Welcome to The California Family Law Blog, powered by Sagaria Law, A Professional Corporation. The California Family Law Blog is a forum of up to date legal information related to all facets of Family Law. It is our goal to provide meaningful, real time solutions and information to individuals in need of legal advice and fresh perspective. We understand that legal information and knowledge about your family law rights is critical when needing to make important decisions. Sagaria Law invites you to explore our California Family Law Blog and research various topics on divorce, child custody and support, alimony, visitation rights, etc. to better your knowledge about your legal rights. If you wish to speak with one of our experienced family law attorneys, please call us at 1-800-941-6730 or complete the “Contact Us” and we will contact you for your free consultation.

Sagaria Law is committed to providing you with the skill and expertise necessary to meet all of your family law needs. We provide expert counsel in divorce, child custody matters, visitation and support issues and pre-nuptial agreements, and also handle post-judgment matters such as modification of spousal support, child support and child custody orders. We are also experienced in working with victims of domestic violence and obtaining restraining orders when appropriate. With offices in San Jose, Fremont, Monterey, Salinas, Sacramento and Redwood City, our attorneys will expertly navigate you through your family law case. Our team of attorneys are energetic, responsible and will vigorously fight for your best interests under the law. We offer a free consultation to discuss your legal matter during which all the facets of your case will be thoroughly examined and solutions will be presented to you on how to proceed. We want to understand your matter and want you to be comfortable with the legal counsel you hire. If you choose to retain us, you will be provided with attorneys and a support staff who will be accessible to all of your needs. It is our goal to provide you with a service that you will be able to use and benefit from.

June 22, 2009

San Jose Family Law Attorney Discusses Children and Divorce

San Jose Family Law Attorney Discusses Children and Divorce

Children have it hardest in a divorce. The kids think it's their fault or they are confused as to why their parents are angry and leaving each other. Therefore it is important to keep them isolated from the negativity that inevitably surrounds a divorce. Dr. Allan Schwartz gives us 5 mistakes that parents should avoid when dealing with their divorce below:

1. Do not use your child as a messenger between you and your ex spouse.

2. Do not use your children as your therapist.

3. Do not criticize your ex spouse to the children.

4. Avoid the "third degree" when the child returns from a visit with their father or mother.

5. Repair the damage you've already done.

Depending on the age of the children, violating these rules could have damaging results for the children. They can become angry at both parents for using them as pawns in their parents' divorce. Especially if the children are older and in their teens. Younger children may feel confused by their parents' interrogations. Many divorced parents reading these tips may recognize mistakes they've unintentionally made with their own kids. Is it ever too late to undo emotional fall-out from a nasty split? Dr Schwartz says no and advises parents to apologize to them because "saying you're sorry" goes a long way with your kids. Explain in detail exactly what you did wrong, and then commit to changing your behavior from that moment on." No two divorce situations are identical and many divorced people experience frustrated and angry feelings of hurt and betrayal. It is common for people to demonize their former spouse and attempt to propagandize the children into their way of thinking. However, this is a short sighted way of thinking that does not take into consideration the emotional well being of the child and future adult.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

June 19, 2009

San Francisco Divorce Lawyer Discusses Divorce

San Francisco Divorce Lawyer Discusses Divorce

There was a time when divorces were not common and many people will hold on to their marriage no matter what happened. However, through the years, when married couples started to encounter problems in their marriage, they would turn to divorce more and more to solve their problems. The divorce statistic is getting higher each year. What is the reason and why do marriages fail? Andrew Kristen in his article "Why do Marriages Fail?" gives us some insight into some of the top reasons as outlined below:

1. Lack of care and concern. When one party is spending too much time outside such as work, friends or hobbies, this can fade the love slowly in the relationship leading to no communication and understanding in each other.

2. Nagging. too much nagging can be bothersome causing adverse impact on the marriage.

3. Possessive and Jealousy. Being possessive is not showing out your love to the person. When a person is too possessive, he or she will get jealous and controlling over small issues as well. Reacting like this is as good as taking away the freedom and space in the marriage.

4. No Respect Respecting each other is one way to make a marriage strong and happy. Criticizing and not showing respects can kill a marriage slowly.

