Is there a Simplified Way to Get Divorced?

 Yes. The majority of people usually do NOT qualify for it, and both parties have to waive spousal support.  IF and only IF you have nothing to fight about, then you can just agree to settle your case. 

BE FOREWARNED:  A TOTAL AGREEEMENT IN ANY LONG TERM MARRIAGE SHOULD BE CAREFULLY REVIEWED BY AN ATTORNEY..............ATTORNEY HAS SEEN THESE CASES HAPPEN WHERE IT IS TOO LATE TO CHANGE SUCH AGREEMENT, AND RESULTS IN EXTREMELY DISPARATE RESULTS DUE TO THE AGREEMENT/LENGTH OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE FIGURED OUT HOW BAD THE AGREEMENT ACTUALLY WAS???

See the Summary Dissolution Section below at ***

[However, we have seen cases where a couple with a house, vested pension and property, and kids-- where one party files the divorce docs, and tells the  other party to not respond because he/she hired a paralegal to draft an agreement and he/she could just sign it as a settlement document.  

Unbeknownst to the second party who was told to sign (and who had not worked outside the home) --- the entire agreement was pretty much worthless as the disclosures were never properly executed, which was just one of the problems, there were far more issues than just that.  Non disclosure is far more prevalent than most people realize.]

*** SUMMARY DISSOLUTION ***

California has a process called summary dissolution. If you qualify for a summary dissolution, you will have less paperwork to file and you will not have to appear in court. You may be eligible for such a process if you and your spouse have agreed in writing to a division of your assets and debts and if the following conditions exist:

• You have been married for five years or less.... and..
   
• You have no children from the relationship.....and....
   
• Neither of you own a home or other real estate......and..........
   
• The value of all community property amounts to less than $25,000, excluding automobiles....and.....
   
• The value of either party's separate property amounts to less than $25,000, excluding automobiles....and....
   
• Your combined debt does not exceed $4,000, except for an auto loan....and............
   
• Both of you waive spousal support.

Both spouses must agree to all of the terms of a summary dissolution. Also, either of you can cancel it for any reason before the dissolution is final. Further information on this simplified procedure may be available at your local court or on the California Courts website (courts.ca.gov).

NOTE:  In over 20 years, we have probably only ever seen 1-2 of these cases that qualify for this type of divorce. IF in fact, the parties actually do qualify for it, it can be done fairly inexpensively.

However, there can be a stipulation between parties from the beginning, but normally the Court will now charge a filing fee down the line, for the responding party,  if the stipulation was done in lieu of a Response being filed (as the Response incurs the first paper filing fee.) the current filing fee for Divorce is $435 so there would be two filing fees, one for each party. This is the case in Sacramento County.

If you do not qualify for summary dissolution--- make sure to consult an attorney as to whether you should engage in law and motion hearings (Request for Orders) in order to obtain help with support and visitation. SHARP in Butte County will help any client that seeks their help--they do not give legal advice, and they will not represent you of course.  They only help people fill out their paperwork, and have tutorials on how to do this.
Sometimes it is dangerous to do this if you have a situation where assets have been hidden, or illegal evidence is being used, or the other party simply has bamboozled you to the point of taking advantage of you. And if one party is a complete liar, then you may need more help than SHARP can provide. Further, if drugs or alcohol or illegal conduct is taking place, we do not recommend using SHARP on those issues because they cannot give any legal advice.

Because attorney herein also does Criminal Law cases, attorney is used to seeing a lot of turmoil overall, so is not usually shocked by most conduct of clients. Attorney does not babysit clients or look down upon any client.  Attorney understands how Family Law often can wreck a family unit, after having seen it over 20+ years.
If you really do need help, call an attorney and shop around for pricing.  Not all attorneys charge or operate in the same exact format.    Attorney also has a high success rate in litigating family law cases, and has done cases in larger cities such as San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco.Attorney herein is provably the most affordable in the County and will meet any other attorney's quote.

Social Networking Linked to Divorce+More...When a Bitch Really IS a Bitch........

If you are a prude or ultra conservative, our apologies; but this T shirt on the girl wearing it (below) pretty much explains in plain English,  the definition of a bitch, and we don't mean the canine type.

Unfortunately in Family Law litigation--- we do see this from time to time, but certainly not in all cases.  In litigation, we only get so many minutes to argue our motions on the Law and Motion calendar.  While clients at the counsel table do not normally argue (since attorney is doing that) once in awhile, clients are called upon to speak on certain questions. Attorney has seen some women get up and run out of the Courtroom.

 Unknown to most people, Family Law cases CAN create the worst scenarios for many people, where we see Jerry Springer type action, because emotions run high  but Family Law attorneys become used to this.  However, also unknown to most people, is fact that Family law cases pretty much became the reason for the scanners at the entrance to courthouses. Attorneys and Judges have either been shot at, or killed by court participants who are losing their cases. And it is this attorney's belief that most of the defendants that used violence against attorneys and judges, were males who lost in Court---maybe
not all were family law cases, but certainly some of them were in California.

