California Family Law Blog

San Jose Bankruptcy Attorney  comments the divorce, bankruptcy, and foreclosure that drove Jason Rodriguez to go on a shooting spree at his former employer.

America was horrified last week when Jason Rodriguez, a former engineer, returned to his former employer and began shooting, killing one and wounding five others.  Rodriguez’s life had been in a downward spiral for some time.  His wife had filed for divorce, he was behind on child support, and he had lost his home to foreclosure and had filed for bankruptcy protection.  These factors, along with an alleged mental illness, drove Rodriguez to his deadly rampage last week.

According to his bankruptcy filing, Rodriguez was behind on child support, and owed more than $90,000 in bills.  After losing his job as an engineer, he worked in the fast food industry and a brochure on unemployment benefits was on his car seat the day he was arrested.  Rodriguez offered little explanation for his actions other than he was going through a tough time personally.  His attorney claims that Rodriguez is mentally ill, and his former mother in law said he is schizophrenic and prone to paranoia.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are in need of help with a divorce settlement or child support, consult a San Jose Divorce attorney, who can show you your options and help you devise a plan to manage your obligations.  Your attorney can help you locate specialists, such as bankruptcy attorneys and financial counselors who can assist you during these difficult economic conditions.

Shooting spree at Orlando office appears driven by suspect's failures in life, San Francisco Examiner, November 7, 2009

If you have a question regarding Bankruptcy in San Jose please contact us at 408.279.2288 or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Jose Bankruptcy Attorneys.  After you have spoken with one of our San Jose bankruptcy attorneys we can schedule you a free face to face appointment in our office location nearest you.  Our team of San Jose Bankruptcy Lawyers can assist you with all aspects of your case. If you are have questions about filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy, a chapter 11 bankruptcy, a chapter 13 bankruptcy, lien stripping, cram down,  stopping a foreclosure or wage garnishment, discharging debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California who can assist your financial needs.  Please feel free to complete our free bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy.

Fremont Family Law Attorney advises California residents to keep an eye on the Elkins Family Law Task Force.

In 2008 the Elkins Family Law Task Force was commissioned to improve efficiency and fairness in family law proceedings , conduct a comprehensive review of family law proceedings and recommend changes to increase access to justice, ensure due process, and provide for more effective and consistent rules, policies, and procedures in family law courts across California.

The task force was created after a 2007 California Supreme Court decision recommended that the Judicial Council create a commission to even out the family law court system across the state. In California, more than 75 percent of family law trials have at least one party self-represented, and one of the goals is to ensure that, despite the high volume of family law cases in the courts, that all parties have equal access to justice in the family law court system. According to a California court fact sheet, “the task force has sought input from all stakeholders, including litigants, attorneys, judicial officers, and court staff and will continue to do so as it develops its recommendations.”

The task force is now seeking public comments on the more than 100 recommendations designed to increase access to justice, fairness and due process for family law litigants. The recommendations can be found here, and comments are being accepted from October 1, 2009 through December4, 2009.

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.

San Diego Family Law Attorney explains what you cannot do with a prenuptial agreement.

If you're trying to decide whether or not to make a prenuptial agreement, you'll need to understand what this type of contract can -- and can't -- do for you. Here are some things you cannot do – or should not – do with a prenuptial agreement. . As a general rule, any agreement to do something that is illegal or against state-defined public policy will be considered unenforceable -- and may even jeopardize other valid aspects of the premarital agreement.

Here are some things that you cannot do, or should not do in a prenuptial agreement:

Restrict child support, custody, or visitation rights. No state will honor prenuptial agreements limiting or giving up future child support. The same holds true of agreements limiting future custody and visitation rights. This is because state lawmakers consider the welfare of children to be a matter of public policy and do not enforce any private agreements that would impair a child's right to be supported or to have a relationship with a parent in the future.

Give up the right to alimony, in a few states. A handful of states similarly limit your ability to give up your right to alimony -- also called spousal support or separate maintenance -- if there is a divorce. Other states permit such waivers, so you will need to know what your state laws say if you are considering this kind of agreement.

"Encourage" divorce. At one time, many courts viewed any prenuptial agreement specifying how things would be divided up in case the couple splits as void and unenforceable because it promoted divorce. The modern approach allows such agreements, but judges in some states still take a hard look at them. If the agreement appears to offer a financial incentive for divorce to one party, it may be set aside.