5. Arguments. Arguments are one top reason why marriages fail. It all begins when one party does not know how to fight fairly. Disagreements occur when both react negatively.

6. Overboard Habits. Each person has different habits. However, when it is hurting the family or relationship, quarrels become more frequent. Bad habits such as gambling, drugs, violence are very difficult for most people to accept.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

June 16, 2009

San Jose Family Law Attorney Discusses California Surrogacy and Adoption Laws

San Jose Family Law Attorney Discusses California Surrogacy and Adoption Laws

Lately, Sagaria Law has received several calls about surrogacy and adoption. Surrogacy comes in two main forms: gestational or traditional. Gestational surrogacy is where the embryo and resulting child is genetically related to both parents. Traditional surrogacy involves the use of donor eggs and sperm, or artificial insemination.

Surrogacy law in California is governed by 2 Supreme Court cases: Johnson v. Calvert and Marriage of Buzzanca. Johnson is a case of a gestational surrogate (genetic material from both parents, surrogate to carry the child), and the Supreme Court ruled that when two women have valid claims to motherhood, the tiebreaker is the intent at the time of conception. Therefore, the natural mother of a child is the person who intended to bring about the birth of a child and raise it as her own. In Marriage of Buzzanca, the Court dealt with a case of two infertile parties who used donor sperm and donor eggs to implant in a paid surrogate. In that case, the court held that where a married couple, unable to procreate on their own, intends to bring about the birth of a child through the use of medical technology, those individuals will be held to be the legal parents, regardless of genetics. This holding should apply to surrogacy cases where the surrogate has been artificially inseminated with the intended father’s sperm, but since there is no clear ruling on this particular issue, it is possible the court would decide differently under that set of circumstances.

In California, the intended parents can only be listed on the birth certificate if there is a court judgment naming them as the parents. If no such judgment is to be had before birth, the parents will need to adopt the child(ren) to become the legal parents. It is advisable to seek a legal judgment in advance of the birth to ensure there is no delay in obtaining the status of legal parents.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

June 12, 2009

Sacramento Family Law Attorney Discusses Child Support for 21 Children

Sacramento Family Law Attorney Discusses Child Support for 21 Children

Tennessee man has 21 children to support, and not from the same woman. The children ranger in age from 11 years to 11 months. How you ask, can a man possibly pay child support for 21 children? Apparently in, Tennessee, he can’t. Some of the mothers only receive about $2 in child support from him every month. $2! Clearly these mothers end up requiring state assistance in many cases with such a miniscule amount of child support being paid.

Most states calculate child support on the basis of income and timeshare. It no longer depends exclusively on income or requires one parent to pay a certain percentage regardless of timeshare. And, most states, Tennessee included, adjust child support based on the number of children to support. And all states require child support where the custodial parent is receiving public assistance.

This man does not live in California, but it seems as though there is a lot of similarity between the states. California law requires both parents to support their children. Child support is calculated using a formula that considers the incomes of both parties, as well as the timeshare. Typically, this formula results in a number which becomes the child support amount. Sometimes, courts will adjust the number either up or down to reflect additional expenses, or for some other reason.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

June 9, 2009

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Divorce and Social Security Beneifits

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Divorce and Social Security Beneifits

Many people who are getting divorced are concerned with collecting Social Security benefits from their former spouse, and want to know if language to that effect needs to be included in any final judgment. In fact, Social Security benefits are controlled by federal law, so no specific language is needed.

The basic rule is that any time a marriage lasts 10 years or more, the divorced spouse with the lower earnings record can collect retirement benefits based upon the record of the higher-earning spouse. In addition to the required 10 years of marriage, there are four key qualifications to collect divorced spouse benefits:

• The person seeking to collect must not have remarried.
• This person must be 62 or older.
• The benefit this person would collect based on his or her own earnings record must be smaller than what they would collect on their former spouse's earnings history.
• The ex-spouse must be entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits on their own.

The benefits collected by a divorced spouse does not reduce the benefits received by the other spouse. Nor does it reduce benefits paid to a subsequent spouse of the former spouse. If you remarry, you generally cannot collect on your former spouse's record unless the later marriage ends by death, divorce or annulment.

