Orange County Divorce Lawyer Blog

Another tale of an international child custody battle now focuses on the case of Orange County's own Andrew Ko and his 9 year old twins.

In August of 2009, the divorced father tossed around a football with his 9-year-old twins, Christopher and William, after visiting their grandmother in Newport Beach, California.
The next day, Aug. 30, he played basketball with them before their piano lesson. Their mother, Mei Wang, came by at 6 p.m. that Sunday to pick them up. Ko did the "1, 2, 3" routine with his sons: a tap of foreheads, kisses, and then hugs. "See you Wednesday!'' he told them. He didn't.

On Aug. 31, 2009, when the twins' mother was supposed to take her sons to school, Wang, 45, instead put them on a plane and fled with them to her native Singapore - defying a court order and launching her ex-husband on an international crusade to get them back.

Continue reading "Custody Battle surrounds Orange County's Andrew Ko" »

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a California child custody case dealing with the parenting rights of a lesbian couple who separated shortly after the birth of their daughter. The Supreme Court's decision not to rule on the California child custody and parental rights dispute leaves intact a state court ruling which held that the biological mother's former partner "had been fully involved in conceiving and taking care of the child and was legally her co-parent," according to a recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

California parental disputes involving same sex couples are an area of the law that is still developing. In this case, according to the Chronicle, the parents of the now six-year-old girl split up only three months after her birth. The birth mother, who has since moved to Texas, argued as part of the California child custody dispute that her former partner had only been involved with the child for a few months and that acknowledging parental status would infringe on her rights as a mother.

The state court ruling, which stands because of the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case, held that the ex-partner had gained California parental status through her involvement in planning the child's conception and delivery and in acting as the child's parent before breaking up with the biological mother. It noted that a man in a heterosexual relationship in which the circumstances were otherwise similar would be considered the father under California family law.

The Chronicle quotes the partner's attorney praising the court's decision, saying it "shows that California courts will protect both members of a same-sex couple who decide to have a child together." The paper said that attorneys for the birth mother were unavailable for comment.

The circumstances of every Southern California family law and child custody dispute are unique. When a relationship - especially one involving children - goes sour it is important to consult a Los Angeles, Orange County or San Bernardino County child custody lawyer as soon as possible, regardless of whether or not the partners have ever been legally married. An experienced Costa Mesa or Anaheim family law attorney will be abreast of both California family and child custody law and of any nuances that apply to your particular case.

San Francisco Chronicle: Lesbian mom must share parental status with ex

A growing international custody battle involving a New Jersey police officer and his ex-wife, a native of the Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain, includes a Southern California custody aspect. According to a recent report in the Philadelphia Daily News Jeff Walding's ex-wife, Deana Jahani, was living in Southern California until last summer when she traveled to Bahrain with the couple's 8 year old daughter.

International custody battles can be among the most complex, and emotionally draining, California child custody disputes. A recent high profile case pitting an American father against his Brazilian former in-laws took five years to resolve. In Walding and Jahani's case, the Daily News reports, the couple had been awarded joint custody with their daughter residing with her mother and attending school in Southern California. Last summer, Jahani took the girl to Bahrain for a vacation. Walding told the paper that his ex made repeated excuses (such as flight delays) for failing to return to the United States, before emailing him at Christmas to announce that she planned to stay in the Gulf. Both Walding and Jahani have set up facebook pages seeking to enlist supporters for their respective sides in the custody dispute.

Walding has filed a family court petition to be declared parent of primary residence. The petition also seeks to bar his ex-wife from traveling overseas with their daughter without his permission - a stipulation that, of course, would only be enforceable were Jahani to return to the United States in the first place. The paper reports that New Jersey courts denied a similar request at the time of the couple's divorce in 2007, despite Jahani having already, at that time, taken the girl to Bahrain for 10 months on one occasion. As the Brazilian case highlights, however, even winning such a judgment can be only the first step in an exceedingly long and complex legal process for a parent to win and obtain custody of a child abducted by an ex-spouse.