Make rules about nonfinancial matters. For practical reasons, you should keep personal agreements out of your prenup. Here is a partial list of nonfinancial matters that sometimes find their way into prenups, but are better dealt with separately. Of course, the possible issues are endless and you may well think of many that aren't mentioned here:

• responsibility for household chores -- from laundry to cleaning to car care
• use of last names after you marry
• agreements about having and raising children, such as birth control, having children, children's names, child care responsibilities, and education
• how you will relate to in-laws or stepchildren, and
• whether you will have any pets and who will be responsible for them.

These kinds of nonmonetary agreements aren't binding in court, and in fact they could cause a judge to take your entire prenup less seriously. Rather than including personal matters in your prenup, you may find it helpful to simply make a list of your most important concerns and discuss them together. If you want to take it a step further, you can underscore your commitment by writing down your personal agreements in a separate document -- perhaps in a letter that each of you writes to the other, clarifying your intentions and wishes.

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.

San Diego Family Law Attorney explains what you can do with a prenuptial agreement.

If you're trying to decide whether or not to make a prenuptial agreement, you'll need to understand what this type of contract can -- and can't -- do for you. Prenuptial agreements are most often used for the following purposes:

Keep finances separate. Every state has laws designating certain kinds of assets accumulated during marriage as marital property or community property, even if these assets are held in the name of just one spouse. If a couple divorces, or when one spouse dies, the marital or community property will be divided between them, either by agreement or by a court. If you want to avoid having some or all of your individual accumulations during marriage divided up by a court, you can do so with a premarital agreement.

Protect each other from debts. Some of us bring debts, as well as assets, to a marriage. If there's no prenup, creditors can sometimes turn to marital or community property to satisfy the debts of just one spouse. But if you want to make sure that saying "I do" does not mean saying "I owe," you can use a prenup to limit your liability for each other's debts.

Provide for children from prior marriages. A prenuptial agreement is helpful (perhaps essential) if either of you has children from another relationship and you want to make sure that your children inherit their share of your property. In a prenup, one or both spouses can give up the right to claim a share of the other's property at death, perhaps in exchange for an agreed upon amount of property.

Keep property in the family. If your property includes something you want to keep in your birth family, whether it be an heirloom or a share in a family business, you and your spouse can agree that it will remain in your family, and you can specify that item in your prenup. This can even include property that you expect to receive in a future inheritance.

Follow through by making your estate plan. In addition to using your prenup to waive inheritance rights and state your intentions for passing on your property at death, it's vital that you prepare the estate planning documents -- a will, living trust, and so on -- that actually transfer your property as you intend.

Define who gets what if you divorce. Without a prenup, state law will specify how your property will be divided if you ever divorce. These laws may dictate a result that neither of you wants. You can use a prenup to establish your own rules for property division and avoid potential disagreements in the event of a divorce.

Clarify responsibilities during the marriage. In addition to the reasons listed so far, there are countless other uses for a prenup, depending on your circumstances. Here are some examples of other matters people include in their prenuptial agreements:

• whether to file joint or separate income tax returns or to allocate income and tax deductions on separate tax returns
• who will pay the household bills -- and how
• whether to have joint bank accounts and, if so, how you will manage them
• agreements about specific purchases or projects, such as buying a house together or starting up a business
• how you will handle credit card charges -- for instance, whether you will use different cards for different types of purchases, what kinds of records you will keep, and how you will make payments
• agreements to set aside money for savings
• agreements for putting each other through college or professional school
• whether you will provide for a surviving spouse -- for example, in your estate plan or with life insurance coverage, and
• how to settle any future disagreements -- for example, you might agree to hire either a mediator or a private arbitrator.

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.

Oakland Family Law Attorney explains what Senate Bill 54 means for California same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples in California who were married in other states prior to November 5, 2008 will be afforded the legal protection of marriage, if Governor Schwarzenegger signs the bill into law. Proposition 8, a voter initiative, ended same-sex marriage in California when it was passed in November, 2008. But Senate Bill 54 allows those marriages performed prior to the passage of Proposition 8 to remain valid.

What does this mean for same-sex couples who were married before Proposition 8 passed? It means that their families can remain together, and they are still afforded the legal protection of marriage despite the ban on same-sex marriage in California.

