Read Them Thoroughly

The first thing to do when you get your hands on your divorce papers is give them a read. Typically, the first read will not be as through as it should be, so it’s best that you give it a read at least twice. This is primarily because these papers have a sea of information that the spouse needs to know. In addition to that the divorce papers will also highlight other aspects such as:

• Which court is the case filed in?
• The deadline date of the response
• Whether she has attained the services of an Attorney or not
• The grounds of the divorce will be laid down
• The relief that the party seeks.

Hire an Attorney

This is an important step. Unless you think that you are good enough representing yourself on your own, it is recommended that you hire an Orange County divorce lawyer instead of trying to have a go on your own. Hiring an attorney will help you throughout the divorce, whether it is as a result of experience they have in fighting the case or their knowhow of the procedures that are to be followed. However, hiring an attorney for the sake of hiring one is equally bad. Make sure the attorney you hire is experienced and well versed in their job.

Give the Divorce Paper a Response

There are two way to go about this. Either you respond to the notice, disputing the facts, the claims made and rejecting the relief sought, instead seeking relief yourself or you don’t reply to the notice. Not replying to a notice is seen as accepting the terms of the divorce proposed by the other spouse and giving them all that they want. Which response to give, will depend on what you and your Orange County divorce attorney decide.

Gather Documents

If you have decided to dispute the claims made by the other spouse, you need to prepare for the divorce case. For that, the best way is to find evidences, documents and invoices if any that support your claim. If you have the documents on your side you may have a chance of winning.

Asset Protection

This is again an important step to do. Sometimes the other spouse can make off with all the joint ownership assets. To avoid that, make sure you keep their files safe and secure and keep all its legal formalities up to date. The better your asset protection the more the chance of you keeping your assets.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Do You Know the Person You’ll Be Dating?

Of course you’ll know the person you are dating, but that’s not what the question means. When you are in a divorce case especially one that involves matters of child custody, you will find yourself under the microscope. In such a time, who you date can be used against or for you in the court of law. Negatively it can be used as a more powerful tool highlighting how dating a so and so is not in the best interest of the child.

Therefore, before you start dating someone, you need to be careful about who you pick. It’s best that you know their past history which may be used by the other spouse’s lawyer against you. The most important thing to do here is exercising common sense in this regard.

Are You Going to Move In?

It is not out of the ordinary for a spouse going through a divorce to start a relationship with a new mate and for things between the two to get serious. They may even decide to move in together for romantic and even practical purposes. However before you move in with your new partner, there are a few things that you need to know. This can severely affect your divorce case since section 4323 of the Family code highlights that if you cohabitate with a non-marital partner you will not be assumed to have the same financial need for spousal support as you would have before.

The Factor of Jealousy

This is part of human life and an emotion that spouses going through a divorce often feel for one another as they start to move on in their lives. If your spouse witnesses your proximity to another companion they may feel a sense of jealously which can transpire in hate, anger or bitterness all of which may result in a more hostile environment.

What is the Right Choice?

There is no single answer to this question in law. Every case is different to another and the factors mentioned above will change on a case by case basis. The decision to date or not to date is one that you will have to take but it’s best that before you make it, you consult with your Orange County divorce attorney to see if it affects your case or not.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Care

The word “care” and in terms of Orange County divorce attorneys is used in the context of making sure that the time is spent wisely by the lawyer, in that they keep the party involved in the divorce in loop with the proceedings, etc. The third aspect of care is ensuring that the lawyer works with you in trying to manage divorce costs which includes using their clients’ money wisely and practically.

Managing Expectations

One of the first aspects of managing attorney fees is managing expectations. If you are going into a divorce with the belief that you are correct and that you and only you deserve to win this case, it is an unreasonable expectation and you may be on course for having to deal with an expensive lesson.

When you hire an Orange County divorce attorney, you need to sit down and talk to them regarding the facts of the case. Only once the discussion has subsided and the lawyer has laid down their side will you be able to set reasonable expectations from the divorce case. In situations where you just impose your expectations on your attorney and give them a free pass to do whatever they want to achieve that expectation you are bracing yourself for a lot of spending and wasting of money.

Creating a Budget

When you hire a divorce lawyer, unless you have tons on tons of wealth to fall back on, you will have some figure in mind. The lawyer you choose will highlight the kind of amount you are ready to spend on your divorce case. When you have hired a divorce lawyer, in that case it is important for you to sit down with the person and set a budget. Tell them the amount you are willing to spend on the case so that know what they have to work with.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

From Experience

This is one issue that has been dealt with in detail in cases of family law. From our experience, we can tell you that these situations occur in cases of high net and middle income divorce cases where spousal support can be considerably high.

The common conception amongst parties taking part in a divorce case is that the courts are concerned with only the income of the spouses before making the spousal support order. This however is not necessarily the case. In cases where there are accusations of the spouse being able to work and not working, the courts have the discretion of looking at the earning capacity of the spouse. The words “earning capacity” not only means the amount that the spouse actually uses, it also highlights the amount that a spouse is capable of earning based on his or her education, skill set, and work experience.  In such cases it must be understood that there is a broad discretion available to the courts.

The Opportunity and Ability to Earn

In divorce cases, the judge will often calculate the earning capacity by taking a number of factors into account. They will typically take a look at the employment record of the spouse, their age, health and education in doing so. The onus of showing that the other spouse can earn more than they currently do will rest on the spouse that is making the accusations.  It is often beneficial and worth the money to seek a vocational evaluation of the supported spouse in order to help determine their qualifications and available positions in the area that the supported spouse lives, because proving qualifications is one thing but it is also necessary to prove that there are available positions for the supported spouse out there.

If the other spouse is able to prove to the court that the other spouse can indeed warn more than they do, the family court can use their discretion to impute their income accordingly.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

If you are looking to find a divorce lawyer from scratch here is a step-by-step guide to help you through it.

Step 1: Scour the Internet

The internet is the global hub of information and even this blog that you are reading is on the internet. Finding a divorce lawyer in your area is just like finding articles on the internet. The problem with searching over the internet is that you are unable to truly gauging the quality of the lawyer,

To do that, you need to go onto their websites, and once there the thing to look for is quality content. A good Orange County divorce lawyer will generally have large amount of content on their websites about everything divorce and family law.

Step 2: Referrals

Another guide to finding a good divorce lawyer is referrals from other attorneys, family and friends.  Referrals can indicate the satisfaction of the clients with regards to the lawyer’s services.

Step 3: Reputation

Nothing speaks volumes about your choice other than the reputation of the lawyer themselves. A good lawyer will typically be well regarded within the legal community and have a number of satisfied clients willing to put their necks on the line in recommending them to others. Looking for a good Orange County divorce attorney can be hard and you will never truly know whether the lawyer will be able to handle your case or not.

Step 4: Contact them and Meet them in Person

Once you have done all your background research there is only so much you can know about a person without actually meeting. An integral part of finding a good divorce lawyer is actually meeting them. Schedule an appointment with the lawyers that you are impressed by the most. Once you are there talk to them firsthand about their knowledge, their past cases and how they could help you with your case.  Be sure that you will feel comfortable working with the attorney that you end up choosing.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Make A Holiday Schedule.  Create a holiday custodial schedule with your ex-spouse or soon-to-be ex-spouse, if you have not already done so.  Such schedules should alternate the holidays each year, so that one parent has the holiday during even-numbered years, and the other has the children on odd-numbered years.  This will take the guess work and stress out of the holidays.  Remember that generally the holiday schedule takes precedent over the regular weekly parenting schedule.

Give Reasonable Notice of Plans.  Let your ex know your holiday plans and any travel plans ahead of time, and coordinate plans with each other particularly if holiday time is split for each holiday depending of what your holiday custodial schedule is.  Each parent should give the other parent a travel itinerary that includes flight information, dates of departure and return, and contact information of where you will be, in the event that there is an emergency.

Be Fair.  If your ex wants more time for a particular holiday or needs some flexibility on your part one year for a holiday due to travel arrangements that may impact part of your holiday time, give it.  You may need some flexibility the next time around.  Working together in such a fashion is only going to make co-parenting easier.

Do The Right Thing for Your Children.  Just because your marriage or relationship with the other parent has ended, that does not mean that you cannot spend time together for a family holiday dinner.  Your kids should not suffer because of the end of your marriage.  Moreover, your children need to have a relationship with extended family such as grandparents, cousins, etc. and oftentimes holidays are the only times families and extended families can all get together.  Don’t deny your children access to the other parent’s extended family just because you want an extra couple hours on a holiday or some petty reason.

Don’t Try to Top The Other Parent.  Talk with the other parent and discuss what plans they have for gifts for the children and consider sharing some of the cost.  But don’t use that information to then spite the other parent by topping them with more expensive gifts in an effort to win favor over the children.   

Remember that Thanksgiving is a time for reflection of what you are most thankful for.  That can include being thankful that although your relationship may have ended, you and your ex have been able to create a peaceful, functional co-parenting relationship that you can be proud of.  If you can do that, your children will in turn be thankful to you both.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Spousal support, child support, child custody, child visitation etc. are one of the few common aspects of a divorce that you need to understand about alimony, also known as spousal support.

What is alimony?