If you are a Southern California parent who finds him or herself in this tragic position (or fears that as a marriage dissolves you may), consulting with a Los Angeles or Orange County child custody lawyer at the earliest opportunity is imperative. Fighting for your rights in California family court can be difficult, especially for fathers. A Costa Mesa father's rights attorney is an essential ally as you navigate our complex, and often confusing, legal system. With international custody cases sometimes taking years to resolve, it is important to have a California custody attorney who will fight for you working on your behalf from Day One.

Philadelphia Daily News: N.J. dad fears custody battle is at point of no return

New moves are afoot in Congress as well as in some states to safeguard the child custody rights of military parents. In California, and throughout the nation, long - and sometimes repeated - military deployments can become issues in child custody disputes. Typical of the horror stories generated by this issue is the case of a National Guard soldier from Vermont who returned from a tour of duty in Iraq to find "to find that his ex-partner had been granted full custody of their child in his absence," according to a recent newspaper report on the issue.

The fact that the laws governing these disputes vary significantly from state to state only serves to complicate matters further. According to the California Alliance for Families and Children, our state is in better shape than most on this score. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation in 2005 designed to protect and clarify the California child custody rights of parents serving in the military. Other states, such as Vermont, are still debating such legislation.

As a newspaper in Ohio recently reported, however, some members of Congress are pushing to establish national standards. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently agreed to meet with Ohio Congressman Michael Turner to discuss the issue. Turner, who has introduced legislation on the topic four times since 2007, is seeking the military's support for a federal bill designed to remove state-by-state uncertainty over deployments and their impact on child custody questions in California and around the country.

Even with legislation designed to protect soldier-parents in place, California child custody cases can be made more complex when the military service of one (or both) parents becomes an issue. This may especially be the case if one of the parents lives in another state where the laws may be more favorable to their circumstances.

Situations such as these highlight the importance of having an experienced California child custody lawyer on your side throughout any Los Angeles or Orange County divorce and child custody proceeding. Protecting all of the rights you enjoy as a parent is a central element of your California custody attorney's job. You should expect your attorney to keep up on changes in California's custody laws as well as those of other states that might have a bearing on your case.

Centerville-Bellbrook Times: Turner to meet with Defense Secretary Gates

Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus: Vt. Guard Backs Bill on Child Custody

California Alliance for Families & Children: Details of SB1082

The sad saga of a Brea couple and their lengthy fight to retain a relationship with their small grandson was detailed recently in the Los Angeles Times.

In 2006, Gilbert and Irene Reyes' son Alex was shot and killed by his wife's grandmother. At the time of the incident Alex and his wife Leslie, parents of a small boy, were in the process of getting a California divorce. After Alex's death a court awarded the Reyes' "eight hours of visitation every other weekend" with their grandson. Soon afterward, however, Leslie moved to the Chicago area without informing her former in-laws.

The Reyes' story is a reminder of the difficulties many grandparents face in trying to secure California visitation rights. As the newspaper details, it is was only after several years of both California family court and Illinois court battles that the Reyes' were awarded a regular visitation schedule with their grandson (once per month in Chicago, where Leslie now lives, and three one-week visits in California each year).

As the Reyes case highlights, the rights of grandparents are very limited when compared to those of parents. Further complicating matters, this issue is governed by state, not federal, law and the situation can vary significantly from state to state - a key factor if, as in the Reyes case, a parent has moved to a different state with the child.

With so many complex issues potentially in play, it is especially important that grandparents who find themselves in an Orange County visitation fight consult a Southern California family law attorney with expertise in child custody and visitation issues. Protecting grandparents' rights can be challenging - but it is not impossible. The first step is to obtain the right legal assistance. A Costa Mesa or Brea custody and visitation lawyer can help in your fight to maintain a relationship with your grandchildren.

