San Diego Divorce Attorney Blog

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" »

A San Diego divorce news report summed up the Sandra Bullock Jesse James marriage and divorce. Here, a San Diego divorce attorney provides an analysis to the case. What did we learn? How did the parties go from picture perfect marriage, to divorce in an instant? Why didn't Sandra see the high probability of this ending with divorce?

The San Diego news story originated from work performed by AP Entertainment writer, Sandy Cohen. It's a well researched article and added to my knowledge of this case. Reportedly, the couple met in 2003 and married in 2005. So many marriages that end in divorce were marriages entered into by impulse. Here, two years of dating should have exposed all personality traits and faults. However, reportedly, Jesse was married twice previously and this was Sandra's first marriage. Sandra was approximately 41 years old when she married Jesse. Reportedly, Sandra had previously dated actors (for example, Matthew McConaughey), and football star Troy Aikman. At age 41 wouldn't she be a fairly good judge of character? And, how did she go from the clean cut type to Jesse?

The 'not previously married' phrase may be the answer; however at age 41 and after dating Jesse for two years one would think that she knew what she was getting into. The Discovery Channel reportedly linked Jesse's genealogy to the infamous Jesse James outlaw. However more recently, his second wife was reportedly an adult movie actor. One reasonable conclusion is that Sandra took a calculated risk and proceeded with the marriage believing that the relationship would be beneficial to her career.

Continue reading "Sandra and Jesse are 'no mas': Analysis" »

TMZ just circulated a story of Mel Gibson being secretly taped by his Wife Oksana Grigorieva. Reportedly he used the "n" word and a lot of other words from the alphabet. It was an alphabet soup message and it's being used by Oksana in her child custody case against Mel Gibson which is pending at this time.

San Diego child custody attorneys, La Jolla divorce lawyers and others are shaking their heads over this classic rookie mistake which is made over and over every day in California child custody cases. If you haven't heard this before then please write this down: Assume that any written messages to your spouse, in the midst of a divorce, will end up in front of the family law judge. This includes e-mails, text messages, any form of communication which can be taped, copied, printed, etc. E-mails and text messages are forever. An extreme e-mail exhibiting hate, mental instability, bad character, suicidal tendencies, etc., will be used against you in today's divorce case and against you ten years from today.

First, let me get it out that I am not one who dislikes Mel Gibson. I understand that people either love him or hate him but there must be a third group who are in the middle and I'm one of those. He's a passionate person. He expresses himself in the extreme. He possibly has a substance abuse issue. I have had cases where clients who abuse alcohol become angry when they are intoxicated. These people should not drink.

Continue reading "California Divorce Report: Mel Gibson Meltdown" »

This blog has previously considered the numerous family law issues involved in this case. The latest news is that the couple is close to a settlement. San Diego child custody attorneys have been following the custody and move away issues in this case. This posting will consider the settlement issues that should be involved once the news breaks.

Cash To Tiger's Wife Elin: Reportedly $750 million. All news sources are going with this amount so there is a likelihood that the amount has been leaked to the press from someone inside and this is probably an accurate number. Reportedly, Michael Jordan paid his ex Wife slightly less than this amount so the amount is not out of line with previous settlements paid by multi millionaire sports stars.

Compare Settlement with Musk Case: This blog has posted an analysis of the Elon and Justine Musk divorce. Reportedly, Mr. Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla automobile companies, has "run out of cash" which is a problem since Mr. Musk reportedly acknowledges that his monthly expenses and Ms. Musk's monthly expenses are approximately $200,000 per month. There are two major differences between these two cases: Mr. Musk heads up private companies. The income available for support is debatable. Expert, forensic witnesses may be paid over $100,000 to prove that there is no money in these cases. Tiger's income is transparent. Further, there was a post marital agreement in the Musk case which, if upheld, will limit the settlement paid to Ms. Musk.

