It is easy to focus on how to divide assets at divorce, but what happens to debts? The allocation of debts in a divorce can greatly affect the overall division of the community estate. DIVISION OF DEBTS BY THE COURT Pursuant to California Family Code section 2550, at divorce, the court tries to allocate community debt (debt incurred during …
What is a QDRO? The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 USC § 1001 et seq. (ERISA), as amended by the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (REA), primarily regulates “employee benefit plan” law. ERISA’s “spendthrift” and “anti-alienation” provisions (29 USC §1056(d)) prohibit the division or transfer of interests in an employee participant’s ERISA-governed …
After a divorce, it is common for one or both parties to find a new love interest, whether that be a new boyfriend/girlfriend, a new live-in romantic partner, or a new spouse. Read more to find out how a new partner (or even a roommate) can affect both the payor and payee support obligations. Spousal …
HOW A NEW PARTNER’S INCOME AFFECTS SPOUSAL SUPPORT CALCULATIONS Read More »
How will you and your ex share custody of your children if one of you relocates to a new city or state? The answer depends on how much custody the relocating parent has, among other factors. Parents who have sole physical custody of their children generally have the easiest time relocating. If you have sole …
MOVEAWAYS: RELOCATING AFTER CHILD CUSTODY ORDERS Read More »
What is a Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order? A DV-TRO is a court order designed to protect you from abuse or threats of abuse from someone with whom you have a close relationship. For example, a DV-TRO can protect you from your spouse or registered domestic partner, your ex-spouse or ex-domestic partner, your current or …
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS (DV-TROS) Read More »
Estate Planning is for everyone (even a busy superhero). Batman has Robin, Sherlock has Watson, and every president has her vice-president. Hopefully each one of us can name just one person that has our back. And an estate plan not only tells the world who that is, but our laws actually require us to document …
What is a Premarital Agreement (PMA)? A premarital agreement (“PMA”) is a written contract signed by fiances before marriage that become effective upon marriage. If a couple does not have a PMA and gets divorced, unless they enter into a marital settlement agreement that provides otherwise, the California Family Code and California case law will …
PREMARITAL AGREEMENTS ARE PART OF YOUR ESTATE PLAN Read More »
Background: Temporary and Long-Term Spousal Support As discussed in our prior blog post, a Court may award temporary spousal support during the pendency of divorce or legal separation proceedings before a final judgment is entered. The Court generally uses the Dissomaster software program to calculate temporary spousal support using the spouses’ respective incomes as the …
THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT OF 2017 & SPOUSAL SUPPORT Read More »
Estate planning can be scary, we understand. That’s why we’re sharing some tricks of the trade that you don’t need an attorney to help you with. Even if you already wrote a will or created a trust, make sure you check these things off your list! If you want to be sure there is someone …
What are Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (ATROs)? In a divorce or legal separation case, the spouse who files the petition in court and has the other spouse served with the summons is called the “petitioner.” Once the summons is served, the petitioner is immediately subject to the automatic temporary restraining orders (also known as ATROs). …