Alimony is basically the previous name given to the current concept of spousal support. As the name spousal support would indicate, it is a support payment that is paid to the dependent spouse by the sole earning or higher earning spouse after they have had a divorce.

The concept of spousal support or alimony is simple, it is intended to provide financial safeguard to a spouse who was dependent on the other spouse for their finances and divorce has suddenly left them with no financial avenue to depend on. In such situations, the family law court will set a particular amount that would need to be paid by the financial independent spouse to the financially dependent one.

How much alimony will I get?

Alimony is not like child support. Child support has set rules for compensation to be paid, alimony payments on the other hand have no such rules set. In terms of spousal support payments the scope of discretion is wide for the judges to decide the amount. The factors of spousal support and the conditions that the judges will take into account when deciding on the spousal support amount differ from state to state.

In the Orange County family law court, judges will look at a number of factors such as:

• The number of years the couple has been married
• The standard of living that the couple was enjoying
• The financial dependence of one spouse on the other
• The needs (not wants) of the spouse in terms of finances post divorce

Will I have to pay spousal support if I earn more?

The guidelines of spousal support vary from state to state. Usually if you earn more than the spouse the courts will look at the difference between the two earnings and whether or not their expenses or needs are more than what they earn. The judges will take a look at this before deciding if the higher earning spouse has to pay some sort of alimony and if they do, what is the amount that needs to be paid.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Here is a list of a few “life insurance” considerations before you get into a divorce proceeding and what you need to consider if life insurance coverage is needed in the divorce agreement.

·        The Insured Spouse Should Go Through Any Underwriting Process Before They Sign the Settlement Agreement if Possible

If there is chance of the coverage not being available to the spouse as a result of health issues or if the premium is prohibitively expensive, the settlement needs to have other provisions included that ensure protection against a premature death. Some of these measures that can be used in an Orange County divorce settlement are trusts and other planning tools for estate.  If you and your spouse don’t have coverage as of now, it is best that any coverage you apply for is based on a rate and policy comparison for your situation.

·        You Shouldn’t Name Your Minor Children AsBeneficiaries, Even Via a Custodian

This is one of the most common errors made by parents going through an Orange county divorce. The reason for this mistake can either be a lack of knowledge or contemplation. Any payments made with such a designation of beneficiary will go straight into the UGMA account if the child has not yet reached an age of maturity. Even if you don’t list a beneficiary the court will be quick to appoint one. While this may not be problem per se, it can be when the child will have complete control to the account once they mature, which will usually happen once they are 18.

·        The Beneficiary Can Receive Notices for Premiums

The ownership of the insurance or who makes the payment does not matter. Irrespective of these intricacies, the beneficiary needs to be notified of about the status of the policy, which is also known as the proof of insurance. The insurance company is obliged to provide the beneficiary with a prior notice before the policy can lapse on non-payment giving them enough time to take appropriate action.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

This can be a sizeable asset to consider in your property and asset division cases. Whether it is a community property or separate property has always been unclear with most lawyers developing answers to this question using their wealth of experience.

When courts are considering a severance pay or any sort of lump sum benefits that one of the spouses may receive because of their employment, the courts usually see if the benefits received were vested during the marriage. This vesting can be partial or whole and needs to be determined by the judge.

Another slightly easier way of looking at the situation is considering whether the job that resulted in the severance pay was ongoing during the marriage and before the spouses decided to part or was it something unrelated to the marital employment.

The Question Stems from the Lehman Case

The case of Marriage of Lehman dealt not with severance pay but another benefit deriving from employment, i.e. an early retirement benefit. This case involved a retirement benefit given to an employee by an employer not accrued during the marriage. This case highlighted how it is best to look at these kinds of cases. It showed that the Orange County divorce attorney and their need to not only see the nature of the pay, but they also need to check when it was accrued and the benefit that it provides.

There have been some examples in the past when the family law courts have held severance pay to be separate property of the employed spouse instead of a community property belonging to both.  The three instances are when:

1. Payments were made because there was a threat of future loss of earnings
2. Payments were meant to make the employee forgo future elements
3. Benefits given as a result of layoff which has happened because the overall revenue of the industry is going in a decline.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

This highlights the importance of the role of a lawyer in divorce proceedings. When you employ a lawyer to represent you in court, there are a few things that you need to expect from him/her in court.

·        Expect Them To Be Well-Prepared

This is one of the most obvious expectations that a client is likely to have from their lawyer in an Orange County divorce case. The proceedings of the court means that lawyers from both of the spouses will fight and argue the case in front of the judge who would in the end give their judgment. Keeping this in mind, it is important to have your Orange County divorce lawyer aware of the facts of the case inside and out.

A good lawyer is likely to come prepared to court knowing what questions the opposing lawyer could ask, any testimony that they should present, and have a list of witnesses and evidences to be presented.

·        Expect Them To Communicate With You Regularly

You and your lawyer are on the same side in a divorce case. In fact, your lawyer is your sword and your shield. Therefore, it is important that you expect your lawyer to communicate with you on a regular basis throughout the course of divorce proceedings. The communications between the two of you can be on a variety of topics that may range from the day’s happenings in courts to the up and coming testimonies and cross questioning phase in court. The more you communicate with your lawyer the better it is for you and your lawyer’s chances of winning the case.

·        Expect Them To Be Social And Cordial With The Opposing Counsel

The legal world of Orange County family law is small and well-knit like a community together. This means that lawyers who practice extensively in the same field will generally be good colleagues out of court. You should keep that in mind, since you may see your lawyer communicating with the opposing counsel. However, it will not affect your case. In fact, this might help as both lawyers may even be able to discuss peaceful resolutions to the case out of court.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Order of Wage Assignment

California law empowers the courts to issue an earnings assignment for all the support orders that they issue. This is a means to ensure that the payment of the spousal and child support is not made by the spouse but by the employers of the spouse directly through deductions from their monthly salaries.

This method is an effective enforcement of a court order since it keeps the paying spouse from reinvading on the orders of the court and disregarding them altogether. In cases where the parties have mutually agreed on the support being paid and the part fails to honor it, the company can again be ordered to pay the monthly amount from the parties’ paycheck.

Contempt Of Court Proceedings

The charge of contempt is usually applied to parties that are unable to comply with the court’s order despite being capable of carrying out the instructions mentioned in the court order and having full knowledge of the court’s order. There is however a legal rule that anyone who is accused of contempt needs to be proven to have committed the contempt beyond reasonable doubt. This means that the burden of proof for proving contempt is on the party that makes the accusation. A few examples of charges leading to contempt cases are failing to abide by child custody orders or pay child support. The penalties of contempt can include hefty fines and jail terms.

Writ of Execution

This is one of the measures that the parties can resort to in lieu of going back to court. The writ of execution is basically a writ in the court which asks the court to order the liquidation of the non performing parties’ assets and transfer the funds to the party that was promised said funds. There can also be other writs such as writ of seizures for matters related to property etc. This type of property order is often used in situations where the court’s order for asset distribution in an Orange County divorce case is disregarded by the either of the spouse.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Why Should A Spouse Get Spousal Support When She Gets Enough Community Property?

The answer to this question is simple – a spouse is generally going to get spousal support even if he/she has got a hefty community buyout because the division of community assets and the payment of spousal support are 2 separate issues.  The primary argument here is that just because a spouse has contributed to the growth of the community property doesn’t mean he/she should not receive spousal support. Any action for such is likely to be seen as a means of punishing the spouse for his/her contribution to an increase in the community property and that is likely to be an infringement of his/her rights.

Is There An Argument Against Payment of Spousal Support In That Instance?

The case we will look at is the Orange County divorce case of In Re Marriage of Martin in 1991. The lawyers of M. Martin, who was going through an Orange County divorce, wanted to limit the amount of spousal support to his wife. The divorce lawyers on Martin’s side argued that their client could not afford to pay to his wife spousal support in lieu of the fact that she had already received a substantial community buyout. The trial court disagreed.

The View Of The Court

The court held that spousal support and community buyouts are two different aspects of divorce. The court was of the opinion that one of them could not finance the other. This meant that the plea by Martin’s lawyer of having to pay no spousal support in lieu of the community buyout being received was rejected.

The simple conclusion of the case and of the principle here is that you cannot pay off your spouse with their own money and then refuse their claim for spousal support.  However, it is possible to negotiate a buy-out of spousal support as part of a divorce settlement, but to do so requires the knowledge and expertise of a competent Orange County divorce attorney to do it right and have it enforceable now and in the future.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

FACTS OF THE CASE

The facts of the case are that Andrew and his wife, Andrea, had a marriage that lasted less than 5 years. The marriage resulted in the birth of two children. In the subsequent Orange County divorce that followed, Andrew was asked to pay $15,000 for child support per month and $30,000 per month for alimony support. Andrea, in the meantime, met “Todd,” and ended the status of her marriage with Andrew through a legal Orange County family law procedure known as bifurcation of the marital status. Andrea and Todd subsequently wanted to get married and had a wedding ceremony planned and went through with it, yet with the case going on they didn’t want to formalize the marriage. They had a full wedding ceremony.

DID THE COMMITMENT CEREMONY CONSTITUTE A VALID REMARRIAGE?

