Orange County Divorce Lawyer Blog

LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has fired the team's chief executive, his estranged wife Jamie, according to the Los Angeles Times and other media reports. I first blogged about this high profile Los Angeles divorce on October 19th, noting then that the McCourt saga highlights the potential legal difficulties involved in a Los Angeles County divorce when a couple's business and personal lives are intertwined. This latest twist in what is beginning to look like a messy, and very public, break-up only reinforces those earlier thoughts, and serves as a reminder that consulting a Los Angeles divorce lawyer as early in the process as possible is a prudent idea.

A lawyer for Jamie McCourt promised what the newspaper described as an "imminent legal response" and describes his client as "disappointed and saddened by her termination."

He also, however, described Jamie McCourt as a "co-owner" of the team, an interpretation at odds with how Frank McCourt's attorneys have characterized the situation in comments to the media over the last few weeks. It is not known whether the McCourts have a pre-nuptial agreement governing the team. If no such agreement exists the team, as a joint asset, would probably be subject in a Los Angeles divorce to California's community property laws. As a business concern, the Dodgers were valued at $722 million in an analysis earlier this year by Forbes Magazine - the fourth highest figure in baseball.

The McCourts situation highlights the need for skilled legal help. Dissolving any marriage is difficult and emotional. When personal and business affairs are entangled the process is exponentially more complex. An experienced Southern California divorce attorney should be one of the first people you consult early on in the process.

Los Angeles Times: Dodgers owner McCourt fires wife Jamie

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill temporarily restoring funding for California domestic violence shelters that he vetoed during last summer's budget crisis. The measure is good news for anyone locked in an Orange County family law dispute and caught in an abusive situation or who fears that a Southern California domestic violence situation may develop. If this happens, an Orange County family law attorney can be a valuable ally in protecting your rights and helping victims get the help they need.

According to a report in The Daily Californian, the Governor used his line-item veto to strike $20.4 million in California domestic violence shelter funding from the state budget last July. Under the new measure about 80% of that money has been restored, at least for this year. The money will be shared among 94 shelters statewide. A spokeswoman for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence told the New York Times that the move was "a positive step", but expressed concern that the new measure "is only a one-year fix."

In fact, the Times reports, the restored California domestic violence funding became possible only after Sacramento arranged for the state alternative fuel and technology fund to loan the required $16.3 million to the state general fund. That loan will have to be paid back in 2013.

Domestic violence can be the cause, or sometimes the result, of California family law disputes including California divorce and California child custody cases. When potentially violent family law disputes arise in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County or elsewhere in Southern California, consulting a Southern California domestic violence lawyer can be a key step in protecting yourself and your family. A California family law attorney can help obtain a restraining order while advising on other legal measures you may wish to pursue.

New York Times: A Reprieve for California Shelters

The Daily Californian: New Bill Returns funding to Domestic Violence Shelters

Should a child's weight be considered when courts are deciding a California child custody case? The, perhaps surprising, answer is that there are already precedents on this California child custody issue. With childhood obesity emerging as a major problem nationwide the issue has the potential to come before the courts again. This is an area where an experienced Orange County child custody lawyer can be your most important ally in doing what is best for your kids.

The link between obesity and custody shot to national attention earlier this month with a major story in Time magazine. That article highlighted a couple in Scotland who lost custody of two of their six children after they failed to heed warnings from social service agencies regarding the children's weight. More importantly for American readers, however, it also cited a case in South Carolina earlier this year where a mother lost custody of her son who, at age 14, weighs 555 lbs.

South Carolina was not, however, the first state whose courts have tackled this issue. A 1998 California child custody case sought to take a 680 lb 13 year old girl away from her mother on the grounds of neglect. The child died before the case could be resolved, but the mother was subsequently charged with misdemeanor child abuse on account of her failure to do something about the girl's weight.

That California child custody dispute may sound extreme, but in our increasingly health-conscious society is not difficult to imagine similar arguments being made on behalf of kids who weigh far less than five or six hundred pounds. Whichever side of that unfortunate debate you find yourself on, the services of a Los Angeles custody attorney or Orange County custody attorney will prove to be essential for what could prove to be a difficult court battle.

Time - Should parents of Obese kids lose custody?

