San Diego Divorce Attorney Blog

This blog has posted several articles on the Jamie and Frank McCourt divorce and specifically the legal issue as to the validity of a post marital agreement signed by Mr. and Mrs. McCourt by which Frank McCourt claims sole ownership to the LA Dodgers baseball team. The trial is ongoing at this time as to this issue in a California divorce court. A LA Times article describes the second day in trial. To the surprise of many, Jamie McCourt had a great second day in this trial.
Meaning of post nuptial agreement: A "premarital" or "prenuptial" or "ante nuptial" agreement all mean the same thing--an agreement before the marriage. A "post marital" or "post nuptial" agreement is an agreement finalized after the marriage. These agreements are permitted under California law; however California limits what they can do. They can change the ownership of property; change property characterization; for example, community property to separate property or separate property to community property. They can provide for the amount and duration of spousal support. They cannot dictate child support or child custody. San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorneys frequently create and review premarital and post marital agreements.

The post marital agreement in the McCourt case transferred all ownership of the LA Dodgers to Frank and transferred the real estate to Jamie. Or did it? Frank has entered into evidence a signed post marital agreement that transfers the team to him. However, Jamie has now entered a signed agreement into evidence showing that Frank transferred all of the homes to Jamie and it does not mention the Dodgers. So, we have two signed agreements. Further, bank and loan documents indicate that the parties were acting co-owners to the team. Further, loan documents, signed by the parties showed that a loan was made to both of them as co-owners. Under California law, a loan creates funding and the money is either community property or separate property in character depending on how the loan was arranged.

Continue reading "California Post Marital Agreement--Or Not?" »

The >San Diego Union carried the story, just before the start of last weekend, of a billionaire who was sued by his adult children for the child support that they believed they should have received had their mother filed for guideline support instead of receiving non-guideline child support pursuant to signed, written contracts. It's an interesting story involving children suing their father for child support; a law suit for retroactive child support; and a child support issue decided by a jury.

Here are the individuals involved: Donald Bren reportedly a billionaire who made his money in real estate. Christie Bren, age 22, and David Bren, age 18, the children who never knew their bio-dad Donald and felt cheated by the amount of support paid. They filed suit upon attaining adulthood. And, finally, Jennifer McKay Gold, who had a relationship with Mr. Bren whereby the children Donald and Christie were born.

Reportedly, as each child was born, a child support contract was initiated between Bren and Gold. Child support, under California law, is determined by a mandatory guideline formula. The exception to this law applies in cases where the parents sign a private agreement for support; there is no public assistance helping mom and the children; the support is sufficient for the chid's needs; and, both parents voluntarily, without coercion, duress or fraud, enter into the agreement. Bren simply proved to the court that such agreements were executed between himself and Gold.

Continue reading "San Diego Child Support News--Jury Rules for Bren" »

As a La Jolla divorce attorney, I have seen many Petitions for divorce (dissolution of marriage) in the San Diego Superior Court. Many simply glance at the petition document assuming that the document only contains superficial information. I don't agree. This blog will examine the petition for divorce by Patricia Arquette wherein Patricia Arquette is the Petitioner and Thomas Jane is the Respondent.

Brief background: Patricia Arquette was born in 1968 and is 42 years old. She was raised in an actor centric family; commenced her acting career in 1986 and has appeared in many Hollywood movies. She was married to Nicolas Cage for 6 years and has been married to Thomas Jane since 2006.

On August 13, 2010 Patricia Arquette filed for divorce in the Central District Los Angeles Court. She lists one child, age 7. (This blog does not provide names of children.) The child was born three years prior to the marriage. Therefore there is a potential "Marvin" case which the attorneys will consider. (Michelle Marvin sued actor Lee Marvin to establish her common law marital rights as she and Lee were never married.)

She lists some separate property (for example, "jewelry") but states that there are other items which are "not presently known". As to community property Patricia Arquette states that there are such items however they are also "unknown". Some attorneys seek to extensively list all separate property and all community property however I don't see the value of doing this in the Petition. Possibly the "unknown" statement could be attacked as disingenuous. I like to simply state that the items will be listed in the mandatory Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure. The Declaration of Disclosure is mandatory in divorce cases and lists property, debt, income and expenses.

