Articles Posted in Technology in Family Law

By

In today’s day in age, most of us are guilty of being hooked on technology. If you’re going to spend a significant portion of your day on your technology devices, then why not use that technology to your advantage when going through or after a divorce. Both during and after a divorce, problems often arise between spouses when there is co-parenting involved. However, there are several apps that you can download on your smart phone or iPad to help make co-parenting with your ex-spouse easier.

2houses: This app makes co-parenting easier by offering digital tools to allow both parents to easily communicate and make arrangements with regards to their children. The app offers everything from school to activities to medical issues. Both parents are able to view a joint calendar. There are also tools to help divorced parents sort out who will pay for what related to their children. Expenses can easily be entered and then the app will determine when a balance is achieved based on the input information that the parents put in. The journal on the app also allows both parents to share information about the children. Lastly, the information bank gives both parents access to vital details, such as phone numbers, immunization records, shoe size, etc.

Our Family Wizard: This app includes a calendar, journal, message board, expense log, info bank for safe storage of family information, and a notification center. Parents can utilize this app to share messages, communicate regarding expenses and update your ex-spouse about your child’s appointment, all without having to involve the child as the messenger.Cozi: This is another great app for sharing calendar items, to do lists and contacts with your ex-spouse. For instance, you might want to add contact information for your child’s soccer coach or doctor’s office so that both spouses have quick access to the contact information when he/she has custody of the child. The calendar is also great because it is a shared calendar, meaning if you add your child’s dentist appointment on the calendar it will automatically show up on your ex-spouse’s calendar and you can even send him/her a reminder through the app.

Baby connect: Keeping track of your child’s feedings, diapers, sleep, medicines and activities can be difficult when custody of the child is changing hands between mom and dad. Using this app will help you keep track of all of this.

Skype: Skype is a great way to facilitate “face-to-face” communication via video chat between your child and the other parent when the child is in your custody.

These are just a handful of apps that help to make co-parenting life easier. Utilizing one of these apps has the potential to reduce tension, stress and fighting between the parents by allowing them to communicate without the need for face-to-face contact or using the child as the “messenger.” In turn, both parents will more effectively stay informed about what it going on in their child’s life, even when the child is in the other parent’s custody.
Continue reading

By

When you think of sperm donor, you typically think of someone whose involvement in the child’s life doesn’t extend beyond the act of assisting in the child’s conception. This is usually the case for sperm donors as they typically waive all parental rights during the process. However, sperm donor William Moratto recently got pulled into a child support case and a Judge in Topeka, Kansas actually ended up ordering him to pay child support for the child, now 4 years old, that he helped to bring into this world!

Marotta had responded to a Craigslist ad from a couple requesting a “private” sperm donor. The artificial insemination process did not involve a licensed physician but the couple did present Marotta with a sperm donor contract, which Moratto believed was a valid agreement indicating his intention to cease any parental role following the donation. Little did Marotta know that his donation would later cause him be on the hook for thousands of dollars of child support.Marotta argued that he was only a sperm donor and not a “parent” for purposes of barring his liability for child support. Unfortunately, the Judge found that Marotta’s claim of being just a sperm donor was nullified because the state’s statute specifically requires the donation to be made to a licensed physician if the donor wants to be treated as if he were not the birth father. Thus, the Kansas statutory bar to paternity could not be applied to Marotta as a defense against being subject to the rights and responsibilities of parenthood, including potential liability for child support. Would the same hold true in California? Like Kansas law, California Family Code Section 7613 also offers a statutory basis disqualifying a sperm donor from being subject to a child support obligation for the child he helped conceive. The California statute provides that “[t]he donor of semen provided to a licensed physician and surgeon or to a licensed sperm bank for use in assisted reproduction of a woman other than the donor’s spouse is treated in law as if he were not the natural parent of a child thereby conceived, unless otherwise agreed to in a writing signed by the donor and the woman prior to the conception of the child.”