While this may seem confusing at first, for estate planning and family law purposes, this gives couples married in states where same-sex marriage is legal, the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples including the end-of-life and inheritance law benefits that married couples enjoy.

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.

Sacramento Family Law Attorney explains how to claim a domestic partner as a dependent.

If you financially support your domestic partner (heterosexual or same-sex), you may be able to file a tax return as a single person and claim your partner as a dependent. To be able to do this legally, you must meet the following five tests.

Support. The supporting partner must provide at least 50% of the other domestic partner's total support for the year. Support includes food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, education, entertainment, and just about anything you can think of.

Citizen or resident. The supported person must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, or citizen of Canada or Mexico.

Income. The supported person's taxable income cannot exceed $2,900. Nontaxable money, such as gifts, welfare benefits, and nontaxable Social Security benefits do not count toward gross income.

Relationship. Under IRS regulations, a person who lived in your home for the entire year can be considered a dependent as long as the relationship does not violate local law. One frequently used option recommended by family law attorneys is to go ahead and claim your domestic partner as a dependent if you meet the other four tests, even if you live in a state where you may be violating the law in a state because fornication, cohabitation, or sodomy are still against the law. Recent court decisions have made those laws questionable at best, and the worst that can happen is that the IRS won't allow your deduction and your tax bill will be recomputed without the deduction.

Unmarried person. If the supported person is married and files a joint tax return with his spouse, the supporting partner in this relationship cannot claim him as a dependent. There's one exception: If the married couple did not earn enough to have to file a tax return and did so only to get a refund, the supporting partner can claim the dependent. Consult a family law attorney if you are in doubt about this.

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.

San Francisco Family Law Attorney explains the benefits of domestic partnerships.

Domestic partners are unmarried couples, of the same or opposite sex, who live together and seek economic and noneconomic benefits granted their married counterparts. In a few states, domestic partnership status is offered and regulated by the state and grants many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage -- generally limited to same-sex couples. In other places, domestic partnership is offered by smaller governmental entities or businesses and carries more limited benefits. In either case, benefits can include:

• health, dental, and vision insurance
• sick and bereavement leave
• accident and life insurance
• death benefits
• parental leave (for a child you coparent)
• housing rights and tuition reduction (at universities), and
• use of recreational facilities.

When a state, municipality, county, organization, private company, or university or college considers providing domestic partnership benefits, it must address several important issues: Who qualifies as a domestic partner -- should heterosexual couples be covered as well as gay and lesbian couples? How will an employer identify the employee's domestic partner -- by registration? Must the couple be together a minimum number of years? Must the couple live together? Must they share expenses? Must they be financially responsible for each other? How does a couple terminate their domestic partnership?

In 1982, the Village Voice newspaper became the first private company to offer its employees domestic partnership benefits. The City of Berkeley was the first municipality to do so in 1984. In 1995, Vermont became the first state to extend domestic partnership benefits to its public employees. In 1997, Hawaii became the first state to extend domestic partnership benefits to all same-sex couples throughout the state. In addition, California, Connecticut, Maine, and New Jersey all now offer domestic partnership status to same-sex couples who register, with a wide variance in the type of benefits offered.

Today, a number of states and hundreds of municipalities, counties, private companies, organizations, colleges, and universities offer domestic partnership benefits. The complete list of institutions is extensive; the benefits offered by each is not, however. In some cases, all that is offered is bereavement or sick leave. In other situations, the benefits offered are comprehensive -- but also costly. Often, either the employee foots the bill for his or her partner, or the company pays (when it also pays for spouses) but the employee must pay taxes on the benefits. This is because the IRS considers benefits awarded to an unmarried partner as taxable compensation.

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.

Oakland Family Law Attorney explains the conservatorship process.

If someone close to you is no longer able to care for themselves, a probate lawyer can help you set up a conservatorship, also known as an adult guardianship, to make sure that your loved one is cared for and their property is looked after in a professional and competent manner.

Ideally, a person will have already appointed someone to care for their well-being and their estate plan, in the event that they do become incapacitated. If not, however, a judge can appoint a conservator for them. A person or an organization can be appointed to the role of conservator.

There are three types of Conservatorships:

• Conservator of a person – which includes deciding where the conservatee will live, arranging for care, and taking care of a conservatee's food, clothing, transportation, exercise, and housekeeping.
• Conservator of an estate – which includes overseeing the conservatee’s financial arrangements including payment of bills, filing taxes, investing funds and making regular reports to the court.
• Conservator of the person and the estate – includes all of the aforementioned items.
  

