Articles Posted in Divorce

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California is considered a no-fault divorce state, meaning the reason a couple is divorcing is completely irrelevant to the court in whether the court will grant a divorce. Neither party has to prove the other was at fault for the break down of the marriage. There is even a statute that makes evidence of specific acts of misconduct is improper and inadmissible. It does not matter to the court whether you are requesting a divorce from your spouse because he/she is abusive toward you, uses drugs, is an alcoholic, cheats and/or has inappropriate Facebook relationships, works too much or that you have grown tired of your spouse. As long as one party alleges “irreconcilable differences”, meaning marital problems that cannot be resolved, the court will grant a request for divorce.

The other ground for divorce in California is “incurable insanity.” As a San Diego divorce attorney, although some of my clients think their spouse is “insane”, I never had a case where the “insanity” reached a level of “incurable insanity.”

So while fault has no impact on whether or not a court will grant a divorce, three areas of “fault” – domestic violence, drug use and alcoholism – can have a major impact on how the court decides the issues of custody, visitation and spousal support.

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Jason London, star of the 1993 coming of age comedy Dazed and Confused, (not to be confused with his twin brother, Jeremy, the Party of Five and Seventh Heaven actor who was in the news last year for allegedly being kidnapping while changing a flat tire and forced to smoke crack at gunpoint,) finalized his divorce from wife, Charlie Spradling, last Thursday, according to E! Online.

E! Online reports that London and Spradling, after being separated for a number of years, filed for divorce in February 2010. In November 2010, before his divorce was finalized, London proposed to his girlfriend, Canadian born actress Sofia Karsten. Karsten said yes, and the couple plans to wed in July.

If London was planning on popping the question last November, why did he wait until now to finalize his divorce? Although I can only speculate, the logical answer is that there were issues raised in the divorce that simply weren’t resolved until now. But what if London had wanted to get married, and not just engaged, before all of the issues in his divorce were resolved? Could he have done so?

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By now, most job seekers know that potential employers may take a look at Facebook, or other social networking sites, when evaluating a potential new hire. Job candidates are wise to this practice, and many take care to edit their social networking posts accordingly. But many divorcing spouses are not so smart, and sometimes with dire consequences.

USA Today reported on a survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers about the use of social networking sites as sources of evidence in divorce cases. The survey revealed that over the last 5 years, 81% of AAML members have used, or been faced with, evidence from Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, among others. According to the survey, Facebook has been by far the most popular source with 66%, followed by MySpace with 15%, and Twitter with 5%.

To illustrate how social networking sites can be used as sources of evidence in family law cases, consider the following hypothetical cases. A parent is seeking an order for sole physical custody, claiming they are at home with the children every night, yet their Facebook page has photos of them out most nights “partying”. Or, a parent is alleging that the other parent has a drug problem and, sure enough, the offending parent has posted multiple photos of themselves on Facebook smoking marijuana. As a San Diego family law attorney, I have experience with similar cases.

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If you are a fan of Who’s the Boss? star Tony Danza, you may recall that in 2006 he separated from his wife, Tracy. Four and a half years later, Tony Danza has filed for divorce according to People.com.

As a San Diego divorce lawyer, I have had clients in similar situations; specifically, clients who have waited some length of time after separating to file for divorce. Although I do not know the reason Tony Danza personally waited to file for divorce, sometimes parties wait to file for divorce because they are attempting reconciliation. In my work as a San Diego family law attorney, I have been asked how an attempt at reconciliation effects how property is divided, and specifically how an attempt at reconciliation effects how a spouse’s earnings will be characterized by a court, that is as separate property or community property.

Generally, except as otherwise provided by statue, all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property. Family Code section 760. One such statutory exception is that earnings and accumulations of a spouse while living separate and apart from the other spouse are separate property. Family Code section 771.

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As reported in The San Francisco Chronicle, retired San Francisco judge Isabella Horton Grant died of cancer on Saturday at age 87.

Judge Grant made many contributions to family law, including her participation in the drafting and passage of California’s no-fault divorce rule, which went into effect January 1, 1970 with the enactment of the Family Law Act of 1969.

Prior to the enactment of California’s no-fault divorce rule, the moving party in a divorce was a plaintiff who charged the other spouse, as a defendant, with being “at fault” for the divorce for reasons such as adultery, abuse, etc.

