spouses, as they have come to realize that they aren’t as compatible as they once believed. Perhaps infidelity has caused the once-proud couple to split. Finances are often a bone of contention. Whatever the reason, consulting with an experienced San Diego Divorce Lawyer who is also a certified family law specialist should be the first step. Certified Family law specialist is a designation obtained by less than 2 percent of California divorce attorneys and represents the profession’s highest degree of professional excellence.The process of divorce can have long-lasting effects and can take a mental toll on the spouses. Having to adapt to living alone, perhaps being split up from children and dealing with the financial stress of separated life can all be stressful. That stress can lead to health problems, including weight problems.

According to a story reported by FOX in Los Angeles, the Ohio State study found that men tend to gain weight after a divorce, while for women, the weight is put on after marriage. The two events are called “weight shocks.”

The most drastic weight changes came for people over 30, the study found. The study followed 10,071 people from 1986 to 2008 to determine weight gain in the two years following a divorce and a marriage, taking into consideration factors such as pregnancy, socioeconomic status, education and finances.

The researchers made their determination that because women still tend to have a bigger role in household matters, they have less time to exercise. Partly because of that benefit, men are more fit in marriage and add on weight once they are divorced.

Many things go through the minds of people who are considering a divorce and among the biggest issues is child custody in San Diego divorces. Where a child lives and who gets to make key decisions that affect their lives are among the most contentious issues that divorcees struggle to handle.

In California, a family court judge will take many things into consideration in determining where a child will live and with which parent. The judge will look at what is best for the child. Involvement with the children, incidents of domestic violence or use of drugs or alcohol will likely come into play.

While the stress of this particular decision and others, such as property division, support payments and other issues, can cause a client to have negative physical side effects, an experienced San Diego Divorce Lawyer will be able to shield the client from as much stress as possible. Everyone wants to get on with their lives and therefore the least amount of stress the divorcee is exposed to, the better. An experienced attorney can help take some of the emotion out of the equation.
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It is becoming increasingly common for at least one member of a married couple to carry a heavy student loan debt. The price of a college education has soared in recent years. As more people go back to school to obtain college or graduate degrees, or additional training, they have been forced to apply for federal and private loans to cover the costs. Since these loans come with high interest rates, paying them off can become a real burden over time. One recent study found that more students were defaulting on their loans than ever before.

Many clients worry that they will be stuck having to bear the burden of their soon-to-be ex-spouse’s student loan debt. The following are some questions that clients typically ask a San Diego divorce attorney.

Since California is a community property state where the division of property is split evenly, will I be responsible for paying off half of my ex-spouse’s student loans?

Not necessarily. While it is true that most debts that are incurred during a marriage are subject to equal division between the spouses, a debt incurred for education debt may be an exception. Pursuant to California Family Code section 2641, the spouse who takes out the loans can be the one responsible for paying for them, depending on how long ago the loan was taken out, and other facts.

What if I have already helped pay for part of the loans? Will that money be returned to me?

Spouses often do have a right to reimbursement for “community” funds paid toward one spouse’s education. Any income earned during the marriage, by either spouse, is considered part of the community fund. So if one spouse uses his or her earnings to pay for the other spouse’s education, his or her income would be viewed as community income that was used as a community contribution to education.. In this case, the community may be entitled to reimbursement if the education enhanced the other spouse’s earning capacity. Whether the community is reimbursed, however, depends upon a variety of circumstances, including length of time that has elapsed since the loans were taken out.

Are there circumstances where I would not be repaid for the money I paid for part of my spouse’s student loans?

There are two typical circumstances where the spouse might not be reimbursed. One is if 10 years have passed since the degree was awarded. Then the other spouse might successfully argue that you have already benefited from the increase in wealth that resulted from the advanced degree. If you cannot successfully refute that argument, you will not be reimbursed. Some of the other circumstances would be whether you also obtained an advanced degree, education or training during the marriage that your spouse paid for out of his or her community income. The two degrees, would then, in effect, cancel each other out. You will also not be repaid if you and your spouse have an express written agreement to the contrary.

What if I have benefited from my spouse’s advanced degree, but never helped pay back the loan? Would I be responsible for repaying it after the divorce?

No. The spouse who took out the debt would still be responsible for paying the debt in the event of a divorce. “Benefit to the community” is only weighed when the non-debtor spouse helped pay off part of the debt during the marriage.

Does it make a difference whether my spouse took out his loans during the marriage or before the marriage?

No, the circumstances remain the same. The debt would still be your spouse’s to pay off, whether he or she took out education loans before or during your marriage, although if he or she took out loans before the marriage, and many years elapsed before your divorce, you might have trouble proving that you deserved reimbursement because your spouse would argue that the “community” had already benefited.

If you live in California and are considering a divorce, contact an experienced San Diego divorce attorney and learn the facts about student loan debt, other debts, and division of property laws.
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Many San Diego clients come from marriages where one spouse was the primary wage earner, while the other stayed home to raise the children. The stay-at-home spouse now worries that the divorce will leave him or her without long-term security. Even though in California, spousal income is community property and distributed equally, there is still a question of whether the division of property entitles the stay-at-home spouse to a share of the other spouse’s pension benefits or stock options. Below are some questions that clients often ask a San Diego divorce attorney.