Now the question to consider in this case is that whether the ceremony that happened was actually a marriage ceremony. Andrea said no, and instead opted to call the ceremony a commitment ceremony. Todd and Andrea signed a document that is called Ketubah and is equal to the Jewish marriage contract. However, they did not obtain a marriage license.  Andrew Left argued that California Family Code section 4337 applied in the case, which states: “Except as otherwise agreed by the parties in writing, the obligation of a party under an order for the support of the other party terminates upon the death of either party or the remarriage of the other party.”  Andrew further argued that Section 4337 and its predecessors have been interpreted to include a ceremony that resembles a valid remarriage — regardless of whether the ceremony resulted in a valid marriage. In support of his position, Andrew cited three cases: Sefton v. Sefton (1955) 45 Cal.2d 872 [291 P.2d 439] (Sefton); Berkely v. Berkely (1969) 269 Cal.App.2d 872 [75 Cal.Rptr. 294] (Berkely); and Fry v. Fry (1970)5 Cal.App.3d 169, 170-171 [85 Cal.Rptr. 126] (Fry), arguing that these three cases show that it has been clear for decades that a ceremonial marriage, whether valid, void, or voidable, represents a “remarriage” as that term has been used in section 4337 and its predecessors.

The appellate court found that Andrew had provided no authority that the term “remarriage” as used in section 4337 means anything other than a remarriage carried out in conformity with the statutory requirements. Because Andrea and Todd did not meet those requirements, they did not marry, and Andrew’s obligation to pay spousal support did not terminate under section 4337.

ANDREW LEFT’S ARGUMENT THAT HE HAD ALREADY PAID SPOUSAL SUPPORT FOR ONE-HALF OF HIS SHORT-TERM MARRIAGE

Andrew further argued that the spousal support should be terminated because the marriage lasted less than 5 years and he had already paid the spousal support for half the duration of the marriage which is the general rule for marriages less than 10 years in duration.  The appellate court found that the trial court had correctly noted that: “The code provides a guideline, not a hard and fast rule that support should be paid for half the length of the marriage.” This guideline is found in California Family Code section 4320, which provides numerous factors for the trial court to consider when determining the amount and duration of spousal support. Among the factors that the court must consider is the duration of the marriage. (§ 4320, subd. (f).) The section further provides that the trial court shall consider: “The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a ‘reasonable period of time’ for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage. However, nothing in this section is intended to limit the court’s discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time, based on any of the other factors listed in this section, Section 4336, and the circumstances of the parties.”  The appellate court found that the trial court had not abused its broad discretion so as to fairly exercise the weighing process contemplated by section 4320, with the goal of accomplishing substantial justice for the parties in the case before it. The court noted that the trial court must consider the mandatory guidelines of section 4320, but once it does so, the ultimate decision as to amount and duration of spousal support rests within its broad discretion and will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of that discretion.

DID EX-WIFE’S CO-HABITATION WITH HER BOYFRIEND ENTITLE ANDREW LEFT TO TERMINATION OF SPOUSAL SUPPORT?

Finally, Andrew argued that the trial court erred in not terminating the spousal support order because his ex-wife, Andrea, was co-habitating with Todd.  The trial court had considered Andrea’s cohabitation with Todd, and exercised its discretion to continue the spousal support, at a reduced rate. The appellate court noted that the trial court had considered other factors, as well as the circumstances of the parties, as permitted under section 4320. Specifically, the court found that there was no competent evidence that Andrea could be self-supporting, and that Andrew had been slow to pay Andrea the amounts of community property that he agreed he owed her but still had under his control. Simply put, the court felt that Andrew could not “withhold money that rightfully belongs to [Andrea] and then argue his support should terminate.” Andrew presents no authority that the court’s consideration of the failure to turn over community property is impermissible, and the court upheld the trial court’s decision.

Andrew lost the case and all three reasons he gave were rejected. Andrew appealed the case.  The appellate court upheld the decision of the previous Orange County family law court and rejected Andrew’s appeal. The basis for the courts’ decision was that under California Family Code section 4337, the marriage of Andrea and Todd was not a legal marriage and therefore the courts could not treat it as such.

The issue of spousal support can be a complex one in California, and it is advisable to seek the legal counsel of an Orange County divorce attorney in your divorce and when contemplating a possible motion to modify or terminate your spousal support order in the years after your divorce case has been finalized.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Out-Spending The Mother Trying To Gain An Advantage

If you have come under the guidance of an aggressive divorce lawyer, some can encourage men to try and outspend their partner in litigation to try and break the other financially. Overzealous spending though can cause a variety of problems for the spending part such as:

• Exposing yourself to monetary sanctions for being unable to act within the standards of reasonableness.  Driving up the cost of the litigation without merit can be sanctionable by the court.

• The husband may also have to face a motion for attorney’s fees and costs related to the other spouse’s inability to pay their own legal fees.

Surrendering Your Rights as a Father on Issues of Child Custody

This is one of the most unfortunate mistakes that fathers tend to do in their Orange County divorce case.  It should be noted that the only thing that the courts take into account in deciding child custody cases is the child’s best interest. The best interest of the child needs to be proven to the court by both parents.  Fathers have the same custody rights as the other parent to start, subject to the court looking at the big picture involving the child and determining what custodial arrangement is in the best interests of the child under the circumstances of each case.

Not Asking for Modifications when Needed

In a wide variety of cases, most fathers stop paying spousal and child support payments when they are unable to instead of going to court to ask for modifications. This is a mistake that is likely to have legal repercussions to the male spouse. The failure to abide by a court’s order which spousal and child support payments is likely to result in contempt of court proceedings against the non-paying spouse.  Modifications can be sought in the Orange County family law court. Courts are unlikely to burden anyone with more than they can bear and are often understanding of the situations, and in a wide variety of cases will order modifications in the support payments, depending on the circumstances of the case.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Here is a list of some of the steps that you can do to make the selection process easier for you.

Start with the First Phone call

When you call a law firm, what is your purpose? Is it to talk to the secretary or an administrative executive? Or do you want to speak with an experienced divorce attorney (or have an appointment set up with them), who is willing to listen to your case and help you with respect to your situation. While some lawyers are desperate enough to talk to their clients on the phone, some like to talk in person. Most top Orange County divorce lawyers prefer to talk to their clients in person and charge a fee for it.

In Person Consultation

Always remember you should take an Orange County divorce attorney’s legal advice since they are the only ones legally permitted to give it. If you visit a law firm and meet only with someone who is not a lawyer, that someone cannot give you legal advice.  It makes absolutely no sense to sit in a room and discuss your divorce case’s facts with someone who isn’t a qualified lawyer.

If They Sugar Coat It, They Aren’t The Right Lawyer

Your whole case, and in lieu of this your future, is in the hands of your divorce lawyer. In such a case, you would want someone that is clear about what he or she wants to do and is capable enough of addressing any issue to raise with respect to the divorce process. Another important trait in a quality Orange County divorce attorney is their ability of being to be honest. A wide variety of lawyers will try to lure you into paying for their services by making lofty promises and unachievable claims.

Choosing a good divorce lawyer is a multilayered process that has many stages. The best way to find a good, competent, and committed divorce attorney is to take the process one step at a time and not jumping to conclusions.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Here is a lowdown on the subject:

Pre-Marriage Personal Injuries

If the personal injury had happened to the spouse before the marriage had taken place, then there is no doubt that the damages received for personal injury claim are solely and wholly that spouse’s property with no share of the other spouse in it.

Personal Injuries That Occur During The Marriage

There is another side of the coin in terms of personal injury cases. When personal injury cases happen after a person has been married, and subsequently their claims result in damages being paid to the spouse, the courts seem to adopt a position that is close to the one that was taken up in pre-marriage cases. California family law courts hold that more often than not, the damages coming in from a personal injury even after the person has been married are likely to be their separate property. This, however, has one exception, i.e. if the court determines that owing to the interest of justice the decision in a particular divorce case needs to be different.

It is in such cases that spouses battle it out to keep hold of the damages of personal injury or to be able to get their hands on the larger more substantial sum of the division.

What Is The Interest Of Justice Containing?

The primary elements included in the interest of justice are:

• The current economic conditions of both the spouses
• The economic and financial needs of each of the spouses at the current time
• The amount of time that has elapsed since the damages for the personal injury case was recovered
• All the other relevant facts of the case

There are cases where the courts may, on the basis of interest of justice, decide that the other spouse who hasn’t suffered the personal injury also deserves part of the damages being paid. The courts even in such situations can only be able to award at max half of the damages to the other spouse and no more.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

When you are preparing for an divorce case, most spouses tend to get all the aspects of planning and preparing right except for one of the most important ones. While planning a case is important, an even more important thing in this regard is planning for the costs of the attorney. The problem of paying to an attorney comes differently to people of different socio-economic segments of the society.

The people with low incomes are often worried about how they are going to be able to pay the costs of a divorce lawyer, while the rich earners are likely to be stressed about paying also the costs of their spouse’s lawyer.

To make sure you aren’t left unprepared or underprepared in this regard, here are some points to know so that you are able to plan better for the legal costs of the battle in courts ahead.

Can the Attorney Fees be mitigated by settlement of certain aspects?

When a divorce case starts, the first thing your divorce will do is to identify the aspects in the case that can be settled out of court and the ones that will need to go to court. This step is extremely important, since it involves the elimination of certain issues for going to court, thereby eliminating excess costs.

