Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

Sometimes when a couple decides to get married, they sign a contract stating the terms of what should happen if the marriage ends in a divorce. This is usually done to protect certain assets of the parties. These agreements are used when either party brings a large amount of wealth into the marriage and wants to ensure its security. Usually, people getting married for the second time make use of this contract in case things end up badly again.

A postnuptial agreement or a post-nup on the other hand, is signed after the couple has gotten married. It is similar to a pre-nup because it too helps in protecting both parties’ wealth and assets. Couples who have been separated for a while but get back together usually opt to sign a post-nup to ensure security.

Stepparent Adoption

The parental rights of one of a child’s birth parents are terminated by consent or court ruling, paving the way for a stepparent adoption to become a legal parent of that child. A stepparent adoption decree is then issued to the adoptees by the court, finalizing their legal right to parent the child.

The ending of parental rights can either be voluntary or involuntary.  If the parent agrees to his child being adopted, he waives his parental rights concerning that child but also is no longer responsible for supporting that child in the future.

Gestational carrier (surrogacy) contracts

Gestational surrogacy is an agreement in which a woman carries a baby for someone else who becomes the baby’s parent after his birth. The arrangement is made between the intended parents and the carrier and her partner. The contract carries details of the intended parents’ rights and about all custody matters. The contract also includes matters of financial compensation for the carrier and about the medical bills during this period, and their payment.  This area of family law is controversial and the number of family law attorneys versed in this area is very limited, so finding one to assist you requires substantial research and vetting to locate someone qualified to handle such proceedings.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Not all states treat adultery alike

The law varies depending on where you are. Understand the intricacies of divorce law and the impact on your settlement with the help of your divorce attorney. In some states like California, adultery has little or no bearing at all on the divorce. If you live in a no-fault state like California, then you should be able to proceed as normal and no proof of adultery will be demanded.

How adultery impacts Spousal Support or Alimony

If you are the one accused of adultery in a no-fault divorce state like California, there is generally no impact on the ability to seek spousal support. However, if cohabitation with that person occurs, it can affect the amount and/or ability to obtain spousal support.

Division of Financial Assets in a divorce involving Adultery

How the financial assets are divided and the terms of the settlement are in general, not influenced by whether or not one partner or both have committed adultery. The only instance where it could come into play is if the family’s finances and assets were impacted or utilized for supporting the adulterous relationship. In case the family wealth was eroded to support this relationship, the betrayed spouse will make a bid for some form of compensation.

Special circumstances

In case you contracted an STD and passed it on to your spouse, you may find yourself vulnerable to personal injury action lawsuits. It is therefore, best to come to an agreement within the purview of the divorce proceedings and settlement and prevent things from getting out of hand.

Ultimately though, the divorce settlement will be most influenced by your own emotions, guilty and feelings towards your soon to be ex spouse. If you are feeling bad about what you did, you may agree to give in a little more and let your spouse get a better deal.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Responsible parents will know the importance of giving the child something to hold on to and feel stable about when the whole world that they have known is changing around them. To achieve this, some parents adopt what is called a nestling plan.

What is a Nestling Plan?

A nestling plan is a term that is derived from the home that birds live in, i.e. a nest. The arrangement in this is such that the parents mutually decide to keep the marital home and the children continue to live in it.  Each of the parents takes turns living there with the children when it is their turn to have custody. The other parent, meanwhile, live somewhere else during their non-custodial times.  Here is a look at the pros and cons of having a nestling plan for your children post divorce.

Pros

·         Financial

Keeping the marital home and simply renting another small apartment to live in for either of the spouse when it’s not their parenting time represents a significant reduction in the cost of residence. This is the single largest expense for a spouse post-divorce and so a nestling plan can help you in terms of financial savings.

·         Emotional

When you are parents what is the first and foremost thought that comes to your mind? Yes, it is the well-being of your children. Even when you get into a divorce you are not ceasing to be a parent. You will continue to be a parent and keeping the marital home will ensure that you allow your children some emotional solace to stay in the place where they have routine, friends and a life.

Cons

·         Financial

Staying in the marital home can also be an advantage and depending on perspectives also a con.  Also, this is not really a long-term solution.

Generally, a nestling plan is a viable option while you are going through your divorce or for a certain period of time thereafter, but not necessarily as a permanent arrangement.  However, during a divorce, it can provide stability to the children of divorce until a final resolution is worked out and the parties can move forward with their lives.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

When parents go through divorce mediation as opposed to contentious litigation, they are better able to decide on effective co-parenting procedures, visitations and custody arrangements. Some of which may involve the children living apart from you.  Here are a few tips to help you pull it off effective parenting:

1. Stay connected with them using emails, video chatting, and cards.  While the world may have moved on from the old ways of communication, a card or a letter that’s inspirational and funny can really melt the heart of your child. You child needs to know that he or she continues to be the center of your affection even after your divorce.
2. If your child is not a teen yet, they will have different needs that you’ll need to care for despite not being there with them. The simplest thing you can do is to tell them a bed-time tale before they sleep, on the phone. It would be best if you each have the book that is being read so that each of you can turn the pages like the other making it a more interactive, loving experience.
3. Keep in contact with them frequently.  Your primary aim as a parent during and after divorce is to make sure that your child is comfortable, safe and secure. You can only do that if you have frequent contact with them.
4. Remember you are not the only parent to the child. If your child is in the custody of the other spouse after your divorce, it is crucial that you realize that and refrain from trying to run your child’s life the way you want. You should have the belief in the other spouse to take good care of your child and not try to assert too much control on what happens at the other parent’s home.

   Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Media reports have described the divorce as “not contentious,” with the Hollywood actor couple choosing to settle their divorce amicably out of court for the sake of their three children — Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3.  They are working with a mediator to resolve financial, property and custody issues and expedite the divorce process. Affleck, 42, and Garner, 43, will share joint custody of their children and intend to co-parent as equals.

In a joint official statement, the couple said, “We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time.” According to media reports, Affleck and Garner plan to continue living together on the family’s property in Brentwood, California, but in separate houses in order to effectively co-parent and focus on consistency for their children.

The decision to seek mediation is unusual as many divorcing celebrity couples tend to become involved in drawn-out court battles that often turn ugly. Mediation takes the drama out of divorce and keep things efficient for the sake of the family.  Adopting smart co-parenting strategies can ease the burden of divorce on children. Contentious divorces place the focus on seeking revenge, while amicable divorces involve setting egos aside and making children the top priority. Couples who manage to take a sensitive, selfless approach will ease the stressful nature of divorce on children, especially young ones.

Besides parenting issues, the couple also faces the task of dividing their assets. They are estimated to have combined wealth upwards of $115 million. The media has speculated that Affleck and Garner purposely announced their split one day after their tenth anniversary due to California’s spousal support laws. In California, a marriage that crosses the 10-year mark is considered long term, which affects the amount and length of spousal support. However, many of the state’s courts do not prefer to award lifetime spousal support if they feel that the lesser-earning spouse is able to support themselves. If the divorce involves a prenuptial agreement or decisions made during mediation, the judge may not even have to rule about spousal support.

For more information, see the following:

• http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/ben-affleck-jen-garner-split-all-the-details-behind-their-divorce-2015306
• http://www.people.com/article/ben-affleck-jennifer-garner-divorce-at-stake
• http://www.eonline.com/news/672260/jennifer-garner-and-ben-affleck-divorce-details-emerge-they-didn-t-want-the-same-things-source-says
• http://www.bostonherald.com/inside_track/the_inside_track/2015/06/it_s_a_wrap_ben_affleck_and_jennifer_garner_end_decade_long
• https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/jennifer-garner-and-ben-afflecks-ambitious-122961544307.html
• http://www.eonline.com/news/674574/ben-affleck-living-in-jennifer-garner-s-guest-house-in-atlanta-get-details-on-their-lives-after-divorce
• http://fortune.com/2015/07/04/affleck-garner-divorce-prenups/

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Among the types of evidence gathered, 46 percent consisted of text messages, while 30 percent were emails and 12 percent were call logs and phone numbers. App data, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds and more were also used.

The survey cited popular social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as being the top three used for divorce evidence by 41 percent, 17 percent and 16 percent of the surveyed attorneys respectively.

Social media can have a significant impact on divorce cases by opening up divorcing partners to scrutiny in court. In litigated divorces, opposing attorneys may dig up incriminating information from social media pages for one spouse to use against the other as evidence to prove anything from concealed assets to the breach of a prenuptial agreement.

For example, a parent “tweeting” about a night out could be perceived as being irresponsible towards their child, or a spouse sharing Instagram photos of a vacation could raise questions about their income.

So the bottom line is that you should monitor your behavior on social media. Ask yourself, if I post this, will it come back to haunt me later? If you are going through a divorce, err on the side of caution and refrain from using social networks until after the divorce. Otherwise, your online activities could come back to be a problem for you.

When it comes to divorce, an advantage of divorce mediation is privacy. Neither party is compelled to look through each other’s social media activity to find something incriminating to use. The divorcing partners can instead focus on looking forward and coming to an agreement regarding their futures, rather than reliving the past.

For more information, see:

• http://aaml.org/about-the-academy/press/press-releases/divorce/huge-increase-texts-and-app-evidence-divorces-say-nat
• http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/ct-divorce-apps-spying-0610-biz-20150609-story.html

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Vincent Chambers, 26, was working for the county utilities department in Orange County, Florida, when he began to experience back pain in 2012. He was given a battery of tests including a Tuberculosis (TB) test, spent 10 days in hospital and visited several medical practitioners and a rheumatologist in early January 2013.

The rheumatologist diagnosed Chambers with rheumatoid arthritis and administered a shot of HUMIRA, which is contraindicated for patients with tuberculosis.

It was not long after receiving the HUMIRA injection that Chambers began to lose feeling from the waist down and experience numbness. He went to the Orlando Regional Medical Center E.R. where he was diagnosed with complete paraplegia; the doctor who examined him stated an infectious disease was not a likely cause of his paralysis.

Chambers, who was using a wheelchair, was eventually sent to University of Florida Health – Shands Hospital. Doctors there indicated he had tuberculosis, not rheumatoid arthritis, and that in fact there was no evidence he ever had rheumatoid arthritis. He was started on the appropriate TB medication on January 28, 2013.

The plaintiff in this case chose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against multiple named defendants, alleging breach of duty, failure to provide reasonable medical care, negligence and failure to provide appropriate treatment. The statement of claim for the lawsuit indicates Chambers has medical bills in excess of a half-million dollars and that he needs personal care for the rest of his life, for which his expenses would be in the millions.

Faced with such astronomical bills and the necessity of medical care for the remainder of his life, Chambers may have been interested in finding out about pre-settlement funding. A lawsuit loan would assist him in paying off his medical bills and also keep current with his regular financial obligations.

By contacting a litigation funding company, one would discover that pre-settlement funding takes the form of a fast cash loan that usually arrives in the approved plaintiff’s bank account in less than 48 hours. The applicant would not be subjected to a credit check, pay any money upfront or monthly and would not need to be employed. The applicant would need to be working with an attorney, who would be responsible for submitting the paperwork to get the lawsuit loan rolling.

Litigation funding is not for everyone, but there are many appealing aspects to it for some. Should the case be lost in court, the applicant may keep the lawsuit loan free and clear of any obligations whatsoever.

Daren Monroe writes for Litigation Funding Corp. To learn more about lawsuit funding and litigation funding, visit http://www.litigationfundingcorp.com/.

Divorce not Litigation

Orange County divorce in reality is simply the name given to the legal separation of two spouses from a relationship that they were unable to continue. Divorce does not have to mean hate or torment. There are a large number of ways that divorce can happen, the fact that litigation and court proceedings are common ways doesn’t make them divorce themselves. In reality, there are other methods such as Orange County divorce mediation that are on the rise.

Divorce Mediation – Friendly Divorce

Orange County divorce mediation is increasing day by day in its importance as a means of ending a ,marital relationship. Couples are turning to mediation for divorce because they are looking for a divorce that is able to legally end their relations without invading their privacy after a set limit. Mediation is also a more amicable and cordial way of dealing with the issues that arise out of divorce.

Issues such as child custody, visitation, and spousal support and alimony payments tend to be fiercely fought out in court but can be solved over table talk in mediation. Orange County divorce mediation can be considered the embodiment of the concept of a friendly divorce. A friendly divorce aims to make the process of legal separation between the two spouses more amicable.

In mediation, the Orange County divorce mediator sits alongside the two spouses to make sure that they are able to discuss and dissect hard hitting issues of divorce. While sparks can sometimes fly even in mediation proceedings, it is the role of the mediator to make sure that the discussion doesn’t detract and that a comfortable atmosphere prevails throughout the proceedings.

Traditional vs Friendly

Traditional divorce i.e. litigation is completely different to Orange County divorce mediation. In traditional mediation, the lawyers are representing the two spouses, and their job is not to create a win-win situation, but to make sure their client “wins.”  In comparison, mediation involves only the mediator and the spouses. The mediator will take a lump sum fees at the start of the procedure, has no stake in stretching the duration of the mediation, and tries to create a situation where both parties walk away feeling satisfied over the distribution of assets.

Setting an Example

Often divorces have children involved. When children are involved in a divorce, a friendly divorce becomes much more important since the conduct of their parents will set an example for the child to follow. It is best that whenever you choose to divorce, you choose mediation since it allows you the chance of an amicable, friendly divorce.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The role of technology in a divorce case has often been ignored, yet in reality it can either make or break your case and your chances of success.

The use of technology can really help you in fighting your divorce case. All that needs to be done is proper and smart use of technology to gain advantage and evidence over the other spouse. What would you do in a case where you think that your spouse has sent a number of texts to his or her business partner highlighting some of his offshore bank accounts that he or she has hidden from you in divorce?

Cons

While the messages may hold the key to proving the dishonesty of your spouse, the problem and the fact remains that it will be next to impossible to get your hands on such a text in any case. The first reason is that the phone company often deletes the volume of messages every three days, therefore ending any chance of them being available in the first place.

This is especially true since, before presenting new evidence, the family law rules requires the party to serve a notice to the opposing party several days in advance of serving a subpoena on a cell carrier provider, for example. This is what can prove to be a con of technology, since it can’t help the person in need of help despite having the evidence required.

Pros

While this is a con of the role of technology in a divorce, there are also a host of pros that technology offers in cases of divorce. What if during the divorce proceedings your spouse or their lawyer accuses you of stalking them and/or harassing them. What can you do to respond to such a claim in the secondary case of a restraining order?

The first and most obvious thing to do is to provide a valid explanation, such as a person who witnessed your innocence. The second way, on the other hand, is to use your smartphone as your verifier of truth.  This can happen by using the phone’s GPS facility to show your whereabouts at the time of the alleged incident.

Some Interesting Tech and Divorce Facts

• A large number of divorce investigators and family lawyers spend a large amount of time on social media interacting with existing and potential customers.
• Any information that is posted by your spouse on their social media account can be used as evidence against them in court.

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.

The Problem with Divorce

Owing to the affinity that people hold with their belongings and their children, divorce can often be one of the hardest decisions to make and stick to. While most spouses are looking to get rid of their spouses, they are reluctant to be exposed to the glare of the general public in the Orange County family law courts. This has been one of the leading reasons that while traditional Orange County divorce continues to be the main means of obtaining a divorce through the courts, there has been a change in the methods of getting divorced.

Alternatives on the Horizon

Increasingly, people are now looking towards alternative dispute resolution methods such as Orange County divorce mediation to make sure that their privacy is maintained. Divorce mediation as a process holds its roots in the concept of alternative dispute resolution that looks to lessen the workload on the courts and allows them to focus on more troubling cases where mediation is not a viable option.

Divorce Mediation

Orange County divorce mediation is a process that is designed to make sure that both of the spouses continue to keep cordial relations with each other. Spouses are allowed to hold their fates in their own hands during mediation, with any agreement at the end of the mediation process requiring both of the spouses to mutually agree on its contents.

This has also been one of the leading reasons that spouses have started to turn to mediation instead of litigation. Since it can offer them a greater level of privacy as well as control over their fate, which otherwise would have rested in the hands of the family court judge.

Effective Legal Separation

Orange County mediation has often been referred to as a method of divorce that is meant to be only applicable and not necessarily legally binding. This means that the prevailing perception is that Orange County divorce mediation is not a proper form of legal separation. This however is far from the truth. Simply put, the courts in California have moved to make sure that mediation continues to lessen their workload. They have through their judgments made sure that Orange County mediation agreements are legally binding and enforceable through courts.

This has meant that couples can now mutually and amicably decide on their fates after divorce and handle personal issues such as child custody, asset distribution and support payments out of the public glare.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Prenuptial agreements, also known as premarital agreements, basically outline the post divorce assets and finances that each of the spouse will be entitled to. These are drawn up usually by wealthier spouses to keep hold of more than a portion of the wealth they have built up, but also upper middle class individuals.

There are a few things that prenuptial agreements can do and some that they can’t. Here is a list of some of a few of the limitations on what prenuptial agreements can do.

Spouses Cannot Be Punished For Using A Prenuptial Agreement

No spouse can be punished using a prenuptial agreement. This is because the State of California continues to be a no-fault divorce state. This means that generally even though a spouse may have been unfaithful, the other generally cannot use the prenuptial agreement to punish them.

Yet, there can be some exceptions such as in the case of a spouse who physically or verbally abuses the other spouse. A spouse that is proven to be abusive can be punished using the prenuptial agreement and be refrained from receiving the finances and the support that he or she is entitled to.

Prenuptial Agreements Are Not Entitled To Change Child Support And Child Custody

When couples go through an Orange County divorce, the family courts decide on the cases of using the California Family Code. Keeping this in mind, while prenuptial agreements can define the division of assets etc., when it comes to the issues of children in divorce, the scope of prenuptial agreements is limited.