Conservators can be named for developmentally disabled individuals as well as individuals who have suffered a serious medical issue that has left them unable to care for themselves. If your estate plan does not have provisions for a conservator, you may want to talk with your attorney. Otherwise, the court will appoint someone who may not be the person you want taking care of your affairs.

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.

Sacramento Divorce Lawyer Discusses How Even Celebrities Gets the Blues

Even celebrities with very unusual behavior gets the blues. Jackass star wife of Johnny Knoxville filed for divorce two years ago. They were officially divorced in March, 2008 in a bifurcated proceeding, reserving all financial matters for resolution at a later date. Just last week, Knoxville (real name: Philip John Clapp) settled with his ex-wife Melanie Clapp, agreeing to pay $6,000 monthly in child support for their 13-year-old daughter, Madison.The former couple split in July 2006 after 11 years of marriage. According to reports, the financial statement appears to be a fairly even split of marital property. Melanie was awarded half of their bank accounts and half of Knoxville’s residuals from the Jackass franchise and Dukes of Hazzard film, pursuant to the terms of their agreement. Knoxville retained his share of several production companies. The parties will share joint custody of Madison, their daughter.

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

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Divorce and Separation

Even though people are very emotionally taken under during a divorce, separation can also lead to a great deal of physical harm as well. It makes sense since when your psychology and emotions are affected, it will show in you physically as well. CTV news has an article regarding the effects of divorce on a person’s health. Researchers found that women in unhappy marriages are more likely to experience injurious effects to their health than men. Although both genders are likely to suffer from general depression resulting from a strained marriage, women more frequently suffer from signs of “metabolic syndrome”: including high blood pressure, obesity and other risk factors of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. In fact, men for the most part did not face an increased risk of metabolic syndrome at all. Involving 276 couples aged 40 to 70, the study entailed couples filling out several questionnaires, including three to examine positive aspects of marriage quality; three to measure negative aspects of marital quality involving arguments and feelings of hostility; and four to determine symptoms of mild depression.

It’s best to keep a cool head and realize that divorce happens to many people, but it’s all in the way you deal with it. The way you deal with things can mean health and happiness in looking forward to a new life, or stress that can hur you physically down the line.

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

Redwood City Divorce Attorney Discusses Social Networking and Divorce: Yays and Nays

Now that everyone and their dog (or their spouse) is on Facebook, MySpace and the various other social networking sites, individuals can easily keep track of friends, family and even ex-spouses. Its either the best thing to happen for divorcing families or the worst.

Couple of things to watch for on these sites if you are getting divorced:
1. Don’t brag about fancy new purchases, extravagant vacations or other indulgent luxuries. You don’t want your ex-spouse to find out about it and use it to claim you have more money than you say you do when it comes to child support or spousal support. Courts can and do use expenses as a guide in support calculations.
2. Delete all your crazy party girl or boy photos. This is especially true for people with children. First of all, your kids don’t need to know how much partying you are doing. Second, you don’t want that one fun time used to portray you as an alcoholic partier who cannot be trusted with the kids.
3. Don’t let your friends through you under the bus. Your ex may troll your friends pages for similarly disparaging photos.
4. Keep it calm: it’s ok to be stressed during a divorce, but keep the sh** talk to your self. Especially about the judge and your ex. You don’t want to show up in Family Law Court one day and have the opposing side hand the judge a copy of your Facebook wall wherein you describe the judge in negative terms. And if you have kids, definitely avoid the negative talk about the ex. Family courts are serious about the no disparagement clauses in custody agreements. That includes no disparagement on Facebook.

Everyone understands the value these sites provide. But as always, it’s a good idea to mind your ps and qs while using them, especially when you are under a microscope, which you frequently are in divorce or other family law action.

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

San Jose Divorce Lawyer Discusses West Wing Actor is Divorcing Malcolm in the Middle Wife
Bradley Whitford, known primarily for his role on The West Wing, is divorcing his wife of sixteen years, Jane Kaczmarek. The parties have three children together, and have professed to the media a desire for privacy so they can focus on their children.

The longtime couple lives in Los Angeles, and filed for dissolution in Los Angeles County. This means their dissolution will be controlled by California community property law. Possible issues include custody and visitation, support (child and spousal support) and property division.