If the ex-spouse has not yet applied for retirement benefits but does qualify, you must have been divorced from him or her for at least two years before you can begin collecting against his earnings record
Another common concern is what if the former spouse dies before you can collect Social Security benefits from him. You will qualify for survivor benefits as a divorced spouse, just as if you had been married to him at the time. And you always retain the right to the benefits you earned based on your own work history. You don't give those up even if you collect against your ex-spouse’s record. This could be an issue if you ever remarry yourself. You also can begin by collecting Social Security through a divorced spouse benefit first and delay receiving your own retirement benefits until a later date.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

June 4, 2009

Fremont Divorce Attorney Discusses Getting Divorced While Living Abroad

Fremont Divorce Attorney Discusses Getting Divorced While Living Abroad

Divorce is stressful under even the best of circumstances, and it can be particularly difficult for those living abroad. Whether you reside in a foreign country due to military service, other business or simply to be in a place you prefer to live, it won't be easy to manage a divorce across international borders. One problem international couples face when seeking a divorce involves jurisdiction. It can be difficult for those living abroad to meet residency requirements courts demand for divorce proceedings. You may not be able to dissolve your marriage in court within the country where you reside. You also might not qualify to divorce in your spouse's country of residence.

Another issue faced by those living abroad involves the time and expense involved in travel. How many times will you need to appear in a court thousands of miles away? How will you manage the costs associated with airfare, time off from work and accommodations? Issues regarding time off can be particularly challenging for those in the military.The length of time it can take to dissolve a marriage is another source of stress international couples must face. It could take a year or more to legally divorce in many countries, including the United States. If you're eager to start your own business or remarry, this delay can be devastating. In all cases, it's inconvenient and stressful to have the process dragged out for months on end.

The ultimate reason international divorces are so difficult is because they rely on government legal systems to dictate how and when couples can legally end their marriages. Even if both spouses are in agreement about the divorce and even agree on child custody and economic issues, their ability to divorce is in the hands of courts and their governments' legal systems. The only ones truly working on their behalf are family law attorneys, and divorce lawyers are ultimately in the business of making money, not making things easier.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

May 26, 2009

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Divorce and Custody

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Divorce and Custody

When getting a divorce, one of the most difficult questions is whether a parent wants joint custody or sole legal and physical custody of the child. Deciding on if joint custody is right for you depends a great deal on the ability of you and your spouse to get along. If you are to share decision-making, you must be able to sit down with your former spouse in a non-combative atmosphere and make decisions together. Shared values and parenting styles make this custody style more viable.
Here's what psychologists have found after long-term studies of families in joint-custody arrangements and sole-custody arrangements in an article from Pamela Weintraub and Terry Hillman:

Joint custody is a viable option only if the parents have an amicable relationship with each other, communicate well, and understand the nuances of their kids' day-to-day routines. Parents in this situation feel more involved in their children's lives than the noncustodial parent in the sole-custody arrangement. On the other hand, in a family where one parent says "black" and the other parent says "white," the children are better off with a sole-custody arrangement to reduce the possibility that their parents will fight over every decision that must be made on their behalf.
For parents not on friendly terms, joint legal custody (that is to say, joint decision-making) means more room for disagreement and continuation of conflict. These parents are more likely to return to court than parents who have one decision-maker (sole custody).
If you're able to communicate about the kids, are willing to live in close proximity to your ex, and have the time and resources to share "possession and access" (as they say in Texas) or "physical custody" (as it's more commonly called), then it can be a great thing for everyone. But generally, only children who tend to be easy-going by nature can adapt well to this kind of living arrangement. Children who do poorly with constant change, have difficulty adjusting to new situations, and seem to need a great deal of stability and security in their lives don't do well with joint physical custody.

In short, if you can agree to most of the following statements, joint custody could work for your family:

I will communicate openly with my ex-spouse regarding the children's needs and activities.

I can be flexible in working with my ex-spouse and put my children's needs first.

I will never bad-mouth my ex-spouse in front of my children. On the contrary, I will show nothing but respect for my children's other parent.

I will respect my ex-spouse's right to have his or her own house rules and not undermine them.

