Articles Posted in Family Law

After announcing their separation months ago, David Arquette has finally filed the Petition for dissolution of marriage from Courteney Cox Arquette. In the court documents filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Arquette is requesting joint legal and joint physical custody of the parties’ daughter, Coco. He is also requesting that property rights be determined.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer’s perspective, interestingly, there is no mention on how he would like relief for child support or spousal support. Additionally, according to the petition, the parties were married for a long term marriage of 12 years, 6 months so if Arquette would to request spousal support from Cox, he would be entitled to same indefinitely unless of course, they agreed to a different amount, time period or waive it completely.

Most likely the big issue here is how the couple will share joint physical custody of their daughter, Coco.

Marc Anthony has filed for a Los Angeles County divorce from his soon to be ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez. Filing under his legal name, Marco Muniz, cited irreconcilable differences and requests joint legal and joint physical custody of the parties’ 4 year old twins, Max and Emme. Additionally, Anthony specified a “TBD” as the date of separation.

The couple appear to be very cordial in the public eye as they work together promoting their television talent show “Q’Viva! The Chosen.” Let’s hope they can amicably work out are reasonable settlement to their divorce.

From an Orange County divorce lawyer’s perspective, the parties will have to resolve issues pertaining to child custody, child visitation, child support, spousal support, property division and payment of attorney fees and costs.

So, its a new year and a new you! You may be going through a Los Angeles County or Orange County divorce or are contemplating getting a divorce. Going through a divorce is an emotional and stressful time not only for the parties involved but for the children, if there are any. Here are some stress release tips on coping during such a painful period.

1) Get a breathe of fresh air. Take a walk through a mall or a park. It will remind you that there is life after an Orange County or Los Angeles County divorce.

2) Get your yoga on! I turned to yoga about 5 years ago when I suffered severe lower back pain from lifting weights. I started practicing yoga heavily in April of 2009 about 5-6 times a week to help with the “mental” stress of being a lawyer. Now, I’m an addict! I love practicing yoga on a daily basis to clear the mind, strengthen the body, challenge the body and most importantly…. to just “be”.

Last week the internet was a buzz over Russell Brand’s divorce filing from Katy Perry. Reports are stating that the couple did not have a prenuptual agreement. Pursuant to California law, since it is a community property state, all assets acquired by the couple duirng marriage will be divided 50/50.

Forbes magazine estimates that Perry’s net worth is $44 million and that Brand’s net worth is $15 million. From an Orange County divorce lawyer’s standpoint, luckily the couple do not have any children. Otherwise, child custody and visitation issues would inevitably be raised.

Unless the parties agree to waive receipt of spousal support, Perry will likely have to pay Brand spousal support for one-half of the length of the marriage. Further, if there were assets that were acquired during the marriage, absent a prenuptual agreement, the parties will have to divide same equally.

A recent California appellate court ruling may have significant consequences for a small number of people facing unusual family and civil law cases here in Orange County and elsewhere throughout the state. According to Metropolitan News Service, the ruling by the state’s Sixth District Court of Appeal establishes new criteria for what is known as the “putative spouse test,” allowing courts to use subjective criteria in determining the outcome of a case.

A “putative spouse” is someone who, in good faith, believes themselves to be married even though the union is, in fact, void (for example, because a California divorce has not been obtained to dissolve an earlier marriage). In this particular case the court was addressing the question of whether “a woman who claims she did not know that the man she married was already married to someone else” could file a wrongful death suit related to the demise of her ‘husband.’

According to Metropolitan, Nancy Ceja married her husband Robert in 2003 three months before his divorce from his first wife became official. Robert died in an on-the-job accident in 2007. Nancy claimed that she only discovered the couple’s marriage had never been valid when she moved to file a wrongful death suit related to Robert’s passing.