Mirror of Justice

When to Use a Family Law Attorney

July 19th, 2009 at 04:38pm Under Family Law

A family law attorney can help any family with the various problems that arise throughout the lifetime of a family. Those problems can be divorce, child custody, child support, child visitation, domestic violence, marital assets, spousal support, restraining orders and much more. A family is the foundation of the United States and sometimes families just don’t get along and need to split up.

Divorce is defined as the ending of a marriage in the presence of a court to the extent that the man and woman are no longer legally bound to each other by the same last name. A divorce is not legal unless it is certified by the court and in some jurisdictions of the country, one party or the other must prove fault in the divorce case. A family law attorney can help with divorce proceedings. Going through a divorce can be physically and emotionally draining for everyone involved, including the children, if there are any.

Divorce involves more than just the division of debt and the distribution of property between the two people involved. Divorce also involves deciding on child custody, visitation rights, child support and spousal support. All of this can be done with the help of a family law attorney. Going through a divorce without the helping hand of a lawyer can be a daunting task and can be ultimately impossible to obtain success. The lawyer will be able to help his or her client in regards to what decisions need to be made.

Child custody is one of the most disheartening battles during a divorce because the husband and wife will use different methods of making the other look unfit to care for the children. Many people make up stories of physical and emotional abuse to tell the judge in a child custody battle. This is when a lawyer would be needed. A lawyer can help the person being accused of these horrible actions get through the allegations and present their case in an appropriate manner.

Child and spousal support are not one in the same. Child support is payments that must be made by one half of the couple in a divorce case to the other half of the couple. Child support is to be used for the child’s education, clothing, food, school supplies, medical bills for the child and any other necessities that the child needs to live by. Spousal support on the other hand is payments made to one spouse by the other after a divorce case has been completed. Spousal support goes towards medical bills, legal bills, food, clothing, transportation needs and much more.

If the person who is supposed to be sending the payments refuses to do so or forgets to send them they can be fined by the court or can even face time in jail. A family law attorney will be able to help the party involved in the divorce case receive their payments of spousal support or child support if they are not coming through regularly. All matters involving family law can be resolved with the help of an attorney.

Services From A Riverside Family Law Lawyer

July 19th, 2009 at 04:38am Under Family Law

There are many reasons why hiring an attorney who specializes in family law may become a necessity. The field of family law is a broad one that encompasses many different types of cases and issues. Familiarity of these issues will help one choose the best professionals to help them.

Divorce

Divorce is a painful, stressful process, but a Riverside family law attorney can help make the process a bit easier to handle. This professional can ensure that issues like child custody, child support and spousal support are handled in the fairest way possible. It is generally recommended that each spouse have their own attorney represent their specific interests. Sometimes children are involved in the divorce process, and they may need their own representation as well.

Prenuptial Agreements

Prenuptial agreements have become a common practice today, and for many new couples, this agreement is essential to protecting property, children and businesses. However, a prenup that is not completed or filed properly will not hold water in a court of law. For this reason, it is necessary to hire the services of a professional who will ensure that the process of a prenuptial agreement is followed to the letter, making the agreement legal and legitimate.

Adoption

Adoption is generally a much happier event than divorce, but it is still necessary to have the proper representation of a Riverside family law attorney. If a woman is relinquishing the rights to her child to free him for adoption, she will need representation to ensure that her rights are protected. The adoptive parents will also require representation that can help them file all the correct paperwork to finalize the process.

Paternity

Sometimes the custody of a child cannot be determined until paternity is settled. An experienced family attorney can help to establish paternity that has been ordered by the court, such as in the case where the two parents are not married. Once paternity is established, the child may receive the same rights as children that are born into a marriage. It will also protect the rights of the father to have a relationship with his child and possible custody as well.

Domestic Violence

When domestic violence is occurring, it can be very difficult for the victim to feel comfortable seeking help to get out of the situation. However, a sensitive Riverside family law attorney can handle the situation with privacy and compassion, helping that victim get the help and protection she needs. From filing the protective order to enforcing it, the attorney can be just the one to help a victim get out of this abusive cycle.

There are many aspects of family law that might require the services of a Riverside family law attorney. Whether a family is in the midst of an adoption or a divorce, this professional can ensure that the rights of everyone involved are protected and the final settlement is fair. Many cases that are seen in family court are highly charged and very emotional. It takes the confidence and compassion of a professional well trained in this area to ensure a family law issue is resolved quickly and fairly.