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It’s official, Kelsey and Camille Grammer are divorced. Reflecting on the divorce process, as well as what is to come, Camille told US Magazine: “I am grateful to my family and friends who have stood by me through this time – I will never forget their love and support. What I most hope is that Kelsey and I can improve our communications and truly co-parent our two wonderful children…”

As a family law attorney, many of my clients face the challenge of co-parenting after a divorce. Sometimes, a court will grant one parent sole legal custody, in which case that parent is solely responsible for making decisions relating to the minor child’s care, upbringing, educational training, religious training, social and recreational activities, medical care and treatment, and treatment of emotional needs. Other times, parents will share joint legal custody. When both parents are responsible for making decisions relating to their child’s welfare, and they need to make those decisions together, challenges can arise.

While some might think that parents inherently know how to co-parent after a divorce, realistically, it’s a learned skill. Think back to when you brought your son or daughter home from the hospital. Over those first few days, weeks and months, you had to learn how to be a parent; you had to learn how to change a diaper, what to feed the baby, and what her different cries meant. In this same way, co-parenting after a divorce is a skill that needs to be learned. You will need to learn how to put your relationship issues aside, and work together for the benefit of your children.

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Why Would Anyone Delay Their Official Divorce Date?

Yahoo News reported that on Thursday, February 10, 2011, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Hank Goldberg finalized Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller Sheen’s divorce, however, the Sheen’s will not be officially divorced (i.e., legally single) until May 2, 2011. AP reported on February 15, 2011, that Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman finalized their divorce but the judgment will not become official until April 15, 2011.

In California, there is statutory six-month waiting period before a divorce judgment can be final for the purpose of terminating a marital relationship. California Family Code Section 2339. In both cases, the delay is because the six-month waiting period has not expired. Sheen filed for divorce in November, thus their marriage cannot be dissolved until May. Aguilera filed for divorce in October, thus her marriage cannot be dissolved until April.

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Do you think your spousal support payment is too high? A few weeks ago, the San Diego Union Tribune and the Wall Street Journal ran articles about the never-ending divorce saga of San Diego County’s wealthiest couple, Charles and Linda Brandes. According to Forbes, Mr. Brandes is ranked number 269 on its 2010 list of the 400 Richest People in America with an estimated net worth of 1.5 billion. The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Mr. Brandes income is $16 million per month and he pays $500,000 per month in spousal support to Ms. Brandes.

Some of you may be wondering how a judge determines how much spousal support a person must pay his or her former spouse. Unlike child support, which is generally calculated by a mathematical formula, spousal support is determined by a consideration of factors set forth in California Family Code Section 4320. The trial judge must both recognize and apply each of these factors when setting spousal support.

Translated into understandable terms, the factors include: the income of each party; the marketable skills of the supported party; whether the supported spouse did not work so he or she could tend to domestic duties; whether the supported party contributed to the other party’s education, training, license or career position; the ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support; the needs of each party based on the how the parties lived during the marriage; the assets and debts of each party; length of marriage; whether the supported party can work without interfering with the interests of the children; the age and health of the parties; domestic violence between the parties; tax consequences; a balance of the hardships; whether the supported party can be self-supporting within a “reasonable period of time;” the criminal conviction of an abusive spouse; and any other factors the court determines are just and equitable. That last factor is a catch-all provision, meaning whatever else the judge finds relevant.

When there is an existing spousal support order and one party is requesting a modification of spousal support, there generally needs to be a material change of circumstances since the last order. The court is required to reconsider the same standards and criteria set forth in Family Code Section 4320 it considered in making the initial long-term order at the time of judgment and any subsequent modification order. Although a showing of changed circumstances is necessary to obtain the court’s consideration of a modification of spousal support, it does not ensure that a modification will be granted.
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As reported by NBC SanDiego.com, professional skate boarder Tony Hawk recently filed for divorce in North San Diego County. Hawk filed for divorce from third wife Lhotse Merriam. Hawk and Merriam were married in 2006; they have one child.

Raised in San Diego, Hawk is well known for a videogame series based on his skateboarding. Tony Hawk: Ride, a game which involves riding on a skateboard shaped controller, was launched in 2009. Because the game was launched during Hawk’s marriage to Merriam, one question that may arise during the divorce process is whether any intellectual property rights Hawk may have in the game are community property to be divided in the divorce.

Absent a prenuptial agreement to the contrary, intellectual property rights (e.g. patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets) are property to be classified and, if appropriate, divided in a divorce. In a divorce, property is generally classified as either separate property or community property. Property that is classified as community property is then divided between the spouses.

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