Articles Posted in Post-Divorce Issues

By

Your Guide to Spousal Support in California

Your Guide to Spousal Support in California

Divorce in California can be incredibly stressful and complicated, especially regarding the financial issues involved. The state upholds a strict community property statute that applies to property division, requiring divorcing spouses to evenly divide their marital assets, property, and debts. However, property division may not entirely resolve the financial issues present in a divorce. In some divorces, one spouse will need to pay spousal support, also known as alimony, to the other. Spousal support typically comes into play when one spouse is financially dependent on the other or unable to support themselves financially for other reasons.

If you plan to divorce in California, it’s natural to have concerns about your potential financial obligations to your soon-to-be ex-spouse. Whether you expect to pay or receive spousal support from your divorce, it’s vital to know how spousal support is determined, how long it lasts, and the conditions that would terminate an existing spousal support agreement.

Continue reading

By

What to Do If You Discover Important Information After Finalizing Your Divorce

What to Do If You Discover Important Information After Finalizing Your Divorce

Any divorce has the potential to escalate into a heated legal battle between the divorcing spouses. The emotional stress and tension that divorce can generate can easily encourage a divorcing spouse to feel as though they just need to get through the process as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the pressure to finalize a divorce as soon as possible can easily cause a spouse to overlook key details of their divorce, ultimately resulting in an imbalanced or materially unfair divorce order. This is especially true when a divorced spouse discovers important information after their divorce has been finalized that should have been considered during their divorce case.

In the event you discover any information that you believe should have been addressed during your divorce, you should prepare for modification proceedings. When new information would have changed the outcome of your divorce, it’s important to bring it to the court’s attention and have your divorce order modified accordingly. It’s also possible to face more serious legal proceedings if you discover that your ex engaged in serious misconduct. Modification proceedings can potentially allow for changes to child support, child custody, and alimony determinations.

Continue reading

By

Can a Parent Permanently Lose Custody Rights in California?

Can a Parent Permanently Lose Custody Rights in California?

The family court system of California has a legal obligation to protect the best interests of the children affected by family court orders, including divorce cases and child custody determinations. Generally, the court upholds that a child thrives best with equal access to both of their parents. However, the court will only seek such custody arrangements as long as both of the child’s parents are fit and safe to raise their child. When a parent has engaged in criminal activity, especially any misconduct that involves victimization of their child or other children, the court is unlikely to grant much in the way of custody rights to the parent. It’s also possible for a parent to permanently lose their custody rights as a result of some behaviors.

Involuntary termination of parental rights is one of the most severe penalties a parent can face through the family court system. Additionally, when a parent qualifies for involuntary termination of their parental rights, their behavior could be severe enough to warrant criminal prosecution as well.

Continue reading

By

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.

Continue reading

By

California’s Community Property Law in Divorce Mediation

California’s Community Property Law in Divorce MediationDivorce is a notoriously arduous process for many reasons, one of the most commonly cited being property division. Unfortunately, California is one of the few states that upholds a community property statute, one that many people find to be too rigid and imbalanced when it comes to determining a fair distribution of marital property in a divorce. However, while the community property law of California may seem overbearing at first, it is actually more flexible than many people realize, and many California divorce agreements do not end with a completely equal division of marital assets and debts.

If you plan to end your marriage in California soon, it is essential to understand the state’s community property law and how it is likely to come into play in your divorce. This law essentially states that all assets and debts acquired during a marriage are the equal property of both spouses. However, the actual legal process of property division in California requires a close examination of various aspects of each asset and every debt involved in a divorce.

Continue reading

By

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.

Continue reading

By

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.

Continue reading

By

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.

Continue reading

By

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.

Continue reading

By

How to Streamline Your Divorce Proceedings in California

How-to-Streamline-Your-Divorce-Proceedings-in-California

Divorce is a challenging experience for many reasons. The process requires a significant financial investment in the form of legal fees and the transition from a dual-income household to living on a single income. California also enforces a minimum six-month waiting period before any divorce is granted, but many divorcing couples with complex divorces find that this is relatively short compared to the actual time required to litigate their divorce cases. Even the most seemingly straightforward divorce cases can require enormous investments of time, money, and energy for everyone involved.

If you are expecting to divorce in the near future and want to make the process easier, there are a few tips you should keep in mind that can potentially help you streamline your proceedings. Remember that even a seemingly straightforward divorce case can involve unpredictable issues that extend the time required to complete the process, but the following tips can often help divorcing couples reach results in their divorce cases more quickly.

Continue reading

Contact Information
Del Mar Technology Center
12348 High Bluff Dr, #220
San Diego, CA 92130
Phone: 858-793-8884
Fax: 858-793-8874

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, Bickford Blado & Botros
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design