Child support is likely going to be granted to the primary custodial parent, using California’s guideline support calculator. This calculator focuses on income and respective timeshare between the parents. Because the parties are both fairly high earners, the court may decide to deviate from guideline if that calculation results in an extraordinary amount of support.

Spousal support is less likely. Both parties are successful actors, with Ms. Kaczmarek currently starring in Raising the Bar, and Mr. Whitford engaging in theatrical and film pursuits of late.

There is no information as yet about the extent of the parties’ assets, or how they have been acquired. After a marriage of 16 years, it seems likely there will be substantial amounts of community property to divide up, unless the parties entered into a prenuptial agreement.

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

San Francisco Divorce Attorney Discusses Different Visitation Schedules for Different Families

With all the discussion of Jon and Kate Gosselin’s separation and divorce, its property got a lot of people wondering, how on earth will they share those kids? From the news reports it appears the plan is for the parents to take turns in the house with the kids, which is an uncommon but not unheard of custody arrangement.

Many families with divorced, separated or never married parents have found a way to successfully share visitation time with the children. For some families, a traditional alternating weekend schedule works. Others include a weeknight or weekday visit, which sometimes is also an overnight. Still others try for an equal vistitation split of the children, alternating weeks – a schedule which works well when parents live nearby and can successfully co-parent the children. For younger children whose parents want an equal timeshare, a popular schedule is the 2-2-3. In that schedule, the parents each take two weekdays, and then alternate the weekends. So Mom may have Mondays and Tuesdays, Dad has Wednesdays and Thursdays, and then they alternate the weekends, so each parent has five consecutive days at a time.

For families where the parents don’t live nearby, parents typically have to be more creative and more flexible with visitation schedules. While some families can afford a monthly or twice monthly airplane ticket for one or more members of the family, many cannot. So some give all the school holidays and most of summer to the non-custodial parent. Others include visits in the children’s residence at any other times, to allow the non-custodial parent to visit as often as possible.

Parenting apart as a result of a divorce or separation is a challenge, but with cooperation, patience and flexibility, many parents are able to find a schedule that works for not only themselves, but their children. The goal of any visitation arrangement is for it to serve the best interests of the children. This may require concessions and cooperation from parents, but its ultimately results in the best outcome.

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

San Jose Family Law Attorney Discusses the What Happens to the Children When a Parent Dies

With the death of Michael Jackson, and a potential custody battle arising between Katherine Jackson, the mother of Michael and Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s second wife and the biological mother of Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11, much talk has arisen about what happens when a custodial parent dies.

Generally, if a custodial parent dies while the child is a minor, the surviving parent would be entitled to sole legal custody. Other third parties such as aunts, uncles or grandparents may try to obtain custody of the child by filing an independent proceeding such as a guardianship, dependency or in the case of grandparents, a Petition for Grandparent Visitation. The other family members may be awarded custody if they can show that it would not be in the child’s best interest to be in the custody of the surviving parent and to do so would be detrimental to the child.

The same would still be true even if the deceased parent had sole legal and sole physical custody and had not even been involved with the child in the last few years. For instance, if Michael Jackson was awarded sole legal and sole physical custody (which he had not), Debbie Rowe would still have parental rights, unless all of her legal parental rights and responsibilities had been terminated. Since no such order existed, that is why Debbie Rowe still has standing to try and obtain custody of Prince Michael and Paris.

If a custodial parent dies and the other parent who has been absent from the child’s life all of a sudden takes interest in the child, one may question the surviving parent’s motivation. It may be that there is some remorse and regret for being absent and a renewed desire to provide and care for the child. In other cases, if there is a possibility of the deceased parent leaving a sizeable estate, money and greed may be a motivation. Such motivation has been speculated in the case of Debbie Rowe.