If communication doesn't work, then joint custody is not a good choice for your family.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

May 21, 2009

Sacramento Divorce Attorney Discusses Child Custody and Visitation

Sacramento Divorce Attorney Discusses Child Custody and Visitation

An article appeared in the Mercury News last week about a child custody case involving our office. The specifics of that case are not the subject of this blog, but some of the concepts involved in any custody and visitation dispute were at issue there, and are the subject of this post.

Custody and visitation cases always turn on what is in the best interests of the child or children. Best interests takes into consideration the health, safety and welfare of the children. Many times parents bring laundry lists of concerns to court that they claim affect the health, safety and welfare of the children. Many of these concerns are personality driven or involve different styles of parenting (playing indoor games versus outdoor activities, or feeding no junk food versus occasional junk food). However, there are hard cases where a parent is abusing a child, or abusing drugs or alcohol in the presence of the child, and it is those cases that test the family court system the most.

Courts and judges have only limited information in front of them. The attorneys only have the information from their clients and from the other side, not all of which is disinterested. Some of it may be misleading or untruthful. The family court system is imperfect, and tries to resolve disputes between parents on the basis of what little information it has. Ideally, parents would agree on the best custody and visitation arrangement for their children. When parents agree, it typically results in a better outcome for the children.

Sometimes a case is so bad that it ends up not in family court, but in juvenile dependency court. This happens when CPS becomes involved and removes the child or children from the home. These children then become wards of the state. Parents in dependency cases are closely monitored, and given reunification plans. These plans typically include counseling, parenting classes, visitation (supervised and unsupervised), and drug testing as needed. There are regular meetings with social workers and frequent court dates regarding the status of the case. This is very different from family court where parents are often ordered to take similar classes and other provisions, but there are fewer instances of monitoring. Its places the burden on parents to ensure compliance or to enforce non-compliance.

Custody cases
are often emotionally charged and the most difficult cases to handle. There rarely is one right answer, a fact that frustrates many parents. Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

May 18, 2009

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Actor/Singer Tyrese’s Divorce Woes Mount

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Actor/Singer Tyrese’s Divorce Woes Mount

Tyrese has been in the news a lot lately. The parties were married a mere 10 months, before filing for divorce. The parties had signed a pre-nuptial agreement limiting the terms of support and property division. Apparently, the wife recently filed seeking a modification not only of support, but also of custody and visitation, and attorney fees.

Tyrese has an annual income that undoubtedly puts him in the high earner bracket. California law requires both parents to support their children. Child support is calculated using a formula that considers the incomes of both parties, as well as the timeshare. Typically, this formula results in a number which becomes the child support amount. Sometimes, courts will adjust the number either up or down to reflect additional expenses, or for some other reason. The Court has to consider the lifestyle of a high earning parent, and order support in an amount to enable that child to share in his or her parent’s lifestyle. Recent reports indicate support in the range of $6,000 - $7,000/month was ordered.

Additionally, it appears that the wife is contesting the prenuptial agreement. The agreement allegedly has a provision in it that for every year of marriage, the wife would receive $50,000 lump sum. Unfortunately, since the marriage lasted a mere 10 months, the terms imply the wife will receive nothing. She is now claiming she was essentially coerced into signing the prenuptial agreement.

According to California law, a prenuptial agreement is considered involuntary unless the party against whom it is asserted was represented by independent counsel or expressly waived, in writing, such representation had at least 7 calendar days to review prior to signing; and there must have been full disclosure of all assets and obligation.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

May 15, 2009

Fremont Divorce Attorney Discusses Securing Medical, Life, and Homeowners Insurance

Fremont Divorce Attorney Discusses Securing Medical, Life, and Homeowners Insurance

Securing medical, life, and homeowners insurance for yourself and your children must be considered during pre-divorce settlement negotiations with your soon-to-be ex. Insurance issues may be complicated and largely the purview of lawyers but you need to be actively involved to protect yourself and anyone who depends upon you. You should know that your life insurance policy could still cover your spouse even if you two are divorced and no longer a part of each other's lives. You need to negotiate who will be paying the premiums. If husband is to pay, he can stop paying or cash in the policy and leave you with nothing unless life insurance is a negotiated part of the divorce settlement.

