September 9, 2020

If the court does order you to help contribute toward your child’s college expenses, the law provides limits regarding what you can be asked to pay.

If you have children, you have probably given a great deal of thought to the fact that they will one day graduate from high school and head off to the world of higher education. Of course, along with that idea comes the realization of just how expensive it is going to be to send your children to college. Over the last several decades, the cost of tuition at a four-year private university has more than doubled. During that same period, the average tuition at a four-year public school has more than tripled!

Determining how—or even if—you are going to pay for your child’s college education or child support is hard enough for parents who are still married to one another. For those who are divorced, the decision is often even more complicated.

College Expenses as a Financial Decision During Divorce

August 14, 2020

Domestic violence and the quarantine of covid

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

In California and especially in Orange County California the pandemic hit hard with a sudden blow to the financial and economic freedoms we used to have prior to the Covid scare. The County was shut down and people were sent to their homes packing and hiding out from this disease which took jobs and safety of the outside world away. Kids were on lock-down along with adults and married couples were forced to face their significant others on a day to day pace. When the pandemic first hit parts of the United States issued a stay-at-home order to curve the spread of the virus, emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence said their phones went silent. Often people were trapped and or are trapped with a perpetrator of domestic violence. The signs where not there before but now they appear.

people are out there experiencing violence in their homes, experiencing violence in their daily lives and they either don’t know where to go and how to take care of the situation. Its covid or being beat. Thats why domestic violence is a very scary and silent villain during the time of covid. Shelters are out there and they can be a safe haven for people and kids. Its just a phone call away.

Since they stay at home order was lifted the number of calls has spiked and the Women’s Crisis Support Team has seen some serious situations.

July 26, 2020

How to handle the family law court system during the pandemic of Covid 19

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

In recent months the Orange County Court system has gone through some very drastic and revolutionary changes on how to manage Court hearings and trials. The old method of in person hearings in front of a Judge are a thing of the past for now. Orange County has implemented the video conference through the internet as the prime means of hearing cases for the parties. Judges can take evidence and testimony while the parties are online and on a video chat mode. There are several means of doing this already being used by the Orange County Court system. Primarily Judges use Webex. An alternative to Zoom meetings. In addition some judges use Microsoft meetings. If you find yourself unable to use any of these methods of communication used by the courts then there are alternatives to consider. Please read further for the non video way to resolve your family law case.

For those facing divorce, custody issues, post judgment issues, or any family matter, there are alternatives to consider.

Mediation is a process in which the parties hire a neutral individual who has been trained, and certified as a mediator to help them reach a resolution. In family law cases, the mediator is typically someone who has had significant experience practicing family law, or may be a retired family court judge. The mediator does not advocate for either party nor does the mediator give legal advice.. After the parties reach an agreement, the mediator typically prepares an agreement and advises the parties to seek their own separate lawyers to review the agreement, and make sure it is fair for both of them. Then, one of the parties will typically have their attorneys provide the agreement to the court, and in the case of the divorce, obtain the official judgment of divorce. In certain cases, such as ones in which there are complex issues, mediation will be conducted with each person having their own attorney participate as well.

May 14, 2020

The Facebook posting dilema

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a troubling decision last week, in which it ruled that an order preventing a parent from posting about his children on social media violated the father’s constitutional right to freedom of speech. Even if the court entered the order in question to protect the child, this decision will no doubt reverberate throughout the country, and be the subject of similar cases in which parents in the midst of nasty custody battles seek to wage their wars publicly.In the case in question (Shak v. Shak), the court entered an order, which is common in any custody matter, which prohibited the father from posting disparaging remarks about the mother and the ongoing litigation on social media. After a second court hearing, the Court further refined the order to more narrowly define what was not allowed. The court included that social media postings could not contain comments about the mother’s morality or parenting ability of any minor children. Also, the Court prohibited the posting of a litany of curse words.