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

Sacramento Family Law Attorney Discusses Affect of Filing a Family Law Case on Travel with Children

Now that we are in the midst of summer and vacation plans are being made – visits to grandma’s house, trips to Disneyland, etc., many people who are in the early stages of a family law case should be aware of what their limitations may be and plan their vacations accordingly.
Often times when someone opens a family case – either a dissolution, custody and visitation or paternity case, they are usually unaware of what exactly the repercussions are of filing. In California, when a family law case is opened, a Summons is issued and a standard family law restraining order is issued. This is also referred to as the Automatic Temporary Restraining Order (ATRO). The Petitioner, party who filed the case, is automatically subject to the ATRO upon filing the case, and the Respondent is subject to the ATRO upon being personally served with the Summons.
The ATRO specifically prohibits both parties from “removing the minor child or children of the parties, if any, from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court.” This means that if you are a party to a family law case, you should not be planning on traveling outside of California without first getting permission from the other party or first requesting permission from the Court. For example, if Mom filed for divorce and was planning on taking the children to Washington to visit grandma, she better first ask Dad if its okay, or request permission from the Court.
Parents who are further into the court process should also take further caution. Generally when a court makes orders regarding custody and visitation, they may also make orders preventing both parties from traveling outside that particular county without the permission from the other party or the Court. This practice is common in most counties.

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

San Jose Divorce Lawyer says it sucks to date Football Stars

With the birth of the internet and wide spread access to television, many a B list celebrity has their personal life in the tabloid news. For example, it is doubtful anybody would care that soon to be divorced Jon (from Jon and Kate plus 8) may have new girlfriend because we only wanted to see him try and feed 8 kids without them destroying the kitchen. (It is good to know he was human like the rest of us and couldn’t do it without cracking). Now we wonder what his child support and custody and visitation will look like!

NFL football players also qualify for the B list celebrity gossip. In theory, we watch our football heroes on Sundays to see a rousing match of pigskin. We don’t really care who they are dating or how hard their relationship is. Or do we?

Last season, much fanfare was made about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his relationship with Jessica Simpson. Fans were quick to blame Jessica for Tony’s crucial losses that kept the Cowboys from advancing. The sad part of the story comes from the recent news that Tony Romo recently dumped Jessica. On the night before her 29th birthday. Only in the football world would you hear cheers for a guy to dump his girlfriend the night before her birthday.

The life of football girlfriend is hard, regardless of celebrity status. Even model and reality star Kim Kardashian broke up with New Orleans Saints Reggie Bush. Reggie has the start of the season coming up and it seems like he will have no time to “keep up with Kim Kardashian” as she starts the fourth season of her show.

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

Fremont Divorce Attorney Discusses an Exception to the Rule

People magazine reports that the Countess LuAnn de Lesseps divorce is now complete. The process was relatively expedient, given the high amount of assets and issues involved. The Count and Countess dissolved their union after 16 years of marriage and producing two children, Victoria, age 14 and Noel, age 12. Although the full details have not been disclosed, it appears that the Countess has received a very generous spousal and child support award, primary custody of the two minor children, and a $7.5 million estate in the Hamptons. She even gets to keep her title! This relatively simple resolution of their marital issues is certainly not the norm, especially in the current economic climate.

In California, couples that have decided to end their marriage are currently often faced with the consequences of short-selling or allowing their homes to go into foreclosure because neither spouse can afford to maintain the mortgage payment on one income. The inability to sell the family home for a profit creates a severe hardship for parents hoping to use equity from their home to start over. This often leads to increased demands for spousal and child support, which creates additional acrimony in an already difficult situation.

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

San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses How the Recession Changes Face of Divorce in California

As the economic downturn continues to damage housing values, force job losses and cuts in services, one thing that has not changed is that couples are still divorcing, child support is still being sought, and property is still being divided. What has changed is how those divorces are proceeding, in terms of financial awards and assets.

One of the largest assets in any divorce is typically the house. That asset used to have, particularly in California, equity which could be used to either buy the other party out or sold and divided equally between the parties. Frequently, we are now seeing that the houses not only have no equity, but that the parties owe substantially more than the house is worth, and often, the parties are behind on payments, or will be when the two-income household is no longer in existence. This poses a dilemma for family courts, parties and attorneys – how do we get divide a negative asset? Every couple has to decide for themselves, but options include a short sale, returning the property to the bank, or allowing the party who can make the mortgage to assume responsibility for the property.
Other issues being affected by the recession include child and spousal support. As one or both party loses their jobs, the need for support increases, but often the income that maintained the standard of living during marriage is no longer available to the parties. This lack of income can force families to make hard decisions about where to live, where to send children to school, and how to get buy on substantially less income.
The recession has also pummeled many people’s retirements, leaving many spouses wondering what happened to the financial nest egg. Fortunately, many 401(k) type accounts can be divided in kind, so that as the financial markets change and begin to recover, so too will the 401(k).

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

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

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