Children's Voice - Childhood Obesity: Is it abuse? (note: this link opens a pdf file)

California is a no-fault divorce Sate, which means any party can seek a divorce from the other regardless of fault. Family Code section 2310 affords the moving party the following options when filing for divorce: (a) Irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage; or (b) Incurable insanity. Typically, the Petitioner will cite "irreconcilable differences" as the grounds for the divorce.

Recently, CBS reporter Jim Nantz testified in his divorce trial against his wife of 26 years, Lorrie, that his marriage "ended as a result of his wife's lack of support for his career and his wife's excessive spending..." This may have been a contributing factor in his filing of a divorce action. However, bottom line, it does not really matter why you want to divorce the other party-- the fact that a divorce is an availabe option is good enough to file. Often times, many clients ask us if it matters whether or not the other spouse cheated during the marriage. Well, not really. I often advise my clients that getting a divorce is 90% an emotional process and that they have to learn to separate the "emotional" aspect from the legal aspect.

Either way, The Law Office of David P. Schwarz can help you in your divorce.

Source: Pennlive.com "Nantz divorce trial leads to some emotional moments"

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As the Los Angeles Dodgers fight this week for a spot in the World Series, an off-field California family law drama is unfolding that may impact the team's future. A press release issued by the club last week confirmed the Los Angeles marital separation of Dodger owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie. The couple, the statement added, "will be making no public statements."

The end of any marriage is emotional, and often difficult; the moreso when the couple are prominent and the California divorce plays out in the public eye. But the McCourt separation spotlights a California family law issue that can hit even couples with relatively modest assets: what to do about a business in which both partners play leadership roles? Frank McCourt owns the Dodgers while Jamie McCourt is the team's CEO. As the LA Times noted, the San Diego Padres were sold earlier this year as part of the California divorce division of assets mandated by the divorce of Padres' owner John Moores and his wife Becky.

Frank McCourt's lawyer told the newspaper that the couple, while separates, have not filed for divorce, adding that as the team's sole owner Frank McCourt had no intention of selling the Dodgers "now or ever." As a business Forbes magazine valued the Dodgers at $722 million earlier this year - the fourth highest figure in baseball.

An experienced Southern California divorce lawyer sees such situations often. Dividing assets as part of a California divorce agreement is never easy. When both partners share the management of a business it can get exceedingly complicated. Consulting with a Los Angeles or Orange County divorce attorney as early as possible can help clarify the specifics of your particular situation.

Continue reading "McCourt Los Angeles Separation spotlights asset issues" »

A case that began with a dispute over an Orange County restraining order has ended with a Laguna Beach man pleading guilty to stalking a county judge. Daniel Joseph Gidanian, 23, pled guilty to stalking and harassing Orange county Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson between September and December of last year.

According to prosecutors, the trouble began when Gidanian appeared before Johnson to answer charges of an Orange County restraining order violation. After Gidanian's request to transfer the case to another judge was granted, however, he continued to call and otherwise harass Judge Johnson and his wife demanding that the alleged Orange County restraining order violation be expunged from his record. The series of incidents culminated in a confrontation outside the Judge's home just before Christmas, prosecutors said.

For people who do not have a judge's familiarity with the legal situation a Laguna Beach restraining order lawyer can be a key advisor and ally when situations like this arise. People faced with potential stalker situations often hesitate, wondering whether the behavior in question is serious enough to warrant an Orange County restraining order. Consulting an experienced Orange County family law attorney can be an essential element in protecting your family, children or property.

Orange County Register: Man admits stalking judge with phone calls, visit to house

FoxLA: OC Man Pleads Guilty to Stalking Judge

Orange County DA's Office Press Release

An Orange County family law dispute made it to court Tuesday, pitting the star of the Discovery Channel TV show "Monster Garage" against his ex-wife over custody of their five year old daughter. But behind the hype and the headlines this case is not much different from many ordinary Orange County family court cases. In that respect, it highlights how essential a skilled and experienced Orange County custody lawyer can be in the complex area of family law.