Chula Vista, San Bernardino and Moreno Valley California Education Lawyer Discusses the Homeschooling Court Victory for Parents in California

July 13th, 2009 at 04:09pm Under Education Law

As California’s financial debt, overcrowding and budget cuts eat away at the quality of education being given to students in California, and as the number of families grow who feel they can give their children a better education than is given in public schools, and without the influence of bullies and other disruptive elements in their children’s lives, there is now a significant number of children being homeschooled in California. California education lawyers and education attorneys throughout the State of California have been aware of this large segment for some time now in California.

From Palm Springs to Palm Desert, San Diego to Orange County, from El Cajon and Chula Vista to Anaheim, Irvine, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Anaheim, from Santa Barbara, Ventura, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo to Yorba Linda, Rancho Cucamonga, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Fontana and Fullerton, from Riverside and San Bernardino to La Quinta, Indio and Coachella, the number of children being homeschooled has created a significant number of households in California.

Therefore, when in February 2008, a California court ruled that unless one of the parents of a homeschooled child had a credentialed teaching degree, their children being taught at home were truant, it shocked the families of these homeschooled children.

This ruling was thought to affect 200,000 kids in the State of California. Protests were raised from parents of these children to the Governor of the State.

On rehearing, the same judges made an equally stunning reversal of their opinion. Judge H. Walter Croskey, of the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles wrote that so long as parents declare their home to be a private school, they can continue to homeschool their children, even without credentials.

Parents, especially Christian parents of homeschool children and homeschooling associations hailed the decision. Governor Schwarzenegger perhaps naively expressed his hope that this might settle the issue once and for all.

However, in his decision on the issue, Judge Croskey noted that while California impliedly allows parents to homeschool, California currently has no enforcement mechanism. He said, given the State’s compelling interest in educating its children, and the absence of an express statutory and regulatory framework for homeschooling in California, additional clarity would be helpful.

Parents of homeschooled children should realize that Judge Croskey’s opinion is an invitation to legislators to create statutes and regulations in this area as well as a mechanism to enforce the rules they set for homeschooling.A

s a lawyer who must constantly read new laws, parents should know too that wherever there are legislators, they are busy creating new regulations.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s hope notwithstanding, the court’s ruling did anything but abdicate the right to make further rulings. After first holding against homeschooling and then completely reversing course and admitting that it did so simply on an implied allowance by the State to allow it, the next court to review the subject could very well rule completely differently.

For the moment, however, parents teaching their children at home can breathe a sigh of relief. How long that relaxed atmosphere will last, however, will yet be up to the courts and the state legislature. 

If you have an education legal matter of any kind, we have the knowledge and resources to be your Moreno Valley Education Lawyers, and Chula Vista Education Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with education lawyers who can represent you from Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Anaheim, Irvine, La Jolla, El Cajon, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Temecula, Palm Desert, Yorba Linda, Carlsbad, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Murrieta, to Indian Wells and La Quinta.

If you have an education legal matter of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.

California’s Water Bank and the Drought in California – a California Water Law Attorney Conclusion – We’re Dry Out Here

July 12th, 2009 at 10:37am Under Environmental Law

Here in the desert cities of Palm Springs, CA, Joshua Tree, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Indian Wells, Yucca Valley, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, Twentynine Palms, Thermal, Indio, Coachella, La Quinta, Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley or Barstow, in the somewhat greener areas of Southern California such as Newport Beach, Buena Park, Anaheim, Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Carlsbad, Mission Viejo and in other cities in San Diego,Orange County, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Cambria, agricultural areas such as the central valley of Fresno and the Imperial Valley, the drought in California is a serious problem for all of us in this State.

 

After the driest spring in 88 years, in June 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger formally declared California to be in a drought and nine counties in the Central Valley to be in a state of emergency after two years of below-average rainfall and six dry years that have killed off fish populations, driven down agricultural land values and required severe reductions in water usage in the Central Valley. The declaration, while bad enough, still stops short of a statewide water emergency which, if declared, will likely carry with it mandatory water rationing.

 

Efforts to capture water have been hampered by evaporation of snow packs due to climate change, but snowpack water content this winter was only 67 percent of average. California’s water shortage was compounded by a federal court order limiting the pumping of water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to protect a species of fish.

 

And so in June 2008 the State of California formed a Water Bank to buy water from farmers upstream from the Delta and from local water agencies and to make it available for sale to public water systems and private water systems who may otherwise run short of water next year. Agencies buying the water will have to agree to a 20 percent reduction overall in water usage. It is believed that the Water Bank will stave off mandatory water rationing.

 

Under the plan, water purchased from northern farmers and water agencies will be shipped south via the State’s canals.

