Orange County Divorce Lawyer Blog

Warren Sapp's soon to be ex-wife has filed papers in court alleging that football star, Warren Sapp, is behind on his child support and spousal support payments. Sapp has denied he is behind on child support but states he may be a litte behind on his spousal support payments.

Sapp's ex-wife filed legal documents in Florida claiming that Sapp is behind $728,100 in child support and spousal support. It has been reported that Sapp feels his spousal support payments are too high and is likely seeking a downward modification of same.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, if Sapp believes his spousal support payments are too high, why does he not feel his child support payments are too high as well? If you are going to modify spousal support, you can do the same for child support. Afterall, in California, support amounts are based on each parties' gross monthly income (among other factors) and timeshare with the child if child support is involved.

For more information on filing a divorce action in Los Angeles or Orange County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: Warren Sapp-- I'm No Deadbeat Dad

Rapper, DMX, will be going to court with a woman who claims he fathered a child with her 10 years ago.

DMX has been sued by Patricia Trejo over allegations that he failed to pay his child support payments to her for his alleged daughter. It should also be noted that DMX also has ten (10!) other children with several different women. Yikes! This father has a lot of child support to cough up.

She appeared at Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday as part of the ongoing case, according to TMZ.com, claiming she is owed more than $1 million in back payments.

The website reports the rapper has questioned the paternity of the girl and has demanded a DNA test to prove he is her father.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, DMX is entitled to obtain a DNA test to prove or disprove whether or not he is the child's father. Additionally, if the test results prove he is not the father, he will have no child support obligation to Trejo's daughter and the alleged "back payments" or arrearages will be discharged.

If you need assistance to resolve any child custody, child visitation, child support or paternity dispute, contact an Orange County child custody lawyer for more information.

Source: DMX in child custody battle

An important issue whenever a court makes an order regarding long term spousal support is whether the court may properly limit the order to a specified period and not reserve jurisdiction to extend it. In Marriage of Morrison, 1978, 20 C3d 437, the supreme court held that a trial court should not terminate jurisdiction to extend a support order after a lengthy marriage unless the record clearly indicates that the supported party will be able to adequately meet his or her financial needs at the time selected for termination of jurisdiction.

In determining whether a marriage is of long duration, the court may consider periods of separation during the marriage. In some circumstances, a court may find that a marriage of less than 10 years is one of long duration. Fam. C section 4336(b), Marriage of Baker, (1992) 3 CA4th 491.

Family Code section 4336(a) provies that when a marriage has been of long duration, the court retains jurisdiction indefinitely unless the parties agree to the contrary in writing or the court terminates support. Family Code section 4336(c) provides that a court may terminate spousal support in subsequent proceedings on a showing of changed circumstances. Marriage of Christie (1994) 28 CA4th 849.

For more information on your rights to receive spousal support in Orange County or Los Angeles County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Marcia Gay Harden has filed for divorce from her husband of 15 years, Thaddaeus Scheel. The couple have 3 minor children together. No further comment has been made aside from the recent filing.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, since the couple were married for 15 years, it is a marriage of long term duration. Unless spousal support is waived, the recipient of spousal support will be entitled to long term support or the court will retain jurisdiction over spousal support until remarriage, death or further order of court. In contrast, if this was a marriage of less than 10 years, the recipient of spousal support would be entitled to receive same for 1/2 of the length of the marriage.

The couple will also have to work out a reasonable child custody and visitation parenting plan for the children considering that there are three minor kids. Once a parenting plan is finalized, child support will need to be determined.

If you are contemplating filing for divorce in Los Angeles or Orange County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: Marcia Gay Harden files for divorce

The divorce drama between R&B sensation Usher and his wife, Tameka Raymond, continues. Indeed, Tameka Raymond is requesting that Usher pay over $50,000 for her attorney fees and other legal investments that she has made.

Tameka filed her request for attorney fees in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia -- asking a judge to force Usher to pay her $15,000 to cover her expensive lawyer fees ... plus an additional $35,000 for other costs.

According to the court pleadings, the other costs in their child custody dispute include the retention of various expert witnesses, hiring private investigators, and procuring out-of-state depositions.

