California Family Law Blog

Salinas Family Law Attorney Discusses Restraining Orders

Unfortunately during the time of separation from a spouse or significant other while emotions are raw there can be a serious risk of domestic violence. This was demonstrated on September 7, 2008 in Chico in the very tragic murder of Elizabeth Henningsen who was shot by her estranged husband Mark in front of their children. According to reports the couple had engaged in violent arguments but Elizabeth did not consider her husband a threat. Her divorce attorney told the media that she had advised Elizabeth to request a restraining order but Elizabeth said no. According to reports Mark had moved to Sacramento but was often seen in Chico.

A restraining order is certainly not appropriate in every divorce case but it is something that should be considered very seriously if your estranged partner has shown any tendencies of domestic violence. A restraining order prevents the restrained party from any contact with the protected party and any violations of the restraining order are a criminal matter. Exceptions can be made if needed for the peaceful exchange of children for visitation. A request for a restraining order can also include a request for child custody and visitation orders. If needed orders can include supervised visitation for the restrained party to visit with the children.

A restraining order request can also include any requests that are needed for child support and/or spousal support. If there is a need to exclude the restrained party from a residence that can also be requested in a restraining order. If you have any questions about whether or not a request for a restraining order would be appropriate in your case please contact us to schedule a free consultation at the location nearest you. We have offices in Salinas, Monterey, San Jose, Fremont and Redwood City.

Redwood City Attorney Discusses Family Law Issues and Divorce

Linda Stern has some helpful hints when dealing with a divorce. She writes in her latest Newsweek article on how to prepare financially for a divorce. The first tip for troubled couples is to deal with the house and the division of property. The real estate market is not looking good these days and some couples are thinking about keeping the house until the market gets better. Stern says that this is not a good idea because you’re binding two people together who do not want to be bound. If one spouse stops paying the mortgage it can cause credit and housing problems for the other spouse. So Stern recommends to transfer the house to one spouse if that spouse can qualify for the mortgage on their own.

Her second tip is to “plan for disasters and windfalls.” Many couples are asking for “disaster scenarios”—automatic adjustments to their payment schedules if they lose their jobs. The last tip is to mediate for the long haul. Couples should call in a financial pro to make sure the technical details are looked after and expect to return to mediation as your separate lives continues. Even though both people have stopped living together, you may have a longer relationship with this person than you ever wanted or expected. Therefore, it is a good idea to have professional help with the finances in order to allow for the distribution of finances to go more smoothly.

If you are getting divorced in California, and have questions about these issues, or others, call our experienced team of family law attorneys. We handle all types of dissolutions and other family law cases. We have four Bay Area locations, including Redwood City, San Jose, Monterey and Fremont. We offer a free consultation, either in person or over the phone. Call today to schedule your consultation.

Fremont Attorney Discusses Family Law and Divorce Issues

In the latest Newsweek article by Dahlia Lithwick, he discusses both family law and divorce issues and how the family court system today perpetuates stereo-types of men who are unsuited to care for their children. These stereotypes then come to haunt the father in future, especially when it comes time to stand before the judge at a child custody hearing.

Lithwick claims that despite the fact that divorce is rarely triggered by violence or abuse, women find that there are benefits to alleging that the man may be abusive in the relationship. This is because it is often times easier to believe that a man is an aggressor in a relationship than a woman. Once allegations are made it is hard to see the man in another light other than hostile. A comment made in anger during a fight can be turned into a character assassination on the man that can cost him visits with his children in the long run.

Lithwick says that it does not help that the media has chosen to focus on such notorious fathers such as Clark Rockefeller. Clark Rockefeller recently captured the attention of the news when he allegedly kidnapped his 7 year old daughter during a supervised visit in Boston on July 27, 2008. Rockefeller is now facing charges of felony custodial kidnapping, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. He has also had at least 7 different names and aliases since the early 1990’s. Fathers like this put fear into the family court system. They make fathers, even non-violent, caring fathers seem like they have the potential to become frustrated and ultimately hostile. This leaves dads on a less than equal playing field when fighting for custody.

If you have a child custody or visitation issue in California, and have questions about these issues, or others, call our experienced team of family law attorneys. We handle all types of dissolutions and other family law cases. We have four Bay Area locations, including Redwood City, San Jose, Monterey and Fremont. We offer a free consultation, either in person or over the phone. Call today to schedule your consultation.

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses Military Divorces

Sharon Soonhoo has recently written an interesting article addressing Military divorces. There are many people who are in the military who are contemplating divorce. Many of these people also have military financial assets that they are concerned about when contemplating divorce. The division of military assets on divorce is a bit different from that of a normal civilian divorce. For example, federal legislation entitles active members of the armed forces to delay a divorce and to court-appointed counsel in certain cases. This is governed by the Service Members Civil Relief Act.

Miltary pensions are also an asset that is not dealt with in civil divorces. Military pensions like civilian pensions are divisible on divorce, however, they are subject to different rules than the common Qualified Domestic Relations Orders for private retirement accounts or Domestic Relations Orders for state and municipal pensions.

Alimony and child support also have special rules that govern them. The reason for this is because calculating income and collecting support can be more complicated because of regulations governing active or retired members of the military. All of this has to do with “disposable retirement income” when dealing with support orders.

Our attorneys at Sagaria Law can advise you if you are thinking about getting a divorce and can answer all of your family law questions. Our attorneys here at Sagaria Law would be happy to meet with you for a free consultation to go over your specific situation regarding divorce or other family law issues. Please contact us for a consultation at one of our offices in Salinas, Monterey, San Jose, Fremont or Redwood City.

