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A convenient place for you to post your questions and experiences about family law, as well as learn what others have gone through in the divorce process.
Answers to many of your questions in an easy to navigate format.
Included are valuable tips on divorce, property division, child support, spousal support, palimony, paternity, custody, mediation, tax issues, move-away issues, grandparent's rights and more.
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One party appears without an attorney in approximately two-thirds of all California domestic relations cases, and in forty percent of all child custody cases.
Each county maintains a Facilitator's Office located at the court house. There, a party is entitled to assistance in his or her family law matter.
Facilitators do not attend court on your behalf!
Role of the facilitators: •Provide information regarding the case •Help you fill out court forms, orders, and judgments •Prepare support calculations •They will give you instructions on follow-up steps •Refer you to other resources.
Use the correct form It is important that you know what form to use. The Judicial Council has designated certain forms as "adopted for mandatory use" which means you MUST use that form.
DON'T BE FOOLED!
There are many websites that sell "California Family
law forms." Do not pay for them! They are provided free of charge in .pdf
format at the California Supreme Court website located here:
Local Family Law Rules
Facilitator's Offices
Child Support Services Offices
Child Support Payment Calculators
Child Support Handbook
Los Angeles County Family Law Services Brochure (PDF format)
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Property Henry v. Riessmueller February 1, 2005 Increase in home's value used as residence can not be used as income to award child support.
Domestic Partner's Rights As of January 1, 2005, the California Domestic Partners Rights and Responsibilities Act gives nonmarried partners who register many of the same rights as married couples. These rights include inheritance rights, community property rights (including community debts), and the right to request support upon the relationship's dissolution.
Property SB 1407 Effective January 1, 2005 Changes the Family Code so that a party shall be reimbursed for separate property contributions to the separate property estate of the other spouse unless their has been a written transmutation.
Paternity AB 252 Effective January 1, 2005 Family Code §7648 now allows some previously established fathers the right to set aside the determination of parentage. Commonly, this is where the state obtained a default judgment of paternity. The "father" can now step in under some circumstances and set aside this determination.
CHOOSING AN ATTORNEY
The State Bar of California maintains a database of all attorneys licensed
to practice law in California. To find out the disciplinary record of
an attorney, click
here.
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Parents must attend mediation prior to a court
hearing in which child custody is an issue. Mediation is a form of negotiation
between the parents with the help of a professional mediator.
Each county has a different mediation process. The mediation is normally free of charge when using the court's mediators. If the parties use a private mediator, then one or both parents may have to pay for the mediation. The mediator interviews both parents, and depending upon the circumstances, the children. All communications made to the mediator by the parties is confidential. The judges do not know what is discussed in mediation. Only in rare cases of allegations of molestations or imminent danger are the contents revealed. Orange County Orange County uses Superior Court Mediators. They do not make recommendations to the Court on parenting plans.
However, where there are allegations of concern for the welfare of the child, the mediator may recommend a psychological evaluation, a child custody investigation, a domestic relations investigation, an attorney conference, or that an attorney be appointed to represent the best interests of the child.
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County has a mediation program known as Parents and Children Together, or "PACT". Parents must attend the orientation and parent education program prior to attending mediation.
If the parents are unable to agree on a parenting plan, the Family Court Services Child Custody Evaluations Office may be ordered to provide the court information and recommendations. There may be a fee for the evaluation.
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Divorced status If you are divorced under a final decree by the last day of the taxable year, you are considered by the IRS to be unmarried for the whole year.
Deduction for Spousal Support Payments You may deduct the spousal support payments that you are required to make to your spouse or former spouse, or to a third party on behalf of that spouse.
Deduction of legal fees You cannot deduct legal fees and court costs for getting a divorce. However, you may be able to deduct legal fees paid for tax advice in connection with a divorce and legal fees to get alimony. In addition, you may be able to deduct fees you pay to appraisers, actuaries, and accountants for services in determining your correct tax or in helping to get alimony.
Innocent Spouse Relief Normally, both tax payers are jointly and individually responsible for the tax and any interest or penalty due on the joint return even if they later divorce. One spouse may be held responsible for all the tax due even if all the income was earned by the other person.
In some cases, a spouse will be relieved of the tax, interest, and penalties on a joint tax return.
Innocent spouse relief: To qualify for the innocent spouse relief: 1)You must file a joint return and the return has an understatement of tax owed due to an erroneous item of your spouse; and 2) Establish that at the time you filed it, you did not know and had no reason to know that there was an understatement of tax owed; and 3)Further, it must be unfair to hold you liable for the understatement of tax taking into account all facts and circumstances.
Separation of liability In order to separate your liability from your spouse, you need to show that: 1)You filed a joint return and that it has an understatement of tax owed due, in part, to an erroneous item of your spouse; and 2)You must no longer be married, legally separated, or have not been a member of your spouse's household for an entire year before you file for relief; and 3) If the IRS establishes that you actually knew of the item giving rise to the understatement, then you are not entitled to relief to the extent of the actual knowledge.
Sometimes a spouse cannot meet the innocent spouse or separation of liability rules. In that case the spouse may seek relief on equitable grounds.
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