The cost of the cases, especially the ones that involve child custody, can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands. The reason for this is the nature of the complexity in the cases. If the cases being dealt with involve allegations of child abuse, substance abuse, or neglect and endangerment, the court is likely to take its time to investigate such claims.

Are you a high or a low earner? How is that doing to affect the attorney fees?

The second step in the process of planning for the costs of an Orange County divorce attorney is to determine the higher earner out of the two spouses. This determination is important because the higher earner is expected to contribute in the attorney fees of the other spouse as well. The importance of this rule cannot be stressed enough, since it is based on the concept of parity between the spouses and it is integral to the working of the family law system.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

What will he/she want to know about my assets?

Assets are an integral part of the financial side of your life and in divorce cases, the financial side along with child custody are the two most fought over topics in divorce proceedings. There are certain aspects regarding your assets that your lawyer will want to know about:

·         What do they want to know about the Real Estate?

Real estate can be defined as properties such as residential property homes, rental properties and lands etc. The key things an Orange County divorce lawyer will need are:

• The correct location of each property
• The date of purchase for the property
• The details of the finances that were used to but it
• The status of the property in terms of separate property claims

·         What kind of Information do they want about Vehicles?

More often than not vehicles aren’t considered too big an assets in terms of divorces yet if the vehicles are expensive models or rare collectibles the interest in the division of vehicles may increase. The information he’ll need is:

• Information and details about the vehicle and date of purchase
• The price of the vehicle
• Any separate interest claim in the vehicle

What will the Divorce lawyer want information about with respect to my income?

The incomes of both the parties are one of the chief talking points in Orange county divorce especially with regards to the spousal and child support payments being determined.

·         What information are they looking for about the income of mine and my wife’s?

Most commonly if both of your work a job, the lawyer will need the bank statements or salary slips that you receive which clearly show your monthly and annual salary. If however one of the spouse earns his living independently, then the lawyer will need all financial documents that clearly show that income and justify its source.  Any income such as rent payments from rented apartments can be classified as earnings other than a job.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

If you add abuse to a bad marriage, the situation goes from difficult to dire. For a wife, divorcing an abusive husband can be difficult, because you don’t know how a violent man would react.  However, if the abusive husband is putting the well-being and the life of the wife and children in jeopardy, divorce may pretty much be the only solution.

Divorcing an abusive husband becomes difficult in cases where the marriage has been going on for a long time, and the husbands are the only providers of the family.

What is Abuse in Terms of Family Law?

In the context of family law, the word abuse has a broader meaning. Abuse is when someone recklessly or intentionally tries to cause or is successful in causing:

• Sexual assault
• Injury to any part of the body
• Causing the person to live with a serious threat of grievous bodily harm or damage at any stage
• Engaging in any kind of behavior that is defined in the California Family Code section 6320, which defines such behavior as, threatening, battering, striking, stalking, harassing, etc.

Divorcing an Abusive Husband

The key to divorcing a husband who has a history of frequent abuse is to act immediately and decisively. The law in California protects the spouses from any kind of abuse from their other half and you should try and use those avenues of the law to your advantage.

One of the first and most immediate actions that need to be taken is to seek an immediate restraining order in the family law court. Sometimes though, owing to the situation of the couple or any other legal issues, restraining orders might be unavailable. In such cases, you should ask your divorce lawyer to ask the court for protective orders that limit and regulate the contact between the two spouses. In addition to this point though, there is also a need for more practical steps on the side of the wife, where she needs to move out of the house or away from the abusive husband.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

To make sure that guys aren’t left alone to face the wrath of divorce, here are a few tips for guys to help them get through the divorce proceedings and the divorce with relative ease.

Don’t Move out Immediately, Think about it Carefully

In life there are nice guys, who want to have peace all around them even in situations where there is actually very little of it. Such guys are likely to have the desire to leave their homes to try and give their soon-to-be-former spouses peace. While doing so though, they without realizing it leave the fate of their child’s custody and visitation at the mercy of their mother only. Only when you have considered such facts about moving out should you make your decision.

Be Careful of the Lawyer You Choose

This is one of the most important tips.  As much as you may hate your wife and want to drag her to the cleaners, hiring an aggressive, fiery, lawyer is not necessarily the answer. The work of a lawyer is to be calm, collected, calculated and reasonable. If you are looking to have the best chance of getting something from your divorce case make sure you get a lawyer that has a clear plan, focus and strategy and not just a loud voice and a fiery tone.

If You Want Cheap, You Are Very Well Going to Get Cheap

There are loads of times in your life where the opportunity for saving money must have arrived and gone begging. Saving money off your lawyers’ fees or divorce proceedings costs is definitely not the thing you should be saving money on. While saving money may be a healthy habit, in the legal world if you go looking for cheap lawyers in terms of costs you are likely to get what you paid for, like anything else in life.

Keep Your Lawyer on Speed Dial

When you are going through a divorce, it is important that you have clear, open and constant communication with your Orange County divorce attorney. A clear and frequent communication means that you will be delving into the affairs of your case and are likely to be up to speed with all the developments. This is important to avoid complacency in your lawyer and to keep you focused on your divorce proceedings.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

There are a few set of rules and procedures that should be taken into account when going to any such court. The number one rule irrespective of any court you are in is to be dressed in a more formal, professional manner and to have a polite and respectful demeanor.

Always be Prepared When Entering into a Courtroom

One of the biggest mistakes you can do is go to a court room for a hearing unprepared. To avoid such a sticky situation, always make sure you are in contact with your Orange County divorce attorney. You and your attorney must go over the documents and facts of the case repeatedly before the hearing. In most cases, the court will order you to bring the documents – make sure you have copies of those documents made and kept at home so that you familiarize yourself with them before they are produced in court.

Going into a courtroom isn’t only about preparing your mind, there are lots of aspects physically that you have to prepare before being perfectly ready. Most divorce cases can be stressful, and it is in your best interest to come to the court well rested. Rest and relaxation will be the key factors in you being able to handle the stress.

Be On Time

You don’t always get what you wished for on the roads, so make sure you leave early and plan enough time for traffic before setting the time to reach the court. Once you are at the court, you’ll require some time to find the court room where your case is registered.

Beginning of the Hearing

Inside the court, your attorney will handle most of the matters and yet there will be instances when you will be called on to testify. Whenever you are called on to testify, make sure you are familiar with your attorney’s questions and are able to avoid unnecessary confusion and panic. You need to learn to keep yourself calm and composed during this time.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

The good news is that divorce mediation simplifies the paperwork process.  Instead of having two attorneys who want to examine every possible document from the marriage for litigation purposes, a divorce mediator asks a series of questions to determine exactly which documents are needed to fulfill court requirements and to sort out the issues.

To begin mediation, you do not need any documents at all.  During the first session, the mediator will find out from both parties what kinds of financial and legal issues are at stake.  Then, the mediator will provide each party with a simple checklist of documents that are needed.

If you want to get a head start on gathering these documents, you can start with the last three years of tax returns as well as recent statements from bank accounts, credit cards, loans and retirement accounts.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Confused? There is no need to be. A divorce lawyer can’t fight your case without your proper cooperation and help because at the end of the day, he or she is just a person representing you; in reality, you’ve been the victim or are the defendant in the case.

Communication

Simply hearing what your lawyer has to say isn’t by any means effective communication. The basis of effective communication depends on it being two ways. The better the communication between the two the greater the flow of ideas and lesser the chance of confusion arising that might ultimately affect your Orange County family law case. Without regular communication, you will be unable to keep track of a case that is ultimately directly about you and your married life.

Strategy

Contrary to popular belief, no divorce attorney, irrespective of their fees, has a magic wand to magically solve cases.  A good Orange County divorce attorney is likely to put loads of effort into developing effective strategies for the case at hand. This method will be no different when your case is being fought. Strategy is basically the tactics, facts, tones, styles and directions of arguments that the divorce attorney will employ in court to try and turn the tide of the case their favor. The best for your lawyer to build a strategy is by having you at their side. You are the person who the case concerns and you should be aware of the direction the lawyer is about to take in your case.

Budgets

There are seldom people who don’t care how much money they spend in their divorce proceedings. Almost no one has an open checkbook for lawyers to pounce on and use whenever they want for whatever they want. When the situation is like this, it means that most people like to pay a reasonable amount and expect results in that amount. In such cases it is important for clients to at the start of the case sit down with their divorce attorneys and decide a suitable budget for their case. The budget can include costs such as those for forensic accountants etc.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Welcome to The Maggio Law Firm’s PODCAST regarding the tax implications for selling the marital residence during a divorce in California and the United States.  

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Welcome to The Maggio Law Firm’s PODCAST concerning the concept of Joint Legal Custody and how it is defined under California law.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Welcome to The Maggio Law Firm’s PODCAST about what Legal Separation is, whether you should file for Legal Separation instead of Divorce, and an explanation about what an Annulment is.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Grounds for an annulment vary by jurisdiction, but they may include: concealment, fraud, inability (or refusal) to engage in sexual relations or serious misunderstanding. 

In California, a marriage is never considered legal if it is bigamous, with one partner already being married to someone else, or incestuous, when the parties are close blood relatives.

