California Family Law Blog

More than 75 babies and teenagers were officially adopted by families in Alameda County Superior Court on Saturday, November 18. Some of these children had already been living with these families as foster children, while others were arriving at new homes for the very first time.
A spokeswoman for the Alameda County Social Services says that there are almost 3000 children in the county who belong to the foster care system.

National Adoption Day, celebrated every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, is a day when thousands of children across the United States are formally adopted by families. Like Adoption Awareness Month, National Adoption Day takes place every year to raise awareness that there are more than 100,000 children in the U.S. who are waiting to find permanent homes.

National Adoption Day.org offers the following statistics about adoption:

· There are an estimated 523,000 children in foster care in the United States, and more than 119,000 of them are waiting to be adopted.

Continue reading " On National Adoption Day, More Than 75 Children Are Adopted In Alameda County Superior Court " »

Black Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson filed for divorce from actress Kate Hudson last week. In the divorce petition that he submitted to Los Angeles County Superior Court, The 39-year-old rocker cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their divorce. Although they had separated in August, the couple have been married for almost six years. Robinson wants joint custody of their 2-year-old son Ryder Russell Robinson. Hudson, an academy award nominated actress, is the daughter of movie star Goldie Hawn.

Some common divorce terms that one may encounter when filing for divorce in the state of California:

Filing Party: The person who is initiating the divorce process by filing the papers in court.

Non-Filing Party: The spouse who is not the initiating petitioner of the divorce with the courts.

Superior Court of California, County of ___________: The divorce papers are filed in the county where the filing party is a resident. The person must have lived in this county for at least three months and in California for at least six months.

Continue reading " Actress Kate Hudson’s Husband, Rocker Chris Robinson, Files For Divorce " »

The Fourth District Court of Appeals in California says that the date when a couple becomes legally separated is based on when they privately decided to separate rather than the date they set for court purposes. This decision reverses an earlier decision by a San Diego Judge in Orange County Superior Court.

The case involves Maureen and Samuel Manfer. They were married in 1973 and then mutually decided shortly after their 31st wedding anniversary in 2004 that they were separating. Samuel moved out, but both of them decided to keep the news of their separation private until after the end of the year because they didn’t want to upset their children before the holidays. The couple did not have sex together or share their finances, but they attended social occasions and traveled together from time to time.

When Samuel filed for divorce in April 2005, he cited March 15, 2005 as their date of separation. Maureen disagreed, saying that their separation date was July 1, 2004. The date of separation was significant, seeing as Maureen had made more money than Samuel, so Samuel was entitled to half of her income during the time that they were together—whether this time was until July 2004 or March 2005.

California is a community property state. This means that unless a couple signed a premarital agreement before they were married, each spouse is entitled to half of the net value of all property acquired and income earned during the duration of their marriage.

Continue reading " California Court Says That The Date Of A Couple’s Legal Separation Is Determined By When They Decided To Separate And Not When They Made The End Of Their Marriage Known To Others " »

Kevin Federline, the husband of Britney Spears, says he is filing for sole custody of his children, Jayden James and Sean Preston, because he doesn’t think his wife can do the job alone. Federline had countersued against Spears earlier this month, one day after she had filed for divorce.

Mark Vincent Kaplan, Federline’s attorney says that his client wants sole custody because he believes that he is more capable of taking care of their children. He is also seeking spousal support.

In the state of California, parents who are divorcing are asked to come up with a custody and visitation agreement that must be approved by the court. Parents are encouraged to file for joint “legal” custody of their child(ren) when possible and desired. If the parents cannot agree on the custody arrangements, then a judge will create a plan for them.

Continue reading " Kevin Federline, Britney Spears's Husband, Says He Is Filing For Sole Physical And Legal Custody Of Their Children " »

Across the United States, adoptive parents, adoptees, and adoptive families are celebrating National Adoption Awareness Month.

The annual commemoration, established in 1990, is designed to raise adoption awareness and bring attention to the tens of thousands of children in foster care that are still waiting to be adopted.

This year, national adoption day will be on November 18, when courts across the country will finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care.