Continue reading "Arquette California Divorce Petition Analysis" »

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist I look for what is said and not said in a story. These three California divorce news items contain both and what is not said is often the most important.

First, the news reported last week that Mel Gibson crashed his exotic sports car in the hills of Los Angeles. The new stories headlines regarding this event exclaimed some type of instability as instability seems to be the overall conclusion as to Mr. Gibson at this point.

I obtained a copy of the police report concerning the crash and you can examine this document on a TMZ site. The report states that at 8:35 p.m. a 2008 Maserati crashed on Malibu Canyon Road with no injury and no involvement of another motorist or pedestrian. Mr. Gibson remained at the scene and supplied all information to CHP officers. Most importantly, "DUI (driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol) is not suspected."

Second, there was a news story as to drive through prayer locations in California. While these locations do not exclusively deal with divorce, the pastor at one of the locations described that people show up and want prayer over common everyday issues--drugs, divorce or the loss of a job. The pastor described that people who don't go to church commonly show up as the prayer stand requires no commitment. He does not preach or try to convert; he simply offers love and prayer. You can only imagine that divorce, the loss of child custody rights, and other family law matters are present at this prayer stand.

Continue reading "Speed, Pray, Love California Divorce Stories" »

In the last blog I described the California divorce issues in the McCourt divorce of business valuation (how much are the LA Dodgers worth?), Post Marital agreements, and spousal support. For a short recap--Jamie and Frank McCourt own the Dodgers (only Frank owns according to him), they've been married for 30 years and are now going through a divorce (most expensive in California divorce history, according to some). Much of the information gained for this blog was from an article in Business Week written by Richard Siklos.

San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorneys use forensic witnesses to help determine the value and cash flow of a business. The bigger the business, the more income generated by a business, the more variables that will exist. However the principals are the same whether the business is a ML baseball team or a mom and pop grocery store. There are just going to be more zeros in the Dodger evaluation. Reportedly, the McCourts have withdrawn $100 million from the Dodgers since 2004. Since 2004 the McCourts bought homes for $20 million, $27 million, $6.5 million and $19 million. Land for 4.6 million. And the list of personal expenses goes on and on. (For example, a hair stylist in Beverly Hills was reportedly paid $150,000 a year to be available to come to the McCourt home per their hair styling needs.)

Frank will argue that the extravagant spending indicates that the parties were living over their means. This is California divorce talk for "I can't continue to pay Jamie over $600,000 a month in spousal support. She should realistically receive $200,000 per month." Jamie will argue that the spending illustrates their extreme wealth standard of living. This is California divorce talk for "Frank should be paying me $1 million a month in spousal support."

Continue reading ""Most Expensive" California Divorce -- Part 2" »

As a Certified Family Law Specialist attorney working in La Jolla California I've seen some high income and asset cases. However the California divorce between Jamie and Frank McCourt, owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, is reportedly one of the most expensive divorces in California history. There is an excellent article in Bloomberg Business Week magazine, author Richard Siklos, August 12, 2010 providing in depth coverage of this case. This blog will reference some of the comments from the article and add information from a Family Law Specialist's viewpoint.

The McCourts, Frank and Jamie, came from a humble starting point. Pooling together money to buy a parking lot on the East Coast, they became rich over many years of marriage and hard work. They failed in an attempt to buy the Boston Red Sox, but bounced back when they were able to buy the LA Dodgers from Fox. However, their current, ongoing divorce has been called the most expensive California divorce ever. An estimated expense of $19 million and the case has not yet been through trial. If they go through a full trial (for example, on the value of the baseball team), and then the losing side appeals the decision, the current cost of the divorce is probably less than one-half of what they will end up spending.

