Divorce isn’t easy. People get angry or hurt, and emotions can cloud even the most intelligent person’s judgment. We’ve already written many blogs about the need to “play nice” in divorce proceedings, and the benefits of positive co-parenting, but one star’s recent divorce has hit our radar as a real-life…
This blog is a follow up to a previous blog titled “Should I go to Trial.” If you have not read that blog it is worth reading, and not just because I wrote. There are many factors you should discuss with your attorney before you go to trial. The two…
On March 7, 2016, the United States Supreme Court unanimously and summarily reversed the Alabama Supreme Court on a same-sex adoption issue. In the case, V.L. v. E.L., the parties were two women who were in a relationship from approximately 1995 until 2011. In 2002, E.L. gave birth to a…
One of the first things you’ll see on the Family Law Summons is the Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (called “ATROS”). These orders issue automatically upon the filing and service of the Petition. One of the ATROS states that neither parent is allowed to take the children out of the State…
Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s 15 year-old son Rocco made headlines recently after he decided that he wanted to live with his dad in London and then refused to return to see his mom in New York for the holidays. Madonna ran into court just before Christmas, where the judge ordered…
Family Code section 3170 requires that parties to a child custody or visitation dispute attend mediation first. In San Diego County, we call this Family Court Services mediation. This process has different names in other counties. For example, in Riverside County, this is referred to Child Custody Recommending Counseling. San…
As one Court appropriately put it, granting a parent’s request to move out of the county “is one of the most serious decisions a family law court is required to make.” The ramifications of the decision will undoubtedly affect both parents involved and their children for the rest of their…
No, Sherri Shepherd’s case is not in being heard in California, but that does not make the facts of her legal battle any less intriguing to us California divorce lawyers. It has certainly left me hypothecating as to what the outcome of her widely-publicized parentage and support battle might be…
It sounds cliché (because it is), but if I had a dollar for every time I heard my parents tell me, “as long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules” I assure you I would be enjoying an early retirement somewhere sunny. When I was a…
I have blogged in the past about tips for co-parenting, how to talk with your attorney, and any number of other ways to address child custody issues in the Family Court system. With the presidential primaries heading towards the Iowa caucuses, I thought I would do a blog called “Going…