What Does Child Support Cover?
Caring and providing for your child is a requirement of all parents, regardless of separation or divorce. To ensure no parent walks away from a divorce without the obligation to financially provide for their child, child support is ordered in every divorce case, unlike spousal support, which isn’t always necessary. The State of California has set forth a standard calculation to determine basic child support amounts. This calculation takes heavily…
Read MoreHow Does a Legal Separation Differ from a Divorce?
When couples run into hard times and can no longer work things out, they have a few options. For some couples, divorce is the only option. For others, legal separation meets their immediate needs of physical separation from their spouse without the permanency or ramifications of divorce. A divorce is a permanent dissolution of a marriage. A legal separation is a temporary or permanent separation but does not result in…
Read MoreHow Can a Premarital Agreement Help Me?
Marriage is not just a piece of paper, despite what current debates over same-sex marriage says; it is a joining of two lives into one. You may not envision yourself ever needing the protection of a premarital agreement, also sometimes called a prenuptial agreement or “prenup”, at the time of your marriage. Many people won’t need that extra protection but a growing percentage of marriages will. If you have significant…
Read MoreIs Gifted Jewelry Considered Community Property?
Husbands often give gifts to their wives before and during the marriage. One of the most valuable, and perhaps most sentimental of gifts, will be jewelry. When couples divorce, personal belongings, property and other assets and debts all have to be divided. Any asset, like a diamond necklace, given to a wife by a husband is subject to California’s community property rule. This rule, in theory, mandates that asset be…
Read MoreEnding Spousal Support
When spousal support is ordered, the order can include a date of termination of the support. This is the date the support order will no longer be valid. Generally, after this point, spousal support cannot be started again, save for very rare occasions when a significant change in circumstances presents itself. For marriages less than 10 years, spousal support is commonly awarded for half the length of the marriage. For…
Read MoreManaging a Demanding Work Schedule with Joint Custody
Nothing will test your time management skills as co-parenting a child with a demanding work schedule. It is important you exercise your timesharing rights and have to accommodate the other parent’s schedule as well. After agreeing upon a timesharing schedule in your Parenting Plan, the family law courts will enforce it and hold each parent to “making it work”. Not making an effort or not being able to consistently exercise…
Read MoreCan I Move for a New Job and Still Exercise My Visitation?
Everyone’s life changes after divorce. Sometimes people want to make a fresh start and try something new and being single again can make it easier to take big steps like accepting a new job offer. As a co-parent, however, you need to carefully consider the effects any big changes may have on your family. Moving for a job that will take you further away from your child can pose special…
Read MoreHow Will Work Travel Affect My Visitation Schedule?
As part of a divorce, you will have to draft up a Parenting Plan that outlines a timesharing schedule for you and your former spouse to co-parent your child. Generally, these timesharing schedules will consider each parent’s work schedule and reflect the percentage of time each parent will spend with the child. If you have to frequently travel for your job, take this into consideration when drafting up your parenting…
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