Goals of National Adoption Day 2006:
· Finalize adoptions from foster care in all 50 states.
· Celebrate and honor all families that adopt.
· Raise awareness about the 114,000 children in foster care waiting for adoption.
· Encourage others to adopt children from foster care.
· Build collaboration among local adoption agencies, courts and advocacy organizations.
· Through research, learn more about families wanting to adopt and the children waiting to be adopted,
· Find more permanent, loving homes for children in foster care.

Continue reading " Adoptees, Foster Children, and Adoptive Parents In The United States Are Honored During National Adoption Awareness Month " »

The deadline is today, November 14, for the plaintiffs' attorneys to file their appeal with the California Supreme Court over the issue of whether or not same-sex couples have the right to get married. Several lawsuits have been filed by gay and lesbian couples as well as the city of San Francisco on this matter.

Last week, the Court of Appeal in San Francisco issued an order saying it would not reconsider its ruling from last month by its panel (in a 2-1 vote) upholding state law, which stipulates that a couple have to be a man and a woman in order to get married—although the panel had agreed that gay and lesbian couples had the right to the same benefits as married couples under California’s domestic partnership system. The court’s ruling had overturned the decision by San Francisco Superior Court that had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and their right to marry.

While same-sex couples are not currently allowed to get married, in California, they have the right to register their domestic partnership as long as they meet the requirements of Family code Section 297:

· Both partners must reside together.
· Neither must be married to someone of the opposite sex or in another domestic partnership that has not been terminated or dissolved.
· Both partners cannot be related to one another.
· Both partners must be 18 years of age or older.
· Both partners are members of the same sex or at least one partner must be 62 years of age or older.
· Both partners agree to the domestic partnership.
· Both partners agree that the Superior Court of California has jurisdiction over the termination of this partnership.

For a couple wishing to terminate their domestic partnership, here are the main differences between dissolving a domestic partnership and filing for divorce (by a married couple):

Continue reading " In San Francisco, Attorneys For Gay And Lesbian Couples Say They Will Appeal To California Supreme Court Regarding Whether Same-Sex Couples Have The Right To Marry " »

Two weeks after filing for legal separation from her husband actor Ryan Phillippe, actress Reese Witherspoon is filing for divorce. In her divorce papers, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, Witherspoon cited irreconcilable differences as her reason for filing. She is asking for sole physical custody of her children and requesting that Phillippe be granted visitation rights. Witherspoon requested that Phillippe’s ability to receive spousal support be terminated. It is believed that Witherspoon and Philippe did not sign a prenuptial agreement before they were married.

California is a community property state, which means that when a couple gets divorced, each spouse is entitled to 50 percent of the net value of their community property—defined as any asset acquired or income earned by either person while married. Currently, Witherspoon makes over $20 million a movie, while Phillippe earns over $2 million a picture.

When a couple divorces or legally separates, the court can order one spouse to pay spousal support to the other spouse every month.

Continue reading " Hollywood Star Reese Witherspoon Files For Divorce From Ryan Phillippe; She Seeks Physical Custody Of Their Two Children " »

On Tuesday, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, music star Britney Spears filed for divorce from husband Kevin Federline. The singer-dancer cited irreconcilable differences as the cause for the split. Spears is asking for legal and physical custody of their two children. She is also requesting visitation rights for Federline. In her divorce filing, Spears states that there is no community property to divide between the couple. This means that Spears and Federline signed a prenuptial agreement before their 2004 marriage.

On Wednesday, Federline countered by filing his own papers. He is seeking sole custody of their two children as well as spousal support.

The Uniform Premarital Agreement Act defines a prenuptial agreement as an “an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be effective upon marriage.” In the state of California, having a premarital agreement can override the fact that California is a community property state. This means that when a couple divorces, rather than being required by law to divide the net value of their community property by 50%, a couple can honor the terms that they established in their premarital agreement.