Tameka claims she's entitled to the money because of the vast disparity in income between her and Usher-- a disparity that puts her at a disadvantage while she's trying to build her case.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, if this case were litigated in Orange County, in order to determine if one party should pay a contribution towards the other's attorney fees and costs, we would defer to Family Code Section 2030. Payment of attorney fees would be based on one's need and the other's ability to pay. If Usher has the ability to pay Tameka's fees and if Tameka has the need, she would likely be granted an order for Usher to contribute to her attorney fees and costs.

For more information on filing a divorce action in Orange County or Los Angeles County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: Usher's Ex-Wife: I need $50,000 to Kick your ass in court

On occasion, the court in a Los Angeles County or Orange County divorce action may be called upon to decide the surname to be given to a minor child. The specific issue may be either (1) the name to be used by the child initially (and the name to be listed on the child's birth certificate) or (2) whether to change a previously given name.

Whether the issue arises at birth or at some subsequent time, the question is to be decided according to the child's best interest. Marriage of Douglass (1988) 205 CA3d 1046, 1054. Among the factors the court might consider in determining what surname is in the child's best inteerest are as follows:

1. The length of time the child has used a particular name;

2. The nature of the child's relationships with his or her respective parents,

3. The effect of any proposed name on those relationships;

4. The child's need to identify a particular family unit through the use of a common name. Marriage of Shiffman (1980) 28 C3d 640, 647.

For more information on chaning the child's name or if you wish to file a divorce action in Los Angeles or Orange County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

It looks like the former celebrity couple of Russell Brand and Katy Perry have reached a global settlement in their divorce.

With no children at issue, the agreement covers distribution of their property, Perry's papers say, and she asks that the court not be involved in awarding spousal support to Brand.

Perry also seeks to legally restore her maiden name to Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson.

In his own court filing, Brand, 36, also signals that they've reached a settlement, checking the boxes that say both sides "agree this cause may be decided as an uncontested matter" and they waive their rights to a trial.

This is good news for the former couple who do not have to litigate this matter in court. It was rumored that the parties do not have a prenuptual agreement and Brand would be entitled to half of Perry's earnings during the marriage (estimated 40 million). At any rate, it looks like Brand is waiving his right to receive spousal support.

If you have an Orange County or Los Angeles County divorce matter, please contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: Russell Brand, Katy Perry Reach Divorce Settlement

What is the difference between a dissolution of marriage and legal separation?

Most parties choose dissolution of marriage rather than legal separation because a judgment for dissolution of marriage terminates the marriage and restores the parties back to their single marital status.

Legal separation is for those people who wish to separate their lives formally like a dissolution of marriage but they remain legally married for a variety of reasons. Some the reasons include:

1. Maintenance of medical insurance coverage (assuming coverage is available after judgment for legal separation is entered);

2. Qualification for derivative social security beenfits;

3. Eligibility for certain benefits accorded to military spouses.

A judgment for legal separation basically determines the same issues that a judgment of dissolution does except that it does not set a date for termination of marital status.

It should be noted that at any time after a judgment for legal separation is granted, either party may file a separate dissolution action to terminate the marriage. However, issues adjudicated in a legal separation proceeding are res judicata and may not be reopened in a subsequent dissolution proceeding.

For more information on filing a dissolution action or legal separation proceeding, contact an Orange County Divorce Lawyer for more information.

We often receive a lot of comments from clients and prospective clients thinking that they can get divorced at the 6 month mark after the initial divorce papers have been filed. Let me explain because this is not entirely true.

Pursuant to Family Code section 2339, in a divorce action, the earliest that the parties' marital status may be terminated is 6 months after the court acquires jurisdiction over the Respondent. So, this does not mean that if Petitioner files divorce papers on January 1, 2012, he automatically is divorced on June 30, 2012. The court must acquire jurisdiction over the Respondent before the clock starts ticking.

As long as 6 months after acquisition of jurisdiction over the Respondent has passed, the court may terminate the parties' marital status before granting a judgment on the other issues in the case. (This allows one of the parties' to remarry, should they choose to).