There has been bias against males in Family Law cases for quite some time, However, that has changed somewhat since more dads are seeking joint or shared custody, which is a good thing for the kids.

In what may be of little surprise to avid readers of FacebookCheating.com, a new study found a correlation between social media use and divorce rates in the United States.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101819591

The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior by researchers from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Boston University, compared state-by-state divorce rates to per-capita Facebook accounts. In a separate analysis, they also used data from a 2011-2012 survey that asked individuals about marriage quality and social media use.   

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between using social networks sites (SNS), marriage satisfaction and divorce rates using survey data of married individuals and state-level data from the United States. Results show that using SNS is negatively correlated with marriage quality and happiness, and positively correlated with experiencing a troubled relationship and thinking about divorce. These correlations hold after a variety of economic, demographic, and psychological variables related to marriage well-being are taken into account. 

Further, the findings of this individual-level analysis are consistent with a state-level analysis of the most popular SNS to date: across the U.S., the diffusion of Facebook between 2008 and 2010 is positively correlated with increasing divorce rates during the same time period after controlling for all time-invariant factors of each state (fixed effects), and continues to hold when time-varying economic and socio-demographic factors that might affect divorce rates are also controlled. Possible explanations for these associations are discussed, particularly in the context of pro- and anti-social perspectives towards SNS and Facebook in particular.

Their study found a link between social media use and decreased marriage quality in every model they analyzed. They said their research did not prove that social media might be to blame for troubled marriages, but suggested such a link may be proven in subsequent studies.

-----------------------------------------

Attorney's perspective:  It is a known fact that many people like to use Facebook and some of them cannot live without it. Because FB is a socializing medium, it is not considered a source for much else, except sharing-- often bad sharing.

It is not like people go to a site for Information, or actual learning.......it's more like a free-for-all where people gossip, talk bad about anyone and everyone, play bad games on others and in general, Facebook may have started out as a simplistic sharing platform, but has become more like the scum bucket for those who are not happy.

Because of this trend, and because of "everyone is doing it" mindset, Facebook is NOT in your child's best interest, or in anyone's interest (those who really do have a life outside of the computer.)

It is more likely that people in bad relationships already, simply go online and look for some company. They may go to a singles site (which FB has) or they may use FB because their friends tell them to use it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Legal professionals usually use FB to get dirt on others in a case, and employers use it for finding out the truth about people. Juries get on FB and they are not supposed to be there; no juror is supposed to look up anything online. Judges have gotten in trouble for trying to "friend" participants in lawsuits; attorneys have gotten in trouble for trying to change their clients FB pages and erasing them.  FB is best avoided in total.  There really is no need for it and if you cannot live without it, you may live to regret it down the line, depending on how bad you feel.  In today's world, people no longer understand the word privacy and it seems most people CRAVE both notoriety, attention, and bad behavior. Very sad indeed.

What Type of Attorney do You Really Need? Do You Want to Win? You Don't Care?

Do you have a case where you want to win, or need to win your case?
Do you have the winning facts?  Do you know what law would or would not support your position? Do you want or need an actual litigator for your case?

Hiring an advocate (attorney litigator) is not the same as hiring collaborative attorneys. Also, mediating* a case with only one attorney means ...The mediator helps people talk the issues through, supposedly helping to "settle" the dispute themselves. In this attorney's opinion, it would not be recommended in most cases, because typically the overbearing spouse simply bulldozes the other spouse.

*[Mediation for visitation is not the same thing as mediation of an entire divorce case. Mediation for visitation/custody is required by law when there is no agreement.]


There are many pitfalls that can arise in divorce; many of them involve financial transactions that one spouse had no knowledge of; assets that one spouse did not know about; children that were conceived outside the marriage and spouse never knew other spouse was paying; secret business dealings that was predicated on all cash; illegal actions by one spouse implicating the other spouse who had no knowledge; large debts racked up by one spouse, without the other spouse even knowing such debt existed; one spouse signing the other spouse's name for a credit card, then ruining the other spouse's credit.... NONE of these things, in this attorney's opinion, should be addressed in either mediation or collaborative law scenario.
That is because there was a huge breach of fiduciary duty that has serious consequences to the guilty spouse. That should be done in court since the guilty spouse should have to pay for wrongdoing. (Of course if you are too afraid because your spouse might try and kill you then you better go get help right away.)
                                             

Especially if you have issues in the 3 lines below, which happened BEFORE the case finalized---- you should never hire anyone except an advocate litigator. Aggressive at that. Plus, there are huge time barriers to trying to set aside any of this!

Fraud, Duress
Mistake, Coercion,
Failure to Exchange Declarations (Assets Debts)

We live in a society where people often want what they want, and when clients hire attorneys to get something done, especially in family law, it's often because one SIDE tried to take advantage of the other side.  If you have a family law case where both of you AGREE on everything then of course you don't really need an attorney, except perhaps to create a settlement agreement.

HOWEVER, the vast majority of most divorces and break ups, is because the couple cannot agree on a lot of things, including (just an example....) post judgment orders.........