A case of concealment may involve a spouse hiding a prior criminal record, a drug addiction or a sexually transmitted disease. Fraud could involve misrepresenting an unmarried status or failing to disclose an inability to have children. Misunderstanding may revolve around each person’s idea of a lifestyle or the desire to have children.

The most famous contemporary example of an annulment is the January 4, 2004 marriage of Britney Spears to Jason Alexander in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spears filed for annulment on January 5, 2014, citing a lack of understanding of her actions — the couple did not know what one other liked, whether they wanted children or where they wanted to live. Spears and Alexander were granted an annulment within two hours, with the court stating that their marriage was not legally valid.

In California, obtaining an annulment does not depend on how long you have been married or in a domestic partnership. Filing for an annulment does, however, have a deadline that depends on the reason why you filed. If you miss it, further action is barred.

After an annulment, the former members of the relationship may not have other rights/obligations that divorced or legally separating couples may have. For example, if you have children and get an annulment, the court legally presumes that they do not exist. A judge must establish paternity. Then, the judge may make orders relating to visitation, custody and child support.

Annulments also affect community property laws in California. Those laws may not be used to divide debt or property accumulated while married or in a domestic partnership. The couple does not have the right to spousal or partner support or the right to receive any other benefits.

There is an exception to this situation: the putative spouse doctrine. The doctrine applies to a partner who reasonably believes the parties are married. There must be evidence offered to the court showing a belief that the usual formalities were completed. An example would be if the papers for a registered domestic partnership (RDP) were completed, but not mailed.

In California, an annulment may be referred to as a nullity of domestic partnership or nullity of marriage. Other marriages or domestic partnerships may be nullified if a filing party is under the age of 18 years old, if either spouse is already legally married or in a registered domestic partnership, if either party is of unsound mind, if either spouse married/registered due to fraud, if one of the parties agreed to marry as a result of force, or if one party to a union was physically incapable of consummating the marriage and that disability is deemed permanent.

Each reason for annulment requires those requesting such legal relief to prove the details involved in their request. In other words, it must be proven to the court that at least one of the possible reasons for filing for an annulment is true. Proving that at least one reason for requesting an annulment may be difficult. For this reason, it is wise to consult with an experienced divorce attorney.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

Grounds for an annulment vary by jurisdiction, but they may include: concealment, fraud, inability (or refusal) to engage in sexual relations or serious misunderstanding.

In California, a marriage is never considered legal if it is bigamous, with one partner already being married to someone else, or incestuous, when the parties are close blood relatives.

A case of concealment may involve a spouse hiding a prior criminal record, a drug addiction or a sexually transmitted disease. Fraud could involve misrepresenting an unmarried status or failing to disclose an inability to have children. Misunderstanding may revolve around each person’s idea of a lifestyle or the desire to have children.

The most famous contemporary example of an annulment is the January 4, 2004 marriage of Britney Spears to Jason Alexander in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spears filed for annulment on January 5, 2014, citing a lack of understanding of her actions — the couple did not know what one other liked, whether they wanted children or where they wanted to live. Spears and Alexander were granted an annulment within two hours, with the court stating that their marriage was not legally valid.

In California, obtaining an annulment does not depend on how long you have been married or in a domestic partnership. Filing for an annulment does, however, have a deadline that depends on the reason why you filed. If you miss it, further action is barred.

After an annulment, the former members of the relationship may not have other rights/obligations that divorced or legally separating couples may have. For example, if you have children and get an annulment, the court legally presumes that they do not exist. A judge must establish paternity. Then, the judge may make orders relating to visitation, custody and child support.

Annulments also affect community property laws in California. Those laws may not be used to divide debt or property accumulated while married or in a domestic partnership. The couple does not have the right to spousal or partner support or the right to receive any other benefits.

There is an exception to this situation: the putative spouse doctrine. The doctrine applies to a partner who reasonably believes the parties are married. There must be evidence offered to the court showing a belief that the usual formalities were completed. An example would be if the papers for a registered domestic partnership (RDP) were completed, but not mailed.

In California, an annulment may be referred to as a nullity of domestic partnership or nullity of marriage. Other marriages or domestic partnerships may be nullified if a filing party is under the age of 18 years old, if either spouse is already legally married or in a registered domestic partnership, if either party is of unsound mind, if either spouse married/registered due to fraud, if one of the parties agreed to marry as a result of force, or if one party to a union was physically incapable of consummating the marriage and that disability is deemed permanent.

Each reason for annulment requires those requesting such legal relief to prove the details involved in their request. In other words, it must be proven to the court that at least one of the possible reasons for filing for an annulment is true. Proving that at least one reason for requesting an annulment may be difficult. For this reason, it is wise to consult with an experienced divorce attorney.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

When to Consider Stepparent Adoption

Some scenarios where stepparent adoption may be the best choice include cases where the other biological parent has died; cases where the other parent is uninvolved in the child’s life, due to imprisonment or abandonment; and cases where the other parent voluntarily relinquishes his or her rights. It is not appropriate in situations where the other parent still plays a role in the child’s life.

Stepparent adoption is ideal in cases where the stepparent already plays a parental role in the child’s life, and the adoption serves as a formalization of that bond.  In such cases, the legal benefits of stepparent adoption can be significant. For example, the adoptive parent gains the right to make legal decisions on behalf of the child as the biological parent would. Adoption also ensures that the stepchild is eligible for Social Security and life insurance benefits if the stepparent dies.

It is important to understand that the stepparent adoption is a permanent process that cannot be revoked later on. If the stepparent and biological parent divorce later, the adoption remains valid and the stepparent will retain their legal rights and responsibilities to the child.

Terminating the Other Parent’s Legal Rights

Stepparent adoption cannot occur without terminating the legal rights of the other biological parent. Filing a petition for freedom from parental custody is the first step in the process. If the other parent is still living but absent, every effort must be made to contact them so that they have the opportunity to contest the proposed adoption.

In some cases, the family may draft a post-adoption contract that allows the biological parent to continue to see the child on a limited basis after the adoption.

The Adoption Process

If the child is over the age of 12, the child’s preferences and consent are important to the process. In such cases, the child will must sign a consent form to allow the adoption to proceed.

Other aspects of the adoption process are designed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child. For example, the family will work with Social Services and home visits may be required. The family may also need to appear in court in some cases.

If your family is interested in stepparent adoption, the first step is to schedule a consultation with a family law attorney who has experience in stepparent adoptions.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.

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One of the biggest and toughest decisions in your life can be filing for divorce, something generally most people do not want to do except as a last resort.  The next biggest issue is choosing a divorce attorney to represent you in your case.

So, how does one go about choosing a divorce lawyer exactly?  It can be a daunting task and ultimately a subjective decision that only you can make.

First, doing your research is always a good idea.  The internet allows you to search divorce attorneys online, look at their websites, and get a feel for the attorneys out there in your area.

Speaking of divorce attorneys in your area, you should generally try to choose an attorney in your city or county, depending on where you are.  For example, if you live in Orange County and your case is in Orange County, you generally should find and retain an Orange County divorce attorney.  Why?  There are 3 reasons:  (1) your attorney will have to travel less time to get to court, which in turn will save you in legal fees, (2) a local divorce attorney will know how the court in your county works (i.e. the little “ins and outs” of the court system) which is invaluable, and (3) a local divorce attorney will be known by the other attorney in your case and, even more important, the judge will likely know that attorney.  All those factors can have an effect on your case in terms of legal fees, the duration of the litigation in your case, and in how your case might be resolved.

Chances are you know someone, i.e. a friend, family member, or someone you work with, that has gone through a divorce.  If they are willing to talk about it, ask for an attorney referral because that person has gone through the process whereas you likely have not.  That person can give you a lot of helpful information and assist you in choosing a divorce attorney that fits your needs.

Much like asking someone you know about their divorce attorney, checking out and reading the client reviews of divorce attorneys is also a good way to narrow the attorneys you will want to set up consultations with.  Such reviews can be helpful in getting a sense of what those attorneys are like.  Some of those reviews are posted on attorney websites, but there are independent websites like Avvo.com that has helpful information about attorneys including client reviews.

It is always advisable to meet with more than one divorce attorney once you have narrowed your choices.  Set up consultations with each.  Some will offer free 60 minute consultations, some will offer a free 30 minute consultation, and some will require a charge for their time, often at the attorney’s hourly rate.  Do not let the issue of free vs. paid consultation be the determining factor in choosing an attorney.  Instead, in meeting each attorney, ask questions about the attorney, about how they handle their cases, about how available they are by phone/email/in person when needed, etc.  Make an informed decision about the divorce attorney you pick after doing all of this.  You want to pick an attorney that you feel comfortable with, is accessible and who actually listens to you.

A word of warning:  if a divorce lawyer that you meet promises or guarantees an outcome in your case, run out of their office.  NO divorce attorney should EVER promise or guarantee an outcome, because there are many factors involved if your case goes to trial that may affect the final outcome.   Don’t ever choose an attorney that says only what you want to hear, but one that also tells you what you need to hear.

In the end, there is no such thing as “the best attorney.”  There are many qualified divorce lawyers out there.  Rather, the issue is choosing the best attorney for you.

For more information or to schedule a consultation with Gerald Maggio, please call our Orange County office at (949) 553-0304 or go to maggiolawfirm.com.

