Family Court Mediation If you’re in an ongoing child custody case in court, chances are that you have been ordered to go to mandatory mediation. What exactly is it and what should you expect? Basics Family court mediation is an attempt to settle your case by a court appointed mediator. You get an appointment to…
What do I Need to put a Restraining Order on Someone Restraining orders are court orders that prevent an individual from communicating, harassing, or coming near you. In normal circumstances, if someone you fear comes near you but does not threaten or hit you, the police can’t do anything about it. If, however, you have…
Joint custody schedules are the most common form of parenting arrangements. Courts have now recognized that it is in the best interest of the child to award significant visitation time with both parents. But just because there is joint custody doesn’t mean that parents equally share the time. The following are some examples: 50-50 custody…
Family Code Section 3042 gives the power of the child to tell the court which parent he or she wants to live with. It is a very powerful tool used very carefully by courts. There are a couple of steps to the law and I have given them below. Click here for the actual statute….
Welcome back to the last part of my three part series on how courts calculate spousal support otherwise known as “alimony.” Click here for the first part of the series and click here for the second section. Do I have to Pay Alimony? If you were married and the primary income earner, then the short answer…
How is Alimony Calculated? People thinking about getting a divorce often wonder how alimony is calculated. The way courts calculate alimony is given to us in Family Code Section 4320. There is a list of fourteen factors that the family law judge will look at to determine your alimony payments. Yesterday I covered the first…
Child support is meant for the benefit of the child and not for the parents. However, child support payments can be hard on your income if you are not doing well. It can be one of your largest monthly bills if you are not careful. Here I outline ways how to lower child support for…
Family Code Section 4320 outlines several factors courts use to calculate long term alimony. Courts calculate long term spousal support by taking into account the “marital standard of living.” They want to know what kind of lifestyle you had with your spouse during your marriage. The goal here is to calculate your lifestyle to get…
Is joint custody hard to get? What is the best way to get joint custody? Is it worth it going to court? Courts generally consider the following factors in determining whether to award joint custody. Read the factors to get a better idea on how to get joint custody: Whether the living environment is stable The…
California child custody laws are determined by what is in the best interest of the child. This means that when parents fight over who gets more time with the kid, the Judge will decide based on what is the best living situation for the child. This does not automatically mean that the mother is going to…