• How to raise the kids-- too lenient?  too strict?
• How to spend income from employment or inheritance
• How to train kids  to have moral values
• How to get along with other family members that don't live with you
• How to avoid too much tv, too much bad influence, too much Facebook?
• What to do with a lazy spouse that refuses to help out--with anything?
• What to do with spouse that is either dangerous, aggressive, drinks too much
• How to get out of supervised visits?? You have an ex spouse also?
• Spouse drinks, smokes, gambles, does drugs, shops too much? Hoarding?
• Spouse AND kids do nothing but stay on Facebook and phone 24/7?? 
• Your kids are not only lazy, they are spoiled rotten and you blame the spouse?
• Your spouse is bipolar and can't be controlled?

Of all the problems attorney has seen over several decades, the problems around children tend to generate the worst issues, followed by physical harm, financial issues, and alcohol or drug use.

And remarkably, attorney has seen clients REFUSE to take what he/she is entitled to, and then SETTLE a case by using an attorney who ONLY settles cases--- in other words, the attorney is not a litigator. That is absurd.

If you are entitled to something, why would you pay someone to settle a case when you could have settled it without help????   Collaborative law and mediation means if you don't settle the case using whomever you hired, those attorney cannot represent you in court anyway. You THEN have to hire new attorneys!!   While mediation and collaborative may be good for some cases (which means you are settling case by paying people to settle it without court)-- it is essentially negotiation. Judges are not involved. If you work something out and then don't like it later--- what you have is a problem.

              Some of the down sides of  collaborative law (which includes hiring people like accountants and other experts) and makes it costly:

The Expense; Impact of termination and cost of new counsel; No advocacy for one or both parties; directed conversation between parties, power imbalances, difficult issues might remain secret (such as domestic violence, addictions, drugs, gambling, infidelities,etc.); Possible inadequate information collection, potentially less support for views of children.

Basically, in mediation there is no advocate for YOU.  In collaborative law, BOTH sides work on issues, but NO ONE is an advocate for YOUR side.  The collaborative view is to work out issues, not really take sides as an advocate----a true advocate is there to represent YOU, not the spouse.  This is part of the reason that most people in a divorce WANT an advocate, and need a litigator --- because they are being taken advantage of, steamrolled, or being misled or manipulated.

Prop 64 Calif Legalizes Adult Recreational Use of Marijuana

Note: all parents and patients should keep mindful that simply because a new law was passed allowing recreational use of herb for adults, it does not mean that because it is legal that a parent can just do whatever he/she wants without regard for the kids.

Though that should not have to be stated, it is common sense and from this attorney's view generally, many people are lacking in common sense. Getting rid of Obama was a start, since Obama has made people think everyone is entitled to everything. No one is entitled to much in this world. That is a fact. The dumb- down of the USA in past years,  with Trump now pulling in as the winner indicates--- not everyone is stupid. Thank God for small miracles.

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_64,_Marijuana_Legalization_(2016)
(See site for all references)

Who can use marijuana?  

Proposition 64 legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults aged 21 years or older. Smoking was permitted in a private home or at a business licensed for on-site marijuana consumption. Smoking remains illegal while driving a vehicle, anywhere smoking tobacco is, and in all public places. Up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of concentrated marijuana are legal to possess. However, possession on the grounds of a school, day care center, or youth center while children are present remains illegal. An individual is permitted to grow up to six plants within a private home, as long as the area is locked and not visible from a public place.^[8]

Who can sell marijuana?

To sell marijuana for recreational use, businesses need to acquire a state license. Local governments can also require them to obtain a local license. Businesses are not be authorized to sell within 600 feet of a school, day care center, or youth center.^[8] The initiative also prevents licenses for large-scale marijuana businesses for five years in order to prevent "unlawful monopoly power."^[13]

Who will regulate marijuana?

The Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation was renamed the Bureau of Marijuana Control. It is responsible for regulating and licensing marijuana businesses.^[8]

Counties and municipalities have been empowered to restrict where marijuana businesses could be located. Local governments can also completely ban the sale of marijuana from their jurisdictions.

How will marijuana be taxed?

Proposition 64 created two new excise taxes on marijuana. One is be a cultivation tax of $9.25 per ounce for flowers and $2.75 per ounce for leaves, with exceptions for certain medical marijuana sales and cultivation. The second is a 15 percent tax on the retail price of marijuana. Taxes will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2020.^[1]

Local governments have been authorized to levy taxes on marijuana as well.

Where will revenue be spent?

Revenue from the two taxes will be deposited in a new California Marijuana Tax Fund. First, the revenue will be used to cover costs of administrating and enforcing the measure. Next, it will be distributed to drug research, treatment, and enforcement, including:^[1]

• $2 million per year to the UC San Diego Center for Medical Cannabis Research to study medical marijuana.
• $10 million per year for 11 years for public California universities to research and evaluate the implementation and impact of Proposition 64. Researchers would make policy-change recommendations to the California Legislature and California Governor.
• $3 million annually for five years to the Department of the California Highway Patrol for developing protocols to determine whether a vehicle driver is impaired due to marijuana consumption.
• $10 million, increasing each year by $10 million until settling at $50 million in 2022, for grants to local health departments and community-based nonprofits supporting "job placement, mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, system navigation services, legal services to address barriers to reentry, and linkages to medical care for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies."