Family law courts don’t allow the agreements to overall or make determinations concerning child custody, child support, and child visitation.  Prenuptial agreements can have a say with regard to the property and spousal support only.  Yet, in matters related to the children, the final authority lies with the courts. This action is meant to protect the best interest of the child at all times.

Prenuptial Agreements Are Not Allowed To Reign Over Day To Day Affairs

Prenuptial agreements have been primarily made to protect the division of assets between the two spouses and hence it is restricted in its ability to dictate day to day affairs between the spouses. Any issue that interferes with the choice and free will of the spouses is not allowed to be in a prenuptial agreement. An example can be the number of children to be born out of the wedlock.

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.

·         Joint Physical Custody

This word is used to refer to the custody where both the parents will have considerable amount of physical custody. This custody by no means requires that the share of custody between the two must be equal. An example can be one of the spouses getting the child for the weekends and the other keeping him for the rest of the five days in the week.

·         Joint Legal Custody

Joint legal custody is little different a concept than joint physical custody. Joint legal custody allows both the parents the authority to make the decisions related to the child such as education, health, etc. In some Orange County divorces though, the judge can grant the parents joint legal custody but not joint physical custody.

·         Sole Physical Custody

Only one of the two parents of the child is allowed to spend the largest amount of time with the child and to be able to completely be in charge of all the child’s day to day affairs.

·         Sole Legal Custody

Only one of the two parents of the child is allowed to make the decision with respect to the important issues in the child’s life, such as education, welfare, health, religion, etc.

·         Primary Custody

More often than not, Orange County divorce family lawyers use the term “primary custody” in describing physical custody instead of only using the words joint custody and sole custody, to distinguish the parent who has control of the day to day affairs of the child. Despite the widespread use of the word, under California law, there is no such recognized term.

·         Visitation

If one of the parent has the custody of the child instead of both, the other parent will be allowed to meet the child at agreed times. This is referred to as visitation.  However, a preferred alternative is describing the other party’s time as their custodial timeshare without labeling it “visitation” per se.

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.

The Changes to the Family in Modern Times

The scale of changes has meant that divorce laws have started to be questioned by recent developments. A few of these notable changes can be:

• A generation or so ago, women having full time jobs was not as common as it is today. Now they are working outside of their houses, with many households having not one but two incomes.
• A few years ago, there were only a few states in the US, one of which was California, which had legalized same sex marriages. Yet, now with the recent decision of the Supreme Court making it legal throughout the US, the family laws such as those of divorce seem incompatible.

Incompatibility of the Law

These changes mean that the scope of the modern family has changed drastically. The California divorce and family laws for example are not meant to handle the complex issues that are arising as a result of these changes.

How do you determine the custody of the child between two same sex parents only one of whom is biologically related to the child? While the child may view both of them as parents, legally only one of them is the real parent owing to biological relations.

In addition, in homes where there are two sources of income one from each spouse, property division can be a serious issue, because neither party would want to settle for a smaller share or a share they don’t feel is proportionate to their contributions.

Mediating the Solution

Instead of using the courts to solve disputes, if we turn to Orange County divorce mediation, the needs of the modern family can be catered to, with decisions made based around common sense, mutual wisdom, and the needs of the family.

If both of the spouses can talk it out and make sure they understand each other’s point of views, Orange County divorce mediation gives them the chance to make a legally binding decision as they see fit, irrespective of its compatibility with the law. This, however, will only be applicable as long as both the spouses are mutually agreeing on the provisions of the agreement.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

If you think you are in grave danger, the first thing you should do right now is contact law enforcement right away. If, however, the problem is a persistent one but not one that poses immediate danger, you should, along with your Orange County divorce, file for a restraining order.

There are two main types of restraining orders in Orange County family law to protect the victims and families or those victims from abusive spouse and individuals.

Restraining Order Types

·         EPO (Emergency Protective Order)

An emergency protective order is a temporary order issued in criminal domestic violence situations for restraining an individual away from a person or a group of people, and is often part of a domestic violence incident by one spouse against another that led to an arrest by the police. These orders are specially issued by the law enforcement agencies and will be valid for no more than five days of issuance.  There are a number of victims that this restraining order applies to, such as:

• Domestic Violence
• Stalking
• Child Abduction
• Child Abuse

·         DVRO or TRO (Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order)

The domestic violence temporary restraining order is the primary type of restraining order that are made to apply specifically in cases of domestic violence whether it be for an Orange County divorce or otherwise. The emergency order is put in place by an Orange County family law judge for a total of 21 days and a hearing on the merits and facts is required within 21 days to determine if a more permanent restraining order of 1-5 years should be issued by the court.

If you have been subjected to abuse at the hand of your spouse, now is the time to stand up and protect yourself through a divorce and these restraining orders.

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.

As the popular saying goes “The show must go on” so must your life. If you are willing to continue to live your life happily and successfully while keeping your past behind you, there should be no barrier to such a noble thought. In this article, we give you a few secrets that can help you form a successful second marital relation after the setback of the first.

Make Sure Your First Marriage Is Put To Rest

The only way you can build a successful relation in your second marriage is if you have put your first marriage to rest. Putting to rest here means making sure that legally there are no cases pertaining to your divorce and that you are emotionally and financially over your divorce. People who have gone through an Orange County divorce mediation to end their first marriage will usually find this easier to do.

Take A Look Back At The Reasons Of Failure Of The First Marriage

There is a reason that your first marriage ended up the way that it did. Hence you should look back at your first marriage’s mistakes and reasons for divorce and try and make sure they aren’t repeated in this marriage. A first marriage should work as a prototype where you can highlight your own weaknesses and issues and start to work on it for a better future.

Be Sure To Sort The Finances Out At The Start

The financial side of things in second marriages can be tricky with child support payments and alimony payments affecting your finances. As long as that is increasing your finances, it may not be as much of an issue as it would if you are the spouse that has to make these payments. In that case, it is best that you are open with your new spouses and that you talk them through your financial situation to avoid future issues.

Don’t Take The Baggage Of Negativity Into The New Relationship

Unless you have gotten a divorce through Orange County divorce mediation, the fights and the bickering in your divorce proceedings will leave you with a large amount of negativity in you. The key to making a new relationship work is to make sure that the negativity from your previous relationship is not taken out on the new person in your life. The new spouses that you are planning to live with had nothing to do with you previous divorce and you should make sure they don’t bear its brunt either.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Here is a list of a few things you should expect from yourself in court for the proceedings of your divorce case:

·        Be Aware Of The Facts

When you walk into court, irrespective of the case that you are fighting, you should be aware of the facts of the case. Many people tend to have misconceptions that it is their divorce lawyers and not them who need to be in knowledge of all case related aspects. While your divorce lawyers need to be aware of the ins and outs of the case, so do you. A lack of case related knowledge when you appear in court can severely hamper your chances of winning.

·        Rise Above The Emotions

As mentioned in the first few lines of the blog, getting emotional is a natural part of going through a divorce. When people go through divorce, they face emotional torment. Despite that, you need to be able to control  your emotions. Letting your emotions take over will only allow you to deviate from your goal and impair your ability to make logical and sound decisions.

·        Be Truthful In Front Of The Court

This is something you should already be aware of know. To lie is looked down upon in almost all walks of life and most definitely so in the court of law where the future of both parties depends on the facts and statements presented. There may however be instances in your Orange County divorce proceedings that your spouse might lie to gain an advantage. Even in situations like those, make sure you continue to stay on a high moral ground and continue to be truthful. Beware that if courts find out that a spouse is being untruthful, the offending party will have to face legal consequences.

·        Expect To Be In It For A Long Time

Divorce is not a matter of life and death, and yet, it is considered no less by the competing spouses. There are lots of things from assets to child custody at stake in a divorce and therefore it is important that you expect to potentially be involved in the divorce proceedings for a long time.

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.

A New Solution

Irrespective of the type of the case, the Orange County family law court have become the center of all things divorce over the past few decades. The rising number of cases, and the delays in proceedings etc, has meant that people are now looking for easier avenues to settle their divorces in. The search for these easier avenues has meant that newer divorce procedures are being adopted that are both legally compatible and significantly different to court proceedings in their functioning.

Over the years around the world with the rising number of cases and disputes pending in courts, methods of alternative dispute resolutions were developed to cope. These methods of alternative dispute resolutions much like the name suggest are methods of resolutions that do not involve the courts in the process in any which way (except for implementation).

Alternative dispute resolution, much like its use in other areas of law, has increasingly started to be used in the Orange County divorce cases. Before we look at that though, here is a list of few methods of alternative dispute resolution that have been readily used.

Methods Of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Some common dispute resolution methods are:

• Collaborative divorce
• Mediation

All these methods of alternative dispute resolutions have and are playing their part to try and lessen the burden on the courts with respect to legal disputes. Among these methods, mediation is the method that is best suited for resolution of cases of divorce.

Divorce Mediation

Orange County divorce mediation is starting to gain a foothold in the avenues of divorce in California. Mediation is a branch of the alternative dispute resolution tree but is significantly different and more cost-effective than collaborative divorce.

Divorce mediation, despite being tasked with trying to lessen the workload of family law courts, is starkly different in procedure and style to courts. Mediation as a process is more about empowerment and freedom to the spouses to be able to reach a conclusion themselves. The role of the Orange County divorce mediator is to facilitate the couples and make sure they are on the right track in terms of their discussions. Unlike the courts which have to decide cases, the mediator is more than happy to take a back seat and let the couples decide their fate on their own.

One of the advantages of using mediation is that any decision taken can be implemented to in courts if there are issues developing later on with the mutually accepted decision.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

What is a Prenuptial (Premarital) Agreement?

A pre-nuptial agreement is an agreement that the spouses have prepared weeks or months before the wedding. Simply put, this agreement outlines the number of assets or the percentage that either of the spouses will be entitled to in case of divorce. Such agreements tend to allow the wealthier spouses to keep hold of much of their estate, instead of having to share considerable chunks of it with their spouses.

Advantages of Prenuptial Agreements

Over the years, with the number of wealthy people increasing, the use of prenuptial agreements has become more of a norm rather than an exception. Here is a list of a few advantages of getting into a prenuptial agreement.

·         A Prenuptial Agreement Can Protect Financial Stability

This is the primary reason most people want a pre nuptial agreement in the first place. In cases of divorce that are run and tried for in the Orange County family law courts, the law wants the assets owned by either of the spouse to be shared among both the spouses. This would be a disadvantage to you if you’re the party with the larger number of assets. Once you get into a pre-nuptial agreement though, you are better able to protect your assets.

·         Reduces Unnecessary Conflict

When it comes to divorce cases, there are large number of conflicts that can develop between the spouses owing to monetary disagreements and problems with asset distribution. This not only will stretch the divorce case further, but is also likely to have an adverse affect on the children that are part of the marriage.

When spouses get into a pre nuptial agreement, they are already deciding on the percentage of asset distribution and what each spouses will be entitled to after divorce. Once a prenuptial agreement has been signed, both the spouses will be aware of their worth and the assets that they will have a control over if the relationship ends. Knowing this would not only deter the divorces done to gain ample money for them but also help in little asset distribution conflicts among spouses in family law courts.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The judge in an Orange County divorce case holds unparalleled importance since they are the ones who are the decision-making authority. With great power come greater responsibility, and a judge will be expected by the parties to be up to a certain standard. Here are a few things that either of the spouses should expect from the judge.

·        Expect Them To Be Busy

The number of family disputes and people looking for divorce seems to be on the horizon with a large number of cases being registered in the family law courts. This is likely to mean that you should expect the judge to be busy. This would mean that the judge would have to juggle your case along with other similar cases that he or she is dealing with.

·        Expect The Judge To Prioritize The Type Of Cases To Be Heard

There are some things that a family law judge should do but often end up not doing. This is likely to be one of those instances. Judges in family law courts are expected to prioritize the case they are hearing in order of importance of the case and the issue at hand.  Setting priority to the case would allow the judge to fast track the hearing of the case instead of dealing with it at the same pace as other cases. These cases can usually be ones that involve domestic violence and child custody issues.

·        Expect The Judge To Want A Time Estimate

Usually when an Orange County divorce case starts, the judges are looking to know the time limit or the period of time that the  divorce case is expected to run. Therefore, you should expect the judge to ask your lawyers and that of the other spouse to give him/her an estimate of the length the case is expect to run for. When a judge asks you for an estimate, it is not needed to be a 100% accurate value, rather an estimate. Yet, telling a judge your case would take less time when it actually will take more is the wrong thing to do.

·        Expect Them To Ask Why Your Cases Has Not Been Settled Out Of Court

With the increasing number of cases in the Orange County family law court, judges have been encouraging their potential clients to settle their cases out of court. It is only when that does not happen that they expect the spouse to battle it out in court. So you expect the judge to ask you the reason for not settling the case out of court.

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.

Increasingly, spouses have started to get into pre-nuptial (premarital) agreements to make sure that their assets are protected from that dreaded day in divorce court. Some spouses however cannot agree on pre-marital agreements to have their assets protected. Here is a list of a few other options that such spouses can use to make sure their assets are protected despite not getting into a pre marital agreement.

Make Sure You Keep Your Funds Separate

This step is fairly simple and will allow you to escape lots of complexities in your divorce case moving ahead. If you have separate funds that belong exclusively to you, and were in your possession before you got married, make sure you keep the money that you had prior to your marriage in an individual account. This will allow it to be easily distinguished from the joint assets.

Separate Your Separate Property

One of the most important things in the assets category tends to be property. Property is often the most valuable of all assets and therefore will be fought over with the most commitment by the spouses. The best way to make sure that you protect the property that you have had in your possession even before the marriage is to keep it separate from your joint property with your spouse. This is trickier than handling separate funds.

If you have separate property that belonged to you even before you got married, the best way to keep it away from your divorce proceedings is to manage all its expenses from money from your pre marriage wealth exclusively. Any use of mutual funds to pay off the properties recurring expenses could drag what should have been your exclusive property into your Orange County divorce proceedings.

Making A Trust To Protect Assets

One of the easiest ways you and your spouses can protect their assets is by creating a trust before marriage. A trust will mean that there is a clear determination by the spouses to keep some parts of the property separate. When a trust ownership is involved in assets cases of divorces, judges will be more willing to accept that the spouses intended to keep certain aspects of the assets separate from the division.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

In Orange County divorce mediation cases, however, couples can agree on scenarios that allow one of the spouses to want possession of the marital home while the other wants his/ her name off the mortgage.  While this sounds simple in practice, it can actually be quite difficult to achieve. Here is a list of a few. In such cases, spouses have only two legal options to bring their decision into affect. One is refinance and the other is to sell the house and keep whatever cash it is sold for.

Why Is Refinancing Of A Mortgage A Difficult Option?

Of the two ways mentioned above, refinance is the only one that allows you to stay in control of and in possession of your home. Yet, before you proceed with divorce mediation, you need to consider problems that can arise in refinancing. The mortgage of homes tends to be more than the government backed loan refinance schemes. This would mean that when and if you opt to refinance your income will closely be scrutinized.

There are strict criterions that you’ll need to fulfill to be applicable to have a refinance of your mortgage. A look at the federal finance rules highlights that only people who have a personal debt ratio of less than 43% on their income are able to refinance their loans and get new loans. Therefore, the banks or the lenders will take into account your debt repayment ability and other payments that you are making because of your Orange County divorce like alimony and child support payments.

How Can You Make The Process Easier?

The first step to easing this process off is to know what the problems are. Since you know that during and before you have taken part in your Orange County divorce mediation means you are already on the right track.

The key to making sure you stray well clear of such things is to first of all make sure that every transaction you make is credit approved and done correctly.  Also make sure that any and all suggestions given and decisions taken in Orange County divorce mediation are discussed with a financial expert.

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.

While the above paragraph outlines a rosy picture that can be achieved with the two spouses working together, in reality there are limits that each of the spouses should create and adhere to after a divorce to avoid hurting the other party or having negative effect on their child’s well being. Here is a list of a few steps that you can use to set boundaries with your spouse.

Talk About Less Things

Irrespective of the way of divorce you have chosen, whether it is through Orange County divorce mediation or through divorce litigation, there is bound to be some bitterness between the two spouses. This bitterness tends to come to the fore when former spouses are going to talk about sensitive issues. Therefore, it is best that you decide with your spouse on only having to communicate on a few topics preferably the ones that concern the welfare and health of the child.

Exhibit Mutual Respect

While the mutual admiration between the two spouses is unlikely to exist after a divorce, they should both work to make sure there continues to be mutual respect. Mutual respect is usually lost in long fought divorce cases in courts. If you have used Orange County divorce mediation, there is sure to be some sort of mutual respect between the two spouses. Make sure that this mutual respect is maintained at all times in conversations, and limit your emotions from coming into play.

Keep Your Most Valuable Assets (The Kids) Away from the Drama

This is one of the most important steps to follow, since it not only involves the well being of you and your former spouse but most importantly the well being of your kids. Never use the kids as messengers to send messages to the other spouse. Children should be kept as far away from their parent’s unhealthy relationship as possible. One of the most important things in this regards is also to make sure you refrain from abusing, criticizing, or negatively portraying the other spouses.

This is because although your divorce may have hurt you, to the kids that person remains his /her parent.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

There are many tools in the California family law legal system that can be used by couples to make sure that the case is going on smoothly and that they are able to get exactly what they want. One such tool that has been used by divorcing parties is the temporary order. Temporary orders are orders where the spouses want the court to rule on matters of importance temporarily until they settle the entire case or go to trial.

How Do You Get Temporary Orders?

The request by parties to be granted temporary orders in their favor is made by filing a Request for Order with the Orange County Family Law court at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, in Orange, California.  A Request for Order (RFO) is simply put a request put forward by the spouses for the court to make certain orders in their case.

The Process of Bringing a Request for Order

For a Request for Order process to start, both parties need to file papers in the courts that highlight issues that the judge will need to pass a temporary order on and their sides of the case and the order that they believe should be ordered, and the court will schedule a hearing date for the RFO.

