One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is to explain the difference between a contested and an uncontested divorce. A divorce action is a lawsuit, and just like any other lawsuit, the filing spouse makes a request of the court and the second spouse must either formally respond to that request or not. When […]
I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard the words “Yeah, I want to settle this thing, but WITHOUT LAWYERS.” There are many possible reasons for people to say this, but two stand out above the rest: 1) they are afraid lawyers cost too much, or 2) they don’t want to chance […]
Its been said that lawyers don’t pick their specialty…their specialty picks them. When I first started practicing I clearly remember swearing to my friends and family that I was not going to do family law cases, and if somehow I did, I was certainly not going to handle custody cases. After having interned for a […]
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court is not something to mess around with. One particular Chapter 7 debtor found that out the hard way. In a prior divorce action, Husband agreed to pay Wife $200 a month as part of her community interest in Husbands separate property annuity. Two years later, when Husband filed for […]
Under California Family Law, it is a mandatory obligation of parties in a divorce action to formally “disclose” to each other all information about their respective assets, debts, income and expenses. Failure to do so can cause significant financial consequences to the party failing to disclose. But if there is at least some disclosure, these […]