Am I entitled to a share of my spouse’s pension benefits if he joined the pension plan before our marriage?

Generally, yes, per California Family Code section 2610. What matters is whether your spouse’s retirement benefits continued to accrue during the years you were married. If at the time of divorce, your spouse was eligible to retire, the court would use proration formula to determine your share of the benefits. The proration formula divides the years you were married and your spouse’s benefits accrued by the total number of years your spouse was part of the pension program. The result is a percentage that represents the community’s share of that pension.

Thus, if you were married to your spouse for 15 years and during thos 15 years your spous’s benefits were accruing, and if your spouse was employed and also accrued benefits from that same employer for a total of 30 years, the community’s share would be 15/30, or one half of the pension benefits, and you would be entitled to half of that, or one fourth.

What if my spouse is eligible to retire, but chooses not to? Does that affect how much I receive?

No, because your spouse’s pension benefits mature at the time he is eligible to retire, not when he actually retires.

What if my spouse is not eligible to retire at the time of our divorce?

You would still be entitled to receive half of the community’s share of your spouse’s pension benefits. Tthe court could issue an order for you to receive your share when your spouse is eligible to retire. Some divorcing parties may agree that the spouse with the pension may “cash out” the other spouse, but a court could not make this type of an order.

Do stock options work the same way as pension benefits?

Yes, in the sense that you receive a share of your spouse’s stock at the time it matures, or “vests,” based on the number of years you were married. The difference is in the way your share is calculated. The portion of community property is based on the intent of the employer who granted the option. If the court finds that the employer awarded the stock option to reward your spouse for past services, then it uses the Marriage of Hug formula, which calculates community property based on the date your spouse started working. If the court finds that the employer awarded the stock option to encourage your spouse to stay with the company, it uses the Marriage of Nelson formula. Marriage of Nelson calculates community property based on the date the options were first granted. While both formulas can be a little confusing, what matters is that the stay-at-home spouse is entitled to a portion of the stock option.

If my spouse receives severance pay, would I be entitled to a share?

There is no clear-cut rule for severance pay. Some have argued successfully that it is not community property because it replaces lost income the spouse would have earned after the divorce. Others have argued successfully that it is community property because it was paid for by employment during the marriage.

If you are in the middle of a divorce and have questions about pension benefits, stock options, and other retirement issues, find a knowledgeable San Diego divorce attorney who can prepare you for what to expect.
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Many San Diego clients make the decision to divorce after decades of marriage. This means not only a painful separation after years of their lives being intertwined, but also facing a thicket of different property laws. First and foremost are California’s current community property laws, which get more complicated if the couple once lived out of state. Then there could be property laws from other eras that determine the division of property for each spouse.

If the couple lived in California throughout the marriage, their home, employment income, and any purchases made with the employment income would belong to each spouse equally. Only a gift, inheritance, or property owned before the marriage would be considered separate property. By contrast, in separate property states, the person whose name is on the title owns the property. If the couple were to divorce in one of the 40 separate property states, the result would be known as “equitable distribution”: a property distribution that is not equal, but based upon what each spouse contributed to the marriage. Yet if the couple moved to California and later divorced, our state treats much of the separate property as quasi-community property. Quasi-community property is simply property that would have been community property if the couple had lived in California. During the marriage, it is treated as separate property; but once the couple divorces, it is divided equally between the spouses, like community property.

This is the basic concept behind quasi-community property, but in reality, it is not so clear-cut. Couples who accumulated property over several years in another state may have lost or misplaced documents establishing the nature of the property — whether it was kept entirely separate, or was used for the family. Separate property used for family purposes has often been ruled to be community property in California. If it cannot be properly identified, one spouse risks losing significant assets that he or she would otherwise be entitled to. Without proper documentation, the only evidence of the couple’s history in their previous state comes from their own statements and those of family and friends. These statements may be based on faulty memory, or be otherwise biased and unreliable. In these situations, couples need an experienced San Diego divorce attorney to piece together as many records as possible until the most accurate situation emerges.

Couples divorcing after a long marriage may also be affected by laws that no longer exist today, but were relevant during the marriage. One such law involves transmutation of property. Transmutation is an agreement between spouses that community property will become one spouse’s separate property, or that separate property will become community property. Today, sections 850 through 853 of the California Family Code require that all transmutations must be expressly stated in writing by the spouse whose interest is adversely affected. However, until 1985, transmutations could be oral. That means that community property could have become separate property without any evidence other than one spouse’s declaration. Confusion over the true nature of the property could lead to battles between spouses over what was separate and shared, based on inaccurate memories. Some marriages may also be affected by the Married Women’s Special Presumption, which has not been valid since 1975. Property purchased in the woman’s name before 1975, without any indication of her marital status, was presumed to be her separate property.
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FOX News and other media outlets continue to report that the divorce of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver could be among the most expensive celebrity splits on record.