The remaining revenue will be distributed as follows:^[1]

• 60 percent to youth programs, including drug education, prevention, and treatment.
• 20 percent to prevent and alleviate environmental damage from illegal marijuana producers.
• 20 percent to programs designed to reduce driving under the influence of marijuana and a grant program designed to reduce negative impacts on health or safety resulting from the proposition.

What will penalties be?

Individuals under age 18 convicted of marijuana use or possession are required to attend drug education or a counseling program and complete community service. Selling marijuana without a license is punishable by up to six months in a county jail, a fine up to $500, or both.^[8]

With Proposition 64's approval, individuals serving criminal sentences for activities made legal under the measure are eligible for resentencing.

Attorney Can Easily Save You $1,325+ Off Your case- Find Out How!

ATTORNEY IS IN THE BUSINESS OF SOLVING PROBLEMS. 

You have come to the right attorney for your problem here:

                                               Affordability,  Strategy-Oriented,  Winner 

An hourly attorney rate of $250 for 'most' attorneys is fairly standard these days, so we can see why up to 80% of client are representing themselves. The majority of them go to SHARP or comparable.

Attorney can guarantee a reasonable down payment or payment plans. If you absolutely don't need legal help, that's fine. But if you DO--- you don't want the 'wrong' help--- right??

                Affordable service * Friendly Help  * Great Problem Solving* Winning Strategy

If you have a job and somewhat decent credit, or your former spouse does  or you are still married and no dissolution has been filed, then you should call attorney.

We have worked for more than 20 years with clients 

that can afford legal help-- 

they just can't afford to pay $250/hr.

Attorney herein is a down to earth, friendly and helpful person. No pretentiousness, no games, no over the top nonsense.  Attorney is known for not losing cases, simply because  

(1) from the beginning of the case, attorney formulates a plan 

for how to solve your problem  

(2) attorney evaluates the client to use every possible fact in client's favor  (3) attorney uses more facts than client has disclosed  by uncovering things client may not even know

(4) attorney has special help in legal issues who can perform tech testing  

(5) attorney has access to animal husbandry experts for animal cases  (6) attorney has much experience in difficult litigation, such as against B of A, Chase Bk,W Fargo Bk
  (7) attorney acknowledges credit where due if it happens  

(8) attorney researches law for updates 5 days a week  (9) attorney is not afraid to call a spade a spade (10) attorney can check on all Federal Court cases in the USA via Pacer at any given time. And attorney has more than 20+ years in litigation. Nearly all of attorney's work is in litigation.  Attorney will not allow other attorneys to roll over, meaning, attorney is a very staunch defender of client's rights and client's position in litigation.

Quite frankly, attorney can attack any case, even the most difficult, and still
be able to devise a solution.  If case is extremely difficult, it may take
more time, but nothing is impossible.

Custody+Visitation Issues- Drugs, Alcohol, or Inappropriate Media

Alleged Drug Usage by a Parent-- It's not that easy to get testing ordered.........

The best way to know if you or the other parent could be affected negatively,  is to assume you WOULD be affected and then go from there. The family court must make a finding and there must be evidence that there is habitual, frequent or continual illegal use of alcohol or drugs by the parent for it to have the power to make a court order for testing. 

1. In other words, if you cannot prove ahead of time by corroborating evidence of the habitual, frequent or continual illegal use, and only can show possession---that won't get it.

 There is no bright line law or family case law currently in California which seals a parent's fate as to "marijuana" in general right now, and there is not likely a published case on using non appropriate media as a sole reason for denial of custody (although we have had cases where porn movies being shown and allegations of abuse have resulted in loss of visitation...)
 There is a non certified  dependency case involving some marijuana issues (not a family law case; it is an unpublished Los Angeles appeal under Juvenile Court Law, DCSS and involved two teenage kids, 15/14 at the time...).

Custody is likely to be highly affected by Domestic violence TROs, inappropriate punishment, inappropriate drug use, abusive situations, neglect, etc. Parents with DV charges or TROs against them cannot usually be the custodial parent. We see some parents accept DV TRO charges for one reason or another, but generally, it's best to fight such charges in most cases. We also see many females use DV TROs when they have no grounds. Occasionally males may do the same.

Although attorney herein has research knowledge on medicinal marijuana and various state law issues involving same, there is no one criteria in either medicinal marijuana or recreational marijuana, that would be the 100% certain win or lose factor for a parent, because in most cases, it's only one issue, and not the ONLY issue at hand. Depending on how many other issues are involved, the credibility of each parent, the depth of insight that the attorney has, and how well an attorney can size up each parent, this can make or break a case.