Los Angeles Times: Brea couple fight for relationship with grandson

Dennis Hopper is involved in his own bitter California child custody dispute with soon to be ex-wife, Victoria Duffy. Hopper, 73, who is undergoing chemotherapy for advanced, metastasized prostate cancer, filed declarations along with his children, doctors and assistant in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.

The director and co-star of "Easy Rider" filed for a California divorce from Duffy, 42, on January 14, and said in a subsequent statement that he wanted to spend "these difficult days surrounded by my children and close friends."

The California divorce battle is largely a tug-of-war over the couple's daughter, Galen. Hopper hopes a judge will mandate daily visitation, because he claimed Duffy had taken her away from him for extended periods. From an Orange County divorce attorney's perspective, it is not adviseable to deny the other parent frequent and continuing contact with the child.

Court documents details a lot of screaming and shouting among the inhabitants of Hopper's five-home compound in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Venice, with Duffy cast as the villain.

Duffy is variously described as "extremely volatile" "insane and out of her mind," and "inhuman." Her husband of 13 years, meanwhile, has shrunk to 120 pounds (54 kg) and vomits after taking his medication, according to the papers.

Continue reading "California Child Custody Dispute involving Dennis Hopper" »

In Korea, a new law will not automatically transfer custody to the surviving parent when the parent who had sole custody of a child dies. Instead, the surviving parent will have to be evaluated by a court. The revision was passed in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday and will come into effect three months after it is ratified in the National Assembly.

From an Orange County family law perspective, if a parent who was awarded sole legal and sole physical custody of a child on post-judgment matter died, the surviving parent is not automatically granted custody. In fact, guardianship proceedings will likely have to take place. The surviving parent is not automatically awarded child custody upon the other parent's death.

Continue reading "Child Custody Issues Arise Upon Death of Divorced Parent" »

A Santa Cruz court is due tomorrow to set a date for an unusual California child custody trial, according to a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News. The case involves a lesbian couple who agreed to raise twin boys one of them had conceived through artificial insemination. Shortly after the birth of the babies, however, the couple separated and the biological mother moved in with the man who had served as her sperm donor. Now the biological mother and the sperm donor - the children's biological parents - are now suing for full California child custody.

The case is complicated by the fact that the mother and her ex-partner had agreed to raise the children together, and both of their names appear as parents on the birth certificate. According to the newspaper, however, the partner never formally adopted the twins, and the couple were never registered with the state as domestic partners. The fact that the sperm donor is known, acknowledged by both sides as the biological father of the boys and that he is now in a romantic relationship with their biological mother makes this case particularly unusual and complex.

Changing times, and an evolving conception of what defines a 'family' have led to the emergence of many complications in California custody law in recent years as courts struggle to reach fair rulings in situations that might have been unthinkable a generation or two ago. In this case, the paper reports, a Santa Cruz judge has granted the ex-partner's request for visitation pending the outcome of the trial.

The paper also notes that both sides say they have tried unsuccessfully to settle out of court. The pain and expense of a trial is something most California child visitation and custody lawyers will try to help their clients avoid whenever possible. The paper reports, however, that the entire case is still further complicated by the fact that all three parties readily admit that "there were no written, legal parenting arrangements" agreed between them at the time the mother became pregnant.

Though a tragic situation for the three adults involved in what may prove to be a drawn-out case, this story is also a reminder of the importance of careful thought, and the drawing up of legal agreements, before couples embark on non-traditional roads to family building. A Southern California family law firm can offer detailed advice on the paperwork and agreements you may wish to consider given the particulars of your own circumstances.

San Jose Mercury News: Santa Cruz court to hear former lesbian partners' custody dispute over twins

Tiger Woods' personal life has become a very public shambles and it is widely reported that his wife is preparing to file for a California divorce from the golf legend. Now, another element of the ongoing Woods drama is leading to calls for an official investigation. A Florida State Senator is questioning whether a recent visit to Woods' home by investigators from the state's Department of Children & Families was prompted by a false abuse claim.