Continue reading "San Diego Divorce Analysis: Tiger Wood's Possible Divorce Settlement" »

This blog site has considered the California divorce issues raised by this case previously. All information has been obtained from Internet reports and documents. This blog reports that which has publically reported and does not assert the truthfulness of such reports.

Recap: Elon Musk is an entrepreneur. He runs companies such as SpaceX, and Tesla automobile. Tesla makes an electric car that is faster than most gas guzzling muscle cars. (You can hug a tree and go 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.) Justine Musk is an author and you can check out her books on Amazon.com. She lives in Bel-Air. Elon Musk reportedly lives with Talulah Riley, a young actor. The divorce has been filed. Justine Musk signed a post nuptial agreement reportedly transferring all of her right, title and interest to Tesla (and possibly other companies) to Elon Musk. Issues of setting aside the post marital agreement, income available for spousal support, characterization/valuation of property, etc, are present. They are the same issues as seen in the average case. There are just more zeros in the numbers in this case.

This case is back in the news as Elon Musk has publically stated, under penalty of perjury, that he is out of cash. While this may not be surprising for a twenty year old living with his parents, it's newsworthy when it is reported by Elon Musk and in context with a divorce case where reportedly spousal support and/or other financial issues are present. Recently, Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, dug into this story with a report that is fascinating to San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorneys and La Jolla divorce lawyers.

(Elon and Talulah at a London Car Show:)

Continue reading "California Divorce Story: Expense High-Income Low" »

San Diego child custody attorneys are frequently faced with the same problem Jesse James (who you may recall is still married to, but going through a divorce with, Sandra Bullock) recently faced in a Southern California court.

News reports following the custody case that Jesse James has with his ex-wife Janine Lindemulder report of Jesse's efforts to keep Janine from visiting the child while Janine, who previously lost custody of the child to Jesse and Sandra, is trying to re-gain custody. Reportedly, Janine has stepped up her efforts since Sandra and Jesse separated based on allegations of Jesse's numerous extramarital activities. Jesse continues to use allegations of Janine's substance abuse to keep her away from the child. This matter came to a head this month in an Orange County courtroom. Janine reportedly had a scheduled visitation with the child and reportedly Jesse refused to allow the visit due to his concerns over Janine's substance abuse issues.

The situation is this--there is a court order for visitation. The custody parent doesn't want to follow the order out of concern that the visiting parent is unstable and will harm the child. So the custody parent cancels the visit. The visiting parent wants to file a contempt motion against the visiting parent. This exact situation occurs up and down the State of California every week. La Jolla divorce lawyers and San Diego Certified Family Law Specialists try to resolve these situations out of court.

Continue reading "San Diego Child Custody Discussion From Two Sides" »

I was in law school when the divorce law changed in California. In this county we went from San Diego Divorce fault evidence required, to Divorce No-Fault. For those who have not lived in a fault state, California divorce at one time required that the Petitioner filing for the divorce provide sufficient evidence to the divorce court proving that he/she is entitled to a divorce pursuant to the grounds for divorce as specified in the divorce law. For example, this might require proof of adultery, or abandonment, or some type of cruelty claim. San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorneys must regularly review changes in the law as the legal system quickly evolves.

New York State is now debating whether to change from a fault state to a no-fault state. There have been some informative articles in the New York Times as to this debate. In a recent article opposing points of view are described which accurately capture the pros and cons of the issue. Here is a summary of some of the points:

Children: A woman described her opposition to no-fault as it adversely affected children. However her argument was that it really was a disadvantage to stay at home moms who were raising children. She stated that child support and spousal support does not support the marital standard of living. The divorce would adversely affect them economically and I have witnessed this in La Jolla divorce cases.

Too Easy: Another woman expressed her fear that no-fault opened the door to adultery and children born out of wedlock and that appeared to be a step backwards morally.

Continue reading "California Divorce Laws: Whose fault is it?" »

In a cbs5.com news report, Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, introduced a bill to the California legislature that would change current state law regarding the division of community property in a California divorce case.

