The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all American’s lives and created a trickle-down effect upsetting aspects of our lives many did not originally anticipate. Federal and State governments have blown the metaphorical whistle signaling the changing of tides and ordering the closure of stores, schools, government offices, and generally life as…
In this era it is hard to meet any young adult who does not have some amount of debt, with the most common form being student loans. These loans can be hefty, as college, graduate school, and living expenses are incurred. But what happens when you marry, and then separate…
Ex-Union-Tribune owner Douglas Manchester has divorced from his second wife, Russian immigrant Geniya Derzhavina. Douglas, a wealthy real estate developer, filed for dissolution of marriage in October 2019 and the parties settled their divorce just two months later. Douglas married his first wife, Betsy, in January 1965. They divorced in…
Whether you are getting ready to file for divorce, or already have, you probably have seen or heard the words “community property” and “separate property” many times. These are common family law terms that parties will need to understand throughout their proceeding for dissolution. Pursuant to Family Code section 760,…
What does the “date of separation” mean and why is it so important? When a spouse files for divorce the first issue to tackle is often the parties’ date of separation. One might think that the date of separation is when the petition was filed in the divorce, or when…
For most people, the decision to get divorced is not reached on a whim. More often than not, “Breaking up is like knocking over a Coke machine. You can’t do it in one push. You gotta rock it back and forth a few times, and then it goes over.” (-Jerry…
During marriage, neither spouse is supposed to devalue the community estate by wasting of assets. “Wasting” means spending community money for a non-marital purpose. The classic case has been the spouse who changes his lifestyle, often in the process acquiring a friend to whom the spouse gives money, pays expenses…
Earlier this year, Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos announced his divorce from wife MacKenzie after 25 years of marriage and four children together. The couple met and married before Jeff founded Amazon. Jeff, who has a reported net worth of nearly $157 billion is the world’s richest man. The couple, who…
In a previous blog, we talked about different classes of experts (Joint, Hired Gun, Review) employed in family law cases. In this blog, we will talk about the different “types” of experts we use in family law. Forensic Accountant Forensic accounting is a specialty practice area of accounting that is…
Lawyers love to make jokes about how bad we are at math. Often those jokes include statements like, “if I were good at math I would have become an engineer” or if “I was good at math and science I would be a doctor not a lawyer.” Nobody likes lawyer…