Under California divorce law, the court can bifurcate, or separate out, a key issue to the divorce case, and have a trial on that issue first. This is likely what the McCourts are doing as they have a trial scheduled to start on August 30, 2010 as to the value of the Dodgers. Frank says the Dodgers are worth approximately $800 million today. Jamie estimates the value is at least $1.5 billion. Frank claims to have a Post Marital Agreement (or Marital Agreement) signed by Jamie where she has signed over the team to Frank. If this agreement holds up, Jamie receives nothing regardless of how much the Dodgers are worth.

Continue reading ""Most Expensive" California Divorce Case" »

Recently I read an article online regarding the services offered from different groups to change the high percentage of divorce filings in California. This ranges from churches offering pre marriage counseling to secular groups offering secular pre marriage counseling and premarital education. La Jolla divorce attorneys wonder if these services actually help to lower divorce statistics.

It's widely reported in California that 50% of the marriages end in divorce and the divorce rates for second marriages are much higher. Can these services significantly impact these rates?

This blog has just reported on premarital agreements. Typically, the person who possesses a significant amount of property and/or is wealthy will try to protect his/her assets from a divorce by having a prenuptial agreement signed prior to the marriage. San Diego Certified Family Law Specialists speculate whether these documents raise the chance of a divorce. While such premarital contracts are much needed and/or desired by the wealthy spouse (prior to marriage), these unromantic contracts seem to start the marriage with a focus on divorce.

Continue reading "Can Premarital Education Prevent San Diego Divorce Filings?" »

As a San Diego divorce lawyer who prepares premarital agreements, I am followed the marriage of Robbie Williams to Ayda Field on August 7, 2010 in Los Angeles. Mainly, because Williams had Field sign a premarital (prenuptial, ante nuptial) agreement prior to the marriage.

Not everyone in this country has heard of him however Robbie Williams is an entertainer (singer, songwriter) who's success in the British entertainment industry has earned him an estate of approximately $160 million.

In the past I have kept the file of a couple for whom I have prepared a premarital agreement in my office pursuant to an educated guess that the marriage would fail. I haven't been able to verify this suspicion with scientific data. Beth Potier of the Harvard News Office wrote an article stating that prenuptial agreements predict doom in a marriage, if for no other reason, the legal document is unromantic. With the divorce rate of approximately 50% for first time marriages and a higher divorce rate for second marriages, anything that makes the second marriage less romantic does seem to predict doom for the marriage.

I have had two trials in the last three years involving premarital agreements and a request to set aside the agreement. This litigation can alone be as expensive, laborious and time consuming as any litigation in family law. Here are some thoughts as to the preparation of a prenuptial agreement:

Continue reading "San Diego Premarital Agreements Discussed" »

There has been much interest by San Diego divorce attorneys and California divorce lawyers as to the recent story that Charlie Sheen was sentenced to essentially nothing as a result of his reported plea of guilty to a domestic violence charge in the State of Colorado.

My last blog was about this event and reported the facts from a news article. A well known Los Angeles attorney stated that Colorado rolled out the red carpet for Mr. Sheen. Others have commented that Mr. Sheen received "celebrity treatment" when he was sentenced to a California rehab center and given credit for time already served there which could mean that Mr. Sheen faces little or no consequence in this case. Mr. Sheen was arrested after his wife called 911 in Colorado and reportedly stated that Mr. Sheen threatened her with a knife and that she was "scared for my life..." further that, "I thought I was going to die for one hour." (This is reported in the Daily Mail article by Daniel Bates.)

The last blog established what constitutes "domestic violence" under California Family Law. Further, who is entitled to protection in the San Diego divorce court for Domestic Violence Restraining Orders. And, how findings of domestic violence can alter the custody and support orders issued in the San Diego Family Law courts.

Continue reading "San Diego Family Law News-Domestic Violence Part II" »

As a San Diego divorce lawyer and Certified Family Law Specialist for over thirty years I have seen substance abuse, alcohol abuse and many other factors will cause tension and stress to build and many time release itself in the form of spousal abuse, or domestic violence.