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When you can lighten up your hatred toward the ex, you can be happier when you drop them off on the ex’s parenting week or weekend or during special occasions. Treat the ex almost like a business colleague so you can keep focused on the kids’ development and your sanity. A child’s self esteem grows when they can have quality time with both parents, and does not have to be a messenger between his or her parent.

Tara Fass, a family therapist, says, “To cultivate resilience in your children, try to turn down the anger on your anxiety, disappointment and rage. How you co-parent today affects generations to come and your lineage forever. The choice is yours.”

Inevitably as the kids grow and dynamics change, the parenting agreement might need to be modified. When there are valid reasons to update the agreement – extracurricular activities the child is involved in, work schedules, summer vacation – a family law attorney can help the parents revise the agreement. It is best if both parents can work out the revisions versus having to go back to a judge to decide what is fair. As Fass states, “…dissolving couples who require a judge’s assistance to co-parent are adults viewed as children in a tantrum-like frame of mind and emotion.”

Children greatly benefit from structure, smooth transitions between households, and an environment where a parent listens and truly cares about their child growing up as normal as possible. Co-parents will have their own personalities but “As long as you are both using good judgment and are acting in safe/healthy ways, then some parenting differences will actually create benefits for your child,” noted the We Can Parent Together website. “Problems with co-parenting during the infant, toddler, preschool, and elementary school years have been related to a wide variety of child problems, including problems with social adaptation, poorer preschool and school achievement, anxiety, and aggressiveness,” said the authors of “When People Parent Together”.

For many child therapists, divorce is not problematic in and of itself. It only becomes a strain on the child’s development when conflict, inadequate parenting, and unstable routines create an unhealthy childhood. If the co-parenting agreement is creating more problems than resolving them, seek the guidance of an expert family law attorney. Taking action early on will have great benefits for everyone in the family for the long term.

Renee Cary writes for Orange County divorce attorney, Gerald Maggio of The Maggio Law Firm. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald Maggio visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

A recent article in the Huffington Post highlighted how, “This means more affairs, and perhaps an increased number of marriages breaking up due to technology.” When a person is having a bad day at home with a spouse, they often turn to social media to relieve their stress and get back some enjoyment. But before you start to post negative comments about your spouse or send inappropriate pictures or posts over social media, think twice. Otherwise, you could wreck the success of a fair divorce.

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers notes that 75 percent of divorce lawyers are utilizing evidence from social media in marriage dissolutions. Use caution and restraint when posting on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or any online technology or you could cause more trouble than your post was worth. Remember it is not social media that is causing the problem, it is your behavior that is inappropriate. Do you want to see photos of a night on the town with cocktails in the background and a post that says “thank goodness I am away from the husband and kids”? Imagine seeing this on a big screen in the courtroom for everyone to examine when it is time to decide alimony, child support, or your fair share of the child visitation rights.

Your ex’s lawyer and the judge will scrutinize these posts and be able to take them out of context. So exercise some restraint so that problems are minimized. Also be aware of the power of your cell phone. The new Apple iPhone 4s has an app “Find My Friends” that can land you in the crosshairs of a lie. A spouse can load you and other friends on their cell and see your location on a map. So when you claim to be stuck in traffic on the 405, your spouse can see in reality you are in Laguna Beach. The GPS system does not lie, and it will be hard to show that you got lost if you were truly messing around with a mistress, that happens to be a Facebook friend that lives in Laguna Beach.

So do yourself a favor and stay off all social media and exercise caution until the divorce is finalized and you want to start a new relationship. Otherwise you could jeopardize your child custody and marriage settlement because of inappropriate behavior.

Renee Cary writes for Orange County divorce attorney, Gerald Maggio of The Maggio Law Firm. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald Maggio visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

“The state has a great interest in having those who want the benefits of parenthood to take on the responsibilities and obligations that go with parenthood,” said Pacific McGeorge School of Law Professor Larry Levine in Sacramento.

In the latest case of assigning the parent child custody, a woman who did not adopt her ex-girlfriend’s kids was ruled as their parent because she provided for them monetarily, tended to them when they were sick and even volunteered at their school. Plus, she could not adopt the children as she was in the Air Force and did not want to violate the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that was only recently lifted. Because she was carrying out the parental responsibilities and rights, she was now deemed their parent.

Child custody decisions are, therefore, looking more at who is truly functioning as the parent. Adults who do not have blood ties or adopted a child used to be classified as “legal strangers”, but if they are carrying out the role of a parent, courts will want to keep what is in the best interest of the child. A child-centered approach versus a child as property mentality is what the courts are shifting too. Who do the children rely on? Who do they think their parents are?

This can have a big impact on not only child custody, but matters of child support. The state wants to side with whom will provide the best health, education, and home environment for the child if both parties cannot agree on joint custody. The courts really take each decision on a case by case basis, as no two scenarios are exactly the same. The biggest constant is that they will rule in the best interests of the children. An experienced child custody lawyer can help the individual who seeks child custody to create an agreement that upholds what is best for the children and takes into consideration all the actions they carry out for the children.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. The Maggio Law Firm specializes in divorce and family law. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

A mediator will provide guidance to reach a resolution on the issues that still need to be worked out. They bring critical negotiation skills to listen to each party’s interests and concerns, and then help to find a common resolution that each person can agree to. The mediator is a neutral party, and oftentimes an attorney, so they will be able to provide you with a background of what is legally permissible. When an impasse is reached or negativity stalls progress, the mediator knows how to get the conversation back on track. For some couples this means not doing the mediation all in one day. But in two to three sessions, you can resolve all the big priorities of the dissolution.

It is important for you to know what your future needs are so that child support, spousal support, and the division of assets and debts are done to help you find as stable of a future as possible. What many people like about mediation is that it allows you to express your values and opinions. A litigated divorce, in contrast, follows a more strict formula and what some call a “one size fits all” approach. Mediation is more sensible for two adults who can be in the same room together and hash out the details. You can take into account the budgets you live with everyday and the future needs you and the kids will have. Mediators also know how to look for tax savings and alternative settlement options to increase the chances of financial stability post-divorce.

Couples who have been through a mediated divorce say that it is far better to have the two people who intimately know their finances and assets decide how to dissolve the marriage versus a judge or pair of attorneys. At the end of the mediation process, a final divorce settlement will be created and approved by the courts. Months down the road, you will thank yourself for doing mediation. The money you saved can go towards the kids, a savings or emergency fund, or establishing yourself in a new home.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

As these attitudes have shifted, marriage has become less of a focus. Out of wedlock babies have increased, though. Being a good parent, to Millennials, does not necessarily mean that marriage is a must. Many couples are choosing to delay marriage, live together, and break away from the social norms of their parents.

Even though marriage is delayed or not a preference, when a couple has a child it can make them refocus their priorities. Some decide to create a cohabitation agreement to help spell out their responsibilities and rights as parents and a couple.

This can help protect each person and set up a framework should something happen to one of the parents. A modern-day – cohabitation agreement includes:
– each person’s parental rights and duties
– financial obligations
– property rights
– health care directives
– estate planning and inheritance wishes
– how long the agreement is good for and/or how it can be revised

For some Millennials, this is a good warm-up to getting married. The agreement helps safeguard each person yet also sets out how each person will be looked after. As a couple establishes more assets, property, and moves up in the work world, it can be a critical document to help them create a prenuptial agreement once it is time to get married.

Sometimes, though, the cohabitation and relationship does not work out, even if there is a child that both parents mutually love and want to care for. In these instances, the cohabitation agreement can provide a path for the main caregiver to receive child support. It will also help to modify each parent’s duties and set up a visitation agreement that both parties can agree to. For couples that can amicably agree on the parenting agreement, litigation is not necessary. A family law attorney can assist in creating a plan that the courts will approve for child custody and the visitation schedule.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County family law attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County family law attorney, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

Checking account and credit card statements can reveal a lot. Look at each line item for odd spending habits. The biggest warning signs can be:
– Places that do not fit your spouse’s personality. If your spouse did not dare eat sushi, for example, but then charges start to rack up, this is a sign.
– Excessive purchases at bars, restaurants, jewelry, flower, and other gift shops
– Charges from hotels
– Higher gas costs than normal
– Extra cell phone charges or other electronic purchases that are excessive note that your spouse could have purchased equipment to communicate with the person they are seeing
– Vacation and luxury purchases when your spouse is supposed to be on a work trip
– Charges from oddly named businesses
– Membership dues to video chat companies and dating websites

It can also be a big sign if you are used to receiving these statements at home and suddenly they are not appearing. Be sure you can still access these financial accounts online to see if they have been re-routed to a post office box or if you have been locked out of your own account. These are tell-tale signs that your spouse is up to no good.

Banks also offer a feature to receive text alerts. For joint accounts that you are suspicious your spouse is using to cheat with, set this up. You will get texted in real time and the spouse will not be able to make up an excuse so fast as to what the charge was for. It is also advised to order a copy of your credit report that you are allowed to get for free one time a year. Go over it carefully to see if there are new accounts, inquiries, large balances, or other items that you have no idea about.