 

Currently, there is no end in sight to California’s dry conditions. While there is a $9.3 billion plan in the State legislature to address the state’s delta environmental problems and expand the state’s water works, it has been tied up while the legislators haggled over a budget.

 

A bill to require Californian’s to cut water usage by 20 percent recently passed the Assembly and the bill puts the onus on residents as opposed to farmers.

 

In the midst of this water crisis, an amazing 100 facilities are bottling water in California, using California’s precious water supply. An Assembly Bill to measure the amount of water being bottled is an attempt to learn just how bad the abuse of these water supplies is on top of the pollution and harm to the environment caused by these facilities and the plastic water bottles, most of which are not recycled.

 

The Department of Public Resources estimates that more than 1 billion gallons of bottled water are sold in California each year. 

 

If you have a water law issue in San Diego, Newport Beach, Irvine, Orange County, La Jolla, in the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Palm Springs or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your California Water Lawyer and your Santa Barbara Environmental Attorney. Be sure to hire a California law firm with environmental law experience who can serve areas such as Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Anaheim, Irvine, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Newport Beach, Carlsbad, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fullerton, Del Mar, San Diego, Orange County, San Luis Obispo, Buena Park, La Jolla, Oxnard, Ventura, La Quinta, and Santa Barbara so you are properly represented.

 

If you have a water law or environmental dispute of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you.

Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach & San Diego Construction Lawyer Discusses the Building Industry in California

July 11th, 2009 at 02:56am Under Construction Law

If you are a general or sub-contractor or are employed in connected with the construction industry and work in any of the hard hit areas of Southern California such as Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Palm Springs, Riverside, San Bernardino, Fontana, Fullerton, San Diego, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Temecula, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Redlands, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Orange County, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, Indio, Coachella, Thermal, Yucca Valley, Victorville, Rancho Cucamonga, Corona, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Big Bear, Corona or Joshua Tree, the bad news is there may be worse to come on the horizon.

California’s Construction Industry could be facing a perfect storm of monumental proportions as the credit crunch and delinquent construction and commercial real estate loans threaten to produce even less construction and more construction defect litigation.

It’s being reported with greater frequency, higher and higher rates of delinquency in payments of construction and commercial real estate loans. Now with the credit crisis and bank failures, it is being reported that banks are cutting off credit to builders and more and more contractors are being forced to declare bankruptcy or to go out of business.

As builders and subcontractors cut corners to make a profit on losing propositions, construction defect litigation is almost certain to rise. If the possible scope of this economic crisis comes to fruition, fewer of the contractors and subcontractors responsible for defects may be around to fix the problems.

Liability insurance for builders and contractors in California has already been tight and some contractors have looked at their policies only to complain that despite the higher deductible, they still offer spotty protection.

A spot check of defendants in construction lawsuits filed over the past few years finds a significant percentage of the defendants in such lawsuits may no longer in business. Whether it is the result of such lawsuits or the economic crisis and the housing slump can’t be determined. What can, however, be said, is that homeowners can no longer count on their contractor or subcontractors to be in business when problems are found in the construction of their homes.

While such builders may still have insurance which covers them for their defects, it can be hard for a homeowner’s attorney to find that insurance when the builder is no longer around.When a subcontractor or his insurer is no longer around to stand up for their mistakes, general contractors worry.

In the Coachella Valley, construction spending fell 41.4 percent in the second quarter of 2008 from a year ago. Home prices dropped 22.7 percent. New construction starts are off by 90 percent since the peak of market activity in the third quarter of 2004. Unemployment in the Inland Empire of California was at 9.2 percent in August 2008. The construction industry that at one point employed nearly a third of the Coachella Valley’s work force has seen its jobs cut almost in half.

Contractors who see the economic storm coming are cutting costs, selling the trucks and equipment they no longer need and just trying to hunker down until conditions improve. It is probably wise to cut back as much as they can because at last check, the wind speed of problems for this industry was increasing and as far as anyone can tell, the eye of the storm hasn’t even come close.

If you have construction law issues and need help, whether you are a general contractor, a subcontractor, a homeowner or connected in any manner to the construction industry or the real estate market, we invite you to call us for a consultation.

If you have a construction law, real estate or mortgage issue in Orange County, San Diego, in Riverside, Palm Springs or anywhere in Southern California, we have the knowledge and resources to be your California Real Estate Lawyers, and Orange County and San Diego Construction Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with real estate and Construction lawyers who can represent you from Palm Springs, Laguna, Newport and Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar, Yorba Linda, Carlsbad, San Diego, Costa Mesa, Westminster, Murrieta, to Chula Vista, and Coachella.

If you have a construction law or real estate legal issue, and need to know your rights, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.