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Testimony in Divorce Proceedings

Last year the California Supreme Court held that the Contra Costa County Superior Court violated state law with a rule that prohibited people in divorce trials from presenting oral testimony.

This ruling was a consequence of a case brought to the Court by Jeffrey Elkins. Elkins, a Danville business consultant, challenged the county court’s rule that required evidence to be submitted exclusively by written declaration, except in unusual circumstances. The Contra Costa Court established its rule prohibiting oral testimony as a means to speed along cases in its family law division, arguing that trying every single family law case with oral testimony would heavily burden the court.

Elkins, who represented himself in his divorce, claimed that the rule resulted in the court awarding all assets to his ex-wife because all but two pieces of evidence he wanted to present at his 2005 hearing were discounted by the court. The Supreme Court said the Elkins case “highlights the unusual burdens and restrictions that have been imposed on family law litigants at the local level in response to increasing case loads and limited judicial resources.”

This ruling has changed the way Contra Costa County Superior Court does business. Local procedures have changed, allowing oral testimony, in addition to written declarations, for requesting parties. This is significant because it lowers the threshold for litigants to get evidence into the courtroom, allowing them to make their claims without excessive procedural burdens.

If you have a question regarding divorce proceedings, please contact our office for a free consultation. Our team of Family Law Attorneys can assist you with all aspects of your divorce. We have attorneys in San Mateo, Monterey, Fremont, Salinas, and San Jose.

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses the Virtue of Settlement

Many times in a dissolution, people plan for a contested trial on all the issues, and ultimately, they end up settling the issues, sometimes with and sometimes without the Court’s involvement. Recently, our firm handled a case that we expected to go to trial for multiple days. Surprisingly, and at the eleventh hour, the parties came to a settlement agreement, with the Court’s assistance. You may be wondering what would be the point in settling so late in the game?

Trials are a risk for all parties involved, in most cases. By going to trial, you are deciding that the judge, a third party, should make the decision, not you. Often this means that when a decision is made nobody is happy with it. Judges sometimes try to split the difference, to make orders that will make one party happy on one issue, and the other on a different issue. But at the end of the day, nobody gets 100% of what they asked for, and they are unhappy.

Settlement, on the other hand, is driven by the parties. The ultimate decision to settle or not rests in your hands, as a party. You get to decide if this agreement will make you happy. Or at least if you can live with it. You’ve taken some control over the situation.

So for example, in this recent case, Husband and Wife were married for about ten years. Through some crazy turns of events, they ended up litigating their divorce for roughly the same amount of time. The issues for trial were spousal support, property division and attorney fees. By the time trial rolled around, the parties had repeatedly been to settlement conferences and meetings with no resolution. The day of trial the judge announced he believed the parties, with counsel, should make a last ditch settlement effort. It took multiple offers back and forth, and a lot of involvement by the judge as a mediator, but at the end of the day, the parties had an agreement. They walked out of court that afternoon with a signed agreement in hand, a sense of resolution, and some finality. They also felt they had some control over the outcome, which made them happier with the terms of the agreement. Rather than putting their future in the hands of someone who barely knows them, barely knows their case, they were able to put their good judgment ahead of some significant emotions and come to an agreement.

Settlement isn’t for every case. Some cases, some issues have to be litigated to their conclusion. Regardless, our offices can assist you with resolving the issues in your family law case, be they spousal support, child support, custody, visitation or property division. Maybe some of your issues are best left to the judge at trial. Maybe others can be settled with some assistance. Let the attorneys here at Sagaria Law help you make those decisions. We offer a free consultation, either in person or over the phone. We have five Bay Area locations, including Salinas, Monterey, Redwood City, Fremont and San Jose. We handle cases all over the Bay Area, and we can handle yours. Call today to arrange your free consultation.

Salinas Divorce Attorney Discusses Hiring a Private Judge

Due to the high divorce rate and lack of state and county resources the family court system in California is severely overcrowded. If a motion needs to be filed in a divorce case on any routine issue, such as child custody and visitation, child support, spousal support or property division it is routine to have to wait approximately six to eight weeks before you will have your day in court. There are certain cases that can be filed on an expedited basis to get in sooner but they must normally require a serious or emergency issue.
Once you get your long awaited day in court you will be waiting with other people on a crowded calendar to have your case heard by the Judge. This overcrowding means your Judge will have a very limited time to hear your issue, most of the time only about fifteen minutes. When that issue relates to your children, your means of support or how to divide your property this can be very difficult to accept. To set your case for a trial you could end up waiting for your trial to start for about six to twelve months. In addition many people are uncomfortable having these issues decided in a crowded public court room. There is an alternative to the problems inherent with the public court system.
Having your divorce or family law case decided by a private judge can reduce the stress of being in a public court room and allow your case to be resolved quickly. The attorneys for the parties can agree to have the case decided by a private Judge and then decide who that Judge will be. This has the added benefit of hiring a trusted authority instead of the randomly selected public Judge who your attorney cannot choose. Private Judges generally charge hourly rate similar to private attorneys and parties can agree to split that cost equally. Once selected the case can be resolved much quicker because private Judges are more flexible with their time and easier to schedule with than public Judges. For parties who can afford a private Judge it is a decision that should be considered. Unlike mediation where the parties must agree on resolution with a private Judge each side can present their case and a decision will be made by the Judge.
Our attorneys at Sagaria Law can advise you if having a private Judge in your case would be a good decision and answer all of your family law questions. Our attorneys here at Sagaria Law would be happy to meet with you for a free consultation to go over your specific situation regarding divorce or other family law issues. Please contact us for a consultation at one of our offices in Salinas, Monterey, San Jose, Fremont or Redwood City.