Barefoot Blog
Ethan’s spot on the radio
Attorney’s Fees
ATTORNEY'S FEES Family Code Section 2030(a)(1) states that each party in a marriage dissolution has the right to legal representation and that the court preserves this right by ordering the party with access to funds to pay the fees of the other party. Family Code...
In Camera Review
In Camera Review The term “in camera” is latin for “in chambers” and is a legal proceeding when a hearing or evidence is presented before a judge in private chambers. Often this process is used to protect a victim or witness from the consequences of public airing of...
Fiduciary Duties
Fiduciary Duties If a couple is going through a dissolution of their marriage, each party is required to produce all financial records to the other. CFC §2101(a)(3) states: (a) From the date of separation to the date of the distribution of the community or...
Community vs. Separate Property: What that means in California
Researched and written by: Terri Bui In a divorce process, the court has jurisdiction to divide the property interests of the parties at the request of either party. The property is defined in one of two ways. In California, all property acquired by Wife or Husband is...
Raising Awareness about Special Needs Children Within the Court System
We take pride in representing parents whose top priority is the care and protection of their special needs children through and after divorce. Children with special needs are some of the most vulnerable members of our society. We, as a society, have a duty to ensure...
Custody Evaluations
CUSTODY EVALUATIONS One tool the parties involved in resolving a custody dispute can use is a CUSTODY EVALUATION. A custody evaluation typically has two parts. The first is a report which resulting from an evaluation which may include a series of psychological tests,...
San Diego County’s New One Day Divorce System
Researched and written by: Terri Bui On March 1, 2014, the San Diego court system instituted a new One-Day Divorce Program to assist self-represented litigants in their divorce process. If eligible, the parties involved would get help completing all necessary...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Mediation Confidentiality
Communications made and writings prepared "for the purpose of, in the course of, or pursuant to" mediation or a mediation consultation are ordinarily confidential, not discoverable and not admissible at trial. This rule applies to all communications by participants...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Child support hardship deduction
A parent may be granted a financial hardship deduction from his or her income used to calculate child support. Circumstances evidencing hardship include: (1) extraordinary health expenses, (2) uninsured catastrophic losses, or (3) minimum basic living expenses of the...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Be smart about dividing military retirement
It used to be (from 1983 onward), military retirement pay was exempt from division as community property. This meant that the U.S. Armed Forces pension plan was treated from other pension plans in that a spouse could have no community interest in the plan. This...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Saving your house from foreclosure during a divorce!
Divorce is not fun, and losing your house to foreclosure just adds insult to injury. Yet there are ways to protect your house from foreclosure during (and beyond!) the pendency of the divorce. MFLC CEO Ethan Marcus took to the airwaves last Friday to talk about how...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Two cases you need to know if you want to move away.
Move-aways, where a custodial parent leaves the county with the children, can be tough, especially in San Diego County. Here, the Court strongly frowns upon move-aways and has made it procedure to include in custody orders that a party may not move without written...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Deployment no reason to lose custody
Worried that your military deployment could be grounds for losing custody? A recent case (decision filed 8-15-13) upheld California Family Code §3047(a), which states that a party's absence is not, by itself, sufficient to justify a modification of a custody or...
San Diego (and Hemet and El Centro) Divorce Blog: Property Words of Wisdom
MFLC CEO Ethan Marcus had the pleasure of being interviewed on WSRadio for their 8/23 edition of "San Diego's Finest." The topic was property and the issues that come up with property in a family law case. How is property divided? What is a prenup for? These questions...
Hemet (and San Diego and El Centro) Divorce Blog: New, better office in Hemet!
The Hemet office of the Marcus Family Law Center, experts in probate, estate planning and family law matters, has moved into improved quarters! It is just three doors down, in Suite E rather than Suite B, at 910 North State Street in Hemet. We are still right across...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Special-needs children, Part 3
Continuing our series on family law issues involving special-needs kids, today we'll focus on the evidence you need to present your child's issues to the Court. (By special guest author, Quirkykids Mom) When you enter the world of the family court system, you are...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Growing the firm the old fashioned way…
Moriel Cohen, star divorce litigator for the San Diego branch, has returned from maternity leave. Her new baby (born May 6) is named Shai, but there's nothing shy about this girl. Her name means "gift" in Hebrew, and that's certainly what she is. She is beautiful and...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Special-needs Children Part 2: Child Support for Adult-Disabled children
This, the next article in our series on special-needs children and the law, deals with child support and how you can keep getting it for your child even after she/he has become an adult. Many children are afflicted with mental disabilities that severely impair their...
San Diego (and El Centro and Hemet) Divorce Blog: Tips for Parents of Special-needs Children
Over the past several years, Marcus Family Law Center, PLC has handled many cases involving special-needs children, and as a result, we have gotten sensitive to their particular issues. This article starts our series on tips for parents with special-needs children as...