California Family Law Blog

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 Divorce Attorney Discusses Date of Separation Issues

Kate Walsh, Star of Private Practice, Getting Divorced After Only 15 Months of Marriage – Dispute Arises Over Date of Separation

In December, Kate Walsh’s husband, Alex Young, filed for dissolution of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. In her response, Ms. Walsh apparently disputes the date of separation. By 5 days.

You may be wondering (a) how can anyone not know when they separated, and (b) why does it matter?

The answer to (a) is that the date of separation is not simply an objective test of what day it was, but a subjective matter that occurs when either of the parties does not intend to resume the marriage and his or her actions exhibit the finality of the marital relationship. Ergo, sometimes couples have a discussion and decide together that they are splitting up and they agree on the date of separation. Other times, one party decides the marriage is over and takes actions when demonstrate this in some way. The question for the court is whether the rift in the relationship was perceived by both parties as “the nail in the coffin.” So, Ms. Walsh apparently believes the marriage ended 5 days sooner than her husband. She will have to show that she had the subjective intent to not resume the marriage.

The answer to (b) is the date of separation matters because that is when the community ends. In California, a community property state, all income earned after the date of separation is that spouse’s separate property. All property acquired after that date is separate property (unless the source of funds for the property is community property funds). So theoretically, those 5 days could make a difference. A party could win the lottery 3 days after separation with a lottery ticket purchased the day after separation and those winnings could be 100% separate property.

California community property law is, at times, complicated and requires sophisticated legal advice. If you are pursuing dissolution, legal separation, or an annulment, we highly recommend you consider obtaining counsel. Here at Sagaria Law, we offer a full range of family law legal services, from divorce and property disputes to custody and visitation matters. We handle all types of family law actions, including adoptions, guardianships, parentage, dissolution and support. We have five Northern California locations including San Jose, Redwood City, Fremont, Salinas 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 to schedule your free consultation with one of our family law attorneys: (408) 279-2288 or (800) 941-6730.

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.

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