The investigators' visit to the Woods' home made headlines around the world last month. Nothing, however, came of it; and that has led State Sen. Ronda Storms to wonder whether the allegations that Woods' two young children were subject to abuse might have originated with paparazzi desperate for a story. "To use the resources of the state for some grand celebrity theater is completely unacceptable," she said, according to a recent article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

As the newspaper notes, unfounded abuse claims are most commonly filed by one parent (or an allied family member) against another. Here in Southern California they can sometimes be used as a weapon in divorce or Orange County child custody proceedings. A Costa Mesa family law firm with expertise in child custody issues can be an important ally if you find yourself facing unfounded accusations designed to undermine your Orange County custody claims. Consulting with a Los Angeles or Orange County custody and visitation attorney as soon as possible is a key step in protecting your parental rights, as well as your good name.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Was Tiger the victim of a false child abuse report?

It was reported today that Alla Kournikova, mother of tennis star Anna Kournikova, was arrested and put in jail on January 19, 2010 on charges of child neglect after leaving her 5-year-old son, Allen, home alone in her $2 million Palm Beach home for more than 50 minutes while she went to the bank and post office. The police report affidavit indicates that a little boy named Allen, a half-brother of the tennis star, was "soaking wet and walking in front of his house, acting very upset." The caller told police that the child said he "had jumped out of a window." This is just plain ridiculous. If this woman was getting a divorce here in Orange County, her spouse would have a lot of ammunition for a drawn out custody battle. A responsible parent would never leave a five year old alone. Period. Not even for a split second.

Continue reading "In California, at what age are Minor Children allowed to be left home alone?" »

A recent article in the New York Times lays out the particulars of a custody case currently being heard in Illinois for which a California ruling of a generation ago may provide the key precedent. The family court is being asked to decide custody of a five month old boy whose mother is a quadriplegic. Though the mother, according to the paper, lives with the child's grandmother and "has a full-time aide and a trained service dog" the boy's father is claiming her disability renders her an unfit mother.

The California family law connection comes from a 1979 case in which the California Supreme Court "granted a paralyzed father custody of his two sons, despite a lower court's ruling that the man could not play ball or go fishing with the boys." Courts, of course, are supposed to rule in accordance with the "best interests" of the child. But, as the article notes, "best interests" is a phrase that can be defined in many ways.

Child custody, whether here in California or elsewhere, is inevitably a difficult and emotional issue. If you believe your spouse or ex-spouse is unreasonably claiming that you are an unfit parent it is important to contact a Southern California child custody lawyer as soon as possible. In Orange County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and elsewhere in Southern California, custody battles can be lengthy and emotionally draining. A full-service Orange County family law firm can help you plan the best legal strategy in terms of both protecting your parental custody and visitation rights and securing your own assets against unreasonable custody or support claims.

New York Times: Should a Quadriplegic Mom Have Custody?

In the wake of actor Charlie Sheen's Christmas Day arrest on charges of menacing, assault and criminal mischief questions have also arisen over the Los Angeles County child custody situation surrounding his children.

Sheen's alleged assault on his wife, Brooke Mueller, took place in Colorado, but numerous media reports indicate authorities in that state have passed the lead on issues related to the couple's children to the LA County Department of Children and Family Services, which has reportedly begun an investigation. Sheen and Mueller are the parents of twin 9-month old boys. Sheen also has two daughters by his ex-wife, actress Denise Richards.

The Southern California child custody investigation Sheen and Mueller now find themselves facing is evidence of the seriousness with which the authorities treat potential threats to children arising from marital disputes. According to a recent report on FoxNews.com there have been indications that the children could be temporarily removed from both parents custody.

For any Southern California parent facing a difficult and complicated situation involving DCFS the advice and assistance of a Los Angeles County or Orange County family law attorney is crucial. California child custody and visitation issues can be both legally complex and emotionally stressful. Having an experienced Costa Mesa custody attorney available to help you through the process from its first stages through to a final family court judgment can be the key to a successful outcome.