Domestic violence, simply put, is a type of prohibited violence (usually an assault or a battery) committed by one person of a statutorily defined relationship against another person of the same defined relationship (usually a married couple). The violence is of the type that puts the victim in fear of harm (usually bodily injury) by virtue of the violence of the perpetrator. If a Domestic Violence Restraining Order is granted by the court, the victim will be the protected party and the perpetrator will be the restrained party.

Domestic Violence may result in criminal and/or civil court actions and consequences. A recent news story described that actor Charlie Sheen pled guilty to a charge of committing domestic violence (criminal) against his Wife in Aspen Colorado. The assault occurred last December and Mr. Sheen just entered his plea. According to the plea bargaining, Mr. Sheen will not be sent to jail however he may serve time at a rehab center in California (this decision is reportedly up to the rehab center whether Mr. Sheen will receive credit for prior days spent in the rehab center).

This plea deal and court order reportedly caused California attorney Gloria Allred to openly criticize the sentencing. The Riley Center reports that 50% of all women murdered in the US are murdered by a spouse or close acquaintance. Further that domestic violence occurs in 60% of all marriages. In my experience, domestic violence is perpetrated by both Husbands and Wives.

Continue reading "California Domestic Violence Laws Affect Custody and Support Orders" »

As a San Diego Divorce attorney and Certified Family Law Specialist, I constantly read articles published in my field. There is an in depth article about the Jamie and Frank McCourt California divorce which is ongoing at this time. The article was published by ESPN The Magazine and written by Molly Knight. It should be must reading for anyone about to get a divorce. The lessons of the McCourt case apply to all. There are just several zeros missing from the average Californian's divorce and the McCourt's case; however the issues are the same.

Jamie and Frank McCourt own the LA Dodgers. They had a humble wedding in their apartment in 1979. A Rabbi played the piano. Since that date they have amassed millions (billions?) through their relationship--their mutual trust--their hard work combined with their talents. Marriage requires trust. When it works, a couple can do almost anything.

After this incredible history, the article put together by Ms. Knight, describes how Jamie McCourt learned of her Husband's decision to end the marriage through a 405 word e-mail message starting with "Dear Jamie". Now their case is headed towards a Family Law trial. Here are some thoughts:

If you have children: Prior to reaching this point spend some time in counseling. Either secular or church marriage counseling. During the marriage find some way to stay grounded. How did this humble couple become so insensitive to each other that those around them passed on rumors of their fights? And a marriage ending with a CEO like e-mail? Working together to make vast sums of money is great and an inspiration to others; however, trouble begins when the importance of the money supersedes people and relationships.

Continue reading "California Divorce Can Be, But Need Not Be, Destructive" »

In the middle of July 2010 the news stories were full of the audio taping of a conversation between Mel Gibson and his supposed girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. SignonSanDiego.com carried a story written by Anthony McCartney, an AP entertainment writer, as to this story. Reportedly Mel and Oksana were face to face and Oksana covertly recorded Mel in his outburst(s) against her.

As a La Jolla divorce attorney we received many cases into my office pertaining to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders. We are often asked, "can I record the telephone call"? Or, "can I record my spouse (or the person with whom the client was living)"? California law on these questions can be complex. The answers here are for information purposes only. You must clarify these questions with an attorney as the answer may change according to the circumstances.

First, you must make a distinction between recorded telephone calls and in person conversations. California requires mutual consent, or two-party consent as to taping phone calls. For many of our clients, when the situation is appropriate, we obtain a court order which specifically allows the taping of phone calls. California provides a Penal Code section for the recording of a phone call without prior court approval and without consent. Since this code section may result in serious consequences, one must be very cautious prior to recording a phone call.

Continue reading "San Diego Divorce News of Abuse, Lies and Audiotape" »

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney handling divorce and other family law matters for over thirty years I've seen different approaches by the Family Court in San Diego California, to family law over the years. The two approaches have always been whether to treat divorces as informal, administrative hearings, or whether to treat them as regular, civil litigation cases. Under the first approach there would be a relaxed approach by the court as to the taking of evidence, following discovery rules and other procedural rules applicable to all civil cases in a California Superior Court. This would be similar to informal administration hearings or Small Claims Court.