Simply hiring "experts" means who can afford more--it doesn't mean necessarily that one parent really wins. It will also depend on how well each parent can present him or herself, answer questions, and understand how the mediation process works. Attorney of this website has seen countless cases involving mediation, and has seen some cases go sideways at mediation, because the client may ruin his or her case by saying the wrong things.Attorneys are not allowed in mediation, therefore attorney can only try to teach client how mediators operate so they will understand what is actually being done. Attorney has seen extremely biased mediators (judging from the report they put out) over the years, good mediators, and those that are fair.  Underestimating the mediation process usually results in bad results.

Attorney herein researches these issues as they apply to California Family Law, and makes best efforts to remain current on new cases or decisions.  Attorney is well aware of the long running case involving marijuana, from Butte County that then seeming moved to another county just north of Butte, with varying detriment (depending on what one considers detrimental...)

In any event, any type of drug, even if it's a prescription, can be cause for concern in a divorce case.         

We all know that alcohol use can be a concern, but it's legal to buy it, right, and even to consume in the home? We have seen many court orders where alcohol is NOT to be consumed during one parent's custody.
And it's legal to obtain many drugs straight off the shelf at the store.

When courts have to consider whether drug usage is going to affect custody, it will depend on what evidence is available, how good the attorney is at setting up the defense or attack of the issue, what the exact facts are and are they verifiable, and how; essentially, all of the foundation requirements for evidentiary hearing, and all of the foundation requirements for supporting evidence should be known; further, the lack of such evidence and the preclusion possibilities, as with all evidence, will come into play.

Trying cases with drugs involved should be left to attorneys who handle trials, because the proof and litigation aspects can be done with more precision. Many clients don't want to spend the funds to engage litigators to gain appropriate custody because they do not understand the time involved to make the defense, or the admissibility for proper charging evidence.

In family law we usually see many clients that just believe all they have to do is say something, and that makes it true.  That is not the case necessarily.  Conversely, clients often believe they can just say something is not true, and that will prove their case. That too is not necessarily true, because if it was, then there would be no NEED for any attorneys at all, because clients could prove everything themselves?

Obviously, clients, at least most of them, are not able to do that because they did not go to law school and then work for 20+ years at honing their skill. We have to deal with inaccurate facts, misleading statements, the social media nightmare, Facebook (often the absolute worst), and tons of  Internet postings, admissions, accusations, texts, blogging, examples: 
                Lively, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, Kiks Messenger, WhatsApp, GroupMe,tumblr, Twitter,Musical.ly, You Now: Broadcast,Chat,and Watch Live Video, Burn Note,Whisper, Yik Yak; could be inappropriate.........
--- Omegle+Tinder ( not appropriate for kids).  Some of these apps will or can be hidden or disappear, or may cause kids to meet up with others that could be predators-- with parents not even knowing it is happening. 

New apps come out all the time and they will never stop. These things can be worse than drugs in some ways as unknown people can take advantage of kids, teens, etc. A parent would never even know because most parents don't really know what kids are doing with their phones.

Personally, we would not give kids a phone, computer or any electronic device which was NOT monitored, it is very easy to obtain software to do this!

Cyberbullying: Is it Happening to Your Kids?

http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying happens when kids bully each other through electronic technology. Find out why cyberbullying is different from traditional bullying, what you can do to prevent it, and how you can report it when it happens.

BE FOREWARNED, THE CA EDUCATION CODE HAS SIGNIFICANT MORE IMPACT OVER
STUDENT BEHAVIOR THAN WITHOUT USING THE EDUCATION CODE. WHILE SCHOOLS ARE
SUPPOSED TO ALWAYS HAVE CYBERBULLYING EDUCATION, SOME SCHOOLS SUCH AS
MIDDLE SCHOOLS, HAVE SHIRKED THEIR DUTIES LOCALLY.  EXPELLING CHILDREN DOES NOT
MEAN SCHOOLS ARE DOING ALL THEY CAN DO.  CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN RIGHT FROM WRONG.

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Prevent Cyberbullying 

Parents and kids can prevent cyberbullying. Together, they can explore safe ways to use technology.

Report Cyberbullying 

When cyberbullying happens, it is important to document and report the behavior so it can be addressed.

Intentional Violation of Court Order under PC 273.6

 Penal Code 273.6 PC -- Intentional and knowing violation of court protective order. 

    (a) Any intentional and knowing violation of a protective order, as defined in Section 6218 of the Family Code, or of an order issued pursuant to Section 527.6, 527.8, or 527.85 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. 

    (b) In the event of a violation of subdivision (a) that results in physical injury, the person shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. 
        However, if the person is imprisoned in a county jail for at least 48 hours, the court may, in the interest of justice and for reasons stated on the record, reduce or eliminate the 30-day minimum imprisonment required by this subdivision. In determining whether to reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider the seriousness of the facts before the court, whether there are additional allegations of a violation of the [California restraining] order during the pendency of the case before the court, the probability of future violations, the safety of the victim, and whether the defendant has successfully completed or is making progress with counseling. 

