Mention “restraining order, “and most people think you are referring to physical violence or someone needing a court order to be protected. However, the Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (ATROs) are something different. ATROs are used to ensure a measure of “respect” between divorcing spouses and establish specific rules pertaining to assets, insurance policies, beneficiary designations…
I believe that every effort should be made to resolve issues, if not the whole case. It saves you money, time, and the heartache in dealing with custody issues. Many clients are confused why they must attend mediation prior to a hearing involving child custody and/or visitation. The Family Court Services is part of the…
California Courts Have Decided Cases Under California’s Coercive Control Law, But Now There is a Published Decision. In the Case of Hatley v. Southard, (“Hatley”) (Decided August 1, 2023) Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 2, California, the Court Grants a Restraining Order Based on Coercive Control On September 29, 2020, Senate Bill 1141, was…
My experience in the child support began with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office who use to oversee the establishment and enforcement of child support court orders for both welfare and non-welfare custodial parents. Today, the state agency, Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), is responsible for the massive collection of child support for…
Persons once they are married are in a fiduciary relationship. In transactions between themselves, spouses are subject to the general rules governing fiduciary relationships that control the actions of persons occupying confidential relations with each other. This confidential relationship imposes a duty of the highest good faith and fair dealing on each spouse, and neither…
Do I have the Right to Refuse a Field Sobriety Test (FST)? If you are involved in a DUI investigation, one of the tests performed on site are a series of field sobriety tests (FST). California law does not require you to take a field sobriety test. Your participation is voluntary, and the results may be used…
A prerequisite to modification or termination of spousal support is a material change of circumstances. Change of circumstances’ means a reduction or increase in the supporting spouse’s ability to pay and/or an increase or decrease in the supported spouse’s needs. The trial court has broad discretion to decide whether to modify a spousal support order….
California Evidence Code Section 730 A 730 evaluation is an in-depth analysis of a disputed and complex legal issue which is conducted by an unbiased expert in the field related to the legal dispute. The evaluation is a court appointed expert’s assessment. This assessment takes place so that court appointed expert can provide an opinion…
Life insurance purchased during marriage in one party’s name is community property in a divorce. California is a community property state. That means that all property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be community property. Cal. Fam. Code § 760. Separate property, on the other hand, is property acquired before marriage, after separation, or…
Under federal law, all United States military personnel must provide child support to their children. But the laws of each state take priority over military rules. If a court order has already been established, or if both parties have entered into a written agreement on child support, both parties must comply with those agreements. If…
I just finished finalizing a settlement that prevented a client from going to trial this week. One of the issues at the inception of the case was who would move out of the family home? Here are some general tips, especially if the home was purchased prior to marriage by one of the parties. If…
I am the lead attorney in my client’s criminal domestic violence trial and divorce. While the merits of the criminal case will be determined by the jurors, the pervading question is the validity of the allegations while the parties concurrently are engaged in a bitter divorce case. Both parties are keenly aware that the domestic…
Child Support Debt Reduction Program The Debt Reduction Program provides eligible parents with past-due child support payments the opportunity to reduce the amount they owe to the government. “Arrears” are owed to the government if your dependent children received public assistance or were in foster care while you were not paying court-ordered child support. Federal…
An environmental crime is a violation of environmental legislation – legislation put into place to protect the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the responsibility to investigate environmental crimes. An environmental violation is any act by an individual or company that is against environmental laws or regulations in the United States. The violations can…
California Penal Code § 29805 was amended to add a new subsection (b) to change the ten-year ban on owning a firearm or ammunition to a lifetime ban for those individuals convicted on or after January 1, 2019, of a misdemeanor domestic violence (Penal Code § 273.5). California’s firearm ban is now equal to the…
Proposition 64 (Prop. 64) legalized specified personal use and cultivation of marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older; reduced criminal penalties for specified marijuana-related offenses for adults and juveniles; and authorized resentencing or dismissal and sealing of prior, eligible marijuana-related convictions. Of particular interest to us, however, is the provision in Prop. 64…
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! The effect of domestic violence in custody proceedings can result in more than just a restraining order against the offending party. The burden of proof for obtaining domestic violence restraining orders in family law court (as opposed to criminal court) is by a “preponderance of the evidence.” This means that a court must…
When it comes to recording telephone calls and other private conversations, California is a “two-party consent” state. Under the California Invasion of Privacy Act and in particular Penal Code section 632, all parties to the conversation (even if there are more than two) must give their permission or else recording it will be illegal. This applies to…
In Los Angeles and many courts in California, temporary restraining order requests are handled the same day they are filed. The person seeking an order is called the “Petitioner.” This person must make declarations under penalty of perjury about the allegations of abuse or harassment that has occurred. Whether in a domestic violence restraining order…
After finishing up the second part of a trial (the first part was in February 2021), of a five-years of litigation, it is a welcome respite to write an article. However, there is no rest for the “weary.” I have a parentage and custody hearing set this month at Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange County…