At the day that the actual RFO hearing is scheduled, the divorce lawyers from both sides will generally present testimony to the court and highlighting the law and make the legal arguments that they believe applies to their case for them to get a temporary order in their favor.

When it comes to the actual hearing, the burden of proof of proving his or her claim to the court is entirely on the person filing the RFO.

Types Of Temporary Orders

While the family law court can hear a number of issues, there are generally only a few matters that they will make temporary orders for. Here is a list of a few of them:

• Child Custody
• Child Visitation
• Child Support
• Spousal Support
• Orders for fees of Attorney
• Domestic Violence Restraining orders

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.

Once you have filed for divorce, at some point, the court may schedule a trial setting conference if you are litigating your case.

A Hearing To Set The Trial Date

Trial setting conferences are one of the many important aspects in the functioning of the court that will affect your Orange County divorce case. The importance of a trial setting hearing can be seen by the fact that they are the first steps to getting a trial date allotted in your case. A trial setting conference is strictly a legal matter and more often than not only the lawyers of the spouses will attend these hearings. There are, however, some exceptions for the spouses to appear in the hearing if they want to or when they are summoned by the court to attend it.

Scenarios In The Trial Setting Hearing

Once the trial setting hearing has started in the Orange County Family Law Court, the judge will ask both the layers a question. The question from the judge would inquire as to the state of the case preparation of each party. There can be two probable scenarios in this case, both of them are outlined below.

• Both the parties reply to the Judge in affirmative and are ready for trial. In this case, the judge will most probably look to set a trial date for the trials to begin. The trial date would be set making sure of the availability of both parties and their lawyers.
• One of the parties tells the judge that they lack preparation and need more time. In this case, the judge will set a new date for the trial setting hearing in the future giving the unprepared party the time to prepare their case. Although in some cases if there has been an unnecessary delay in the case, the judge can set the trial date irrespective.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

So what does that mean for existing domestic partnerships and for same sex married couples that seek to get divorced in the future in California?  Because although same sex couples will appreciate their right to get married and will value the institution of marriage perhaps more than heterosexual couples who have always taken their right to get married for granted, same sex couples have the same relationship issues and problems that everyone else has that can lead to the deterioration and end of relationships.  Inevitably, some same sex married couples will seek divorce, although no one knows what such rate of divorce will be for that segment of the population.

Also, those same sex couples that are part of a registered domestic partnership in California will now have the option of getting married and the length of their domestic partnership will be added to the length of the marriage for purposes of spousal support and division of assets, although the case law in California has not caught up to this situation quite yet, but undoubtedly will.

Furthermore, domestic partners and married same sex couples will now be under the jurisdiction of the California Family Code and case law just like heterosexual married couples are, which will apply to them when they seek to terminate their partnership or marriage.  In other words, if parties look to end their registered domestic partnership or same sex marriage, they are in for much the same process as traditional divorce cases and involve most of the same issues, especially if same sex couples decide to legally adopt a child, as follows:

• Child custody
• Child visitation
• Spousal support
• Division of assets and property

It is a new world for same sex couples as they embrace their new rights and the final wall of inequality has been broken down.  It will also lead to a new world for divorce and family in California and the other states.  But in the end, it is important to recognize that we are all the same and we all have our faults and problems, which can ultimately lead to divorce.  Same sex couples will not be immune to marital problems or to divorce any more than heterosexual couples, because a successful marriage is hard work for everyone.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

This blog is going to provide a quick breakdown of all three of these methods, so that you are able to make the right decision when it comes to choosing your mode of divorce.

Who Has The Power To Decide?

In mediation and collaboration, the two spouses have all the power to resolve their issues and reach a solution. This can sometimes result in bitter conflicts and wastage of time. More often than not, the bitterness of the divorce can make the spouses stubborn and unwilling to make compromises, and where divorce mediation may not work.

Case Types

·         Divorce Litigation

The majority of divorce cases are decided through the Orange County litigation proceedings. The reason for a large majority of cases being decided through litigation is because most spouses tend to have trust in the decision of an impartial judge.

·         Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative divorce is used by spouses that are willing to work with each other but want the help of their lawyers and others involved in the collaborative process in making sure that their divorce goes down smoothly.

·         Mediation

In cases where couples are looking to end their divorce without having to battle it out in court and have the most cordial relationships, mediation is exercised.

Confidentiality:

·         Divorce Litigation

Divorce litigation is an open process with the records, the facts, and the information used in the court being public property. While this may be a hindrance as to the confidentiality part, yet the fact that they are able to be open to public ensures the transparency of the whole method.

·         Collaborative Divorce

In a collaborative divorce, all the facts of the case, the legal information, and the financial and other documents are kept confidential and only the final decision that has been taken is made public.

·         Mediation

Much like collaborative divorce in mediation too all the facts of the case, the legal information, the financial and other documents are kept confidential and only the final decision that has been taken is made public property.

What Is The Best Choice?

Choosing the better choice among the three methods depends primarily on what suits you, but it is important to know that divorce mediation is the most cost-effective and expedient option.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

• Financial uncertainty
• The thought of being alone
• Thoughts of having failed
• The future of the children
• The perception in society

Irrespective of these reasons, what is important for a person going through mediation is to manage this stress. This will be the key to the level of success in your Orange County divorce mediation. Here are some tips to manage your stress:

·         Give Yourself Some Time

Do you continue to have fond memories of your teens and your childhood? If that’s the case, you’ll know that one of the reasons for that is the level of enjoyment you had back then. What you must realize now is that enjoyment was because you did things that you wanted to, that you liked to. When you are faced with the problem of stress, this is what you need to do. You need to make sure you give yourself the utmost importance. Go out and try things that you have wanted to, and do things you like.

We realize that you may be feeling stressed and under pressure, but much like a pressure cooker, you should remove the cog and let the pressure out. Read a book that you like, watch a movie, or go dancing. When you feel stressed, that is the time you need to take care of yourself the most, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

·         Don’t Forget to Breathe

Sometimes we are so occupied with our stress, anxiety, and pressure that we forget to breathe. Breathe here is not literal but figurative. When you are under immense pressure, that is when you need to pull out all the stocks and keep yourself calm and collected. Try to stay at ease, and breathe deeply for 5 minutes a day, as it has been medically proven to lessen the level of anxiety in a person.

·         Look at the End of the Tunnel

Negotiating a divorce can be hard, even a peaceful and cooperative one such as Orange County divorce mediation. Yet, the best way to do that is to stay focused at the end product – the light at the end of the tunnel. As long as you are able to keep your focus on the future, you will be able to keep your stress levels down.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

California abolished common law marriage back in 1895.  However, that is not entirely the end of the story.

In Limited Situations Common Law Marriages Exist

There can be no marriage between a man and woman on the basis of consent or cohabitation alone.  However, there is also an exception mentioned in this regard.  However, a marriage that is pursuant to the laws of a State or foreign country where the marriage has occurred, the California courts could recognize such a marriage as a valid marriage.

It should be noted, however, that proving these aspects is a hard nut to crack, since more often than not in most cases the spouses themselves aren’t in agreement of the type of the marriage.

Has there been a California case recognizing a common law marriage?

This actually has happened in the California legal system. This was done in the case “Marriage of Smyklo” by the appellate court. This decision can be considered a landmark decision in this regard since the courts highlighted the differences between an invalid common law marriage and a valid common-law marriage. The marriage in this case had happened in Alabama and the courts recognize this. It is important to realize that such cases are likely to be very rare.

What happens if a couple acts completely like a husband and wife?

What is likely to be the courts stance in cases where a man and woman act purely like a married couple? This means that they have joint bank accounts, pay debts, and even hold property together. Are these kinds of people likely to be considered as in a valid marriage? The answer to this question is no. The only exception mentioned above can allow for the existence of a common law marriage in California.

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.

It is advisable to make a divorce mediation checklist prior to the start of mediation so that you have your goals and the list of issues that you want to address in mediation, listed in order of importance to you.  Here are some of the issues that you will likely address as part of your checklist.

·         The Children in the Marriage

Children are often considered the most important issue in a divorce mediation. Before a couple decides to part ways, the children in the family are likely to have spent their time under co-parenting by both the parents. This however cannot be the case after divorce. Spouses need to, before they come to an Orange County divorce mediation, deliberate on the amount of time they can give their child, the timings that will be feasible for them and their own activity time table. These are important matters to consider, since during a divorce, the most affected people after the spouses are their children. All through the process, make sure you are there for them to support and calm their fears.

·         Debts

This is never a topic that couples love talking about. Yet, it is one of the most important assets (or liability) that needs to be divided between the spouses much like the rest of the assets. Before coming to mediation, it is best for you to have a private one on one conversation with your spouse to avoid any surprises that might await him/her in the mediation process.

·         Real Estate

We have talked about children being the most important assets, but real estate is one asset that comes a very close second. These are often the largest chunk of the monetary materials and hence are the most hotly contested aspect of a divorce. Any property that has been created in between the time the marriage lasted can be regarded as joint property. This aspect is likely to involve all kinds of homes, lands, etc., including the one you currently live in making this one of the most important aspects to think about pre mediation.

·         Business

People who own business are likely to derive their source of income from them. Business, if jointly run or made/ significantly enhanced during the marriage, would have to be divided between the two parties. This might not work out too well for a business’ profitability and hence you need to talk about this aspect with your spouse before your mediation date to make sure your financial interests are protected.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

This article is focused on helping the high earning spouse deal with a narcissistic low-earning spouse and how they are likely to drive up the costs of the litigation and create hurdles in the process.

Using the Children as Leverage

Orange County divorce cases can become territorial and contentious when children are involved. One of the worst maneuvers that narcissistic low earning spouses can make is to try and use the children as leverage. There is a variety of reasons why these parents retort to such means. The use of the children is simply to hurt the other spouse. This tactic can be completed through a number of steps such as interfering with the other spouses, custodial rights, not allowing adequate visitation times, and even retorting to false accusations.

In case where high earning spouses face such tactics, it is strongly advised that they use contempt of court proceedings to enforce their rights. Contempt of court proceedings will also make sure that the narcissist parent will have to face court penalties for their erratic behavior.

Conditioning of the Children, Alienation and False Allegations

Narcissist parents try to exert undue influence on the minds of the child to try and keep them from their higher earning spouses. This tactic, if found, is likely to result in severe punishments by the courts. One of the first things a spouse who is facing such a narcissist parent at the other end should do is request for custody and visitation modification. The courts are unlikely to allow a parent who is involved in such misconduct to keep the custody of the child under the rules of deciding on the child’s best interest.

The Attorney Fee and Sanctions Motion

Perplexed by the fact that your spouse who is a low earner cannot afford these orders? It is important for you to understand, however, that the Orange County family law court does not limit the attorney fee awards. The only thing the courts are likely to look at in this regards is whether the parent being fined has community property or some kind of equity or not. If that is the case, the court will assume that the party in violation is able to pay such costs and will likely order it against the party that has been proven to cause unnecessary delays.

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.

Divorce through the court system is usually an emotionally-sapping experience with fights, feuds, and bitterness being the norm in such situations. This means that even if litigation doesn’t break you financially, chances are you’ll end up emotionally broke. Orange County divorce mediation, on the other hand, is a much more cost effective and predictable alternative to litigation. Divorce mediation is a process that warrants the couples to sit down and disclose their assets, debts, incomes, and other sources of expenses to their Orange County divorce mediator. Once that is done, the couple can then sit down and talk about the best solutions to the issues at hand and to make sure they are able to agree on things mutually.

When it comes to assets and the financial aspects of divorce, divorce mediation can have an important role to play. The role of the mediator will be to encourage the spouses to have a healthy discussion about the financial aspects in a relationship. The role of the mediator doesn’t end there. More often than not, mediators will also give the clients legal advice with respect to the rules that can govern assets. This choice, however, will be left to clients and not to the mediator or the judge as is the case in litigation.

Asset distribution is an extremely important aspect in mediation agreements. Divorce, as mentioned in the first paragraph, is heavily dependent on the financial well-being of a person. This is why proper asset distribution, where each party is satisfied, is extremely important. The role of mediation in asset distribution is particularly important. The primary reason for this is the flexibility that mediation affords. Then lack of set rules to decide cases and the customized solutions for each couple allows for asset separation agreements that could never be possible in a divorce litigated in court.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

Myth 6: I Have To Always Be In The Same Room As My Spouse

This is another one of the common misconceptions and myths that people continue to have with respect to mediation. The mediation process works best when both of the spouses are talking to each other face to face in the presence of an Orange County divorce mediator. This sometimes however cannot be the case because of a prevalent sense of bitterness between the spouses. In cases such as this, mediation allows for the spouses to talk to the mediators separately and for the mediator to act as the communicator between them.

Myth 7: A Mediator Will Force Me Into Saving My Marriage

This misconception is rooted in the concept of mistaken identity. Most people think of Orange County divorce mediators and the mediation process as therapists and therapy sessions. While the job of therapists is to help ease the issues between the spouses and motivate them to continue their marriage, this is not the case with mediators. Mediators are tasked with channeling the post divorce agreements between the parties and to assist them when needed.

Myth 8: No Expert Consultations Are Allowed In Mediation

Mediation is a process that has been primarily developed to help the parties and facilitate their divorce process, free from the problems that litigation courts pose. This is why the above myth is nothing but wrong. Orange County divorce mediation has no such ban on the use of experts such as accountants, realtors, and tax consultants etc. Mediation is a process that gives the power in the hands of the spouses, and therefore they are able to do as they seem fit in the process.

Myth 9: The Mediator Will Give Me Legal Advice, Not A Lawyer

There is a difference between legal advice and legal information, and an Orange County divorce mediator is likely to provide you with the latter. Legal advice are actually concerned with increasing the spouses’ information with respect to legal matters. The role of the mediator, however, is not meant to replace the advice of a lawyer.  Divorce mediators often allows their spouses to get their mediations agreements checked by family lawyers.

Myth 10: A Spouse That Is Intimidated Will Be Not Get The Mediation Process To Work

Divorce mediation is perceived to be a process that has little or no power of enforceability in its own. This, however, is far from the truth. Mediation is an empowering process that not only holds power it to be enforced in courts; it is also a process that allows the spouses to be empowered, which allows spouses that are scared or intimidated of their spouses to exercise their own free will.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Child Custody & Visitation

There are three major ways that child custody cases can go:

• Smoothly with both the parents agreeing on a single parenting plan
• A little resistance in between both the parties at the start eventually leading to a parenting plan without a court hearing
• Litigation proceedings with the final decision being in the hands of the family law judge.

Here are few tips in this regard to help the high net worth individuals in this regard:

• Court proceedings and child custody cases require the availability of the individuals to hearings and for their child’s care. Keeping that in mind, high net worth individuals need to be realistic in front of the judge about their timings of work and work schedules. Honesty is an important trait in Orange county divorce litigation.

• Take care when you are deciding on moving out. Most high earning individuals are likely to move out of the houses in case of an Orange County divorce simply because they can. This however is likely to be a bad strategy unless you do it to avoid false accusations of domestic violence. Moving out of the house allows the other spouse to establish a stronger case over time against granting you equal custody.

Child Support and Spousal Support (Alimony) Support

Calculation of child support is an easy task since it is done in California through a computer program. While this is the general perception, it is unlikely to be the case for high net worth individuals. Simply put, whether they are alimony or child support payments, there is a wide variety of issues that high net worth individuals are likely to face.

Income Sources for Support Purposes

There is a wide range of sources that your income can fall into and it is important you are able to identify which category you fall under:

• Base Income for salaried individuals
• Profit distribution versus bonuses method for additional income of self employed individuals
• Interest income is the income that comes from investment accounts, bonds and stocks

Child support and alimony payments depend on the category of income that you fall under. More often than not, if your income is too high for the computer system to distribute, the courts are likely to make an exemplary support order. This order is likely to be more than the usual alimony payments and is likely to base on the concept of maintaining a status quo.

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.

Myth 1: There Is No Choice For A Complex Divorce But To Go Through Courts

This is one of the most common myths that have started to take shape about Orange County divorce mediation. This myth, however much like the others on the list, is far from the truth. In reality, any divorce case that can be heard in court can be settled out of court. This includes even those divorces that can be categorized as complicated because of the financial issues that are at play. Orange County divorce mediators are more than capable of solving these issues effectively and at a fraction of the cost litigation would.

Myth 2: Mediation Does Not Work For Women

Women are equally successful in terms of Orange County divorce mediation as men are. This myth mentioned above is created because of two common misconceptions that people have. One of them is that women are emotionally not fit for negotiations, and the second that they have a lack of knowledge on financial issues. This, however, is far from reality. Women are able to conduct themselves well in mediation proceedings and the presence of the divorce mediator makes sure nobody is taken advantage of.

Myth 3: Mediation Means Getting Less Settlement

In reality, contrary to the myth that has been portrayed, couples in Orange County over the years have been seen to have similar settlements irrespective of whether they go to court or not. California is a state where community property is split in 50/50 between the two spouses. Mediation, however, allows the parties to exercise their free will and divide the assets as they wish between each other, not strictly adhering to the 50/50 separation principle.

Myth 4: Mediation Is Always The Best Option

This is important to understand. While it is true that mediation is one of the most effective dispute resolution methods, there are some instances where mediation is not appropriate. Here are a few of those situations:

• In cases that involve physical violence against either of the spouse
• Where the judgment of either party is in question due to substance abuse
• Where spouse in reluctant to declare assets

Myth 5: The Best Place To Fight For Kids Is The Courtroom

If parents go to court, they will pull out all their stocks and raise a bitter, emotionally sapping war against the other to gain the child’s custody. This, however, is not the most appropriate thing to do. The bitterness and the hate created through this process is likely to damage the children forever. The best way for parents to decide child custody issues is through Orange County child custody mediation.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

Orange County divorce mediation is becoming a more common methods for couple to get divorced. The primary reason for this is the emotional and procedural benefits that such a method gives to spouses. Peace is one word that is important when associated with a process as emotionally sapping and bitter as divorce.

