Domestic Violence

May 23, 2014

Types of Spousal Support

In San Diego and throughout the state of California there are two types of spousal support which can be awarded by a family court judge. The two types of spousal support are temporary (pendente lite) spousal support and permanent (long-term) spousal support. The type of spousal support awarded is dependent on what point in the case the award is made. Often times family law litigants have various questions about spousal support especially after their first spousal support hearing. One of the most frequent questions asked is, “How long will the spousal support order last?”

Prior to entry of Judgment, any spousal support award made by the family court judges will be a “temporary” spousal support order. At the end of a dissolution case, the court will reevaluate the amount of spousal support being paid and make an ongoing “permanent” spousal support order. When parties first separate, one spouse may not have access to community funds and therefore he or she must request a hearing immediately to obtain an order for support. At times, that first rush to judgment can result in a slightly higher or slightly lower amount of support than may be appropriate on a more permanent basis.

In making a “temporary” spousal support order, the family courts in California are not as restricted using discretion than other court systems. For example, many other state court judges are required to apply a specific formula which considers the parties’ incomes and various other factors. In California, although many family court judges make spousal support awards using a default formula, they are not required to. In practice, family court judges often refer to the spousal support amount as suggested by guideline formulas and make awards based on that information.When family court judges make “permanent” spousal support orders, they must consider all of the factors outlined in Family Code § 4320. Most importantly, the court will consider the ability of the supporting spouse to pay support and the need of the supported spouse for spousal support. Family Code § 4320 also lists factors such as the length of the marriage, the age of the parties, the health of the parties, and any history of domestic violence. Becoming familiar with these methods for calculating spousal support can be especially helpful for parties’ in settlement negotiations. The measuring stick for any proposal in negotiation is what the judge would likely do if the matter were to proceed to court. Therefore, having that information available can assist the parties with proposing and accepting reasonable solutions.
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May 15, 2014

Is Phone/Email Harassment a Basis for Restraining Order Against Ex-Spouse?

By Bickford Blado & Botros

According to Fox News, a Florida man called his ex 145 times over the span of a mere 11 hours. Although he has been released from jail on bail, he now faces charges of aggravated stalking. If this situation were to occur in California, would the man’s actions perhaps warrant an order of protection in the realm of domestic violence? Could he face any criminal consequences for his actions?

Unfortunately, divorce attorneys often deal with clients who are being abused by their ex or their soon to be ex and need legal protection from such abuse. Harassment may be considered a form of abuse. If the client and the other person have a close relationship (i.e. they are divorced, separated, dating, use to date, living together, used to live together or closely related) and the client has been abused or harassed by that other person, it falls within the realm of domestic violence. Divorce attorneys will typically assist the client with getting a domestic violence restraining order against the other person.A restraining order, also known as an order of protection, is an order by the court that sets forth what conduct is or is not permitted between a person who has committed threats or violence against another person. Behavior that constitutes domestic violence for purposes of seeking an order of protection can be physical abuse, sexual assault, making someone reasonably afraid of being hurt, or harassing, stalking, disturbing someone’s peace, etc. First, a Temporary Restraining Order must be obtained. Then, the Court will set a date for the parties to return to Court and request that the Restraining Order be made a Permanent Order. Also, according to Family Code 6320(a), “The court may issue an ex parte order enjoining a party from molesting, attacking, striking, stalking, threatening, sexually assaulting, battering, harassing, telephoning, including, but not limited to, making annoying telephone calls”

Depending on the severity of the situation, you can also pursue criminal prosecution against the abuser or harasser. In fact, California Penal Code Section 653m (b) provides that “Every person who, with intent to annoy or harass, makes repeated telephone calls or makes repeated contact by means of an electronic communication device, or makes any combination of calls or contact, to another person is, whether or not conversation ensues from making the telephone call or contact by means of an electronic communication device, guilty of a misdemeanor.” So your ex calling you over 145 times during the span of a mere 11 hours, like what recently happened in Florida, could not only warrant an order of protection but may also be considered a crime punishable pursuant to the California Penal Code. Of course, excessive phone calls or electronic contacts that are made in good faith or during the ordinary course and scope of business, would not be punishable under the Penal Code.
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May 11, 2014

Spousal Support and Domestic Violence – Do Victims Have to Pay?

By Bickford Blado & Botros

In a typical California divorce case, spousal support is awarded based on the need and ability to pay of the parties. However, if there is a history of domestic violence in a case, the spousal support analysis is not so simple. Embedded within California Family Code and cases is the public policy disfavoring an awarded of spousal support from a victim of domestic violence payable to his or her abuser. In making a decision regarding long term spousal support the court is required to consider all of the factors outlined in Family Code § 4320 including domestic violence. In addition, the family courts can make support and property orders in a proceeding brought under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act.

