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.
For more information on the process for a
Divorce in Ontario California or to schedule a consultation regarding
Father’s Rights visit the offices of Diefer Law Group
By Law Article
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.
By Law Article
July 19th, 2009 at 03:01am
Under Divorce Law
Nobody goes into a marriage looking at the reality of divorce a few years down the road, but it happens with many marriages these days. The first thing you need to do is make sure that both you and your spouse have agreed that divorce is your best option. In some states, divorce law mandates that both of you attend marital counseling sessions before divorce proceedings can start, so be aware of the requirements in your state.
If both you and your spouse agree that divorce is your best option, and that marital counseling is just going to delay the inevitable, then you may be a candidate for what is known as an uncontested divorce. Are any and virtually all assets that you jointly own able to be easily divided, where you and your spouse can mutually agree on how to divide them? If so, then an uncontested divorce might be your easiest option and your most cost effective option.
But one of the things that you must make sure you fully understand is the divorce is final. It is not like a trial separation where a couple separates for awhile to understand how life works for them without the other one around. Sure, you can change your mind before the proceedings are finalized, but that is going to cost you even more money, not to mention the personal time you will have used to get to this point.
The other thing you need to fully understand is exactly what is meant by the term uncontested divorce. Generally speaking, it means that both parties agree that a divorce is their best option and nothing will be argued about, either in terms of the divorce itself or in the division of assets. Typically, a couple who is doing an uncontested divorce may have already split their assets and may not even be living together, so the divorce for them is almost just a formality.
Should you do it yourself or consult with a divorce lawyer? A lot of the answer to that question is how far you trust your spouse. If it is truly uncontested and you are 100% confident that no skeletons will jump out of the closet during the proceedings, then you can probably do it yourself and save some money. But if you do not have that level of confidence, even though on the surface it would seem that the divorce would be uncontested, you may want to protect yourself by consulting with a divorce lawyer first.
A good divorce lawyer may be just a consultation or two, where the lawyer lets you know what your rights are and what you can expect. If you truly expect the divorce NOT to be uncontested, you may want to consider actually hiring the lawyer to be with you every step of the way. While the latter option is of course going to cost you more, consider how much more it may cost you if your spouse pulls a rabbit out of the hat during the proceedings, where you are not prepared for something which is going to definitely turn out to NOT be an uncontested divorce. This is a judgment call on your part, but especially in financial terms, it may be better to err on the side of caution to ensure that you do not get hosed in the process.
If you do use a lawyer, do your research carefully. Make sure that the lawyer you choose is familiar with divorce law in your state, and has experience with what was expected to be an uncontested divorce and actually turns into something else. Every situation is different, so be cautious of divorce lawyers who suggest a cookie-cutter approach.
Since you are considering divorce, things have not been good up to this point. Make sure that you do everything you can to make your divorce go smoothly and allow yourself to restart your life on the right foot.
By Law Article
July 12th, 2009 at 03:01am
Under Divorce Law
In the case where you are considering divorce, almost regardless of the reasons behind your decision, it is important that you be aware of just what is involved in obtaining a divorce in the US.
In general, the laws of each state set out specific reasons for a divorce which have to be proven before the court is allowed to grant it. This can be under a no-fault heading, an all-fault heading, and a summary heading. In recent years some less adversarial ways to approach to divorce settlements have emerged, like mediation and collaborative divorce, to negotiate mutually acceptable resolutions to conflicts for a couple.
At-fault divorces were originally the only way to dissolve a marriage, and people who had differences or problems were only able to separate, and were prevented from legally remarrying afterward. The state of New York is the only one which still requires fault to obtain a divorce. In an at-fault divorce, one party usually brings divorce proceedings against the other due to some breech of marriage regulations like adultery, abandonment or cruelty.
Comparative rectitude is the name given to a doctrine used to determine which spouse is more at fault in divorce proceedings when both spouses are found to be guilty of breaches. This kind of divorce can affect the distribution of property, and will allow an immediate divorce, especially in states where there is a waiting period required to obtain a no-fault divorce. A defense for this type of divorce can turn out to be expensive and is not usually practical since most divorces are eventually granted anyway, especially when a society comparable to that in the US is not interested in forcing people to remain married any longer. Remember, marriage in the US also has legal ramifications, so if you do not want to be married anymore, you need to get divorced, it is much more than simply taking the mental attitude of no longer being married.
Under a no-fault divorce set of rules, a marriage partner does not need to show that the other marriage partner did anything, or was at fault in order to obtain a divorce. Many common reasons for no-fault divorce can be incompatibility, irreconcilable differences, and irremediable breakdown of the marriage. In the United States, currently 49 states have adopted no-fault divorce laws.
In states that grant no-fault divorces, there may be a waiting period of up to a year before the divorce is considered final. Other requirements include mandatory counseling to see if reconciliation can be achieved if one party does not agree to the divorce, either dependent on an amount of time set by the court, or for a predetermined amount before the divorce may even be applied for,
A summary (or simple) divorce, available in some jurisdictions, is used when spouses meet certain requirements for eligibility, or can agree on important issues beforehand like if it was a marriage lasting under 5 years, there were no children (or, in some states, the couple have resolved custody and set payments for child support), there was minimal or no real property (there was no mortgage on a house or condo), the property owned by the married couple is under a threshold (around $35,000, not including vehicles), and the personal property of each spouse is under a set threshold (typically the same amount as marital property). A simple divorce where both couples agree on how the divorce should be handled and assets divided is also known as an uncontested divorce.
It is estimated that in the US upwards of 95% of all divorces are uncontested, since the two parties are able to come to an agreement (with or without lawyers/mediators) about the property, children and support issues. When the parties are able to agree and present the court with a fair and equitable agreement, approval of the divorce is almost certain. In the case where the two partners cannot come to an agreement, they may ask the court to decide how to fairly split property, deal with children and custody issues, and so forth.
Residency requirements to file for a divorce vary from state to state. In some states, like Colorado, residency requirements are very liberal to accommodate military personnel who have to move often for tours of duty, while other states, like New York, require that you live in them for a minimum of a year with the intention of making this your permanent state of residence. A spouse may separate, move to a state with divorce laws of their choice, establish residency, and file. However, this typically does not change the state in which property and other issues are decided, and it is possible for a court to decide not to hear a petition for divorce if it decides that it does not have legal jurisdiction to do so based on residency issues.
A final consideration to be made when considering where/if to file for divorce is the laws concerning the distribution of property and division of assets. States like Alabama are considered to be an “equitable distribution” state which means that all property acquired during the marriage is divided equally among the two parties. In other states, like California, assets can be awarded to a spouse from the other based on economic need, and in still others, like Alaska, even though it is an equitable distribution state, in some jurisdictions in the state, women have little or no rights to marital property. In some states, alimony is awarded to the stay-at-home spouse, where in others, alimony is paid by the spouse making the most to the spouse making the least, despite the one needing to get child support because they have actual custody.
By Law Article