Here are a few reasons why peaceful Orange County divorce mediation is what you want to consider.

·         Peace will nurture the parental relationships

One of the things that hurt a child most is seeing their parents fight it out against each other. In the process of divorce litigation, this is one of the norms. More often than not, spouses will be logger heads against each other, will bad mouthed one another in the process, among other things. This will not harness but destroy their relationship with their children. The bitterness created from such ruckuses is hard to get away from. In the case of Orange County divorce mediation, however, the tables are likely to be turned. The fact that the process is based on cooperation means that even when getting divorce the parents will have a sense of cordiality and cooperation between them.

·         You can get what you want without fuss

Divorce mediation is all about the cooperation, communication and coordination that go on between the spouses. The role of the mediators is simply one to try and facilitate the proceedings and not dictate them. As opposed to bitter litigations, a mediator will not give you any order that both the spouses have to follow. The mediation agreement is all about spouses and how much they are willing to work towards a peaceful resolution. The cooperative nature of the divorce means that mediation will allow you to agree upon what is best for you and what you want.

·         Peace also comes with a variety

No one size fits everyone. This is one of the most famous statements that have come to define the world.  Everyone in the world is different and the fact of them being different means that they are all in need of something that is made specifically for them instead of being treated generally. While litigation has set court procedures that cannot be truly modified, it is mediation that allows such spouses the chance to make the most of the flexibility of options.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The key to making a divorce work is in handling the emotions. If you are able to control your emotional GPS as we like to call it, you’ll be able to get through your divorce with less trauma and delay.

In this blog post, we give you five ways you can set your emotional GPS from suffering and sorrow to goodness. Much like the GPS system in your car, your emotional GPS is likely to determine the course your Orange County divorce will take. To be able to set your emotional GPS to a positive setting,  you’ll need to:

·         Forget the Concept of Perfection

Getting through divorce is not about being perfect. All you need to put your mind and efforts into is to try and be able to get through the process having given it your all. The process of Orange County divorce mediation will warrant you to be compromising, adapting, and understanding of your spouse and get something that both of you agree on, no need for it to be perfect.

·         Stay Nice

How’d you feel if your ex started to treat you like trash? Not very good one assumes. This is exactly the case with your spouse. It is widely believed that you get respect and niceness in response. Try and be nice in your dealings and interactions with your ex spouse. Try to maintain cordial relations with the person you had hoped to spend the rest of your life with, since that allows both of you to escape the bitterness of divorce.

·         Be Forgiving

Forgiveness and forgetfulness are the two single most important ways to eliminate pain from your life. During the course of an Orange County divorce mediation, there are likely to be a wide variety of issues where the spouses may disagree. Yet disagreement shouldn’t be allowed to turn into bitterness and the key to doing that is forgiving the past and moving on.

·         Be Empowered

There is no one in charge of your life and your behavior except you. Feel empowered, and try to change your mood to happy. Make sure you are able to clear your mind that bygones are bygones, there is a future ahead of you, and that you should make the most of it. Ruing past decisions is likely to strip you of the impending opportunities. Keep them in mind and act like you are in charge.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

When it comes to a divorce in family court, both of the spouses are hell-bent on trying to outfox the other and win the divorce case. In this article, we give you a lowdown on a few tips and tricks to make sure you are able to win such complex cases:

How to Win a Case that is about Child Custody

Child custody cases are one of the most fiercely contested aspects of a divorce case since parents regard their children as the most valuable asset that they each have. The best way for two parents who care for their children and want to give their child the best is to talk their differences outside of the court and propose a parenting plan in front of the court to get the court’s seal of approval. This is likely to be the best option since it will save you on your litigation costs and save the court’s precious time.

There are, however, other types of child custody cases that involve two parents where one of them has been accused of physical, emotional, and mental abuse to the child. In such cases, you are going to win a case by making sure that your facts are in order and that you are clear as to the evidence’s strength to prove the other parent’s guilt. Once their guilt has been proven, the other parent is unlikely to have any chance of getting the custody of the child.

How to Win a Custody Case that has Spousal and Child Support Involved

This one of the leading causes of disagreements caused between the spouses in the family law courts. In most of these cases, it should be understood that the courts before making any declaration, will need complete declaration of the financial position and capabilities of each of the parties. If one of the parties has doubts over the claims made by the other party, the courts will order an inquiry to allay those doubts.

There are different ways each of the parties can win these cases. In the first instance, the spouses asking for spousal and child support will have to prove to the court that their financial capability isn’t healthy and that the financial prowess of the spouses should be used to help bridge the income disparity.

The other spouse, on the other hand, will simply need to show that the other spouse is in a good enough financial position and can earn more than he/she can pay. Or the party needs to show that their financial restraints make them unable to make such large amounts of payments.

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 some couples that have special children that need extra care and support, while other parents might have elderly parents and need for them to be taken care of. Each couple is likely to come to Orange County divorce mediation for different reasons. It is these reasons that need to be taken care of so that both spouses are able to get the best out of their divorce mediation. This means that each couple needs to have their own specially designed divorce mediation proceedings that are focused on the couple and their hopes, aspirations and needs.

Orange County divorce mediation is a process where, unlike litigation, the client is in charge of the process. The clients are granted a large amount of authority in divorce mediation.  The primary reason for this is the fact that in mediation there is no judge to give a final order that is binding on both the parties. Mediation, as a process, is all about the clients trying to channel their differences and work towards a better outcome from this divorce for both of them.

Divorce mediation can be termed as a client directed one because in each and every aspect of the mediation process, the client is the one calling the shots. Mediation proceedings have no set timings and are dependent on the availability of the spouses. This means that the flexible timing of divorce as well as the fact that the mediators’ role is no more than that of a facilitator of the dialogue between the spouses, which means that clients are the ones running mediation.

The speed of the mediation, the decision of the mediation process and the signing of the mediation agreement are all choices that clients take on their own. Unlike litigation, divorce mediation in Orange County mediation is a process where the parties come willingly. The primary reason for them coming to mediation and the increase in the number of clients is because the client directed mediation proceedings give them a sense of empowerment and control over their future outcome that litigation can’t promise.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

1.     Start Reading Legal Blogs

The first and most important step in this regard is to make sure you are aware of the divorce and family law system. Read up on important articles or legal blogs to build a base that allows you to understand your position and chances.

2.     Seek Advice From Professionals Only

Be careful when seeking advice from friends and family in legal matters. Any bad advice can be more fatal that no advice in Orange County divorce cases. It is important that you take advice from an experienced Orange County divorce lawyer only.

3.     Visit a Number of Lawyers

Don’t be laid back. Your lawyer is your best chance to win in a hassle free manner. This means that you should be proactive in finding the right fit for you.  Make sure you visit at least three before deciding on the one of your choice.

4.     Have Any Questions? Ask Your Lawyer

Make sure you are able to display your willingness of winning to the lawyer. Listen to them about the legal issues concerned with your case and make sure you ask them all the questions you want. This is important since the more detailed an explanation the lesser you are likely to panic in that regard.

5.     Does Your Lawyer Sound Unethical? Dump Them

Make sure you stay away from unethical lawyers. These kinds of lawyers are only going to increase and decrease the level of concern and panic in you using their inflated threats of bias and danger claims. In addition to that, they will churn money out of you every chance they get.

6.     Outline Your Expectations Right from the Start

Work with your Orange County divorce lawyer and make sure that both of you are on the same page about the expectations from the case. Also, it’s helpful if you are able to determine the budget and strategy before hand, leaving little room for panic to creep in.

7.     Communicate with Your Lawyer Daily

Make sure you have daily communication with your attorney to avoid any confusion and allowing you to stay updated with respects to all the happenings of the case.

8.     Opt for Therapy if Things Get Rough

If you are struggling with emotions during your divorce proceedings, try and reach out to therapy to stabilize your mental state.

9.     Put Your Emotions Aside and Try to be as Rational as Possible

This is an important point and should be considered. Make sure you treat your divorce case like a business. Try to stay logical and factual throughout the process. Always keep in mind that divorce is not a means to take revenge and any attempt at doing so can be damaging.

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.

It is often seen that the end of a relationship can leave a mark on a person, and what is a bigger scar than to go through a divorce? These phases can bring up thoughts in one’s minds that are damaging to their personality, such as “I am a failure”, “Nobody can ever love me”, “I am broken and nothing without him/her”.

However, for couples who choose divorce mediation to resolve their divorce, they are likely to face little-to-no self defeating thoughts. The primary reason for this is because Orange County divorce mediation is a process that involves the couples to converse, solve, and mediate their differences to be able to get a usable conclusion. Yet even divorce mediation is likely to fail if a person has already been trapped in the self-defeating thoughts and is unable to break free. Thus, it is important that couples that come into divorce mediation are able to defeat their self-defeating thoughts.

There are two ways to beat self-defeating thoughts. These two ways are having a clear head and distraction. The first way means having a clear and conscious head that is able to look through the apparent despair. All you need to do to defeat these self-defeating thoughts is distinguishing that these perceptions are not reality. Make sure you ask yourself what basis the beliefs you are facing have, envision the happy moments in your life, visualize that into your future, and try to think of the way ahead rather than the cloud of darkness that surrounds you.

The other way of defeating self-defeating thoughts is distraction.  The human mind can easily be distracted from all kinds of thoughts, and all you need to do to succeed against the self defeating thoughts is find an adequate distraction. Distractions are a plenty around you, go from dinners with your friends, plan excursion trips with your family, look for the best holiday destinations, and fly away for some time. What happens to your divorce mediation? The best thing about divorce mediation is that it’s flexible and the timings are decided upon the availability of the client. So you are free to do whatever you want.

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.

If you want to preserve your financial security and are looking for a more secure future monetarily, divorce mediation is the best place for you. The first thing you achieve the instant you choose mediation is a significant cut back on the fees you’d have to pay in litigations. Having said that however, there is very little mediation can do without the spouses managing their expectations to meet the resources available.

Here are a few tips to help you manage your expectations in Orange County divorce mediation:

Understand The Concept Of Separate Property

Any property that you received from inheritance, or had before you came into marriage will be your community property. This is exactly the same for your spouse. Now that this is clear, the first step to expectation management is think about your life on a timeline. If the property and assets belong to the pre marriage stage on our timeline, they are going to be considered community property and barring some exceptions will be completely yours.

If the assets and properties came under your ownership during your marriage, they will be considered joint property. This is the property that is divided up in between the two spouses. Once you are able to understand what is yours and what will be divided 50/50, you are likely to have more realistic expectations.

Take A Look At Your Finances

There are a host of cases that we face where one of the spouses is completely oblivious to information regarding their finances, and the other spouse’s earnings and assets. In cases like this, most spouses seem to assume that there is a large amount of money and assets to be divided where in reality that is not the case. This is an important aspect in Orange County divorce mediation, since lack of knowledge will handicap you in the negotiation processes.

To make sure no spouse is left under false impressions, both the spouses need to fill in financial declaration forms to make the picture clearer and expectations realistic.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

People that have been married for 10 years or more in California have the potential right of being paid alimony payments and spousal support for as long as he or she needs it, if they are in a weaker financial position than their ex. It is also important to note that this payment continues for as long as the other spouses are able to pay.

The situation is going to play an important part in the benefits of spousal support that you receive after having had a marriage of more than 10 years. The best case scenario is often for both parties to mutually decide that the spousal support shall  be paid over a particular time period and then terminated, if it makes sense to the party receiving such support. It is also an option for one party to be waive their right to spousal support and adjust it and the rate at which it needs to be paid at a later date.  It is very important to understand your legal rights and obligations concerning spousal support and highly advisable to seek legal advice and counsel on this issue before ever making any decision.

Also, although generally the issue of Social Security benefits is not one handled in divorce cases, it is important to at least understand that the Social Security administration also takes longer duration marriages into account regarding benefits.  In addition, depending on the earnings that your former spouse makes, you will be eligible to receive the Social Security benefits once you reach your age of retirement.  Another advantage that you may receive is derivative benefits based on what will be able to collect because these are based on his/her earnings over the course of their career.

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.

Usually the retainer fees of litigation in Orange County family law cases can be from around $5,000 to $15,000 dollars. Add these fees up with the annual hourly rate of lawyers that they will charge you and the numbers can add up to startling sums. In such situations, it is safe to say that litigation is likely to cost you a huge amount of money, not the added amount of money that most people seem to think they would.The choice of Orange County mediation is the choice where you get the chance to save a considerable amount of money for yourself. Mediation, as a divorce resolution, has been mentioned as being one of the most cost-effective methods for resolution of disputes. When a couple takes up divorce mediation, they will almost remove the costs of lawyers and the costs of mediation will be less than the overall costs of litigation proceedings of your divorce. There are also a host of other advantages that are likely to weigh up on the financial aspects of mediation and litigation debate.

Here are few benefits that you are likely to get if you choose divorce mediation:

·         Time Saving

This is one of the leading reason people are increasingly turning to divorce mediation. While there is no question on the fairness of the California legal system, typically though, most legal systems have procedures and a whole host of cases which slow down the progress of cases. In divorce mediation, however, the resolution of the dispute settle in weeks if not month and at max in 6 months.

·         Emotionally supportive

When you are in court, both parties try to win at all costs and the greatest victim of all this are the emotions of each of the spouses that will be severally affected by the heat and bitterness of court divorces. In mediation, however, the reconciliatory, conclusive and cooperative divorce method is likely to allow the spouses and their emotions to respite. This is an important benefit of mediation since emotional traumas can have a lasting effect on the overall health and well being of a person.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

What rights do I have as a father with respect to the legal custody of my children?

Rights In Regards To Joint Legal Custody In Orange County

Orange County family law is known to favor agreements and orders that grant joint legal custody to both of the parents. The primary reason for this is that the law in California wants the parents to prefer joint legal custody, since it enables both of them to be involved in the decision-making for the child’s benefit. One of your main rights as a father is that you should be involved in all of the decisions that are made in your child’s life. This includes rights such as:

• Decisions with respect to the extracurricular or school activities of the child.
• Decisions that are related to medications, visits to the doctors and other aspects that are concerned with the health of the child.
• Other non school related decisions integral to the child’s life.
• Decisions that concern the religion of the child or whether he or she is to remain without a religion.
• To be listed in the medical and school list of the child and be entitled to receive information about them.
• Decisions such as the traveling of the child and where he or she will live.

What are my rights in California with respect to physical custody as a father?

As a father, as previously mentioned, you have the same rights as a mother has in a family law case. Fathers in an Orange County child custody case have the right to have a constant, regular, and frequent contact with their child. While you need not really get into the cases such as joint or primary physical custody, you should however make sure that these rights of yours are made sure of by the courts through an order.

What if I am a single father? Are my rights affected?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions and the answer to this question is that there are going to be no changes to your rights whether you are a single father, currently married father, or a divorced one. You will have the same rights to see your child as any other married father will have.

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.

Reality, however, is far from the perception. Most genuine Orange County divorce mediators and mediation services wants married couples to have a healthy and happy married life and avoid divorce. In this regard, this blog outlines a few tips for spouses to use in making sure their marriage lasts the distance.

·         Nurture Yourself

The institution of marriage stands upon the principle of giving, yet this principle, if over worked, can lead to difficulties. While marriage is about giving, giving too much is likely to make you seem weak and dependant on the other spouses. This is never a good situation to be in, since individuality of each of the spouses is one of the most important ingredients of a successful married life, and it needs to be maintained throughout. Make sure you give yourself importance in the relationship and allow your partner to realize your importance in this relationship.

·         Express The Complex Issues In 3 Sentences

There are often things that a couple needs to talk about which can be misinterpreted by either of the spouses if too little or too many words are used. The 3 sentence rule is what protects this from occurring. Have a rule in your marriage that both of you will express the complex marital issues in 3 sentences to not only sound convincing but to avoid coming of as assertive or aggressive. This is an important issue, since misconceptions have been regarded as one of the leading reasons couple go into a divorce.

·         Do It To Renew It

By it, we mean sex. It is no secret that intimacy, romance, and the feel good factor are all important branches that lead to eventual sex. Sometimes though, couples need to simply get on with it and let the rest of these aspects fall into place. Sex is one of the best communicators of feelings of joy, and is an almost instantaneous means of connectivity. Sex between couples is known to not only bring back the missing spark in the relationship, but also gives the spouses a sense of security and togetherness.

·         Remind Yourself Of The Reason You Got Married

A long marriage can sometimes become boring with the couples becoming more like roommates than anything else. In this regard, it is important for the spouses to continue to remind themselves of the reasons that they go married.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Panic, on the other hand, can take these emotions of worry to a whole new level. If you are completely panicked about your divorce, it is possible that your sense of logic may be overpowered in the decision making with panic. This is likely to be your biggest mistake, since only clear and logical decisions will help you navigate the waters in this uncertain time period. Panic usually originates from the fear of the unknown, which can often leave many questions unanswered and many issues unresolved.

Choosing a Good Divorce Lawyer Using Logic

We have already discussed the importance of making the correct decision with regards to choosing your divorce lawyer. What you need to understand is that all this needs to be carried out with a clear head and logical thinking. Only when you are thinking clearly and logically will you be able to distinguish the good divorce lawyers from the ones trying to take advantage of your predicament for the sake of getting your retainer.  One of the most common ways lawyers exploit their clients is by playing on their fears.

Most of the people who are going into a divorce for the very first time are scared of making mistakes, ending up on the losing side and wanting to win the case at all costs.  Some divorce attorneys exploit such clients and their vulnerabilities by showing them a fairy-tale world where everything is likely to go their way. No attorney should ever make guarantees or promises that a client’s case is going to turn out exactly as they say, because doing so is irresponsible and, frankly, unethical.  There are many variables involved in cases that can affect the outcome in a case.

