Orange County Divorce Lawyer Blog

In California, we do not recognize common law marriages. In an interesting twist over the battle for Gary Coleman's estate, his ex-wife, Shannon Price is now asking the Utah courts to recognize her alleged common law marriage to Gary Coleman. She requests the commencement date to be the date of the divorce filing through Coleman's death. Ms. Price claims that she and Mr. Coleman continued to live together and they also continued to hold themselves out as husband and wife. Coleman most likely had a will in place awarding his estate to his surviving spouse.

It is also interesting to note that Coleman's ex-girlfriend, Anna Gray, contends that a 2005 document awards her Coleman's estate.

Whatever the case may be, a probate court will have to deal with these individuals wanting a piece of Coleman's estate. Since California does not recognize common law marriages and if you and your live-in partner have an agreement that sets forth any "promises" and if those promises are not kept, your best option would likely not be in a family law court. Contact a Costa Mesa divorce attorney to explore your options.

Source: Coleman's Ex Wife wants Common Law marriage recognized

By now, we all know of the untimely death of child star, Gary Coleman. It was reported last week that Shannon Price, the ex-wife of Coleman, requested to be appointed special administrator of Gary Coleman's estate. Price based this request on a handwritten document purportedly written by Gary Coleman making her the sole beneficiary of his estate. The alleged handwritten document appears to have been executed in 2007, When Coleman passed away, Price and Coleman were already divorced. Generally speaking, when couples are in the process of a divorce, the smart thing to do would be to consult a probate attorney and make arrangements to modify one's will or trust if they have no intent to bequeth assets to their soon to be ex-spouse. In an intereseting twist, Price is now claiming that she and Coleman were in a common law marital relationship, despite being previously officially divorced.

From an Orange County divorce attorney point of view, in California, common law marriages are not recognized. California is a community property State, which means all property acquired by couples during the marriage with community property funds should be subject to an equal division upon divorce.

According to Utah statutes, the law requires that couples "request to have a common-law marriage recognized" during the relationship or within one year after the end of the relationship. It is unclear if Price and Coleman had their purported common law marriage recognized.

If you are contemplating a California divorce, please contact an Orange County divorce attorney for information.

Source: Shannon Price: I was Gary Coleman's Common Law Wife

In one of the stranger Hollywood divorce twists in recent memory, a number of recent media reports indicate actor Dennis Hopper has filed for California divorce from his wife Victoria even as he lies dying of prostate cancer. A persistent theme of the reporting is that money - specifically the disposition of the actor's estate when he passes away - may lie at the heart of this unusual situation.

Hopper, 73, has a famously rocky personal life (one of his marriages lasted only eight days). Victoria is his fifth wife and by most accounts their 14-year marriage has brought the actor some personal stability. Media reports say a battle between Victoria and Hopper's adult daughter (from an earlier marriage) Marin may be at the root of a dispute over money and custody of the couple's six-year-old daughter.

It is difficult, of course, for outsiders to judge these things, but if the picture painted in the media is accurate the various members of the Hopper family seem destined to end up in court. This will be especially true if reports that the actor is heavily medicated most of the time - and, therefore, arguably not completely in control of his faculties - prove to be accurate.

As any Los Angeles family law attorney could advise, the Hopper situation is an example of why California estate planning and other family legal matters should never be left until the last minute, particularly in cases such as this where it is unclear that a California prenuptial agreement exists. Putting one's affairs in order before health issues arise is always a wise move. An Orange County family law attorney can advise clients on estate planning, as well as child custody and visitation issues that may arise in wake of the death of one or both parents.

A major goal of such planning should be to avoid a situation in which uncertainty about your wishes leads to family members to spend the months or years following your death fighting each other in court.

ABC News: Why is Dennis Hopper divorcing his wife from what may be his deathbed?

Huffington Post: Dennis Hopper Divorce Shocker

Unless you want your soon to be ex-spouse to inherit your share of the community estate, you ought to consider immediately changing your will pending your divorce. If you wait until your divorce is final, it could cause the wrong result in the event of your untimely death.

Typically, if you are married, your will might provide that your surviving spouse act as the executor of your estate. Your will might include provisions that all assets you own pass to your surviving spouse. If there is no will, the decedent's share of the community property will pass to the surviving spouse and potentially all of the decedent's separate proeprty will pass to the surviving spouse. California Probate Code Section 6401.

Pursuant to CA Probate Code Section 6122, a Judgment for Dissolution revokes an existing will as to the former spouse's rights. However, separating or filing for divorce does not. Pursuant to CA Probate Code Section 78, during the divorce, the parties remain married and have all the beenfits provided to a spouse by law in the event of death.

Moral of the story: if you do not want your soon to be ex-spouse to inherit your assets, change your will sooner rather than later pending the divorce proceedng. Contact an Orange County Divorce Attorney for more information.