Be sure to keep all paperwork of the wrongdoing so when you confront the spouse or meet with a divorce attorney, you have as much evidence as possible. It is also important to start a savings fund so that you can start a new chapter on your own. If there are co-signed accounts that you are worried about getting depleted or charged, call to get your name removed or close the account.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

Some divorcing couples might agree on a value for certain assets and courts will allow this for community property. In other instances, they might want to have a fair, current market value to divide the marital assets. When this is done in California, the divorce courts put a valuation date on assets to decide their value on a specific date. This date is usually near the time of the divorce proceedings. For some people, this can send them into panic mode because things such as stocks, retirement funds, and even real estate, and art and jewelry can fluctuate wildly in price. With the help of an experienced divorce attorney, an individual can get legal counsel on the estimated dollar value for the exact valuation date.

With this, the individual can forecast what he or she will want to keep and what their finances will look like in the days and months after a divorce. It is important to note that other states work differently, so you will want to focus on what your jurisdiction mandates versus what friends and family might be telling you from a different part of the United States. Even if there is a long time between when the two of you have separated and the actual divorce, the California divorce courts typically put the valuation date near the proceeding time.

By working with a skilled divorce lawyer, an individual can assess whether it is beneficial to keep the marital home, vacation or other real estate assets, and how much of the assets are part of the marital estate or a separate asset. Also, if a business must be divided due to the divorce, an attorney is critical to valuing this asset. An attorney can also analyze what will be fair for child support, spousal support, and help to create a comprehensive plan for your financial stability in the future.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

It cannot be said enough that it is important to take an active role in your finances. Knowing where documents such as your tax return, bank statements, and credit card bills are is critical. And if you have gone paperless, knowing the online passwords is also helpful. Without knowledge of the marital assets, income, debts, and expenses, it can put you in a position of vulnerability. Yes, a divorce attorney can have a forensic accountant research the marital finances, but if you were already aware of your finances and the other spouse’s financial status to a large degree, you would be far more empowered.

If you are already on the path to a divorce and starting to feel that the other spouse is starting to act strange in regard to finances, there are some signs that could show assets or income is being hidden. It usually starts with defensive behavior where an individual becomes angered, controlling, or secretive about finances. If there is a sudden drop in income that seems unusual or unplanned, this can be a sign too. Some individuals will work with their employer to hold off bonuses, commissions, or salary adjustments until after the divorce.

Other strange behavior includes financial statements no longer being sent to the home. Especially if the two of you still live together and have not gone to paperless delivery, you will want to call any banks, investment companies and credit card institutions to get the latest account statements. If you find any big discrepancies at any time, let your divorce lawyer know so that a paper trail can be started to show the deficit.

Some individuals also start to overpay creditors and others to have it appear that they have less money. This can mean they overpay IRS, pretend they are paying off loans to family members, and even transfer money to the children. Once the divorce is over, the individual will then get an IRS refund, get the money back from the relatives or pull it out of the child’s account. This is not only deceptive, but immoral too.

Also, when the soon-to-be ex is a business owner, look for ways that he or she might be manipulating those finances. Hiring new employees, paying friends and family for work, and delaying new client agreements can be ways to make the company have less money. After the divorce is over, family could give back the money and those new employees could go away. And a wave of new contracts could come in. Being sneaky like this does not pay off, so alert your divorce attorney should you become aware of such activities.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

With the expertise of a family law attorney, disputes about spending, the kids, the family business, and even how many guys’ fishing trips and visits by the mother-in-law can be defined. Half of all family law attorneys surveyed nationwide have noted an increase of postnuptial agreements in the last few years.

For couples with issues that are causing a strain, the postnuptial can provide them a way to reset their behaviors and get back on a level playing field. If a budget has never been used in the household, this is a good time to set one and hold each spouse to it. If child raising duties need to be better divided, this is an opportunity to have each parent take their fair share.

The postnuptial agreement process will inform both spouses about each other’s financial status if they are not aware of it previously. For some couples, this is particularly helpful as it highlights what could occur if divorce were to happen. Hefty spousal support, child support, and liquidation of investments and savings could have occurred if the two had not worked hard to save their marriage.

This is exactly the premise behind getting a postnuptial agreement. The reality of what the couple has worked hard to create together could be divided if they split. If they can use the postnup opportunity to reframe their attitude toward each other and how they interact on a daily basis, the marriage can get back to its better days.

And if the postnuptial agreement does not work months or years down the line, the couple will already have some understanding of the family law system. They will have utilized one aspect to save their marriage before they call it quits.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County family law attorney , in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County family law attorney , Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

Cohabitation agreements, whether for opposite or same sex couples, define all the key financial and living decisions for the couple. It will detail:
– Disclosure of financial status to include all assets and debts
– Division of living expenses and insurance needs
– Property ownership
– Inheritances, trusts, and retirement plans
– Responsibilities for child custody, health care directives, and last wishes
– Duration of the agreement

Family law attorneys highly recommend getting a cohabitation agreement. If an individual were to be incapacitated, the other person would not have a right to make health care decisions. The responsibility and decisions would be made by family members, and this can sometimes lead to conflicts that are expensive and time consuming. And should the person die, the other partner would not be able to get their share of any assets.

Attorneys often work with clients who claim they were supposed to be supported financially from the other partner but after a breakup were nowhere to be found. If the couple had a cohabitation agreement beforehand, there would be no misunderstandings on the financial agreements and duties, and it would be enforceable by the courts.

“Cohabitation is continuing to increase in popularity,” says sociologist Susan Brown, co-director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research. “Marriage is something that is more optional now and it’s also something increasingly people do later in the life course.”

For many people, they do not want the complications that come with getting married, but still want to love, care, and define their responsibilities. The Pew Study, “Living Together: The Economics of Cohabitation” shows that 58 percent of women lived with an opposite-sex unmarried partner in 2006-2008. As marriage becomes less of a social must, but people are still living together for many years, it calls for the need to have a written understanding of each other’s responsibilities and duties.

In California, Riverside family law attorney Gerald Maggio is skilled in helping an individual create an amicable, enforceable cohabitation agreement with their partner. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in creating a well-thought out agreement to protect both parties and prepare each person for all anticipated events that could occur.

For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

“Being the one to cook the meals, prepare the lunches, help with the homework, buy the birthday presents for your children’s friends, make play dates, drop them off at school, take them to the doctor – without an outlet or someone else to fall back on if you’re tired – is part of building a deeper connection with your children,” said Jonathan Weiler and Anne J. Menkens in a recent article about the benefits gained in a child-parent relationship after divorce. “…A newfound sense of capability might make you less overwhelmed by the challenges of dealing with your kids, thereby freeing you up to enjoy the experience more.”

As a single parent, chances are that you will be more heavily involved than before in your children’s health and education decisions as well as social activities. The custody and parenting agreement will define the mutual decisions you and your ex have for these aspects of your child’s life. As time goes on, the decisions and child support might need to be modified. Getting legal advice to see about these possibilities or making a move to change them is highly advised.

Throughout it all, it is recommended to focus on the best interests of the child. Child advocates say to never make your kids messengers to the other spouse. Do not put a child in the center of dispute you have with the ex. Do not say negative things about your ex in front of the child.

“Kids are impressionable and you can make your child hate your ex-spouse if you want to, but it won’t bring you closer to your child,” said Weiler and Menkens. “If, on the other hand, if you know your ex-spouse is a good parent (even if a bad spouse) and that your child loves him or her, try praising that parent. Building your child’s esteem for her other parent will be one of the best gifts you can give to your child.”

In California, Irvine child custody attorney Gerald Maggio is skilled in helping a parent achieve the best child custody outcome and has resources in the area for parents to work on their parenting skills. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in maintaining and preserving the crucial parent-child relationship. They are well versed in child support and modifications, divorce, and alternative conflict resolution.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

During divorce proceedings, an individual can explain and show how credit card transactions did not benefit him or her. Placing a freeze on credit cards can be beneficial so that a vindictive spouse does not ruin your credit history. In general, the debt accumulated during the marriage will be divided just like the assets – down the middle. If debts can be traced back to one person’s habits or interests, there can be exceptions.

Many people forget to take their name off mutual credit cards, and this can come back to haunt them months and years in the future. Remember that a divorce decree does not actually transfer the debts in one person’s name; individuals must call the creditor to make the name change and any relevant change of contact information. If one person fails to pay the card, but both names remain on the account, the creditors can come after both accountholders. Your credit score can drop dramatically and take a lot of effort to get back up. So it’s wise to remove your name as soon as possible to prevent harm. It’s also good to do this with bank accounts so that you don’t find that an ex cleaned it out.

Getting legal guidance from a qualified divorce attorney can help individuals get a hold of their finances and assets, and properly determine what is a fair child custody and parenting agreement. An attorney will keep your financial matters confidential.

In California, Riverside divorce attorney Gerald Maggio helps clients determine the best course of action to preserve their finances during and after a divorce proceeding. The Maggio Law Firm has helped thousands of clients with their divorce, division of debts and assets, and parenting matters.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

Dividing the assets becomes a conversation between the couple, and is given the approval with a divorce attorney’s input versus in a courtroom with a judge deciding each individual’s share. “Divorce will always be a tough, emotional journey, but now people are being more practical and pragmatic about how to bring resolution,” said Karen Stewart, a divorce and relationship expert. “Boomers are looking for alternatives to the standard ‘hire two lawyers to fight it out’; people recognize the need to bring the marriage to an end in a less destructive way.”