Moreover, when you aren’t thinking clearly, you are likely to express your emotions of hate, frustration, and revenge openly with your lawyer, and some attorneys will take advantage of your emotional vulnerability and entice you into retaining them with words like “destroying the other spouse,”“making them sorry,”etc.  When there are legitimate facts and reasons to fight in court over an issue such as child custody, no one can fault you for sticking up for your rights and for what you believe is in the best interests of your child.  But hiring a family law attorney who you think is going to crush the other parent can backfire in court, so you have to find an attorney for you that you feel that you can work with, who is competent and knowledgeable, and who can attempt settlement but is prepared to fight for you in court if settlement proves to not be possible.

This is primarily why you need to be thinking logically when choosing an Orange County divorce lawyer for yourself. You should look at the credentials of the lawyer, his/her past experience at handling such cases, and the overall reputation he/she has.

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.

Getting Married For The Wrong Reasons

Everybody gets married for the marriage to last and the love that they are able to experience, correct? Wrong! People get married for a whole host of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with a happily ever after. One of the leading reasons such as this is marrying for money. Marrying for money means you marry for the estate, the monetary benefits etc. and when you can get this through a divorce, why stay in the marriage?

The Disappearance Of Intimacy

One wrong step, a wrong night, and a few misplaced words of disinterest, and one of the most important aspects of a relationship can disappear in a flash. Intimacy is the glue that tends to hold a relationship together. If a spouse starts to believe the other isn’t romantically interested or sexually attracted to them, things can turn sour really quickly. Men can often want sex in order to be romantic while women can often want romance first as a precursor to sexual activity. Miscues and growing apart in the intimacy department can often led to the decline of a relationship and give way to divorce.

The Lack Of Financial Compatibility

Lack of finances is very seldom the reason for the downfall of a relationship, it is more the lack of compatibility in finances that can hurt the relationship and bring the couples to the brink of divorce. One of the leading examples is the conflict of financial interest between a spouse that’s likes to spend and other spouse that wants to save for a rainy day.

Lack Of Communication and Conflict Management

No relationship in the world can be conflict-free, yet what differentiates the long committed ones from the short endings is the level of conflict management. Couples who are unable to solve their differences and conflicts will build on their frustrations and issues until they finally explode, taking the relationship to divorce.  This building of frustrations can also stem from a lack of communication.  No doubt you know someone who is going through a divorce or is divorced but prior to the divorce filing, the couple supposedly never fought or argued over anything.  A real relationship means that people argue at least occasionally, clear the air so to speak, get their feelings and frustrations heard, and move forward.  Never arguing or expressing feelings of frustration or of unfulfilled needs to your spouse means that over time, those feelings only build up inside you and cause you to grow apart from your spouse.  Whose fault is that?  Yours, and it is not fair to your spouse that he or she never had any real idea of what you were feeling or what you needed until it was too late because your feelings of love eroded over time, like your marriage subsequently did.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The other spouse usually levels false accusations against the fathers in child custody cases is because of the importance that courts give to such accusations. This, however, doesn’t mean such parents should be allowed to get away with making such grave false accusations. This blog talks about how a falsely accused parent can take custody back from the lying parent.

The Family Code and Father’s Rights

In cases of divorce that involve abuse allegations against another spouse, one of the most quoted sections of the California Family Code is Family Code section 3011.  This code section states that a court may consider any history of abuse by the parents that are seeking custody. In the same code, however, the courts have also stated that any false accusations of this nature are not be tolerated and such parents who have been falsely accused should take action against the accusers.

According to the California Family Code 3027.1, the parent who has been falsely accused only need to show that the other parent knowingly made the false accusations against the father. If a father is able to show that, then the father can ask the court to impose sanctions on the mother for falsely accusing the father.

Supervised Visitation

A lot of fathers fighting divorce cases, and facing false accusations in child custody cases, are unable to realize that the courts have the discretion of giving strict orders against the parent who has made false accusations. One of these orders can be the order of supervised visitations for the mother. These kinds of orders are usually made in the cases which involve false accusations of sexual abuse. However, there is no hard and fast rule in this regard and other abuses may also amount to the same punishment.

Limiting Visitations

Simply proving to the court that the accusations were wrong and winning back custody may be what most fathers do in such cases but is it enough? Are you sure allowing the other parent to leave without having to pay will reform their behavior? In addition to monetary sanctions, fathers should press their attorney to pursue the other spouses and to try and limit their visitations to the child.

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.

Yet, for anyone who is going through divorce for the very first time, there is very little that is known to them. Going into divorce for the very first time for couples is like trying to cross a dark tunnel. Most people who have never had to go through the ordeal of divorce tend to think there is likely to be a normal way of doing a divorce. This, however, is never the case. Each case is different to the other no matter how much the similarities in the facts may be. The emotions of the spouses and their thought processes are what distinguish each mediation from the other. Therefore, it is important to understand that while the use of the process of mediation has started to make it the normal way to get divorced, there is no set way mediation cases are carried out.

This concept of providing different solutions to different cases and dealing with each in a unique approach is known as adopting a customized approach. Divorce mediation is a process that is designed to make divorce easy for the spouses. It is in lieu of this that most of the cases are dealt with on their own merit by divorce mediators in Orange County and elsewhere. The goal of the mediators at the end of the day is to make sure that both the parties that are participating in the mediation process are able to go back with the sense of having achieved something.

The concept of divorce mediation is based around the empowerment of the spouses. This means that the power and the running of the process is in the hands of the spouses; therefore, allowing for no implementation of universal rules throughout the mediation. The timings of the mediation depend on the availability of each of the spouses and similarly the pace and style is also set according to the will of the spouses. This means that there is little normal in the process of divorce mediation. The final agreements are also unlike litigation proceedings; therefore, allowing the spouses to agree on just about anything as long as both of them have willingly agreed.

Orange County divorce mediation is popular among the masses because of its overall sense of speed, flexibility, and cost effectiveness. These factors have worked to make it the new normal way of divorce and yet warrant that the process continues to be unique for each individual.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

How? Divorce mediation services and mediators can help you through the mediation process to develop your child custody and support orders.

The Money Game

Courts are likely to focus their approach to try and split the child custody and child support costs. The formulas for this are likely to be the ones that are mandated. There is little or no chance of deviation from those principles that have already been agreed upon. Yet in divorce mediation, the mediator will facilitate the parents but ultimately leave the final decision of the costs and the finances splitting on them.

Child custody, on the other hand, is likely to be a trickier subject, since the custody of one’s child is what both the parents desire and it is likely to have a host of emotions attached to it. However, divorce mediators are skilled professionals who are likely to be able to address the emotional side of things and yet allow the parents to reach a mutually agreed upon child custody arrangement where both the parents get what they want more or less.

Another advantage of this method is the fact that when parents mutually agree upon support payments and child custody arrangements, they are likely to honor it more willingly than they would do to a court order that is imposed on them which they aren’t particularly content with.

Adversarial is not a Word to Describe Mediation

The key to mediation is going into it prepared and knowing what you want out of the process. Having said that, however, it must be noted that mediation is a process where you are required to make concessions and so flexibility in your plans is a must. The one thing that should be the top priority in a mediation agreement being developed is the best interest of their child. Children should come first in any agreement being made with their rights and future being guaranteed first and foremost.

Look to the Future

The process of Orange County mediation is all about looking towards the future. Mediation is a process not only helps you develop a better future for your child, it makes sure your emotional trauma side is kept as far away as possible.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The Bankruptcy Code attempts to protect the rights of the former spouses and children, and therefore it states that any support that has been agreed on or ordered by the court is non-dischargeable in the case of bankruptcy.

The spouse that is being given the support needs not have to file any kind of documentation or proof of their claims to be able to enforce their right of continuing to get support. As far as the cases are concerned, once a debtor files for bankruptcy in the court, all the creditors need to stop all collection with respect to the collection of their debts. This is called an automatic stay. An automatic stay means that all kinds of garnishments, creditors, and banks refrain from calling you at all hours of the night.

What if my Alimony Support and Child Support comes from my Spouse’s Paycheck and My Spouse Files for Bankruptcy?

It is true that any child or spousal support orders which depend on the paycheck of a spouse are generally affected by the filing of bankruptcy. This, however, is subject to a few restrictions. In a wide variety of cases, the spouses can rack up a considerable amount of money by nonpayment of spousal support. The courts make sure that this is not the case and will make sure that these arrears are settled before the filing for bankruptcy takes place.

What if I file a Motion for an Increase in Child Support or Spousal Support and My Spouse Files for Bankruptcy?

In the most common circumstances, the courts are not likely to delay the hearing of the spousal support and child support until the case for bankruptcy has been decided. Instead, the bankrupcy will likely only delay the division of assets and debts for at least six months until the bankruptcy is resolved.

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.

This is where divorce mediation comes in. Mediation can alleviate a whole host of risks that are likely to be involved in the handling and potential division of a community property business.

Situations of Complication

Before we outline the benefits that mediation is going to provide you. Let’s take a look at situations where complications can occur in a business due to divorce:

• When both of the spouses have been involved in the operation and the owning of the business during the time the marriage lasted.
• When one spouse has been the owner and operator of the business while both the spouses have been married to each other.
• When one of the spouses has inherited the business or has been operating and owning the business before the marriage and does so during the marriage (this is only applicable to case complications if there has been a change in the value of the business).
• In situations where there is no need for spousal and child support to be paid, instead there needs to only be finding out of the self employed spouse’s income.

The Mediation Solution

There are lots of things that divorce mediation can do to make divorce transition easy for you, your business, and your business partner. A few examples of it are:

• The use of mediation will make sure you have to ample time to spare and spend in the running of your business. The flexibility of divorce mediation allows you to manage your business and mediation side by side with neither overlapping the other.

• There is nothing that can hurt you and yours more than emotional distress. The best business decisions are done with a clear head. Divorce mediation is a conversational process to a divorce allowing for amicable relations between the former spouses to prosper and a healthy understanding to develop.

• The lower costs of divorce mediation are also an advantage to lessen the complications to a business that might occur from it. Litigation is likely to cost a considerable amount of money, and unless you have unlimited resources in your business, that decision may ultimately hurt your business. The best way to avoid it is by pursuing divorce mediation services.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The Bias Sell

There are things that some divorce lawyers do to try to get a potential client to retain them.  One of these things is claiming bias exists in the legal system.  In other words, such lawyers sell to their clients on the claim that the California law system is somehow against men.  As far as their claim of bias is concerned, California Family Law section 3040 states that, “In making an order granting custody to either parent, the court shall consider, among other factors, which of the parent is likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with a non custodial parent.”  In this day and age, there is no general bias against men or fathers in divorce or custody cases, and custody is generally decided on the circumstances of individual cases.

The Over-Aggressive Sell

There are a variety of lawyers that use aggressive selling techniques to make sure that they are able to entice the client into using their services. Such lawyers are likely to use the action words such as “going for the kill”, “taking her down” and “squeezing each and every penny from them.” These kinds of lawyers are likely to tell the father that litigation is the only chance that they have of success and to teach the mother a lesson. This, however, is not the case, because the more you go aggressively against your spouse, the more bitter the effect it is likely to have on your children.

The Unethical Sell

It is imperative to avoid anyone who may encourage clients to evade and disregard the law in a bid to protect their assets or position themselves favorably in custody cases in a less than honest way. False allegations and incomplete declarations of assets is one example.  It is always better to be transparent when it comes to disclosure of assets and what the “truth” really is, because taking the low road can often backfire and have negative consequences in your case.

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.

The key to the success of divorce mediation is team work. One has to realize that at the end of the day, the process of mediation is all about making friends and not adversaries. Team work is given due importance in divorce mediations. This is particularly because only teamwork and working together will take the spouses close to the resolution of the disputes. Here are a few tips that are going to help the spouses in their efforts for teamwork to try and make the most of divorce mediation:

A Willingness to Cooperate

A divorce mediator, no matter how good they are, cannot despite all their efforts be able to get an agreement out of the mediation process if either of the spouses is unwilling to cooperate. Cooperation is key to all kinds of teams, whether it is a team sport, a team meeting or a team work. In the context of divorce mediation, cooperation means being truthful in the process, bringing documentation, etc.

Open and Effective Communication

One of the widely cherished features of divorce mediation is its transparency. Divorce mediation is a process that is about openness and making sure that nothing is hidden from the other or kept in the dark. Communication is the key in all areas of life, and it is no different in case of Orange County divorce mediation. The better the spouses are able to communicate with each other, the greater the chance of the mediation process becoming a success. This is because communication is likely to enhance trust which is the key to team work.

Being Open-Minded

If you come into any team work job with a set pattern of work that you have developed on your own, it is unlikely to work. Team work requires appreciation of idea and being willing to adapt and change. This is why open mindedness is integral to team work in divorce mediation. You shouldn’t come to mediation with a set goal and expectation. The best way to make the most of mediation is to go into it with an open mind.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

That said though, when it comes to divorce, one should understand that irrespective of the increasing rate of divorce it still remains an unknown territory for most people, with fear, anxiety, and stress all operating in such situations. There may be apprehensions when you go on with your divorce with respect to the financial picture, the picture of having and continuing a social life and with respect to the loneliness that might come after the divorce.

Yet, to make sure you are able to go into your divorce without the fear of the unknown, here are a few tips that will help you think through your own divorce resolution:

·        Be Aware Of Your Divorce

While this may seem like nothing special, trust me, it is. Being aware of your divorce does not necessarily mean knowing when or why you are going through with it. It has more added layers to it. The core of this tip to you is that you should be aware of the process of a divorce and all its intricacies. The best way to do that is to have your lawyer talk you through all the details of the process.

·        Talk To Your Friends

The biggest fear a person faces when going through a divorce process is the fear of being left lonely and without a companion. The best way to deal with such fear is for you to reach out to your friends. Friends are an integral part in one’s life, more importantly, in cases where the spouse is going through a patch of loneliness. The role of friends cannot be undermined because they are likely to share your good times and your bad times with you.

·        Stay Positive And Let Go

The key to getting through an Orange County divorce unscathed is by letting go and continuing to cultivate positive emotions. Anger, anxiety, stress, hurt, and hate are only a few of the many punishments that a person going through a divorce is likely to face. Yet, the best way to make sure that you are able to get through such times is by being strong and thinking positive thoughts, and the hopes for tomorrow overcome the fear and the anguish of today.

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.

Infidelity is one of the most fatal blows to a marriage, since it is not only an act of dishonesty, but it is likely to break the other’s trust to almost irreparable level. This is because Infidelity is an act that comes with a lot of emotions. This means that this reason has an impact on divorce mediation like no other reason is likely to do. The most important issue that infidelity creates in the process of Orange County mediation is the lack of trust that it creates. This is an important aspect, since the whole process of divorce mediation is based on mutual cooperation and consensus, and lack of trust is likely to hamper all that.

These dangers and impacts of infidelity on divorce mediation have warranted the introduction of safeguards to handle such situations. They are:

Screening

The first thing to do before the process of mediation starts is to make sure that the client is able to get through mediation or not. This is done through the use of screening. Before the start of the mediation process, the clients have a meeting with the mediator. It is only after the meeting that mediators are in a position to decide if the clients are up for mediation or not.

Full Disclosure

The key to having a healthy and successful divorce mediation process is making sure that there are full disclosures by each of the spouse before the mediation process begins. Full disclosure, simply put, is a declaration by the spouses of their assets, financial position, debts, expenses, and total incomes. The validity of the claims is shown thrown additional documents that are attached with the declaration. This allows regaining the trust of the estranged party on the process.

The Continued Presence of the Mediator

When you have two spouses in the room alone, one who has been cheated on the other and they try to talk, that is more often than not a recipe for a total disaster. To avoid such sticky situations in the mediation process, as it is made sure that the divorce mediator is present in the process at all times to make sure the clients are facilitated in their communications and resolution of their issues.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Before we talk about this aspect however, let’s take a look at what health insurance actually is. Health insurance in reality is when your medical costs are covered by an insurance that is paid for by deducting a certain amount from your monthly or yearly pay.

If either of the spouses has a health insurance coverage, the courts are likely to order that parent to continue with that health insurance coverage as long as that insurance is available to the child at no cost or at a very low/reasonable cost. It is important at this point to identify that health insurance is likely to cover not only hospital costs but also costs that are incurred on vision and dental care. Health insurance is often needed to be maintained and the most common way of doing so is by getting an amount deducted from the gross pay that is ordered in addition to the California child support number.

As far as the effect of this order is concerned, it can be termed as one that is equal in its importance to that of a child support order. The family law court has the power to, in case of non compliance of this order, to punish the non-compliant spouse. The fact that child health insurance factor is added in the child support order means that the addition of the health insurance cost coverage of the child will reduce the amount of child support that such a parent would have to pay.

It is important to be able to distinguish the uninsured medical costs from the insured medical cost coverage. It is also worth noting that in case one parent is spending on the costs of the child’s medical care, even though the child has insurance coverage, that spouse is unlikely to receive any kind of reimbursement against those costs. In some circumstances however, the courts can take into account the situation of the case and are likely to award the other spouse to pay the paying parent a reimbursement of 50% of their amount.

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.

What is the benefit or drawback of filing for divorce first before the other spouse is able to?

These are common questions that people going through a divorce tend to ask their lawyers. Before the answer to that question is given, let’s be clear on something. Divorce is a serious and life changing decision and no one should be rushed into making such a decision. When you come to the conclusion that your best interests lie outside the marriage, only then after careful deliberations can you attempt at getting a divorce.

Now let’s come to the answer of the question, should you file for divorce first?

In our society, filing for divorce is seen in the same sense as trying to pick a fight. The typical thinking for a long time has been that if you are the one who is filing for the divorce first, then you are likely to be the one who wants out i.e. you are the bad spouse. This kind of thinking is what makes most spouses reluctant to file for divorce. Yet, there is another side to the coin too.