The Court further ruled that Marotta did not properly waive his rights as a parent despite the written agreement that he signed with the couple at the time of the donation. The Court reasoned that a parent cannot terminate parental rights by contract. Rather a termination of parental rights can only occur in one of three ways: 1) adjudication of child in need of care, 2) relinquishment and adoption or 3) a judicial finding that the parent is unfit to act as a parent. For information regarding when a parent in California is able to voluntarily terminate his/her parental rights, please see our webpage titled “Termination of Parental Rights”.
Continue reading

By

We have previously blogged about different ways technology can be used to gain an advantage or gather evidence in a dissolution proceeding. However, ex-spouses are now learning how to use the advances in technology to foster cooperation and harmony post-separation. Many divorcing couples would prefer to sever the ties between them completely after their divorce is final. This goal is unattainable for ex-spouses who will continue to share custody of minor children for years after separation. The new trend called “joint custody – at a distance” encourages splitting couples to communicate electronically rather than during “in person” exchanges in order to reduce the emotional tension during a “drop off” or “pick up”.

Many parents have found that they fight and argue less in front of their children if they are able to express their emotions through other outlets. E-mail communication, online calendars and a number of other online resources are all available to conflicting parties who share children. By sharing an online calendar parents can easily coordinate a child-sharing schedule. All of the child’s activities and plans are readily available to view and change without any need for in-person or telephonic communication between the parents.

Our Family Wizard is a common solution for parents in conflict. A judge may order parties to use Our Family Wizard, a program which tracks all communication, expenses, and even sends notices to the parties regarding their obligations. Because the communication between parents can be supervised by the judge and attorneys involved in the case, the parties are incentivized to speak civilly to each other. This form of communication can take away the aggravation and emotional side of child-sharing and ease the tension and stress for the children involved. The program can be purchased for approximately $100 per year.

Another form of technology frequently appearing in custody orders is Skype. Skype is a free program that allows two or more people to have an online video conversation. In cases where both parties cannot easily see a child frequently, the court may order “Skype visitation”. During a Skype visit, a parent can have a video conversation with the child. Skype also permits conversations to be recorded and can ensure that the visiting parent is getting enough video time with the child. Additionally, a parent may be ordered to purchase a cell phone for the child in order to avoid any telephonic communication between the parties. This way, if a parent wishes to speak to his or her child during the child’s scheduled time with the other parent, he or she can reach the child directly.
Continue reading

By

We often blog about the advantages of a mediated/negotiated divorce settlement; however, a new company “Wevorce” is taking this concept to a new level. Family law offers unique challenges to divorce attorneys and the court because the disputed issues are extremely personal to the litigants. When the parties are unable to reach agreements, these private disputes are aired in open court in front of judges, staff, and litigants awaiting their turn. The CEO of Wevorce stated that the concept for the company was inspired by her parents and their 15 year divorce battle. Unfortunately, long and painful divorces are not uncommon and can cost the parties thousands in unnecessary legal fees. Wevorce is driven by the philosophy that cooperation is the secret to a quick and semi-painless divorce.

Read more about mediation vs. litigation from the divorce attorneys at the firm

Wevorce claims to use technology to keep the divorce process structured and moving along smoothly. A traditional contested divorce moving through the court system is often broken up by several deadlines, hearings, continuances, and various other roadblocks thrown up by the parties. In addition to using new innovative techniques to settle divorces, Wevorce also focuses on the emotions involved. Most importantly, Wevorce emphasizes the need for both parents to cooperate in the best interest of any minor children. Custody and visitation is a very emotional area of family law and should be negotiated in such a way to safeguard children from the adversarial process.

Wevorce is promoted as a “new spin” on divorce; however, family law attorneys have been attempting to mediate divorce cases for years. Despite the best intentions and efforts of attorneys, in many cases the parties are unwilling to accept a settlement offer to agree to any terms proposed by his or her spouse. These types of litigious cases can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. One of the most enticing elements of the Wevorce concept is the fact that they offer “flat rate” pricing to divorce so that spouses can manage and control the cost of the proceeding.

