July 26, 2020

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

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.

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 28, 2019

Child Custody invesitgations are meant to be confidential even for Lawyers

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

Psychological evaluations of children are confidential. A recent case has come down in California that enforces the idea of confidentialty and the importance of keeping information gotten from a investigation secret. All of this comes from the importances of keeping our children safe from attorneys and the divorcing parties or child custody litigants who are so angry with each other that they will do anything to destroy each others reputation and credibility.

Sadly child custody investigations are really a result of the vicious lawsuits that are filed blaming the other parent of atrocities worse than warfare. The lack of civility has created an area of family law that has become so often used and abused by litigants that we lose site of our children and their needs and concerns. We forget they are lost in the craziness of the parents and their vicious accusations upon one anther without any merit usually.

“Confidential information contained in a report prepared pursuant to Section 3111 that is disclosed to the licensing entity of a child custody evaluator pursuant to subdivision (a) shall remain confidential and shall only be used for purposes of investigating allegations of unprofessional conduct by the child custody evaluator.” This means that the legislature of the State of California takes the child custody investigation so serious that the actual evaluator is held up to a very high standard of confidence about their report. The protection of the children or child is so high that any release of any information will be dealt with as the utmost breach of trust by the Court of Law. This results again from the seriousness of the child custody litigants who are foaming at the mouth to deface the other parent at any cost. They will do whatever it takes to take down the sanctity of parenthood and any good the other parent might offer the children. It just doesnt matter anymore the gloves are off and the boxing match starts.

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.

March 2, 2019

THE SINGER BECK AND HIS SCIENTOLOGY DIVORCE

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

beck The Singer Beck and his wife of 14 years have decided to call it quits and get divorced after a 14 year marriage. The pop star decided it was over after Valentines day this year and gave her the news. Beck is a practicing Scientologist so it adds a twist as to how the two children will be raised post split up. In child custody cases religion can be a major source of conflict on raising the children. This might create a high conflict child custody dispute. The two children are eleven years old and 14 years old. Becks wife is Marissi Ribissi who is the brother of Giovanni Ribissi.

In addition, Beck is actively involved in movie projects which could effect the division of divorce property for the two exes. Movie project residuals will cause a dispute among Hollywood A listers when they get divorced. Earlier this week, Beck released a song called “Super Cool” for the soundtrack of “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.”

Beck has won seven Grammy’s in his career, including Album of the Year in 2015 for “Morning Phase.” He won two at this year’s awards: Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

May 30, 2018

Kentucky states Judges must presume shared parenting plan in child custody battles.

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

In June, Kentucky will become the first state to require a presumption of equally shared parenting in child-custody cases even when one or more parents is opposed. While it’s common for states to prefer joint custody when both parents are amenable, Kentucky’s presumption will apply even without divorcing parents on board. This is a major breakthrough in developing a parenting plan that is often difficult and expensive to come by in family law Courts in California and across the United States.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed the measure in April, declaring that judges must presume “that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of the child” in almost all divorce cases. Last year, Kentucky required the same presumption for temporary child-custody cases while divorce is pending. Again, for a state to implement such a broad and powerful message to family law courts across America and Kentucky is quite outstanding. Custody is often so tumultuous to fight in court that to add a presumption of 50/50 without any fighting in court is really setting a different type of family law custody standard now.

Exceptions exist for situations “involving an incident of domestic violence within the preceding three years” or where “there has been a domestic violence order entered” or being entered. Obviously when there is violence the joint custody presumption must be sidelined in order to keep the child safe from any potential violence or abuse.

November 28, 2017

Married At First Sight star from the Chicago season gets divorced

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

Married at First Sight” star Nate Duhon last week filed to divorce Sheila Downs, whom he met and married last year at the Palmer House Hilton as cameras rolled for the Lifetime network series. What is not stated about divorces is that getting married can be very easy and without any complications. However, getting divorced can be very complicated and very difficult. The fun out of the married and whats next a divorce. This is what is sounds like occurred to the couple on the Chicago season of Married at First Sight. Im not sure how well the contestants knew each other before they got married. But from the looks of it they probably did not know each other very well

Duhon, 26, cited irreconcilable differences in his Nov. 14 filing in Cook County court. Downs lives in Arlington Heights, while Duhon has moved back to his home state of Michigan, court records show. Downs and Duhon, who both did not respond to a Tribune request for comment, are the second “Married at First Sight” couple from Season 5 to split.

Apparently Duhon was not the first contestant to seek a divorce on this show as Genoa native Cody Knapek filed for divorce from Chicago dietitian Danielle DeGroot on Sept. 26. That case is expected to be heard in court Wednesday.

November 23, 2017

Angelina Jolie rejects Brad Pitt’s settlement offer for divorce

by Law Offices of David P. Schwarz

It has come to the attention of the public that the ongoing divorce saga of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has made a very interesting turn on the part of the Brad Pitt. It was revealed that Pitt and Jolie have a $400 million divorce. It has become apparent that Brad Pitt has seriously tried to settle the divorce from Angelina Jolie. He does earn more than her however she does earn a substantial amount of money as well. However, during long term marriages in California both parties have to maintain the standard of living they had lived during the marriage. Therefore Brad Pitt after having consulted his lawyer probably decided to make an initial offer to Angelina in a show of good faith. However Angelina turned down Brad’s divorce settlement offer. “Brad basically told his attorney to give Angie whatever amount of money she wants to settle the divorce, even though they have a prenup,” an insider tells us, adding “he is willing to give her half” of his $250 million fortune. Having a prenuptial agreement is a strong position for Brad Pitt to be in under these circumstances where he might have earning more money than Angelina. However, I think Brad is not holding fast to a document that will dictate how his finances are disbursed during a divorce. He is definitely taking the high road. He is also thinking about how Angelina needs to live and how she lived during the marriage.

But despite his generosity, Angelina, 42, won’t take it. “Angie has rejected every single monetary settlement offer,” says the insider, adding that she’s also continued to push back on his efforts to gain more custody of their six kids, Maddox, 16, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 11, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 9. Herein lies the problem with settling the divorce. If Angelina is holding tight to keep Brad out of the children’s lives it could be a long and drawn out divorce that might not have an immediate end as to an entire divorce judgment on all issues. There might be a reservation on certain issues that will be litigated in the future if need be.

“He isn’t trying to buy Angie off and couldn’t care less about how he is perceived in the public eye when they do come to an eventual settlement,” says the insider, explaining that after weathering a child abuse investigation last year (he eventually was cleared of any wrongdoing) and publicly confessing that he’s struggled with alcohol issues for years, Brad, 53, feels he has nothing left to lose. “Brad’s motivation is first and foremost the kids,” insists the insider. “Giving Angie a substantial chunk of his fortune will give the kids the quality of life they are used to with no changes.”