If you file first, it is believed that the process is in your hands since you are then going to be the petitioner. Yet, will the judge care about who filed first or second? Can the spouse who files first claim a sort of advantage in the case? The answer to that question is no. However, there are a few exceptions.

The Advantage On Venue Or Jurisdiction Of Filing First

What is the importance of words like venue and jurisdiction? Simply put, they show the power that the judiciary is able to exercise in the case. More often than not, there can be case where both the spouses live in different counties and therefore fall under the jurisdiction of different courts. This is where filing first can be to your advantage. If you are able to file first, your divorce case will be dealt with in your locality i.e. the Orange County and not the other county that your spouse resides in.

The Danger To The Child And Filing First

If you have reasons to believe or it is clear that your children are in danger because of your spouse, the wisest thing to do is to be able to file immediately. In cases where the spouse files first against the spouses who is threatening the children, the courts have discretionary powers to give an immediate sentence for the protection of the children. If you delay the case filing and then claim the danger to your children, the first question you’ll face will be about the delay in filing for divorce.

Filing for divorce first or second is an important decision, but it poses a question has no clear cut answer. If you are clear on your decision, it is best that you file for divorce as soon as possible to keep the marriage from going on unnaturally.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Please think of me when you think about getting a divorce. I love you loads but you must remember that I am going to get affected by your decision. I don’t know why both of you can’t get along, but now that you can’t and want to have a divorce, can you at least take a few steps that will help us. I just do not want our family to suffer during this time.

The points I want you to follow in your divorce are:

·         The Present is Important

Taking a leaf out of history will help you, but living in the past and continually dwelling on it is likely to give rise to nothing but hatred and enmity. When and if you keep concentrating on what happened in the past, you are likely to continue to fight with the other parent. The best way to avoid this is to focus on what is at hand, the present, and how you can maximize the situation to everyone’s advantage.

·         Look Ahead to the Future

A divorce can be a bit like the dark tunnel that one sometimes has to go through. There is very little known about how and what the future holds for you. The best way for you in this situation is to look ahead to the future and plan for it all the while the divorce proceedings are going on.

·         Put Yourself In My Shoes

The spouse that you want to leave is also my parent. I love both of you dearly and I want the same from both of you. I would like the love and care of both my parents in their own separate way of course, but I need to be loved by both. I want to spend some time with you and sometime with the other parent so that I don’t miss either one of you.

·         Don’t Criticize My Parent In Front Of Me…Please

You are the world to me, but so is my other parent. I don’t want to have to choose between the two of you and I respect and love both of you. It would be a great gesture from your side if you don’t hurl abuses at my parent in my presence. I know you might be upset, but they are good to me and I love them as much as I love you.

·         Choose a Peaceful Way to get Divorced

I don’t like courts…everybody seems to be arguing, fighting, it’s just too unsettling and uncomfortable. I don’t want to be in that environment. I want you to adopt a divorce method that involves you talking to each other and getting divorced. I have heard that’s called Orange County divorce mediation and I want you to use mediation to settle the divorce.

Love, Your Child

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

When couples go through divorce however, there is a sense of competition and will to win to try and get one over the other spouse and be able to satisfy oneself from the defeat of the other. In reality though, this approach needs to be changed. The role of the family law courts is to resolve disputes that exist between the spouses.

Most spouses want to win their divorce cases, as a result of which most of the spouses tend to turn to the family lawyers to gain an advantage, an edge over the other spouse in the proceedings. While all that is likely to help, what is important is working on yourself to make sure you are able to get the most of the divorce proceedings.

Here is a list of the three things that you need to do in order to make the most of your divorce proceedings and get a result in your favor.

·        Silence

This is one of the most important things that are needed for a spouse to be able to enjoy success in the court proceeding. Are you being criticized and incited by your spouse through their actions? The key to this is ignoring all those attacks and stay silent. Silence in this regards refers to calmness, composure, and poise, all of which are needed if you are to stay steadfast in your goal of getting the best deal for yourself in the divorce proceedings.

·        Know what you want

In the field of law, there are often cases where one comes across people who have started divorce proceedings against their spouses but are unsure of their own demands and what they want out of the proceedings. This is likely to be a key mistake which is likely to make your case direction-less. The key to making the most of an Orange County divorce case is to know exactly what you want the outcome of the case to be and communicating that to your lawyer so that they are able to work towards it.

·        Remember your values

Divorce is likely to leave you with an inner sense of guilt, loneliness, and an acute sense of having failed. These feelings are normal and are typically experienced by all spouses that go through a divorce. What is important is that you realize that these feelings are temporary and will come and go. What you have to keep dear to you are your values. Keep your values with you and your dignity intact, if you are able to do that, your chances of success in the divorce case are bright.

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.

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.

Here is a list of a four of the leading candidates that have been said to be at a disadvantage in regards to divorce mediation and their myths debunked.

People That Have Assets

There is a common myth that people that have assets should avoid Orange County divorce mediation, since the mediation process is unlikely to work efficiently in cases where assets are involved. In reality though, the facts are quite the contrary.

In reality for couples that have significant amount of assets, divorce mediation is likely to be a better option than litigation. Litigation proceedings are long, time-consuming and costly, which will need the spouses to utilize their assets to finance the case. In divorce mediation, however, both the spouses will be able to save tens of thousands of dollars in terms of litigation costs and still be able to amicably agree on the division of assets without an ill feeling involved.

People with Children

Living with divorce parents is unlikely to be an easy experience for the child, yet what is more damaging for such a child is having to see his/her parents fight it out in court and for the divorce to become a long drawn out process. While the myth is that divorce mediation is not effective when children are involved, the reality once again is different. .

Mediation is the best way for parents to end their marriage if children are involved, since mediation allows for amicable, hassle free resolution of issues and disputes.

People that have hired a Lawyer

It is believed that people who have already filed paperwork for divorce in courts and hired an attorney cannot try their hands at divorce mediation. This, however, is not true.

Divorce mediation can be used at any stage by the spouses as long as they are willing to contribute to the resolution of the dispute. The fact that you have hired a lawyer will affect the mediation in no way. If you want, you may ask your lawyer to represent you in the mediation or even keep him/her by your side for help.

People who want to do it themselves

Increasingly, people are trying to save on costs and want to do things on their own. While there have been rumors that mediation is not for people who want to do it themselves, such rumors are baseless.

Divorce mediation is a process that allows the people to be able to represent themselves and even decide the solution among them.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

When a spouse finds out about such activities of the other spouse, the first thing that hits the spouse are the feelings of betrayal, hurt, devastation, and shock. In such cases, where one of the spouses has broken the trust of the other spouse to pieces, it is important that you clear the air with your spouse all the while still getting divorced from him/her.

If reconciliation is not an option for you, the best way for a spouse to end the relationship after infidelity is to participate in Orange County divorce mediation. Divorce mediation is one of the fastest-growing divorce methods. The increase in the number of people looking to solve their issues and absolve their marriage using this process is due to the cooperative and communicative approach used in this method.

It is true that having been cheated on is one of the worst feelings in the world, and the magnitude of the hurt and the anguish cannot be measured by anyone but the person that feels it. That being said, for you to be able to heal yourself of this blow, and to be able to get out of this trauma, you need to have communication with your spouse. Especially if your marriage involved kids, the level of cooperation needs to stay up at all times between you and your spouse and the best way to ensure that is by ensuring that the communication continues and your issues of hurt are resolved.

Tips To Get Over Being Cheated On

• Try and get as much rest as possible in this time, don’t try to over work yourself to run from the feeling, since it is likely to continue to stay with you for a long time.
• Make sure alcohol, etc. are avoided.  You need to have as clear a mind as possible.
• Think about your feelings and write them down. Writing down your feelings will allow you to express them better to your spouse during your divorce mediation sessions.
• Take some individual time with the mediator (if your spouse is okay with that) or with an independent attorney to try and make sure you are clear on all aspects and are able to seek their advice with respect to your situation.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Why does the fear of divorcing a spouse who is a lawyer exists?

The primary reason that this fear exists and holds you firm in its grasp is because of your sense of intimidation to your spouse. This sense of intimidation stems from the fact that all during the marriage and even when looking for divorce, you tend to consider your spouse intellectually superior to you.  The fact that you know your spouse is a lawyer has led you to believe that they have some other legal tricks already planned to ruin you. This however is illogical and not practically possible; all this shows is the level of control they continue to have over you.

How to manage and eliminate this fear?

As long as you have this sense of fear inside you that your spouse is a lawyer, there is very little chance of you getting your divorce right. The best way to make sure you have the right divorce is to manage that fear or even eliminate it. Here are a few ways that you can try and get rid of this fear of divorcing a lawyer spouse:

• You should know that you have hired a competent lawyer and the faith in that lawyer will lessen your fear of being outfoxed and outmaneuvered in a family law court.
• Always remember that no matter how good, famous or intellectual your lawyer spouse is, the primary fact is that they are equal in front of the law.
• Don’t assume that your spouse knows anything more about family law than you or your divorce attorney does.

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.

In the time between filing a divorce and the decision of the divorce coming, the dealings in between spouses can tend to be ones that have an increasing level of discomfort and uneasiness between the spouses. A situation like that is particularly compounded when through the process of getting an Orange County divorce; the spouses live in the same house.

Thus there are often question asked in this regard by annoyed spouses who can no longer tolerate the presence of the other spouse. They ask whether they can kick their spouses out of the house. That is easier said than done, because in the absence of domestic violence, the court will generally not kick out the other spouse where the parties both own the home.

Here is a lowdown on the answer to that question in a bit more detail:

How to Kick the Spouse Out on Emergency Basis?

To be able to get a good measure of how this is possible, we need to take a look at what the law says in this regard. According to the California Family Code Section 6321, the court can issues and ex parte order that will allow them to exclude a party from a dwelling irrespective of who owns the property as long as the person who has care and custody of the child is being protected by this order.

For such an exclusion to happen though, the court needs to be shown either of the three things to make sure the other spouse is excluded. These three things are:

• The proof that the property making the claim to oust the other party from the dwelling under the law has the right to possession of the premises.
• The proof that the party that is being asked to be excluded has threatened or assaulted any other party, or child, with either of the parties.
• The proof that the presence of this party is likely to result in emotional, mental, or physical harm.

How to Kick the Spouse Out on a Non-Emergency Basis?

The availability of the process to kick the spouse out of the house is not only limited to emergency situations. In non-emergency situations, the process is similar to the one in emergency situations only that in normal situations a threat of violence, mental, physical, or emotional damage still needs to be proven to the judge.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Having said that though, are most parents aware of this? The answer is quite simply a No. Do they have issues dealing with such a form? The answer once again is No. It is important to understand what this is about.

What does it do?

The IRS form 8332 is a form that is filled by the custodial parent of the child. The custodial parent can use this form to do the following things:

• Make sure to release the claim to exemption form of child/children to enable the non-custodial parent to claim a tax exemption of credit for the child.
• Revoke a previous release form that was filed for the claim to exemption of the child.

Does the Orange County marital settlement agreement/Judgment need to state that the custodial parent should release the child dependency and tax credit exemption?

Yes, your divorce agreement should have this agreed upon and stated specifically. This is important because:

• When the spouse or parent signs such an agreement that states the child tax dependency and exemption have been transferred over to you, it becomes legally binding.
• The order clearly specifies that the spouse/parent needs to execute the IRRS 8332 form.
• Inability to do so will mean you are able to claim exemption as well as reimbursement for further damages of the money that you lost as result of this disregard of the Orange County divorce agreement.

Why would a custodial parent agree on signing and filing out the IRS release of claims and exemption from?

While it is true that divorce tends to be an emotionally charged affair with each of the spouse holding some kind of bitterness about the other spouse, filing out such a form is not that hard to agree upon between the spouses. This is because the exemptions in this form are likely to have no real value to the parent who has the child’s custody. This is especially true in cases where the custodial spouse is dependent on the other spouse for spousal and child support.

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.

Divorce mediation is a method of obtaining divorce that is considerably different from the usual method of mediation, since the core of this method is consultation, consensus, and compromise. The use of the three C’s has made divorce mediation one of the most peaceful and easy going way of settling marital disputes and allowing for divorce settlements to be drawn up without rubbing either of the party the wrong way.

Having said that —while divorce mediation is one of the preferable ways for the general public to end their marital relations—, there are a few types of divorce cases that are best left away from mediation. Here is a list of a few of situations where divorce mediation is unlikely to be the best option.

·        Cases Where Physical/Emotional/Child Abuse Is Involved

The concept of mediation cases is to create an environment of harmony between the soon-to-be-ex spouses, so that they are able to sit down and talk their differences out amicably without having to drag the courts into the personal matters of a couple. In domestic abuse cases however, more often than not, it is better for a couple to not use divorce mediation and instead rely on court proceedings. The primary reason for this is that cases that involve any kind of abuse are likely to involve protection orders for the abused spouse or child and full investigation into the claims, these tasks are best left to the courts.

·        If one of the Spouses is bent on delaying the proceedings and not ready to cooperate

More often than not there are tons of cases where one of the spouses is ready for the divorce process while the other is hell bent on trying to stop the other spouse from doing so for a variety of reasons. In cases such as these, it is best for the couples to try and use the courts instead of divorce mediation services. The reason for this is that mediation services are run on the basis of cooperation and commitment, if either of the spouses is disinterested and lacks the necessary will to find a solution; it is likely to be extremely hard for the mediator to try and continue and keep the mediation going in the right direction. The courts however can make sure with the use of their orders that both of these parties are honest and interested in the matters at hand.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Here are the typical divorce settlements in family law:

Typical Orange County divorce settlement with regards to visitation and child custody

The child custody laws in California family law courts are based on the notion of having to protect the best interest of the child at all times. This generally includes the child’s safety, security, health, welfare and education. The typical divorce settlements in these cases include:

·         The common labels of child custody are usually sole and joint

Sole legal custody of the child is a settlement that is used mostly in cases that neglect abuse of any kind or harm to the child proven along the lines of the trial, or in circumstances where one of the parents has proved it is more appropriate for them to have custody over the other parent in making choices that safeguard the child’s best interest. Joint legal custody is the most common settlement since both the parents want to share the child and neither wants to give up their right.

·         The common settlements that involve parenting time

It is important to understand at this point that there is no set parenting time in child custody and visitation cases, but there are certain parenting time percentages used more than others. These times are likely to have little disparity between them for each parent unless there is an advantage of any sorts as mentioned in the previous bullet point to either of the spouses.

Typical Orange County divorce settlements with regards to spousal support

Spousal support or alimony, as it is also called around the legal world, is the amount a well-established bread earning spouse pays to the dependent spouse after a divorce. Here is a look at the typical settlements in the courts in this regard.

·         The common spousal support is usually half the duration of the marriage for short term marriages

Any marriage that lasts less than 10 years is considered a short term marriage. In this case, typically the spouse will have to pay the spousal support for half the time that the marriage had existed, which means; for an 8 year marriage, it’ll be 4 years.

·         Common spousal support with regards to a long term marriage that has no set termination date

Just like marriages that are under 10 years are considered short term marriages, for marriages that lasted more than 10 years are considered long term marriages. In long term marriages, there is no specific date as to how long the spousal support is to be paid. Likely termination dates would include if the spouse receiving the support dies, remarries or is able to earn a living for themselves.

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.

One such measure is Parental Alienation. Parental alienation is actually a concept for therapists and psychologists, yet the growing use of the term in the Orange County family law court has become very much part of a family lawyer’s repertoire of knowledge. The definition of the word alienation is to isolate something from another. When parental is added with alienation, the definition becomes: the attempts by one of the spouse to isolate the child or children from the other parent.

This isolation can be done through various means. One parent can alienate the child from the other parent using conduct and/or words to create an estrangement, division, or hostility between the victim parent and the child. There are several types of parental alienation:

Disparagement and Parental Alienation

This is the first step on the long road of parental alienation. Identification of disparagement can result in an insight into the process of parental alienation. Disparagement in this context refers to negative and hostile comments being made about one of the parent by the other parent in front of the child. Any such comment given in front of the child irrespective of whether it was directly addressed to the spouse or not is counted as disparagement.

Undermining Authority and Parental Alienation

Alienation is isolation and the undermining of authority of one of the parents by the other is an important part of the parental alienation cycle. In theory, the custody of each parent over the child and in matters of the child that each has autonomy over are respected by the parent. By undermining the authority and the decisions of one of the parents in front of the child, the other parent gives the child the impression that the style of parenting by the victim parent is wrong and needs to be changed.

Parentification and Parental Alienation

The word parentification may certainly seem new to you, but this word, however is dubious, as its spelling may best describe one of the most important weapons of parental alienation. When couples have gone through a divorce, the bitterness may lead to one of the parents manipulating the child to hurt the other. This is what the concept of parentification is all about. Parentification means granting the decision making power to the child when he/she is neither mature nor capable enough of making decisions for themselves. This is then taken advantage of and the manipulating parent manipulates the child into making decision that are against the other parent.

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.

At this time, spouses often seek refuge with their therapists or psychiatric experts to enable them to escape the emotional torment of a divorce. Orange County divorce mediation has the ultimate goal of being a way through which couples can reach an amicable solution to their divorce with legal standing. Divorce mediations depend on three people and three people only; one is the mediator and the other two are the spouses. Typically, the task of a mediator is to facilitate the couples through discussion, and enable the smooth resolution of affairs.

Increasingly though, mediators have started to adapt the skills of a therapist and its approach and have tried to encompass the therapist’s style of working in their job description as well. Orange County divorce mediators have started to opt for therapy courses and even take part in professional therapy qualifications, in order to make sure they not only cater to the legal side of their clients, but to also help them emotionally.

The job of a typical therapist is to build relationships and emotional connections. Normal therapists are given education, experience and training in aspects that involve dealing with families and their issues. They are often required to have thorough grasp on the lifestyle of a family, in addition to having the ability to recognize the dysfunctional behavior and when they need to be changed through an intervention.