    (c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall apply to the following court orders: 
           (1) Any order issued pursuant to Section 6320 or 6389 of the Family Code. 
           (2) An order excluding one party from the family dwelling or from the dwelling of the other. 
           (3) An order enjoining a party from specified behavior that the court determined was necessary to effectuate the order described in subdivision (a). 
           (4) Any order issued by another state that is recognized under Part 5 (commencing with Section 6400) of Division 10 of the Family Code.

    (d) A subsequent conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a), occurring within seven years of a prior conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a) and involving an act of violence or "a credible threat" of violence, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 139, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or in the state prison. 

    (e) In the event of a subsequent conviction for a violation of an [California protective] order described in subdivision (a) for an act occurring within one year of a prior conviction for a violation of an order described in subdivision (a) that results in physical injury to a victim, the person shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than six months nor more than one year, by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
            However, if the person is imprisoned in a county jail for at least 30 days, the court may, in the interest of justice and for reasons stated in the record, reduce or eliminate the six-month minimum imprisonment required by this subdivision.
            In determining whether to reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider the seriousness of the facts before the court, whether there are additional allegations of a violation of the [California restraining] order during the pendency of the case before the court, the probability of future violations, the safety of the victim, and whether the defendant has successfully completed or is making progress with counseling. 

     (f) The prosecuting agency of each county shall have the primary responsibility for the enforcement of orders described in subdivisions (a), (b), (d), and (e). 

     (g)        (1) Every person who owns, possesses, purchases, or receives a firearm knowing he or she is prohibited from doing so by the provisions of a [California] protective order as defined in Section 136.2 of this code, Section 6218 of the Family Code, or Section 527.6 or 527.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or Section 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall be punished under Section 29825. 
                  (2) Every person subject to a protective order described in paragraph (1) shall not be prosecuted under this section for owning, possessing, purchasing, or receiving a firearm to the extent that firearm is granted an exemption pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or subdivision (h) of Section 6389 of the Family Code. 

      (h)     If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e), the court shall impose probation consistent with Section 1203.097, and the conditions of probation may include, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements: 
              (1) That the defendant make payments to a battered women's shelter or to a shelter for abused elder persons or dependent adults, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), pursuant to Section 1203.097. 
              (2) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant's offense. 

       (i) For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a battered women's shelter, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under subdivision (e), the court shall make a determination of the defendant's ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make payments to a battered women's shelter be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support. 
               Where the injury to a married person is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or her spouse in violation of this section, the community property may not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for restitution to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse is exhausted.")

Many clients make the mistake of hiring what they think is the biggest gun in town only to find that their Family Law Lawyer is routinely overworked, inaccessible,

Online Bullying by Kids-- "Cyberbullying"..........Is It Legal?

We recently were made aware that a high school minor child was going to be interviewed by the Police.
  In most cases, it is recommended that the child not blurt out anything (because after all a juvenile cannot just run off the school grounds so is not allowed to just walk away from the school..) so it is probably best that your kids be told in advance (by parents)  that they need to FIRST call a parent, say they want an attorney,  inform the principal of the school, and not make statements without the parent present. So at least then if the "police" insist on interviewing the child, more than one other adult can be present.

[We recently were notified on this issue because the police wanted to interview the child; the police officer was informed the parent wanted to be present; instead of allowing the parent to be present, the police went to his office and said he was going to file a warrant!!]  We seriously doubt that any warrant would go very far, but this is just an example of how things can spiral out of control.

The interview mentioned above, was for the alleged purpose of interrogation of the child when another person had accused child of sending out or sharing a picture of some other kid in a bathing suit, but this picture had been placed by the child wearing the bathing suit, to another to begin with.

We all realize once something goes online, there is little to no privacy. While laws involving cyberbullying are somewhat convoluted, basically there is recourse in many instances, and one can file a civil harassment or administrative claim, and file a notice with the Dept. of Education for failure to comply with some necessary steps by having them investigate the child's claim with the school.

For example at a high school in another state--- kids bullied another kid with learning disabilities and physically assaulted him. IF these same kids had taken pictures and posted them online, then what we just talked about (the reporting) could involve cyberbullying and the school involved is in even worse trouble. In fact, Federal law can be involved if racial and or other topics are involved:

Although no federal law directly addresses bullying, in some cases, bullying overlaps with discriminatory harassment when it is based on race, national origin, color, sex, age, disability, or religion. 

When bullying and harassment overlap, federally-funded schools (including colleges and universities) have an obligation to resolve the harassment. When the situation is not adequately resolved, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division may be able to help....

https://www.stopbullying.gov/get-help-now/index.html

What should a school do to resolve a harassment complaint?

• Appropriate responses will depend on the facts of each case.
• School must be an active participant in responding to harassment and should take reasonable steps when crafting remedies to minimize burdens on the targeted students.
• Possible responses include:
  • Develop, revise, and publicize:
    • Policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination
    • Grievance procedures for students to file harassment complaints
    • contact information for Title IX/Section 504/Title VI coordinators
  • Implement training for staff and administration on identifying and addressing harassment
  • Provide monitors or additional adult supervision in areas where harassment occurs
  • Determine consequences and services for harassers, including whether discipline is appropriate
  • Limit interactions between harassers and targets
  • Provide harassed student an additional opportunity to obtain a benefit that was denied (e.g., retaking a test/class).
  • Provide services to a student who was denied a benefit (e.g., academic support services).