Some estimates say Shriver could get more than the $100 million Tiger Wood’s ex-wife Elin Nordegren received.Division of marital property in a San Diego divorce, or a divorce elsewhere in California, is supposed to be equal under the state’s no-fault divorce law. In practice, one party to a divorce can end up with significantly more than half the assets for a number of reasons.

What constitutes community property is one potential area of contention. Property owned before marriage and inheritance to one spouse are both examples of separate property. Valuating community property is another area where a San Diego divorce lawyer will focus attention. For instance, is the marital home valued at current market value? After the economic downturn, a couple’s primary residence is often a liability — with more owed on an upside down mortgage than the property could bring at sale.

With Schwarzenegger and Shriver, there are more complications — and more assets — than in many marriages — even celebrity marriages. And, with allegations about Arnold’s infidelity continuing to surface, he may find an unsympathetic judge on the bench. And, with four children and the majority of the earning power, several media outlets have reported child support and alimony could easily top $100,000 a month.

Typical couples should understand the tax implications of alimony and child support as there may be opportunities to move money in one direction or the other. Alimony is treated as taxable income for the receiver and as a tax deduction for the payer. Child support is tax free for the recipient but not deductible for the payer. One caveat to keep in mind: Courts are much better about helping you collect back child support than they are about assisting with the collections of back spousal support.

In the case of Schwarzenegger and Shriver, their marriage will be seen as long-term under California law, which means she may collect alimony for an indefinite period of time. A short-term marriage is defined as one lasting under 10 years, which is in part why it’s not uncommon to see celebrity couples split near the 10-year mark.

Other factors worth considering in this split is Arnold’s future income from motion pictures — particularly sequels to movies made during the marriage. The New York Post reported last year that Diandra Douglas — the ex-wife of Michael Douglas — moved to collect on his payday for the making of “Wall Street 2,” claiming her divorce agreement entitled her to a portion of the proceeds.

For most couples, similar concerns often involve retirement accounts or the earning power of an advanced degree — such as a medical degree or law degree — earned during the marriage.
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Sometimes, during or after a divorce, my client may decide to move away from San Diego. The most frequent reasons I hear are that my client can no longer afford to live in San Diego, have family/friends elsewhere, or received a great job offer out of San Diego.

When there are no children involved, a party is free to move. However, things become complicated there are minor children involved and the moving party wants to move with the children.

Whether you are the one requesting to move, or opposing a request to move, it is important to consult or retain an experienced San Diego divorce attorney. Once divorce proceeding have begun, both parties are automatically restrained from removing the minor children from the State (and usually the County once temporary custody orders are entered) without written consent of the other party or court order.

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If you are heading to the court house to file a Petition for dissolution of marriage (or a Response), don’t forget to bring your check book. Here in San Diego County, the current filing fee for a “first paper” (which includes a Petition or a Response) is $395. And while that may seem quite expensive, it could be a lot worse.

The Associated Press recently reported on a new law in Romania which allows each of the country’s municipalities to set their own fee for a divorce. The towns’ fees range across the board, with the most expensive being Sangeorgiu de Mures. Couples divorcing in Sangeorgiu de Mures must pay 10,000 lei, which is approximately $3,370. To put this in perspective, The Associated Press reports that this amount is nearly 60 percent of the average annual salary. Interestingly, the fee to divorce in Sangeorgiu de Mures is 2,000 times what it costs in the capital city of Bucharest.

So why the high fee in Sangeorgiu de Mures? The Associated Press reports that the goal is to discourage divorce, as many of the town’s 8000 residents are catholic. And in fact, it appears to be working. According to The Associated Press, a number of couples have actually decided to remain married after learning of the high fee.

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Did you happen to catch CNBC’s documentary Divorce Wars when it premiered last weekend? Promoted as “CNBC goes inside the confidential world of multi-million dollar divorce revealing the secrets of winning and losing on a battle field of emotional pain and financial gain”, the show highlighted, among other stories, the creation of Balance Point Funding, a company that provides money from private investors to fund divorce litigation in exchange for a percentage of the divorce settlement. According to its founder, Stacy Napp, the idea for the company was born from the challenges she faced in funding her own divorce litigation.

While creative, this is not the only option for a divorcing spouse in California. Rather, as a San Diego Divorce attorney, I regularly file motions for a contribution from the other spouse to my client’s attorney fees under Family Code Section 2030. This type of a motion is appropriate where there is a disparity between the parties in access to funds to retain counsel (in other words, “need”), and where one party is able to pay for legal representation of both parties (in other words, “ability”). The statute is designed to ensure that each party has access to legal representation, including access early in the proceedings, to preserve their respective rights.

While Family Code section 2030 addresses the allocation of attorney fees and cost, what about costs other than attorney fees and costs, such as court costs, expert fees and consultant fees? Family Code section 2032 provides a procedure by which either party may file a motion requesting that the court designate their case as complex or involving substantial issues of fact or law related to property rights, visitation, custody, or support. If the case is then designated as complex, the court has the discretion to allocate between the parties attorney fees and also court costs, expert fees, and consultant fees.

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