The job of an Orange County divorce mediator, on the other hand, is to break and build relations. The mediator owing to his/her line of work needs to be able to understand the intricacies of the couple’s relationship. When the skills of a therapist are integrated with the mediation skills of a divorce mediator, you are likely to get a complete legal and emotional solution provider. The mediator who has therapy skills will have the legal acumen as well as the ability to encourage, discourage and control the emotions of the spouse from getting the better of them.

Sometimes, divorce mediation processes can become emotionally charged or may reach a level of confrontation that is likely to hurt the overall process. In a situation like this, divorce mediators can act as a breath of fresh air to cool the atmosphere down and make sure the couples reap the best of divorce mediation.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Here are the 5 leading myths about divorce mediation:

·        Mediation won’t work for us, since it requires couples of amicable terms, and me and my spouse quarrel daily

This is definitely a rumor and is far from reality. Orange County divorce mediators are trained to perform in volatile situations and develop an atmosphere of calmness  around. Divorce mediation is all about having the couples talk it out; there is no such requirement of the couples being on amicable terms. More often than not, divorces are bitter; if amicability was a requirement, none of those divorces would have been successfully and peacefully transitioned to divorce through mediation.

·        I can’t have an attorney if I decide to mediate

Different spouses approach divorce mediation differently. Some like to come alone into the mediation process, while others want their attorney to participate with them. Divorce mediation is made to help the couples have flexible out of court settlements between themselves. This however by no means disallows the use of attorneys. In many cases, spouses do use their attorneys for the mediation discussions.

·        Mediation requires a large upfront payment

This is one of the leading misconceptions that have been doing the rounds regarding divorce mediation. Divorce mediation, just like other forms of mediation, is a process that is affordable. Typically, the mediators are likely to charge you an hourly basis pay with flexibility of timing allowed at your discretion. This allows the spouses to increase or decrease mediation time according to their budget.

·        Children get hurt irrespective of the method of divorce

This is not true. Litigation is a process that encourages competition and pits one spouse against the other, thus enhancing the sense of bitterness between the spouses. This when viewed by the child is likely to affect him/her adversely, while in mediation the circumstances change considerably. Divorce mediation is all about communication and compromises allowing for more cordial spouse relations and hence more peaceful affects on the child.

·        Mediation takes as long as litigation

Quite the contrary to this myth, using mediation allows the spouses to save time. Divorce mediations are purely between the spouses, which means that the amount of time is likely to be less than court cases which have lots of legal procedures, etc. The fact that the parties talk directly to each other allows them fast pace the resolution speed.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

For example, a down payment is made on a home which is purchased during the marriage. The source of the down payment money from one of the spouses is from a separate property source. When one spouse files for divorce, then what happens to the amount of down payment that was paid for by money from a separate source? Will the spouse who made this payment get their money back? How does the process work? The answer to all these questions is what Section 2640 deals with.

Property and Reimbursement Claims Under Family Code 2640

Section 2640 is one of the most detailed sections of the California Family Code which deals with all aspects of financial recovery of the down payments on marital real property and other aspects involved, done from separate source. The section in its wordings is clear with respects to the parameters of its authority and  states what parties involved should do or should not do. It is however important to understand that as far as the statute is concerned, unless it is written in black and white about what it means and what it does not, it is the judge’s discretion to interpret it as they see it fit.

The 3 Step Process to Recover the Separate Property Down Payment

There are three ways that a spouse in the process of divorce litigation will be able to recover the amount of down payment that had come from a separate property source using Section 2640:

1. Identifying the amount of the down payment that was made using the separate property source. Only then you will be able identify the amount that has come from a separate source, which has been used in down payment, and will be able to start the process of recovering it.
2. The separate source that the money came from should be clearly a separate source with no dispute or claim of ownership by the other party on it. Typically, a clear and clean separate source is likely to fund from the sale of property that had been in the possession of the spouse prior to the marriage that was kept in the bank. Even gifts from third parties that are given directly to one of the spouse come in the category of clear separate property source.
3. The evidence needs to be drawn which proves the exact amount of money with the separate source of finance used. Proofs of transactions are likely to hold significance in this regard.

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.

Parents that go through these investigations are likely to find themselves under considerable amounts of stress and confusion. Primarily, child custody investigations are about the accusations leveled by one of the spouses against the other with regards to:

• Child neglect
• Substance abuse
• Sexual/physical child abuse
• Other concerns in relation to the safety and security of the child

The Purpose of Investigations

The use of child custody investigations is done by the Orange County family law court personnel to be able to have a clearer and more objective view of the facts. These facts and clearing of accusations and perceptions are likely to increase the chances of decision by the court that is truly in the child’s best interest. These investigations are done by the internal investigator of the court and therefore, are completely different to the other child custody evaluations done under Evidence Code section 730.

Are Child Custody Investigations Helpful?

This is one of the most common questions that have been asked with regards to child custody investigation. Typically, in Orange County court proceedings, the pattern is in the ‘he said, she said’ style, where arguments seem to be flowing through and lawyers arguing over the actions taken by either of the spouses. All of this is done without any regard to the objective representation of facts and figures.

Child custody investigations, on the other hand, involve a whole host of procedures that are intended to provide the facts objectively at the end of the process. This can include processes such as:

• Interview of the witnesses and the parents
• Thorough reviewing of the important documents that include videos, photographs and medical records and other information that can prove decisive in the fighting of the case.

When the Investigation is Complete?

Once the child custody investigation is complete, the investigator is likely to submit a formal report to the Orange County family law court, which has all the necessary facts of the case in an objectively represented form. The court can sometimes ask the investigator for the live testimony of the facts provided.  It is important to note that these proceedings owing to the involvement of the children are closed and only parties and their lawyers are allowed to attend such proceedings.

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 Smart Choice About How to Divorce

It is because of the severe pain and feelings of torment that increasingly couples have started to choose divorce mediation over litigation. Unlike litigation, mediation is a process that allows the couples to sort the issues out themselves while also having divorce mediators to try and make sure the discussion stays on the right track. The choice of the process of divorce is a particularly important one, since it can decide how you are going to be affected at the end of it, both emotionally and financially.

Orange County divorce mediation, unlike litigation procedures that inculcate a feeling of competition between the spouses, encourages a feeling of coordination, mutual respect, and communication. The longer the divorce takes to come to an end, the more hurt the spouses get. Mediation is one of the fastest methods of dispute resolution, coupled with its low costs and it is real winner. Another important consideration to take into account is the impartiality of the person other than the spouses involved in the procedure. Divorce mediators are neutral and committed to resolving the issues that is in favor of, and acceptable to both the parties involved.

Communication is the Key to Effective Decision-Making

Effective communication is the key to solving a variety of issues. Couples that are involved in divorce mediations need to be at their best in terms of communication capabilities with the other spouse if they are to maximize the potential of mediation. Communication is one of the most important elements in divorce mediation. The couples need to have as much conversation directly with each other as possible and also have the courtesy to listen to the point view of the other spouse.

Orange County mediation warrants the spouses to have detailed communication between them to be able to understand each others’ problems, constraints and factors that govern their decision making. Only then the spouses can have effective communication between them and will they be able to solve the issues and reach an effective conclusion that is acceptable to both.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

In situations like this though, when you get the services of a divorce attorney, one of the first few things they are likely to do is to make sure you go through with divorce litigation. We have already established how certain matters in divorce are emotionally charged and litigations on such issues go a long way in creating unbearable rifts between the spouses. Why would a lawyer suggest you litigation? Divorce litigation can be used by lawyers to charge hefty legal assistance costs by billing you for each hour that your case goes on for.

Imagine there are children involved in the divorce, what would they feel and see when they experience the sense of bitterness and cut throat competition between their spouses. The next best alternative to children, instead of having both their parents to be there with them all the time, is to be co-parented with each parent coordinating with the other. This is unlikely to be the result if the parents continue to battle it out against one another during the litigation proceedings.

Fed up of all the litigation process that you and your spouse are going through to get solutions for your divorce?  Divorce mediation is an alternative to litigation method. This method allows you to keep control over your money, assets, life, and the final decision that you are going to take in terms of asset and family distribution. There are a lot of secrets in the lives of most spouses that they want to continue to keep under the wraps; the best place where that is possible is divorce mediation. The divorce mediation process is in between the couple and the mediator and no one else, which means the personal information will continue to stay personal.

The process of divorce mediation is based on the principles of cooperation and coordination both of which not only save time and money, but they also allow the spouses to have certain cordial relations which can help in keeping the parenting equation balanced. In addition to the fact that divorce mediation, as a process, allows a peaceful transition for married couples to divorced status, the neutrality of the mediator is also another plus point for this method.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Riverside divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The key to prevailing in a family law case is to have a reliable Orange County family lawyer at your disposal. Having said that, finding the right Orange County lawyer is a big challenge in itself, with the process being challenging and tiring more often than not. In this article, we are going to outline a few traits that are needed in an Orange County lawyer to be considered the perfect fit for your case.

Respect and Integrity

Integrity is the key to judging any man or woman, and that is the same rule that you need to follow when looking for the right, reliable lawyer. Integrity means the ability of the person to be honest and truthful. A lawyer that has integrity is going to be one who is honest to your face. Such a lawyer will outline the strengths and weaknesses of your case and refrain from giving you any false hope.

Diligent and Hardworking

The diligence of your lawyer is one of the most important traits to have in him/her. Only a lawyer that thinks of each case as the most important in their career and tries to give their all in terms of hard work is likely to grant you success. The diligence of the lawyer is an important trait, and the best way to gauge it is their first call.

Did the Orange County family law lawyer talk to you directly or did the secretary? What was the first discussion about, the amount of money or the facts of your case? These are questions you should ask yourself before you decide on a lawyer. Diligence is shown in the first call or contact, and if you are unable to feel it, move on.

The Ability of Being Objective

Orange County family law cases cannot be determined without the proper use of the conditions, the situations and the context of the problem at hand. A lawyer who is objective is likely to want to look at the case in depth and expand their canvas from simple statute and case facts to include the context of the problem, other issues that have been prevailing in the family etc.

Objectivity is one of the most important traits that a lawyer should have because each case is different.  This means that there is no set black and white, clear cut solutions and applications of law. There are lots of grey areas and only an objective lawyer is likely to have the ability to understand and utilize those grey areas.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce 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.

In a divorce court case, couples tend to take a back seat and their lawyers and the judge hold the pole positions in deciding their fates. The decision comes from the judge who is bound by the laws. Anybody who is asked to follow a decision that has been forced on them without major consultation is likely to resent it. This is exactly the case as far as the divorce court cases are concerned. The spouses have only a little to say in the judge’s decision. When this is the case, it is often a challenge to accept the outcome and live according to it.

Most couples get to have a greater say in the decisions that are taken about their lives. When people are actively involved in the decision making process, the accuracy of the decision as well as its acceptability increases. In the case of divorce cases in courts, the law and the legal arguments used mean that the decision is likely to be under the set quarantines of law. This means that the one size fits all method is likely to be used in the case of each couple no matter how different their situations may be.

In cases like where the lawyers hold the key to your future, more often than not lawyers tend to milk their clients for unnecessary procedures to try and increase their wage bill. This and the fact that fighting a divorce case in family law court can cost a couple a hefty amount of money, making it one process to avoid. When you decide to avoid this process, how should you get a divorce then?

Divorce mediation is the way forward. Increasingly couples have started to venture into the mediation side of things to try and have resolutions of their divorces with mutually acceptable solutions. Divorce mediation is a process that involves a divorce mediator in Orange County or other county and the couples themselves. The mediator is only there to keep the discussion on the proper tracks; the couples are given the power to agree their solution among themselves. Divorce mediation is a legally acceptable procedure and the resulting outcome is also enforceable by courts.

Are you in need of a divorce and don’t think which method to use? Unless you have a large fortune or an appetite for a long gruesome court case, divorce mediation likely makes alot of sense in your particular situation.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The child is one of the most important assets to a parent. Contrary to popular belief though, the child continues to have a greater role in determining the parent that he or she wants to live with. This blog takes a look at the aspects of California family law with regard to determining the child’s preference.

The Preference Of The Child Aged 14 Or Older

Keeping in line with California Family Code 3042, the court must take into account the child’s preference and choice with regards to the parent they want to be with. This needs to be done for children who are of the age 14 or over, unless of course the court has reasons to believe that it is not in the child’s best interest to do so. This means that before the child is allowed to voice his opinions in front of the court, the court will decide on whether that would be in the child’s best interest or not.  California family law courts give the utmost importance to the best interest of the child or children involved in the case.

It should be clear at this point that the set bar of age 14 has been set by the legislature, since according to them a child of the age 14 years is mature in terms of emotions and has the mental capacity to take decisions of such significance.

How Can The Choice Be Made By The Child?

This is another instance in California family law courts where the courts have their utmost discretion over the way that the child can convey his/her choice. Despite this, family law judges can take the direct approach of hearing the choice straight from the child. Here are a few things that judges consider before deciding how the child’s choice can be made:

• The location of the testimony
• Whether the parents or attorneys should be present. In some cases, the stakeholders’ presence may make the child feel pressurized into making a decision.
• The method of questioning, i.e. whether the lawyers of the parents or the judge will ask the child.

At this point though, it is important to understand that despite the choice of the child, it is not binding on the court of law to follow the choice and the judge can disregard it if he/she deems fit.

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.

Talk to Yourself

One of the most popular sayings in the world is “you are what you believe you are”. Continuing on this belief, you can have a divorce just like you believe you deserve. Negative emotions with respect to the other spouse are common, especially if the divorce is not mutually agreed upon. Most people associate all kinds of slangs with their spouse, what is important to realize though is that you can never have a peaceful divorce unless you want it. As long as you have the sense of bitterness in your heart and mind about your spouse, there is always going to be a wall between you and a peaceful divorce.

At this point of time, it is important that you have a conversation with yourself. Make sure you lay out the plans and choices like whether you want a peaceful divorce or want to punish your spouse in court? If you choose the option of peaceful divorce, you’ll need to make sure you and your spouse take part in Orange County divorce mediation. Divorce mediation is a communicative, divorce resolution method which saves the spouses from the fatigue of fighting it out in court.

Think Before You Take An Action

How important are your children for you? Do you think they deserve the love of both parents? Can you see them get scared for life after seeing the battle between their parents? Children are an important asset in divorces. Thinking about all the pros and cons of both types of divorce mediation and divorce litigation methods will help you do what’s best in your and your family’s interest. Divorce litigation may allow you to have better chance to inflict a larger amount of pain on the other spouse, but if you are looking for a peaceful divorce, it is best to go with mediation.

Divorce mediation is all about couples and subjects such as children that are mutually important to both and can be dealt with flexibly, as opposed to what would happen in the process of litigation.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Here is an explanation of the California divorce process to help ease some of the uncertainty.

Step 1: The Period of Separation

The first step in the seven-step process of California is the period of separation. This step deals with the question of whether moving out of the house or staying put. It is important with regards to this step to point out that if you are the spouse who is likely to be on the receiving end of spousal/child support, you should leave the house only after clarity of issues such as finances and custody, etc. is resolved.

Step 2: Filing and Service

Formally, the divorce process in California starts from here. Either of the spouses that want to initiate the divorce proceedings needs to file the divorce petition in court. When you are filing in the Petition it is important to be careful with regards to the information being put in it and its factual accuracy. Once the Petition is filed, the court then assigns the number of the case which is then used in future correspondences.

Step 3: The Financial Disclosures

This is an important step in the divorce process. California family law courts require both of the spouses to be clear and open with the courts in terms of their financial positions. Disclosure usually includes the couples disclosing their own income, debts, expenses, and assets.

Step 4: Temporary Orders

The use of temporary orders is widespread in California divorce proceedings. Temporary orders are orders passed by the judge at the initial stage of the case. These orders will often be enforceable until the final judgment of the court isn’t given. The most common types of Temporary orders include:

• Spousal Support Orders
• Orders for Child Support
• Orders for visitation and custody of the child
• Orders regarding property and assets.

Step 5: The Process of Discovery

The discovery process is an optional process that courts can order on their discretion or the request of one of the spouse to obtain greater information with regards to any subject of the spouse or the relationship of the couples. The information for this method is likely to be gathered through direct questioning and providing of documents etc.

Step 6: Negotiations for Settlements

This is one of the final steps of the process. Settlement negotiations are when the spouses or their lawyers sit down to discuss the matters that they can conclude the divorce and agree on mutually acceptable answers to child custody, alimony payments, and division of assets and finances. The best negotiations of this kind tend to occur once the spouses are fully informed and try to keep emotions out of the negotiation process.

Step 7: Trial

If and when the settlement stage proves unsuccessful, the spouses come to the family law courts and put their arguments before the judge in the form of a trial. Trials are often one of the most emotionally-charged instances in a person’s life.

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.

The most important asset for a parent during and after their Orange County divorce proceedings are their children. The importance of a child in terms of divorce can be seen by the fact that child custody cases are one of the most hotly contested cases in then family law courts of California.

Having said that though, there is another way to make sure parents are able to amicably decide on the child custody and other matters related to the child’s welfare without having to have bitter, long feuds in the court of laws. The divorce mediation dispute resolution method in Orange County allows the spouses to communicate and sort out the issues concerning the child. This is done to make sure the child is able to stay unaffected by the parental animosities and disputes.

Here are a few reasons that highlight benefits of using Orange County divorce mediation’s parenting plan:

• When it comes to the process of divorce mediation, the parents are allowed ample time to discuss their differences and reach a conclusion. This helps the parents formulate child-focused and thoughtful parenting plans for the benefits of the child.

• Mediation allows not only the effective formulation of the parenting plan, but through in-depth discussion, it allows for both parties to analyze the plan and iron out its kinks before its implementation.