Family Code § 4320(i) provides that the court shall consider the following circumstances: “Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, as defined in [Fam. Code §6211], between the parties or perpetrated by either party against either party’s child, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence against the supporting party by the supported party.” The Family Code also has provisions creating a presumption that a spousal support award should not be made in favor of a person convicted of a crime of domestic violence.Although the law is clear regarding cases where a finding of domestic violence has been made or where one party has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, what happens if a spousal support hearing is conducted while a domestic violence case is pending? Recently, a California appellate court held that a court may award spousal support in a proceeding brought under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act prior to reaching a conclusion that domestic violence has occurred. Contrary to cases where an alleged domestic violence abuser is requesting support, this recent case addressed the issue of support due to the alleged victim. Domestic violence hearings can get continued out (for months sometimes) for a variety of reasons. The court reasoned that is should not withhold support for an extended period of time just because the domestic violence issues have not been decided.

Domestic violence cases are always emotionally charged and carry significant implications for both parties. It is always important to discuss your domestic violence case with an experienced family law attorney to ensure that your rights are protected.
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April 21, 2014

Communication With My Divorce Lawyer – What Can I Expect?

By Bickford Blado & Botros

Divorce lawyers are notoriously busy bouncing from hearing to hearing while juggling constant client phone calls and e-mails. Family law is one of the most “client intensive” areas of law, meaning the client plays a much larger role in a divorce action than he or she would in other civil matters. Effective and prompt communication is the top factor for clients in determining their satisfaction with their divorce attorneys. Urgent issues can arise on a daily basis in divorces cases if the parties have a dispute over finances, child custody/visitation, or property. Unfortunately, clients generally do not know how responsive their attorneys will be to these issues until an emergency arises.

Family law firms also tend to be much smaller in size in comparison to other civil litigation practices. If a family law firm only has a couple of employees including the lawyer, it may be difficult for the client to get in contact with his or her attorney. With divorce lawyers out of the office frequently for hearings, meetings, depositions, and settlement conferences, office staff is generally left to handle paperwork, client calls, and a multitude of e-mails. Although it is not impossible for small law firms to efficiently communicate with all of their clients in a reasonable manner, many clients are not satisfied with the attention their case receives.

Once a breakdown in communication has occurred between lawyer and client, both parties tend to be angry and frustrated with the situation. Further, switching attorneys or remedying any consequences of inadequate attention to a case could cost the client additional attorney fees and further delay his or her divorce. Considering it is not uncommon for the divorce process to last one to two years, unnecessary delays can be particularly frustrating for clients.

At Bickford Blado & Botros we work as a team to ensure that each client gets the prompt and careful attention he or she deserves. When a client retains our firm to represent him or her in a divorce matter, a lead attorney, supporting attorney and paralegal are all assigned to the case. This means that if the client needs any information at least one team member will likely be available to assist them. Further, if both attorneys assigned to the case happen to be out of the office when an urgent matter arises, any other attorney currently in the office will be available to handle emergencies. The variety of staff assigned to a case also allows the lead attorney to delegate work to attorneys or paralegals with a much lower billing rate thereby reducing the overall cost for the client.
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February 5, 2013

The voice of Charlie Brown charged with stalking, death threats

By Bickford Blado & Botros

Peter Robbins, voice of the beloved Peanuts character Charlie Brown, was arrested on Sunday, January 20th, on charges of making criminal threats and stalking. Robbins was the voice of Charlie Brown in both “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” television specials.

ABCNews.com reported that, while the details of the arrest warrant were not immediately available, the charges related to Robbins stalking his ex-girlfriend and making criminal threats against a plastic surgeon.

nbcsandiego.com reported that it all started with a breast enhancement performed on Robbins’ former girlfriend, Shawna Kern, by La Jolla plastic surgeon Lori Saltz. Apparently Robbins and Kern were a couple at the time the procedure was performed, but broke up sometime thereafter. After the couple split, Robbins allegedly demanded his money back from Saltz, stalking her and threatening her life if she did not refund the money.

November 27, 2012

Ariel Winter’s Emotional Abuse

By Bickford Blado & Botros

October 25, 2012

Domestic Violence and Spousal Support in San Diego

By Bickford Blado & Botros

In San Diego, domestic violence can have a tremendous impact in divorce proceedings, especially in cases involving spousal support. As we have previously blogged, spousal support can be classified as “temporary” or “permanent.” Two different standards are used to determine support based on its duration. Temporary support is usually determined using the guideline spousal support formula and permanent support takes into consideration the Family Code section 4320 factors. The role domestic violence plays in an award of spousal support is dependent on the type of support.

Temporary Spousal Support: In an award of temporary spousal support, the Family Code section 4320 factors are normally not controlling. However, there is one statutory exception to this rule. The trial court must consider 4320(i) in setting temporary spousal support. Section 4320(i) states that the court must consider, “documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, as defined in Section 6211, between the parties, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence against the supporting party by the supported party.” Despite this clear exception, the code is ambiguous as to the terms “domestic violence” and “documented evidence.” Due to public policy concerns against requiring a victim of violence to provide financial support to his or her abuser, the court will consider violence amongst the parties even when making a temporary order.

Permanent Spousal Support: Like in a temporary spousal support situation, the Court must consider the 4320 factors in deciding the issue of permanent spousal support. Also like in a temporary spousal support situation, the court must consider any documented evidence of a history of domestic violence.