To protect the children, make sure that your divorce settlement states that the children are to be kept as the beneficiary and make sure that your spouse shows proof of it each year. If your spouse allows the policy to lapse, your ex may not have to reinstate the policy unless ordered by the court. Get it in writing before the divorce is finalized. If you would like only your children to benefit financially from your life insurance policy, you will want to open a trust fund and then name the trust as the beneficiary and name a trustee to manage the proceeds. Many banks offer this service. This way your ex will never get parental control over any of the money left to your children should you die before they are of legal age.

You can also prevent your children from giving any of the money to your ex by setting up the trust fund and stipulate that the children cannot receive any of the money until they are young adults. The normal age of legal maturity for such trusts ranges from 18 to 21. You may also stipulate that the insurance proceeds be restricted to higher education use only and held in trust until your children or other heirs avail themselves of the money for education.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com

May 12, 2009

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Fears of Divorce

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Fears of Divorce

Divorce is a tough time for everyone that has to go through it. Although most people will come out stronger and better off than staying in an awful marriage, a little mental divorce preparation never hurt anyone. Bruce Derman, Ph.D. and Wendy Gregson, MS give us three different circumstances for why couples may want to get divorced and to overcome the fears of divorce.

The first situation is you want the divorce, but I am not sure if it is the right decision. Since going through a divorce affects the lives of your children as well as your lifestyle, economics, and marital investment, the pressure to make the "perfectly correct" decision is enormous. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. The best-case scenario is to make a decision that is not emotionally based, nor driven by your ego.

The second situation is when you do not want the divorce, but your spouse does. Being in this situation place will leave you feeling out of control and a helpless victim. You will experience intense emotional devastation, as your life will be changing before your eyes without you having any say in the outcome. In addressing this dilemma, you need to ask yourself if you are clinging to staying on familiar, safe ground and to a marriage based on illusions. It is not easy to acknowledge and confront the problems in a marriage, when you are feeling so hurt by your partner.

The third situation is when only you want this divorce because your marriage is not working. If this is your dilemma, then you will want to avoid responsibility at all costs by seeing your partner to blame for the downfall of the marriage. There will be tremendous preoccupation and anger about how your partner caused you to make this decision. The amount of noise generated from this blaming will be in direct proportion to your unwillingness to risk expressing any of your own fears and sadness. If this doesn't occur, the divorce proceedings to follow will be riddled with tension and conflict, and a continuation of the blaming.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com


May 8, 2009

Sacramento Divorce Attorney Discusses Guardianships

Sacramento Divorce Attorney Discusses Guardianships

Lately, our office has fielded a bunch of calls from people interested in setting up guardianships for minor children either who are friends or family. One of the first questions is usually, what is a guardianship and why would a child need one?

A guardianship is established by a court order when the court appoints an adult, who is not the parent, to be responsible for a minor. This may occur if a parent is deceased, incarcerated or otherwise unable to care for a minor child. Guardianships are specific to children – where an adult is unable to care for themselves, the appropriate procedure is a conservatorship.

There are two types of guardianships: of the minor’s person, and of the minor’s estate. A guardianship of the minor’s person means the guardian has legal custody of the minor and is responsible for the minor’s well being. The guardian provides food, shelter, health care, and assumes responsibility over education and religious development, and can obtain medical treatment for the minor. A guardianship of the minor’s estate is not typical, unless the minor has substantial assets, usually from an inheritance.

Certain circumstances do not require a guardianship. These circumstances include short-term caregiving (up to 3 months), or a minor whose parents are living, or a stepparent caregiver. For situations such as these, it is useful to consider a Caregiver Authorization Affidavit, which allows the informal guardian to obtain medical care and enroll the child in school. A Guardianship Authorization form gives a nonparent caregiver a broader range of responsibility including applying for health insurance and obtaining benefits for a child.

Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law and legal services including divorce, paternity, adoption, child custody and visitation matters, child support, spousal support, alimony, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, division of property, grandparent visitation and custody, etc. We have seven Northern California locations including San Jose, San Francisco, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas, Roseville and Sacramento. We offer a free thirty minute consultation, either in person at any of our offices, or over the phone. Call our offices today and we can connect you with an attorney immediately or we can schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730 or visit www.sagarialaw.com