TV star Jesse James and his wife, described in media reports as "a former porn star", divorced in 2004, shortly before their daughter was born. They have been arguing about custody and visitation issues ever since. Earlier this year the mother went to prison for six months after being convicted of tax evasion. At that time James was granted sole custody of the couple's daughter. James, now married to the actress Sandra Bullock and living in Sunset Beach, is seeking to limit his ex-wife's visitation rights, asking the Orange County family court to review whether the girl will be safe when visiting her mother.

Putting aside the Hollywood drama of an Orange County custody and visitation dispute involving a TV star, a movie star and a porn star the case is not that different from ones an Orange County family law attorney sees every day: it involves parents whose marriage has ended and now have different visions for the welfare of their young daughter. It highlights the need for an Orange County visitation attorney who can bring experience, sensitivity and skill to a particularly emotional area of the legal world.

Background & Resources:
Orange County Register: 'West Coast Choppers' star takes custody battle to court

California Courts Self-Help Center: Custody & Visitation Page

Continue reading "Sunset Beach Custody Battle focuses on TV star and ex-wife" »

A Prenuptial Agreement is an agreement which couples use to determine how their assets will be divided in the event of a divorce. You may want to consider a prenuptial agreement if you....

1. Have a separate property family business: With a prenuptial agreement, you can draft an agreement to prevent your spouse from acquiring an interest in the appreciation of your separate property business. Otherwise, your spouse may be entitled to half of the value of the business.

2. Have substantial separate property assets: Similarly, if you own separate property assets such as real estate, you may want to draft language in a prenuptial agreement which safeguards your separate property interest in the appreciation of the property.

3. Have children from a prior relationship: You may also want to consider drafting a prenuptial agreement if you have children from a prior relationship. In addition to a will or trust, a prenuptial agreement can back up the terms of your will by delineating the assets you do not wish your spouse to inherit upon your death.

Changing work patterns and the economic downturn are creating new Southern California divorce issues - some of which would have been unheard-of even a short time ago. These highlight your need for an experienced Southern California spousal support attorney when you set out to negotiate the end of a marriage.

The idea of men receiving California spousal support (as alimony is known in California) from their ex-wives used to be virtually unheard-of. A divorce settlement requiring the actress Joan Collins to send her ex a monthly check made national headlines back in the 1980s. More recently, the actress Anne Heche publicly complained that she could no longer afford the $15,000 per month in spousal and child support she owes her ex-husband.

While it is still unusual for men to receive support when a marriage ends, the practice is becoming more common, and is certainly no longer confined to Hollywood celebrities. More and more marriages are two-income households. The economic downturn has made cases in which women, as a family's main breadwinner, are being asked to support their ex-husbands increasingly common. According to a recent report by ABC News around 13,000 American men now receive alimony payments from their ex-wives, up from about 7,000 in 1998.

California child support and California spousal support issues are often linked, which is why anyone considering a California divorce needs to begin the process by seeking out the services of an experienced California family law attorney.

Statistics published by the federal Department of Health and Human Services indicate that new requests for help collecting California child support were up 11.5% in the 2008 fiscal year. At the end of that period the government was still trying to enforce the collection of more than $19 billion in unpaid California child support.

Continue reading "California spousal support picture is changing" »

A clerical error that led to a police chief being erroneously served a restraining order and stripped of his guns highlights the need for careful attention to detail when dealing with Southern California family law matters.

Gene Fretheim, the chief of police in Maricopa, was served with erroneous restraining orders not once but twice: on October 2 and then again on the 5th, following an incident in which he shot and killed a dog belonging to a city resident. Fretheim acknowledges killing the animal, which he says was loose and vicious and "was a danger and a threat to the community."

According to media reports, the error was a simple one: a box on a court form that should have been left blank was checked in error. That mistake, however, led to the chief being served with the restraining order and forced to turn in his guns. The court's executive officer acknowledged the mistake. "It appears to be our error," Terry McNally said. "The clerk changed everything... but missed one box."

The mistake appears to have been an honest one, but it highlights the need for a skilled restraining order defense attorney whenever ordinary citizens find themselves dealing with the complexities of the legal system. Restraining orders are often issued as part of Orange county family law disputes and can lead to serious personal or business difficulties.

Chief Fretheim's case remains open, and a hearing is pending.

Taft Independent: Maricopa police chief Gene Fretheim gets back his guns and his dignity

Bakersfield Now: Court mix-up forces Maricopa police chief to turn in his guns