New 2016 Judicial Council Form Changes

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/2016-07-01PublishersListAprMtg.pdf

How Attorney Saved Client Many $$ Thousands $$ in Litigation Expense --- with One Letter!

When couples split up and are not married and have no domestic contract or partnership or other qualified written agreement, just about anything can happen. 

As an example, consider how much money was saved when attorney drafted a demand letter after one party attempted to take advantage of the other party in a real estate situation involving approximately $902,541 in real estate, by welching on her promise; to be honest, attorney was not 100% sure that the letter would solve the problem, since the other party had been carrying on her behavior over at least, a 2 year time frame................

Law Firms Inside Wal Mart-- Georgia and Missouri...........!!!

---

BUSINESS OF LAW

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/wal-mart_law_firms_are_already_in_the_us/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=navigation&utm_campaign=most_read

Law firms are already inside some 

US Wal-Marts

POSTED JUN 21, 2016 01:15 PM CDT

BY VICTOR LI

---

When Evan Kaine, a personal injury attorney in Atlanta read a story in the May 2016 issue of the ABA Journal about Axess Law opening up offices in Wal-Mart in Canada, he remembered reading a line about whether these firms would soon be in your backyard.

“My reaction was: ‘Yes it is going to be in your backyard,’” Kaine says. “In fact, it already is.”

His firm, Kaine Law, has offices inside three Atlanta-area Wal-Marts. Kaine says that he opened his first Wal-Mart office in 2012 before expanding to two additional stores last year.

Like many lawyers, Kaine had seen the statistic about how 80 percent of all low-income Americans have unmet civil legal needs. To that end, he came up with the idea to set up shop in an area where most of those underrepresented people shop.

Kaine says his offices are full-service, although he emphasizes that he has built up relationships with a number of other local firms that specialize in different areas of the law and often refers work to them. In fact, he estimates that he only keeps about 20 percent of the cases that come into the Wal-Mart offices. Kaine says the Wal-Mart offices operate on a fixed-fee basis and even offer a number of free services, including a basic last will and testament and notary public services.

“It’s about being able to offer a service to the community,” he says. “We have to minimize the stigma of expensive attorneys.”

There’s a reason why Kaine’s Wal-Mart offices have received very little publicity. “We kept it quiet for a number of reasons,” he says. “The legal industry does not welcome change, and we wanted to make sure our model was sustainable before we went public with it.” Indeed, he’s kept such a low profile that when The Law Store opened offices inside Wal-Marts in Joplin and Neosho, Missouri, on June 1, they believed that they were the first firm in America to do it.................

When Judges are Biased Against a Party??

Unfortunately, it does happen.  But never in 20+ years have we ever seen a case (until now) where a Judge simply ignores the evidence, and simply awards whatever the mediator says, despite an obvious breach of the local rules/or laws governing mediators and evidence.

A key part of due process, is to give the process that is due....essentially in Family Law mediation, there should be NO evidence submitted to mediator that is NOT also served upon the other party ahead of time, with a proof of service to all parties. Although we do not claim to know the family law in other states outside of California, it would seem quite prejudicial to (a) take evidence and then (b) never show it to opposing party, and then (3) throw out the evidence or give it back to the party who tendered it, and not have a record of the evidence--and THEN -- for Judge to use that evidence in awarding custody to the person who gave the evidence, by claiming the petitioning party did not overcome the presumption of joint custody?  This would be the case since Judge rubber stamped the recommendation, which obviously relied upon the evidence never shown to the non custodial parent, which also caused the mediator to not even interview the minor child.

At long cause,  judge ignored the argument of due process and ignoring the local rules. This was after custodial parent had caused the long cause hearing to drag on for months, because custodial claimed an attorney would be obtained but never got one; at each trial setting, custodial would choose a date that ended up being changed.

Nevertheless......the losing party then continued the vigil to gain custody notwithstanding the ridiculous ruling. Of course an appeal was out of the question because even if client wanted to engage an appeal, it would take so long that it would not be worth it.

Instead, client remained vigilant to actually follow the court's crummy order of several hours a week visitation, supervised.  In meantime, the custodial parent continued to mess up on whatever that parent was supposed to do. About 6mo later, with documented evidence, the custodial parent decided to give up and just abandon the kids to the party wronged by the last order.  Rather than attempting mediation again, and risking another bad mediator decision or biased Judge, the non custodial parent let the bad parent just hang her/himself. It was not surprising that the custodial parent had filed three TROs, none of which had stuck.