The second approach recognizes that California divorces are heard in a court of Equity however, in the San Diego Superior Court where the rules of evidence, procedure and discovery all apply as they would to any civil case in the Superior Court. Take for example the legal procedure of discovery.

"Discovery" is a legal word which signifies the procedures, techniques for requesting data, documents and information. And, The Discovery Act provides for enforcement including punishment, for the failure to comply with discovery items properly requested. I have had many cases where the one courtroom prefers strict adherence to the procedural and discovery and issues sanctions for noncompliance. I've experienced other courtrooms where the relaxed approach is applied and discovery sanctions for non-compliance are often not issued. In informal court rooms if the failure to comply with discovery requests (specifically, by issuing sanction orders) then the attorneys know that the cost of discovery isn't worth the effort and the cost. In these cases, the attorneys' ability to seek evidence is limited and the result is--Small Claims Court.

Continue reading "California Divorce--Elkins or Small Claims Court?" »

As a La Jolla Divorce attorney and Certified Family Law Specialist I have reviewed many divorce filings. I have received the initial divorce paperwork filed by Camille Grammer. She is the Petitioner in this divorce action filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. There is a good article about this filing by Joe Dziemianowicz and Nancy Dillon in the New York Dailey News.

Camille, in her Petition, states that the parties were married for 12 years and 10 months. They separated on June 28, 2010. They have two children. (Names of children are not discussed in this blog.) Camille states that she is not fully aware of the community property and separate property. This is standard. Her attorney will take on the obligation of issuing various discovery demands so that she will be better informed of the property identity, valuation, characterization and how items should be divided. Camille requests a dissolution of the marriage based on "irreconcilable differences". (It takes two to get married; however, under California no-fault law, one spouse may state that he or she is done with the marriage without having to specify any reason.) Camille requests sole physical custody of the children with visitation to Kelsey; spousal support (no spousal support to Kelsey); division of property and a Statement of Decision per CCP section 632.

In her Declaration Under UCCJEA, Camille states that her address is "confidential". Under FC section 3429 she may do so if there allegations of domestic violence or child abuse. Either this is just to protect her celebrity home address or this will become an ugly California child custody case. Reportedly, Kelsey is seeking joint physical custody of the children.

Continue reading "California Divorce Filing Analysis: Kelsey Grammer Case" »

Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal, CEO of Tesla automobile (battery powered sports car as fast as almost any gas guzzling street muscle car) reportedly released his own blog in response to several articles concerning his divorce; his representations about his income and personal matters. He specifically stated that he was responding to large newspaper editorials and articles about him; however he addressed points (almost point for point) of the last blog that this site published concerning his divorce. This blog will deal with his comments as to his income.

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist let me start by saying I don't know if Mr. Musk is telling the truth as to his income. It is the function of a legal system to rule on the legal issues according to the evidence. If someone is found to lack credibility, then any or all of that person's statements may be discounted by the judge; however that is a part of ruling on the issues per the evidence. San Diego divorce lawyers gather evidence in support of their client's case.

Elon Musk and Mel Gibson made the news this week with their out of court comments. Mr. Musk intentionally made his statements to the world. Mr. Gibson, in this blog's opinion, is ill (in need of counseling and possibly rehab) and his statements were recorded secretly without his knowledge or consent. Both Musk's and Gibson's comments were ill advised and have the potential of hurting each of their legal cases.

His main comments and responses from this blog. Note: an Income and Expense Declaration for Mr. Musk, utilized for financial issues in this case, is visible on the Internet. This blog makes no representation as to whether this is actually Mr. Musk's Income and Expense Declaration. Other articles have been written based on this document. This blog refers to the content of this document and the attached "Attachment 1 To Income and Expense Declaration of Petitioner Elon Musk".

Continue reading "California Divorce Blunders -- Out of Court Statements" »