These types of orders are commonplace in family law matters. In California which is quite liberal in protecting the children by any means might have come down differently than Massachusetts. However, this ruling definitely opens the flood gates for parents to write how they feel about the other parent without any restrictions or thought about how it might hurt the other parent and the child in the long run.

The Family law court already stands in the place of a parent. They are forced to make parental decisions that the biological parent cannot make on their own. Thus the creation of the family law court. Question remains what is the balance of the authority of the Court as a representative as the good parent and the parents right to destroy the other parent through social media or other means. The real life dilemma is very constant in the court setting. the animosity and vitriol between the parties is thick and dirty. How does a Judge who has no relation to the parents effectively place boundaries on parents who are essentially acting like children. and bad ones at that.

September 17, 2019

ADELE DIVORCE

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

Singer, Adele, has filed for divorce from her husband, Simon Konecki. She plans to co-parent their son, Angelo, age 6. This is a major child custody issue that is the forefront of their divorce.

The singer, who filed for divorce from her estranged husband in Los Angeles, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

Spousal support, as well as the separation of their assets and properties, will be determined in mediation, according to the documents. Support can be long term financial concern for parties during a long term marriage so hopefully that part of the divorce can be settled during the mediation process

According to several media outlets, it is believed that she and Konecki did not sign a Prenuptial Agreement prior to the marriage. This could mean any property acquired by the parties during the marriage will be divided through community property laws. One of the benefits of signing a Prenuptial Agreement prior to getting married is to protect your separate property assets. Another benefit is that if you plan to be married for a long time, you have the ability to set limitations on how much spousal support or alimony will be paid out depending on the length of the marriage. Usually people that have been successful will have a prenuptial agreement written prior to the marriage to ensure her long term royalties do not become split among the parties. Even so Adele could have attempted to draft a post nuptial agreement is she so wished to protected what she had made thus far from her lucrative career and protect all the royalties that she made and would make in the future.

According to California law, in the event of a divorce, in a marriage of ten years or less, the recipient of spousal support is entitled to spousal support for one-half of the length of the marriage. So, for instance, if a couple marries and divorces after 8 years of marriage, the recipient of spousal support will only be entitled to spousal support for a period of only 4 years.

Another interesting issue that has come up in Adele’s divorce filing is that she chose to file for divorce in California. Adele also is a British citizen so going back to England to file a divorce would not be out of the question. She could make things really difficult with custody issues as well by dividing the child between the two countries. However she did not do this. Apparently, the former couple own property in California and Konecki’s business is based out of California. This brings up residency issues. You cannot simply file a divorce petition based on the fact that you own property in that State. In order to obtain residence in California, you must have been a resident of the state for at least 6 months and in the county where you intend to for for at least 3 months. I believe Adele lives somewhere in Beverly Hills so if that is the case, she could file her Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in California and in Los Angeles County provided she meets the residency requirements.

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August 4, 2019

Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss divorce is final; no domestic violence charges

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

Bachelor’ creator Mike Fleiss’ divorce is final; ex-wife drops assault allegations

June 6, 2019

Divorce and business valuation compleixities

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

The Valuation Dilemma

The most contentious business issue in many divorce proceedings is the value of the business that must be divided as part of the divorce settlement. Valuation is an inexact science, and the divorcing couple can easily spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on expert and legal fees battling it out over the value of one or more private companies included in the marital estate. This challenging issue is not subject to any easy fix. But there are some options the couple may want to consider before engaging in an expensive and time-consuming valuation battle.

Marital settlement agreements are common documents used to mitigate problems with divorce litigation. While a pre-nup is more common, couples can also agree to enter into a post-nup that details a property division and removes any conflict regarding the valuation of specific assets. Texas statutes set forth strict requirements to follow for marital agreements be enforceable.