Wevorce boasts an extremely high success rate in settling cases. This may be due to the fact that only parties in an amicable state of mind have used the company’s services. A spouse full of anger, resentment, and skepticism is unlikely to agree to use a mediation service to resolve his or her divorce. The best divorce attorneys know that by the time spouses reach the point of divorce, they have problems trusting one another and cooperating to the benefit of the other. If the Wevorce method can translate to resolve conflicts in these contentious cases, it may be the new frontier in family law.

www.BickfordLaw.com


Continue reading

By

We have previously blogged about different ways technology can be used to gain an advantage or gather evidence in a dissolution proceeding. However, ex-spouses are now learning how to use the advances in technology to foster cooperation and harmony post-separation. Many divorcing couples would prefer to sever the ties between them completely after their divorce is final. This goal is unattainable for ex-spouses who will continue to share custody of minor children for years after separation. The new trend called “joint custody – at a distance” encourages splitting couples to communicate electronically rather than during “in person” exchanges in order to reduce the emotional tension during a “drop off” or “pick up”.Many parents have found that they fight and argue less in front of their children if they are able to express their emotions through other outlets. E-mail communication, online calendars and a number of other online resources are all available to conflicting parties who share children. By sharing an online calendar parents can easily coordinate a child-sharing schedule. All of the child’s activities and plans are readily available to view and change without any need for in-person or telephonic communication between the parents.

Our Family Wizard is a common solution for parents in conflict. A judge may order parties to use Our Family Wizard, a program which tracks all communication, expenses, and even sends notices to the parties regarding their obligations. Because the communication between parents can be supervised by the judge and attorneys involved in the case, the parties are incentivized to speak civilly to each other. This form of communication can take away the aggravation and emotional side of child-sharing and ease the tension and stress for the children involved. The program can be purchased for approximately $100 per year.

Another form of technology frequently appearing in custody orders is Skype. Skype is a free program that allows two or more people to have an online video conversation. In cases where both parties cannot easily see a child frequently, the court may order “Skype visitation”. During a Skype visit, a parent can have a video conversation with the child. Skype also permits conversations to be recorded and can ensure that the visiting parent is getting enough video time with the child. Additionally, a parent may be ordered to purchase a cell phone for the child in order to avoid any telephonic communication between the parties. This way, if a parent wishes to speak to his or her child during the child’s scheduled time with the other parent, he or she can reach the child directly.

Continue reading

By

As we have previously blogged, technology is playing an important role in San Diego divorces. Often, spouses use social media sites such as Facebook to gather information about their spouse to be used in the dissolution process. However, some spouses are taking the use of technology to a whole new level. Danny Lee Hormann did not simply peruse his wife’s Facebook when he suspected her of cheating. Instead he installed a gamut of spy equipment in the family home, on the family computer, on his wife’s cell phone, and in his wife’s car.

Michele Mathias, Hormann’s wife, became so worried that her husband was spying on her that she and their children searched the family home for recording devices and held whispered conversations on the lawn. Mathis argued that it was not only her family’s privacy that was invaded, but the privacy of every person who sent her a text message or used her computer was compromised as well. The police pursued criminal charges against Hormann for stalking and he was sentenced to thirty days in jail. According to Hormann, when others hear his story they reply that they would have done the same thing.

This type of spying and information gathering results in the collection of more private information in a short period of time than the discovery process may ever be able to gather. However, many lawyers are questioning the legality of this behavior and what information, if any, can actually be used as evidence in a dissolution case. Under the U.S. Constitution, we all have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” This expectation of privacy is reduced in certain instances such as when a person is in public. Spying spouses have begun to argue that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a marriage.

Continue reading

By

The average divorce in San Diego involves more than just dividing up the family house and vehicles. Today, most Americans are connected to some mobile device from the moment they wake up each morning. Courts, according to California community property law, have traditionally divided tangible family assets between the spouses. However, parties are now wondering who will be awarded cell phones, iPads, iTunes accounts and access to iCloud. During marriage, many spouses store family data on one iCloud account. This account could potentially be a virtual asset the parties wish to divide.

As we have previously blogged, social media is becoming an important tool in divorce proceedings. Websites such as Facebook are used to provide courts with evidence of a spouse’s wrongdoing or misconduct. However technology is invading San Diego family courts in a new way. Spouses now have digital community property assets to be divided upon divorce. As a general rule, each community property asset is divided equally upon divorce. An asset is a community asset if it was acquired during the marriage and before the date of separation. All other property acquired before marriage and after the date of separation is separate property.

Virtual property presents a new challenge to the community property system. How can a shared iTunes account be divided in half? Will the court allow each party to present a case as to which songs they would like to receive as part of the judgment? How can a court divide digital storage space, books, movies, or games? Many spouses also have amassed a large collection of characters, virtual clothing, weapons, and currency in online communities and games. These virtual acquisitions become community property when they are purchased with actual community funds.

Continue reading

By

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.
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