• Generally, the process of mediation and formulation of parenting plan allows better communication between the parents lessening the animosity between the spouses.

• Parenting plans are not only important practically, they also have significant moral impact. The formulation of a parenting plan, and the willingness to participate in the Orange County mediation highlights the resolve of the parents to keep the child first.

• Orange County mediation allows the parents to decide on the way to deal with the future of the child in a comprehensive conclusion avoiding future conflicts.

• Parenting plans formulated as part of the mediation agreement reached between the parents are legally enforceable and provide little opportunity for either spouse to rescind.

• Perhaps one of the most important reasons to use Orange County divorce mediation and the parenting plan is its ability to allow improvement. Usually, the parenting plans formulated in divorce mediation allow the parents to consult third party experts to help them through the process of parenting.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other 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.

Having said all that though, the role of an attorney still continues to be in Orange County mediation contrary to the popular belief. In this blog, we take a look at the role of the attorneys in mediation both before and during the process.

Pre-Mediation

Mediation is similar to arbitration and litigation in one respect; the fact that all three of these processes need adequate amounts of preparation. This is where the role of the attorney starts. An attorney can help prepare the clients using any of the following methods:

• By having a detailed conversation with the client regarding what divorce mediation is and the workings of the process. Attorneys are well versed in contrasting and drawing parallels they may use that skill to try and make the client aware of the process by drawing comparison to methods that the client knows well. A good family lawyer is likely to make the client aware of the differences of this method and the intricacies required to make it work.
• By aiding the client in the preparation of arguments and positions that they should take in Orange County mediation. Mediation is a process that has lots of paper work involved. A good divorce lawyer will make sure all the documents of a client are in order and ready to be used in mediation.

The Role During the Mediation

When it comes to the actual divorce mediation process, the role of the attorney is drastically different to one that they have in litigation proceedings. Here, the role of the attorney will only be to assist the client throughout the process. Below is a list of the ways they can assist the client in terms of divorce mediation:

• Attorneys need to first of all take note of the supportive role of the client and then try to help them with respects to information and advice.
• The role of the attorney throughout the process is likely to be one of being cooperative, supportive and committed to the process and their clients, assisting them in trying to bridge decisional differences.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

To get the best results from mediation, go in prepared. Here are a few tips that’ll help you prepare yourself for divorce mediation.

Keep A Tab On Your Emotions

Mediation is by in large all about the communications between the two spouses. When two people, who have decided to call it quits in their marriage, communicate with each other, there are bound to be heated exchanges. It is important in matters such as these that you keep your calm and not let emotions get the better of you. Mediation is about solving the issues that exist. You should refrain from letting your emotion of anger or anguish get the better of you and dictate your tongue. You should talk sensibly and practically without a glimmer of emotional vulnerability shown.

Know Your Rights

The worst thing you can do to limit the success of divorce mediation is to go into the process without prior knowledge of the law and rights you have. Before you get into a divorce, make sure you consult your situation with top law firms and good lawyers and do your due diligence in learning what the issues are and what your rights are. When you know your rights and the law, you will have a better chance of getting the most out of your divorce mediation.

Prepare a Budget

The center of most Orange county divorce mediations is money. Once the marriage is over, each of the spouses wants to have the best financial future. It is important that before you go into divorce mediation, you have a set budget of expenses in mind. This might be different in each situation. If the spouse is financially dependent, they should prepare a budget of the monthly expenses they would need as alimony. While the financially strong spouse should have an estimate of the level of costs he/she can bare in terms of alimony. Budgets will give you clear and realistic targets that will help you in reaching a solution through divorce mediation.

Hire A Lawyer For Advice (Not Participating In The Mediation)

While mediation is all about you and your spouse and the communications you have, having a lawyer behind the scenes is important.  That way, you can address any legal questions with your attorney and determine if what you are potentially agreeing to is truly in your best interests, so that you can make an informed decision.

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.

On the contrary though, some spouses try to end their relations amicably and many succeed. Once the couples have taken a divorce and the proceedings are underway, is it wise to communicate with the ex spouse? There is no right or wrong per se in communicating with your spouse. Communication requires willingness, and if either or both the spouses want to talk with one another, they can communicate with each other without it being a taboo. Contrary to bad actually, in some cases, communication with your spouse needs to be your way forward in life.

For example, if your marriage with your ex produced children, then throughout the divorce, and even after that, it is recommended that you have a cordial and civil relationship with your ex. Divorces that involve children affect the children the hardest, and to make sure this isn’t the case, the spouses need to highlight a united cordial front. The welfare of the child and their lack of mental suffering are important aspects which can only be ensured via effective parental communication between the two spouses.

All in all, communication is neither good nor a bad thing, the things discussed, the tone taken, and the perceptions that each harbors for the other are aspects that influence conversations. These are the factors that tilt communication towards being good or bad. Any relationship that has cordial relations between two people is likelier to have a better affect on the people around the couple. This is particularly important to save the well wishers of the couple from bearing the brunt of the differences between them.

Orange County divorce mediation is one of the two most commonly used ways by couples to end their relationships. While litigation pits the spouses against each other and harnesses the competition among the spouses, mediation is all about making sure the spouses sit together and end their relation amicably by reaching a mutually acceptable solution. As far as divorce mediation is concerned, the communication between the spouses is a good thing, since it ends the animosity between them and allows them to take their problems to a resolution.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

While we realize the pain and the agony that people tend to go through in times of a divorce. Here are a few tips to help you stay strong through your divorce proceedings.

Being Divorced in No Way Means that You are a Failure

In earlier time, pre-21^st century, there was strong taboos against women who were going through or had gone through divorce. Women who were part of divorces or had been part of a divorce were looked down upon and their characters framed as scandalous and lose. Fortunately much of these taboos have died down with time though they continue to exist in some quarters. When you are going through a divorce you should remember that divorce is a common occurrence and it is not a measure of your ability nor does it define you.

Take Your Time – the Wounds May Take Time to Heal

This is one of the most important things to remember when you are going through a divorce. The wounds of divorce are likely to be deep and will take time to heal. Divorce as discussed above is one of the hardest human decisions to accept and people can take their lifetimes in trying to cope up with such changes. It is important that at this time of your life you realize that it is natural for you to become teary eyed at the thoughts of your old married life. Yet it is important for you to keep motivating yourself that these are just memories and these might take time but the wounds and these memories that bring back pain will eventually be healed and forgotten.

Find Out Your Future Finances and Dig in Deep to the Joint Finances

At the end of a divorce one of the darkest clouds that hangs over the couples is the cloud of financial uncertainty. If you are able to guarantee yourself an effective financial future, your ability to face the traumas of divorce will be given a boost. Always remember the mistakes in terms of emotions are going to heal over time but the errors in financial decisions that you do in your divorce proceedings will haunt you forever. Therefore for you to stay strong in your divorce proceedings it is important to secure your financial future by fighting for your rightful financial resources.

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.

Mediation

Orange County divorce mediation is a process where the decision of the mediation is taken by the spouses themselves based on their understanding, view points, and choices. The couples tend to consider the situation at hand, and the perspective of each other in deciding such matters through divorce mediation. Is Collaborative practice the same?

Generally in divorce mediation, the process is carried out in the presence of three people in a room. The three people are the divorce mediator and the two spouses. The procedure is done between the two spouses with the mediator simply there to make sure the process is carried along in the correct direction. Divorce mediation is particularly helpful for people who are clear about their situation, their demands, and the concessions that they are ready to make. The people that take part in divorce mediation are often people who need little or no assistance from elsewhere to reach a sensible conclusion.

Mediation allows the spouses/parties a better chance to influence the resolution and the outcome. The most important person in the mediation after the two parties is the divorce mediator. The sole role of the mediator as mentioned above is to lubricate the process and to try and keep it heading into the correct direction. The role of the mediator is to manage and control the flow of the communication and discussions between the two spouses and to give them a little nudge here and there to keep them going in the right direction.

Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative divorce, similar to mediation, is a voluntary process, but the primary difference is the presence of lawyers in the process and the limitation on the lawyers of not being involved in the litigation of the claim. In collaborative divorce, the lawyers are not in aid of one party, but look to understand the general perspectives of both the parties involved. Unlike mediation, collaboration is controlled by a collaborative team that contains psychological and financial experts as well as lawyers.

People who seek more support in presenting their case in terms of their Orange County divorce choose this process over litigation and divorce mediation. The collaborative team has a greater influence on the final result as compared to divorce mediators.  However, the cost of collaborative divorce can be significantly more than divorce mediation because the collaborative team each have their own fees to be paid versus one mediator.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce 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.

Here are a few of the questions that you should ask your mediator in determining their ability and experience to effectively mediate your case.

How Do I Get the Other Spouse to Agree with the Use of a Mediator?

This is a common question that is posted in front of most mediators. More often than not, there are disagreements between spouses on the procedure to adopt for their divorce. The best way to get the other party to agree to divorce mediation is to explain the pros and cons of the procedure to the other spouse. It is important to highlight that mediation is a process that depends entirely on the decisions of the two spouses. Being in charge of one’s decisions is one reason that can be used to persuade the other party to agree to divorce mediation.

Are Mediators Regulated by Some Code of Professional Conduct?

While there may be no official code of conduct that all mediators follow from a to z, most top Orange County mediators are part of institutions that have their own separate code of conduct that mediators need to adopt when they are working. One of the most important aspects of this code of conduct is the clause of confidentiality which all mediators are required to follow.

How Can I Check the Mediator’s Competency?

The competency and credentials of a mediator are important considerations to make and hence this is one of the most important questions you should ask. The easiest way to make sure of this is by asking the divorce mediator for his resume or certificates or professional qualifications. The key things to look for in the mediator are considerations for assessing his/her suitability for the mediation of a divorce:

• What is the level of experience of the mediator?
• What has been the feedback that they have received from previous clients?
• How respectable and accepted are their decisions?
• Does the mediator charge a fair price?
• Has he/she been mired in a controversy?
• What area does his competency lie in?

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The basis of California law in terms of single parents is that a single parent, i.e. the father, needs to prove that he is the father, as opposed to the vice versa assumption in the couple’s cases. This article will highlight the key aspects of the California law with respect to single parents, thus highlighting the legal path they can adopt to seek legal protection and rights.

The Automatic Custody of the Child is with the Mother, Pending Establishment of Paternity

There is seldom a doubt regarding the identity of the child’s mother. This is because the mother is the one who gives birth and the hospital records etc. make it impossible to doubt that. In family law, a single parent mother will have what amounts to de facto physical and legal custody of the child from the day of the birth of the child, until the paternity is determined, i.e. that the father of the child is in fact the biological father, which is generally determined by genetic DNA testing.  What is important to understand is that when married couples have a child, there is a legal presumption that the husband and wife are the biological parents of the child.  When couples have a child but are not married, there is no legal presumption that the father is in fact the biological father of the child, and that can only be established by either genetic DNA testing or by stipulation of both parties that the father is in fact the biological father of the child.

The Father Must Prove He is the Father

Again, any child that is born out of wedlock means that the mother is the custodial parent, and the father has to take two major legal steps to have some degree of authority or control over his child’s life. The first step is that he needs to prove that he is the rightful father in terms of biology. The second aspect is to go to the court or an Orange County mediator to get custody or visitation of their child. Paternity can be proved by the father signing the acknowledgment form and the mother signing it too or by petitioning in the court and asking for a paternity test to settle the issue.

A Proven Father Generally Must Support The Child

Once the paternity is proven or acknowledged, the father now will have the same rights as a married father would have, but that also means that the father could be expected to pay child support depending on the income of the parties and percentage of custodial time that each party has as determined by the court.  These funds are going to be given to the mother and the amount can be decided mutually through Orange County divorce mediation or by Orange County family law proceedings.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

The Outcome and the Result Can Never Be Predicted

It might seem surprising to have this expectation in divorce mediation but it is important even in mediation. While divorce mediation involves the couple talking to each other to end the disagreements, spouses may have a set expectation of result and what they’ll get from the process before they even become a part of it. It is important for spouses to go into divorce mediation without a rigid expectation of an outcome. This might make them inflexible and ultimately harm the purpose of mediation.

You Can Expect Privacy and Confidentiality

One of the most realistic expectations to have from your divorce mediation is to expect a safe, comfort zone being provided to you. All your talks, thoughts and confidential point of views are treated as completely confidential in mediation. This means that you can expect to be at ease in your divorce mediation sessions and be open and candid on issues that you want to without fearing a breach of confidential information.

Have Realistic Hopes and Expectations Regarding Child Custody

When it comes to child custody cases, the general expectation that people tend to have is to expect a “Kramer vs. Kramer)-type divorce case. In terms of divorce mediation, both the spouses are expected to talk in the presence of a mediator. It is seen more often than not that cases that involve child custody in Orange County divorce mediation lead to fruitful and mutually agreeable decisions reached between the two parties since it involves the welfare of their own children.

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.

The most popular of these ADR methods is Orange County divorce mediation which is usually used to solve family law divorce cases, custody and visitation issues.  While mediation and other such methods of resolving cases continue to rise in importance, their growth is somewhat hindered by myths and fictions that are going on about them. In this blog, we will take a look at a handful of these myths and fictional discrepancies and highlight their true facts. A few of these are:

Myth #1: Mediation is not legal and therefore cannot be enforceable by court

This is one of the most common misconceptions that have been doing rounds with respect to divorce mediation. Despite of this being common public knowledge; it continues to remain very much a myth. Mediation is a legally recognized practice in the family laws and a testament of its legal recognition is the ability of the either of the parties involved in mediation to enforce the mediation decision through courts.

Myth #2: All ADR methods are extremely costly and their high expenses outweigh their benefits

This is another of those public perception influencing myths, as it stems from the places where ADR can be set. As opposed to litigation proceedings that are set in the family courts, ADR methods can be carried out in hotel lobbies, rooms or offices. Having said that, it is clear that ADR saves more money as opposed to litigation, since it involves no lawyers’ costs, no court fees, and the fees of the ADR are usually divided between the two parties.

Myth #3: Mediation proceedings are only made to deal with minor issues and claims

As mentioned in the initial paragraphs, divorce mediation is increasingly being used in divorce, child custody, child visitation and other family law disputes. These disputes are one of the most major and complex issues in Orange County family law courts, thereby dispensing the rumors of mediation being the only method to solve smaller or minor claims.

Myth #4: Attorneys are not permitted at ADRs

This is once again a common myth that lawyers and ADR methods have no contention whatsoever. In reality though, this is far from reality. While it is true that unlike the cases where the judge decides the case, ADR involve decision making more evenly distributed between the two individuals or parties. The role of attorney even then continues to be considerably strong, since attorneys are allowed to take part in the proceedings, discussions and negotiations as well as advice their respective aides.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.

Here, we will try and dispel these rumors once and for all.

Myth 1: Gender is an important consideration for the family law judge

The fact of the matter is that there is no such thing in the family law courts. Gender is irrelevant in the child custody decision making of a family law judge. This myth was actually made to act as an excuse for those parents, more specifically, fathers who, along with their attorneys, were unable to present their case properly and win. The fact that some parents are unable to prove the facts and make a real case out of the trial lose is due to the lack of preparation as opposed to the difference in gender.

Myth 2:  Once a child reaches the teenage years, the decision which parents he/she wants to live with is taken by them

This is not entirely a myth, but isn’t completely true either. In child custody cases, most of which are complex in nature, the child does have a role in deciding which parent to live with, but the decision does not solely lie with them. When a child is judged to be mature enough to know the ins and outs of decision, he or she will be asked by the court about their preference regarding which parent they want to live with. This preference though, is only a means to aid the judge in their decision regarding child custody and is in no way binding. The judges can refuse to acknowledge or even take it into account if they believe it is against the interest of the child themselves.

Myth 3: As long as there is no court order, the parent that has custody of the child before the trial will continue custody during the trial

In reality, while the status quo, i.e. what has been happening before the trial, is an important consideration when it comes to deciding on temporary custody, it is by no means the final word. Courts will look at the facts objectively to decide which parent gets the temporary custody for as long as the trial goes on. The most important consideration in child custody cases is the best interests of the child.

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.

The intention at the core of California child custody law has always been and continues to be the safeguarding of the best interest of the child. As mentioned in the introduction, the importance of a child cannot be forgotten, and that is exactly why the laws with regards to child custody set out to protect them and safeguard their rights. This aim to protect the child is once again at the core of the decision making by the judge in such cases. Primarily, the decision of the judge depends on the thing that is best for the child principle.

What Do the Courts Consider When Deciding Orange County Child Custody Cases?

• The preference of the child considering they are of the age 14 or above
• The gender, the stage of development the child is currently at, and the age of the child.
• The needs of the child in terms of the educational, emotional and social aspects.
• The traits of the parents, especially with regards to drug, sexual, child, emotional or alcohol abuse.
• The psychological state of each parent and their ability for parenting
• The cooperation and communication levels that exist between the parents.
• The type of the relationship that exists between the parent and the child
• Cultural considerations

How will the Temporary Orders be Decided?

There are three primary ways that an Orange County family law Judge can adopt to reach their temporary orders.

1.      Simply Agreeing On The Agreement Reached By The Parents

This is the most used way of deciding temporary orders. Both the child’s parents may have already come to an agreement before the court proceeding and drawn up an agreement. In such a case, the judge is likely to only endorse the agreement and make it legal.  Resolving child custody in divorce mediation or child custody mediation is often the best method compared to the cost, stress, and uncertainty of litigation.

2.      By Investigation

In some rare cases where the court wants to have further investigation done in matters related to the case, they are likely to ask the minor’s counsel and a private child custody evaluator, often referred to as a “730 Evaluation” to obtain up more information before the Judge makes the decision.

3.      By Formal Hearing

This is the common court route. The court is likely to hear out both the spouses and their counsel. It will also take into consideration each and every detail and evidence that they provide and it deemed relevant for the case before making a decision.

Gerald A. Maggio is a trained divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.