When both adults can see the divorce akin to the end to a business relationship, they can remove the spite and stress that often leads people to court. Couples can expedite the divorce process with collaborative law and lessen a lot of the stress. When couples can focus on divorce in a business-like fashion they can remove themselves emotionally. Every divorce lawyer has a story about a client that fought for weeks over some prized possession that had no economic value and delayed divorce proceedings.

“Women tend to be completely paranoid about being left to starve and become bag ladies,” said Stewart. “Men are typically worried about being taken to the cleaners. Our job is to come up with a solution that is going to make both individuals leave feeling comfortable and secure.”

And that’s the essence of collaborative law. When a couple can sit down and divide property, assets, and mutually determine what is best for their children in custody and child support matters, each adult can be better off financially and emotionally.

The Maggio Law Firm has many years of experience in divorce and collaborative law. Irvine divorce attorney Gerald Maggio is known for his legal expertise and helping clients with all the difficult issues that are raised in a divorce. Maggio is active in the Orange County Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Riverside County Bar Association, the Orange County Barristers, and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

Psychologists show that the first three years after a divorce are the most critical time to preserve the child-parent relationship. In particular, divorce can be the hardest on children from the tween to adolescent years. Some teens might play it cool and act as if they are above experiencing difficulty from a divorce, but they are just as affected as young kids. It’s especially hard as they might not understand how a marriage that has lasted so long has come to a sudden halt. Whether it was infidelity, finances, or a long unraveling, how a divorce is dealt with during a teen’s pivotal “growing up” years is crucial.

“The children’s needs and feelings are of utmost importance,” says Risa Garon, the executive director of the National Family Resiliency Center. “Remember, the children come first when there is a family transition.”

Teens are already dealing with a lot when a mid-life divorce occurs in the family. They are starting to date, worrying about money and social status, and getting ready for big decisions like college. A parent’s apology and ability to encourage discussion when the teen is ready can go a long way to healing the teen’s feeling of loss during and after a divorce. More than anything, this can help a family relationship and the teen’s own sense of self-worth and identity be stronger, says Garon.

Yet, unfortunately, 27 percent of children have an absentee father according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of the National Survey of Family Growth. Being abandoned by a parent can have long-term consequences. That said, studies show that psychologists agree that a teen can develop in a healthy way with one parent guiding them to be successful, establish healthy relationships, and openly talking with them on a daily basis.

As Deborah Moscovitch, the author of The Smart Divorce, says, “While parents divorce each other, they don’t divorce their children. Children nonetheless are the ones who live out the divorce because their day-to-day routines, not to mention their emotional lives, are so deeply affected by it…You want your children to perceive themselves with their own goals and aspirations, independent of their status as the children of divorce.”

In California, Orange County divorce attorney Gerald Maggio counsels individuals and families through all the steps of a divorce. His legal experience and compassionate guidance helps a parent keep the child-parent bond during and after the divorce proceedings. The Maggio Law Firm is skilled in child custody and visitation, child support, property division and spousal support.

For more information:

The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.

www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office

8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600

Irvine, CA 92618

(949) 553-0304

(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office

3750 University Avenue, Suite 670

Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

A recent survey of Certified Divorce Financial Analysts noted that divorcing couples want to divide liquid assets only. Real estate, investments, retirement plans are not as lucrative as they were before, so cash is king. For divorcees who request child support and spousal support, job security is a big concern to be able to make the payments. Child support will always be the main priority if only certain monies are available.

The marital home is still the most problematic part of the divorce equation. Some couples agree to sell it at a loss to move on, but others have to take it day by day as one spouse stays in the home and pays rent until it can be sold when the market improves. People should be aware though that since the mortgage and deed remains in both names, both people’s credit can be affected if the payment is late or not paid for some time.

Some divorce attorneys are seeing that couples wait to do the final division of assets until a house is sold. This way, the opportunity for more child support or spousal support can be a possibility. Many couples wonder if they can do a divorce on their own, and save a substantial amount of money that way.

Unless one has a full understanding of the legal and financial parts of a divorce, the do-it-yourself kits and websites can create many costly errors in the future. Many parts of a divorce agreement are non-modifiable, or difficult to change unless both parties agree to it later on. Individuals can spend a lot of money trying to fix what they originally thought was a just divorce settlement. Having a qualified divorce attorney represent you is worth the money to avoid a disastrous situation down the road.

And should job loss, change in income, or your home be foreclosed, you will want legal representation to modify the divorce decree. These days the courts are seeing many requests for this, and as long as this is truly the circumstance, a lawyer can help an individual push to make this change.

In California, Riverside divorce attorney Gerald Maggio is skilled in helping an individual achieve their divorce goals. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in the division of assets and debts, joint custody matters, and child support.
For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

The court will approve a parenting agreement that lets the child equitably have a relationship with each parent, unless there is concern for the child’s safety and wellbeing. But oftentimes long after the agreement is approved and the child has been shuttled between both parents, a conflict arises. How each parent treats the other parent can play a huge role on how the child perceives the split parenting time.

“Somehow, children get the message that going to the other parent’s house after a separation or divorce is optional,” says Esq. Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute. “If you give them a choice and imply it will be a negative experience, any healthy child is going to want to avoid it. Since children have so few options in their lives, if you give them an option to avoid something negative, they will avoid it.”

Eddy recommends focusing on how you speak to your child to make the transition from one parent to another. Instead of “You have to go” or “Your dad or the court is forcing you to go”, say “I expect you to go see your dad”. Expect is a much more positive word than the perception of conflict that a child will create if they hear the word force. It’s much like forcing your child to eat broccoli or brush his teeth; kids do not want to be pushed into anything.

“When given a choice, many children who live in two households would rather stay where they are at the moment,” said Eddy. “It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to see their Mom or Dad, it just means that they don’t want to stop what they’re doing, get up, pack up, and go somewhere else. Once they get to the other house, they act just the same way. Don’t take it personally: most of the time children just prefer where they are and what they’re doing. They live in the present.”

Equally as important is how each parent converses with each other. Arguments and fights can cause confusion, resistance, and abnormal behaviors from a child. Kids mimic their parents, often without knowing why, so many family therapists recommend treating your ex as if it is a business partnership. The goal of the “business” should be your child’s wellbeing. Speak to your ex like you would a colleague with neutral, respectful, diplomatic language. Children who can have a regular schedule with each parent and similar rules at each household will greatly benefit mentally and socially from a consistent routine. Everything doesn’t have to be the same at each household, but parents should work to agree on important things like homework, bedtime, activities, and big decisions involving medical and education needs.

In California, Riverside family law attorney Gerald Maggio helps individuals create a parenting agreement that the courts will approve and benefits the child. The Maggio Law Firm is experienced in joint custody matters, child support, and can help modify the parenting agreement should a change be needed years after a divorce.

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.

A good approach is to have a divorce team with your divorce attorney and a financial advisor assessing the best route to get the other spouse out of the business. The buy out strategy can include:
• Using a marital asset such as real estate, stocks, retirement funds, or cash
• A property settlement note that allows for a longer buyout of the amount owed with interest
• An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to generate funds by selling ownership interest to employees
• Selling the business and dividing the proceeds

ESOPs can work well if a business is worth more than $5 million. ESOPs are complex but they are tax deductible, so it can become a better scenario for your business. And since employees receive a small interest in the business, they typically become more engaged employees because they want the business to succeed even more.

An ESOP is controlled with a trust fund and a trustee, and the employees are the financial beneficiaries of it. The business makes tax deductible cash contributions to the ESOP and then the trust funds buys ownership interests based upon current values. Each employee gets a small interest annually and can cash in their portion when they leave or retire from the business. Interestingly, ESOP businesses are shown to grow eight to 11 percent faster than normal businesses, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. Quicker growth equals a bigger increase in value. Thus, ESOPs can be the best route if the business forecasts growth and profits and values its employees as an integral part of the operation.

What’s more common, though, is that the business must be sold outright as a large portion of the assets are tied up in the company. This can be an excruciating process as it will leave one or more spouse without work, and the court must approve the value of the business for sale. The court will analyze the opinion of value from appraisers and accountants.

No matter which route is best, both sides need proper legal representation. Most likely one spouse will have to pay child or spousal support, so adding in the division of a business can create a financial hardship. Both spouses can benefit from mediation or a collaborative divorce to mutually work through the issues with their attorneys and accountants.

The Maggio Law Firm has many years of experience in divorce and the division of assets. Orange County Divorce Attorney Gerald Maggio is known for his legal expertise and giving clients compassionate guidance through the maze of issues that are raised in a divorce. Maggio is active in the Orange County Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Riverside County Bar Association, the Orange County Barristers, and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce.

For more information:
The Maggio Law Firm, Inc.
www.maggiolawfirm.com

Orange County Office
8105 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 600
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 553-0304
(949) 553-0346 Fax

Riverside Office
3750 University Avenue, Suite 670
Riverside, CA 92501

Gerald A. Maggio is an Orange
County divorce attorney, in Irvine, California. To learn more about Orange County divorce lawyer, Gerald A. Maggio, visit Maggiolawfirm.com.