April 26, 2019

Adele’s divorce and the consequence of no prenuptial agreement

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

adele-parenting-trick-t-300x180 News of Adele’s impending divorce from her husband Simon Konecki was a surprise to many, and many more were surprised that the star and her husband had not signed a pre-nuptial agreement. Under California law, Konecki may be entitled to up to half of the singer’s earnings from the time they were married. If they choose to file in California, where they own significant property and Konecki has an office for his company, the pair might have to split everything evenly. Adele has already gifted Konecki a property worth over $600,000, which some see as an indication that the split may be amicable. Adele herself said in a Vanity Fair interview that money is “not that important a part of my life.”

The lack of a pre-nup may seem unusual in the cynical climate of Hollywood’s almost contractual atmosphere surrounding relationships and even marriage. There is a perception that pre-nups are a fact of life, and that all wealthy people have them. In fact, only around 5% of married couples have pre-nups, and only 15% of divorcees say they regret not having had one. There are obvious caveats – Steven Spielberg found out the hard way that pre-nuptial agreements need to be an actual legal document, a literal back-of-the-napkin mistake that cost him a $100 million settlement. Both sides need appropriate counsel and a thorough accounting of their assets, which can make the cost of a pre-nup financially impractical for some.

The other side of the debate over pre-nups is emotional, grounded in a perception that such a document, or even the desire to sign one, is inviting the relationship to fail, tempting fate, or making it easier to get out of. It can even be seen as an indication that there is no trust in the relationship. The reality is, a pre-nup is an important legal tool, one which can be used to protect family assets, ease transitions, and hold individuals accountable. In a climate where up to 50% of marriages end in divorce, a pre-nup can be invaluable.

March 2, 2019

DOES SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT THE OUTCOME OF DIVORCE CASES

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

Social media influences everything these days, from pop-culture to even divorce. To elucidate this point, simply try to find one person in your family, or among your friends, or peers at work that does not have a Facebook account. It is everywhere, unavoidable, and ineluctable. The courtroom is not immune to its presence either. When divorce is involved, the question of electronic evidence, and social media evidence, in particular, comes into play in various ways. Modern relationships fall hazard to the sometimes illicit goings-on of spouses that end up publicized for all the world to see.

Attorneys have to account for these modern times and the Facebook or Instagram posts. Instagram has become the new forerunner of posts into the personal lives of parties. People must become aware that once a divorce opens up on Court the social media accounts become public record. That is to say that they provide an instant insight into happenings of the parties real personal lives and their true feelings about one another and what they are hiding from the divorce proceedings and the court.

The numbers don’t lie here. Social media is affecting relationships and being brought to bear on divorce litigation in serious and important ways. For a lawyer to effectively use (or defend against) social media evidence in a divorce case, he or she needs to understand both the ramifications of admitting such evidence and the legal precedent therein.

February 25, 2019

MEDIATION: IS IT OR ISNT IT THE WAY TO AVOID DIVORCE LITIGATION?

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

Many people feel that if they are going to get divorced they need to find a least adversarial way in order to resolve all the issues of the divorces such as Spousal support, Child support, and property division. And thus recently there has been a push by many divorcees to go the that way. However, issues have arisen that might be an impediment to an easy mediation, divorce free conflict amongst litigants going through a divorce. Everyone believes and rightfully so that everything during the mediation process remains confidential and thus all agreements are set in stone. However, such is not the case.

A recent article from The National Law Review cited a recent case where the confidentiality provision of the medation agreement did not get signed. Therefore the alleged agreement between the parties was not proven to be an agreement in the Court of Law. As a result all the hard work and time and and effort put into paying a mediator and getting a divorce agreement done out of court was for nought. This kind of situation can occur more likely than not if your mediator or the parties are not experienced at doing the mediation process. In the case cited above the alleged agreement between the parties could not be show in the court of law because the parties never signed a waiver of confidentiality clause. Therefore the agreement could not hold weight nor was admissible in the Court of law.

In order for the mediation agreement to be a part of the Divorce proceedings the parties would have needed to sign a waiver of confidentiality which would then let the mediation document become admissible in a court of law. Normally all mediations are confidential and therefore cannot be brought into the legal setting without a waiver of confidentiality signed by both parties.