Fox News: Report: Charlie Sheen, Brooke Mueller Could Lose Custody of Sons

E! Online: Could Charlie Sheen lose custody of his kids?

A Malibu couple have lost their bid to win custody of their orphaned grandchildren, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles County child custody case is the second high-profile international custody decision involving Americans to come down in recent weeks, and highlights the complex and emotional nature of international child custody disputes. This latest ruling means the children, ages 11 and 7, will remain in the primary care of their maternal grandmother, who lives in a remote area of Southern Argentina.

According to an Associated Press report published in the Times, the children's parents died in a car crash in 2008 leaving behind a hand-written will giving custody to the maternal grandmother. The paternal grandparents, who live in Malibu, contested custody, claiming the older child, who was severely injured in the same car crash, needed medical care that was not obtainable in Argentina. They also questioned whether the Argentine grandmother would allow the children to visit California for one month per year, as required by earlier court rulings.

Idaho's Supreme Court, however, ruled unanimously that the law gives precedence to the deceased parents' wishes.

Child custody decisions are always complex, and often emotional. Though the paternal grandparents in this case live in Southern California the case was heard in Idaho because that is where the children and their parents resided prior to the parents' deaths. Los Angeles and Orange County custody cases that stretch across state lines and international borders are especially complicated. In such circumstances it is particularly important to have an experienced and compassionate Southern California family law attorney on your side. A properly drawn-up will should be an essential part of everyone's estate planning. Such a document can help ensure that, in the event of your death, your wishes for the disposition of you children and their long term unfold in the way you hope and intend.

AP published in the Los Angeles Times: Idaho Supreme Court says Argentine grandma to keep custody of orphaned Idaho kids

Following-up an item I blogged about in mid-October (click here for the earlier post), an Orange County Family court has reportedly turned down a request for increased Orange County visitation rights by the ex-wife of TV star Jesse James.

According to the Hollywood-news website The Insider the court rejected a request by James' ex-wife, a former porn star, that her weekly visits with their five year old daughter by allowed to extend overnight (they are currently confined to daylight hours). The site reports, however, that the court did make an exception for Christmas Eve, when the mother will be allowed to keep the girl overnight provided she is returned to her father by noon on Christmas Day.

James, a resident of Sunset Beach and the star of Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage", has been locked in the custody battle since his ex-wife's release from prison earlier this year. The little girl lives with James and his current wife, Sandra Bullock (yes, that Sandra Bullock).

Put aside the high-profile nature of this case, however, and it is really not that different from the sort of disputes Orange County Family courts see every day: a bitter custody battle in which one spouse essentially claims that the other cannot be trusted with the welfare of a small child, even for relatively brief periods of time.

Whichever side of a dispute like this you find yourself on, skilled Southern California family law help is essential. An experienced and compassionate Orange County child custody lawyer can offer crucial advice and legal representation to help you through the often wrenching process of an Orange County custody dispute.

The Insider: Sandra Bullock's Husband Jesse James Wins Battle Over Visitation Rights

Jon & Kate Plus 8 officially ended their show yesterday. Jon & Kate Plus 8 initially aired in 2007 and chronicled the lives of a young couple and their 8 children.

"This is a very bittersweet goodbye for me because the kids are already missing it," Kate Gosselin said. "Our show has provided opportunities that we wouldn't have otherwise had. I feel like it's been taken from us. From me and the kids. I don't like ends. I don't like goodbyes. It's needless; it's useless. It was totally avoidable."

"Our marriage fell apart, and I felt like I was free," Jon said. He dismissed the past eight months, during which tabloids and newspapers chronicled his string of new girlfriends and partying, by explaining that he believes he was sowing his wild oats. "I got married at 22, so maybe I reverted to 23," Jon said.

Continue reading "Jon & Kate: What Not to do During a Divorce" »