Please note the following:

(A) there is no way to obtain a termination of marital status prior to 6 months after the court obtains jurisdiction over Respondent and

(B) marital status does not automatically terminate by the passage of 6 months time. Some clients mistakenly believe that a mere passage of 6 months of time automatically terminates their marital status. This is not the case.

For more information on obtaining a divorce in Los Angeles or Orange County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

In a recent study, it was reported that 20% of divorced women will boost their income by at least 25% after divorce - a surprising statistic that nearly doubles the rate in 11% from the early/mid 1970s. In contrast, only 16% of divorced men should expect to boost their income by at least 25% after divorce - a jump of only 2% from the early/mid 1970s.

The reason for this finding is that there is more education for women. Additionally, there is a closer wage gap between genders, were key factors driving the post-divorce income trends.

Given that we are in the year 2012, these statistics do not surprise me. From an Orange County divorce lawyer's point of view, more and more divorced women are educated and are able to earn solid income. Its no surprise that these women continue on the path to financial freedom even after divorce.

At any rate, if you are a woman in need of a divorce in Orange County or Los Angeles County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: More Divorced Women Bouncing Back Financially After Divorce

Maryland officials state that they had seized $400,000 in overdue child support payments from one parent, the largest such collection state history.

"I hope that this collection sends a clear message to non-custodial parents that Maryland is committed to collecting the support that is due to our children," said a statement from Ted Dallas, the secretary of the Department of Human Resources.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, there are ways to get an obligor to pay his or her child support payment. Here are some of the ways:

1. Wage assignment;
2. Levy on a bank account;
3. Withholding driver's license;
4. Withholding passport.

The goal is to get the obligor to support his or her child.

With such a large collection of $400K, hopefully obligors in Maryland and throughout the United States will get the message that children need to be supported. Secondly, if someone had $400,000 on deposit in their bank account, why haven't they coughed up the money to support their child?

For more information on modifying your child support payments in Orange County or Los Angeles County, contact an Orange County child support lawyer for more information.

Source: State collects $400,000 child support payment, largest ever

In today's world, more and more couples are opting to stay married in hopes that the value of their homes rise. Indeed, thousands of home-owning couples owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. This is especially true in states such as Nevada.
Indeed, 60 percent of Nevada homeowners who have mortgages owe more than their homes are worth, says the Santa Ana, Calif., analysis firm CoreLogic. Because of this, more couples are staying together for the sake of their home only because they cannot afford to get out of the whole.

There are other couples who will go through with the divorce but continue to own their home jointly in hopes that the market will improve years later. But jointly owning a property after divorce is a cause of concern. Specifically, the newly divorced couple will have to decide who will pay for what. Who will cover the cost of the mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance?

Another option for couples is to short sale their home. But, real estate analysis say that this causes messy tax implications.

At any rate, if you are contemplating filing for divorce in Los Angeles or Orange County, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: Divorcing couples struggle with negative equity in their home

This is a strange story. What mother in her right mind would sell her child? Apparently, Kenia Quiala Bosque, age 30, tried to sell one of her 4 children to an aquaintance for $7,000. Bosque stipulated that she put her kids in danger by trying to sell one of them. She did this to avoid a dependency trial. As a result, the children will now remain in the care of their father.

The case is not over for Bosque though. She still faces criminal charges that she tried to sell her youngest son to an acquaintance for $7,000 in December.

Judge Mari Sampedro-Iglesia accepted a plea deal worked out in the juvenile justice building hallways among attorneys for both parents and the Department of Children and Families. In the deal, Bosque agreed that "under severe emotional distress [she] made an empty threat to exchange her child for a sum of money, that placed her children in imminent risk of harm."

The judge ordered a psychological evaluation, individual therapy and parenting classes for Bosque, who was arrested Dec. 4 at her Opa-locka apartment. She will continue having supervised visitations.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, it is standard procedure for the case to proceed to a child custody evaluation to determine an appropriate parenting plan. Obviously, Bosque needs help if she ever wants to have a relationship with her children. In the meantime, she has been awarded supervised visits with the children.

If you are experiencing child custody and visitation issues, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.

Source: Mother accused of selling baby gives up custody to husband