In our view, by allowing such a blatant evidentiary wrong to make a case for one parent, it was obvious that this was bias, as the non custodial parent even had a written letter from CPS stating that the children had been harmed by someone who was with the custodial parent and CPS was investigating (but not filing charges yet...)  And, that the custodial parent was engaging in sexual acts in hotels in front of the minor children. But judge said, that was old news?  WTH??!!  The police wanted non custodial to do an ex parte. Oh yes, that would have fallen on deaf ears if the judge won't even look at a CPS letter or all the withhold notices from the District Attorney.

This goes to show that every case is usually different, and what might work normally in one case is not necessarily going to work in all cases.
NOTE:  Attorney is very aware that 170.6 can be used, however this judge had heard the case prior to this attorney taking the case; judge taking testimony prior so essentially client was precluded from using that tactic. Attorney dropped out of case purposely to see if Judge would treat client differently; at the last motion, Judge actually ruled that CWS and an investigation would take place; it did take place and client was given 50/50 timeshare which he wanted.

Great Results in Case After CPS Snatches Kids

A new case found that CPS snatched both minor kids after one child was found to have ingested a substance turning out to be medical MJ in form of what appeared to be expensive dessert. Although it was accidental, CPS wrote scathing report against one parent and was not too kind to the other parent either.  In most cases, CPS turns over case over to the District Attorney, and prosecution for some crime will ensue.  Due to a procedural error, even before the first hearing,  it appeared one parent never even received a customary intake document to fill out, much less return it.... These documents are supposed to be used for the purpose of making an informed decision re the juveniles, plus they should realistically be done prior to any reports being filed with the court for purposes of keeping kids away from the parents. While social workers might dispute that, it is common sense that one does not have one parent fill out a standard intake, and the other does not, then a report is made before the parent even fills out the intake form.

It would seem that failure to even give one parent the form to fill out while still giving the court a report on the entire incident and more, is not due process, even if the form was used for simple facts since such facts can knowingly add to, or detract from the parent's background in toto.

Upon not even being able to have time to read the entire report because CPS did not hand it out until 10 minutes before court, where report should have been given out 2 days earlier,  attorney objected to moving forward based upon lack of time to review report, failure of CPS to have one parent fill out the intake document they use, and it was stated to judge,  to be prejudicial to client....Judge decided that it would be a contested hearing and set matter over for about six days.

Remarkably, the next day (big surprise)--- clients were informed that children were going to be returned to the home, at least one parent still living at home, and other parent only to be supervised by the in house parent.  That is about the best result one can get without even having gone to any other hearings at all, and considering how bad the report was written against one parent in particular, it sends the message that one should always:
(a)   take caution and not accept anything CPS throws out just because they wrote it;
(b)   the full disclosure documents should be given and returned prior to hearing, not after a hearing; (c)   reports which misconstrue or misstate facts should be objected to strenuously and by cross examination.
(d)   any reports, documents, evidence or anything related to the case that is in written form which is subject to some type of time limit (for example, should be received 2 days prior to hearing)--should be followed; and if not, objection should be lodged for cause and hearing pushed forward.  Judge is not going to necessarily know what date the parents or others involved, received the data.

Links to Interesting Issues Within Divorce

Mental Health Issues and Divorce in California | DivorceNet.com

www.divorcenet.com/resources/mental-health-issues-and-divorce-california.html

If you have additional questions about mental health and divorce in California after reading this article, you should consult a local family law attorney.

Understanding and Calculating Alimony in California | DivorceNet.com

www.divorcenet.com/.../divorce/...issues/understanding-and-calculating-alimony-c

When a married couple divorces after building a lifestyle together, a court may require the ... UnderCalifornia law the purpose of temporary spousal support is to ...

Research on FC Section 2640: (from Mr. Arnold) 

http://www.thurmanarnold.com/Family-Law-Blog/2010/December/What-Are-TRACINGS-In-California-DIVORCE-Proceedi.aspx

It is extremely common that a community property asset (acquired during marriage, possibly but not necessarily in joint names), or improvements to it, traces partly or 100% to a separate property source. Many parents 'gift' their child part or all of the downpayment for the couple's first home. Or, a separate property asset (acquired during marriage but titled in one spouse's name alone - usually seen with real estate) may be purchased using joint funds. In either event there is a tracing right of reimbursement per Family Code section 2640 to the respective community or separate property interests that bought it, in the event of a dissolution or legal separation. FC §2640 is in the top five of all California property division statutes and is critical for an understanding of what your legal interests are if either spouse has any colorable claims to separate property used during marriage. Many middle income and high asset property division cases are a puzzle map of assets that are not what they seem at first glance

Other California Family Law Issues | Bohm Wildish

www.cadivorce.com › California Divorce Guide

Military Divorce ... Due to this fact, there is a unique set of laws that are utilized when it comes to dissolving them. For instance, California family law created a set of procedures to handle situations that arise in registered domestic partnerships ...

Top 10 Divorce Myths in California | LawGives

https://www.lawgives.com/guide/.../Top-10-Divorce-Myths-in-California

Make sure you're prepared to handle any challenges a divorce may throw your way. ... One exception: California will recognize a "common law" marriage if a ...