Continue reading " In California, Music Star Britney Spears Files For Divorce From Rapper-Dancer Husband Kevin Federline " »

In the United States, more than 10 years after signing the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, the U.S. is finally close to implementing the global treaty. The treaty, which hopefully will be ratified next year, will govern all adoptions that take place in the countries that have ratified it. While it will be against the law for Americans to adopt a child from countries that have ratified the treated but are not obeying its rules, Americans can still adopt children from countries that have not signed the treaty.

The Hague Convention is seen as a major step for making international adoptions safer for children, as well for biological and adoptive parents.

Countries will have to follow specific procedures and guidelines, including:

· Adoption agencies being required to work harder to collect health information about the children, as well as information about a child’s biological parents.
· Establishing a central authority to monitor all of a country’s adoptions.
· Ensuring that any person or agency that arranges an adoption is accredited. The Council on Accreditation and the Colorado Department of Human Services will take care of the accreditation process in the U.S.
· Requiring agencies to disclose the full cost of adoption at the start of the process.

Continue reading " For International Adoptions, U.S. To Finally Implement The Hague Convention On Intercountry Adoption " »

California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal says that the state’s courts are not allowed to modify the child custody orders issued by a foreign court. The ruling was issued in the child custody dispute between Eric Paillier and Christine Pence, a couple who were married in California but divorced in France. They have a son named Brian, and a French court had granted visitation to Pence and gave physical custody to Paillier. The court also ordered that Pence could only take her son out of the country if it did not affect Paillier’s parental visitation rights. Ponce and her son moved back to the United States in 2003.

Paillier went to Riverside Superior Court to have the French ruling enforced and Brian ordered back to France. A judge ruled that Ponce could retain physical custody but that Brian must go to school in France. Brian was still studying in California by August 2005, and the judge ordered that Brian be sent back to his father. His mother appealed the decision saying that by modifying the original ruling, the judge had violated the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act that says “a court of this state shall recognize and enforce a child custody determination [defined as including both custody and visitation rights] of a court of another state."

Continue reading " California Says That Courts Cannot Change Child Custody Orders From Foreign Courts " »

Recently, state supreme courts in Utah, Colorado, and Pennsylvania ruled in favor of a grandparent’s right to visit their grandchild.

These rulings indicate the recent shift taking place from six years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Troxel v. Granville, curbed these rights in the state of Washington. The Court said that the visitation law was too broad for allowing “any person” to request visits at “any time.” The decision also solidified a parent’s right to decide who gets to visit with their children. Following the 2000 ruling, state courts seemed more likely than not to follow the Supreme Court’s lead.

Since this decision, grandparent visitation laws in many states have been revised, and state supreme courts have acknowledged and worked with these changes—especially in certain situations, such as the death of one of the parents.

· Utah case: Utah Supreme Court upheld the statute granting continued visitation. A 10-year-old girl whose mother died suddenly can keep visiting with her grandparents in spite of his father’s claim that the law violates his parental decision-making rights.

Continue reading " For Grandparent Visitation, Three State Supreme Courts Say Yes " »

A California mother and her four underage children are suing Lassen County, a number of people affiliated with Children’s Protective Services, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors, the director of the California State Department of Social Services, a foster mother, and Environmental Services—a regional agency that handles placements for CPS. Amy McConnell and her children are asking for at least $11 million.

The suit accuses the defendants of violating the plantiffs’ rights under the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is also alleging that the defendants intentionally inflicted emotional distress and were negligent in fulfilling their mandatory duties under state law.

According to the complaint that was filed in United States District Court, Eastern District of California in 2003, McConnell left three of her children with her husband to pay a gas bill. While she was away, her husband went to the neighbor’s house to use the phone. The oldest child was in school. While both parents were away, Amy McConnell’s father found the three children alone and took them to CPS without telling the parents. When both parents returned home, they couldn’t find their children and went into the neighborhood to look for them. The oldest child was picked up by CPS at school. Lassen County filed a juvenile dependency petition in Lassen Superior Court, but the plaintiff was not informed of the hearing, and the hearing ended up not taking place.

Continue reading " California Mother And Four Underage Children Continue $11 Million Suit Against Children’s Protective Services In Juvenile Dependency Case " »