Barefoot Blog

 
Van Camp: A Historical Perspective

Van Camp: A Historical Perspective

California law uses two formulas to calculate the community property interest which accumulates during a marriage in a separate property business. The first, Pereira v. Pereira (1909) 156 Cal. 1, dealt with a saloon and cigar business. The analysis the court used is...

Custody and Final Judgments

Custody and Final Judgments

Your brand-new client forwards you an e-mail.  It contains a Request for Order from their ex-spouse, requesting modification of custody.  On the phone, they tell you, “I don’t understand!  We had a judgment on child custody two years ago!  How can they be doing this?”...

Irreconcilable differences

Last month, a judge in Kentucky made a decision unusual enough to be reported in legal news sites - he denied a divorce, not on procedural grounds, but because the marriage between the couple was not actually “irretrievably broken.”  He cited the unusual courteousness...

Abduction

Abducting a child is a crime in California; we all understand that, but here is a more-difficult question: “Can a parent, whose parental rights have not been terminated, be guilty of abducting her/his own child, even if there be no child custody orders in effect?” The...

Knapp v. Ginsberg

In anticipation of marriage some parties do not feel the need to discuss in detail a premarital agreement. At times it could feel that discussing in detail the terms for a premarital agreement can deromanticize the upcoming nuptials. The validity of a premarital...

COVID-19 in Family Law

The COVID-19 pandemic created many new issues in family law matters.  Such issues include child visitation interruptions due to health risks, new and uncertain health and wellness decisions for the children, and financial issues such as who gets the stimulus checks or...

Advocacy – To Tape Record Or Not, And How…

To tape record or not and how... by Allan Roth, Consultant, Alliance Resources and Associates, Inc. In our office, we suggest all parents tape all IEP meetings. The best method is to use a digital tape recorder with fresh batteries. Ideally, you have all of your files...

Allies All Around

Allies All Around

A previous installment, “Enemies in the House,” I began the story of Silas and Regina, parents of a child on the autism spectrum named Belisario (“Belly”). These characters are synthesized from real people with common traits and common stories. Summary: Silas and...

Evidence of Fault

Evidence of Fault

California’s “no fault” divorce law does not prohibit the court from considering evidence of fault when deciding the issue of spousal support. Family Code §4320, the primary statute governing determination of spousal support orders in California, sets forth a number...