San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorneys look for loopholes however the general rule is that California is a mandatory equal division of community property state. Family Code section 2550 provides that with few exceptions, community property must be equally divided between the spouses.

In 1995 the California legislature added an exception to equal division regarding a victim spouse's pension accounts when the spouse of the victim spouse attempts to murder the victim spouse. Family Code Section 782.5 provides that a spouse who is convicted of attempting to murder the other spouse through PC section 664, will not receive any portion of the community property interests in the pension or retirement benefits of the victim spouse. In other words, 100% of the community property pension accounts of the victim spouse go fully to the victim spouse.

What if the attempt is made by a hetman hired by the spouse? FC section 782.5 does not apply. FC 782.5 only applies to a spouse making this attempt and being convicted through PC 664. Just ask Detective John Pomroy working in the Los Angeles area. Reportedly, his wife lost custody of their children and tried to hire a biker gang hetman to kill her husband. The gang reported the offer to the police who taped an incriminating conversation regarding the hit, the wife was convicted, went to prison and got out from prison in 2004. Upon being released from prison she received her full equal share of the division of the community property resulting from the dissolution of marriage action filed in this case.

Continue reading "San Diego Divorce Property Bill " »

The North County Times (Vista, Oceanside, Rancho Santa Fe and other communities) reported that 63 jobs will be lost by virtue of the decision of the State of California to seek a new legal group to represent children in child custody cases with significant issues. These are the more serious matters involving petitions to remove children from their homes regarding allegations involving the safety and welfare of these children living in their homes. Frequently the cases are the result of the investigative work performed by Child Protective Services.

San Diego child custody lawyers and La Jolla divorce attorneys frequently handle cases in the San Diego divorce court that started by virtue of the report of one spouse that the other spouse is unfit, abusive towards the child, or neglecting the basic needs of the child thus placing the child in danger. In these cases the spouse would make a report to Child Protective Services involving the other spouse. Child Protective Services (frequently known as "CPS") would immediately respond and investigate and they would shortly complete their investigation with a finding of "unfounded" (no basis for the allegation); "inconclusive" (unknown whether the allegation is true), or "substantiated" (sufficient evidence to believe the allegations are true).

Child Protective Services workers are frequently overworked. Many are untrained in law yet they are making legal determinations in coming to the conclusion that the allegations are unfounded or substantiated. The workers are people subject to normal human flaws. Sometimes a worker favors a bad parent who is making a false allegation. Other times they find that a report is unfounded as the worker liked the spouse who was clearly putting the child at risk. A Riverside Grand Jury during the years of 1999 and 2000 found that Child Protective Services workers worked under leadership which often failed to set uniform standards. Further, that workers complain of being short staffed and working with excessive caseloads. Further, that workers engage in inconsistent work practices and fail to properly follow up with case supervision. Many other findings were presented.

Continue reading "San Diego Child Custody News Regarding Child Custody Attorneys" »

As previously reported on this blog site, Dennis Hopper, actor, who died last week, was going through a nasty divorce with his wife. Reportedly, Dennis Hopper's divorce had been filed several months earlier; further, he had a restraining order against his Wife keeping her away from him. She was still residing on the property where the family residence was located. (It's typical that homes in Beverly Hills, Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla California, will have guest houses on the same property.) According to a prenuptial agreement report, the Wife only received a portion of Dennis Hopper's estate if they were married and living together on his death. Wife claims that since they were still "married" and she was living on the residential estate, she is entitled to her share of the estate.

Under California law, Dennis Hopper's death terminates the divorce proceeding and the Wife will battle it out with Dennis Hopper's estate lawyer who reportedly stated recently that he was "ready for war". So this story, under the category of California Divorce under this San Diego Divorce blog is over--right?

The latest report is that the Wife refused to allow Dennis Hopper's daughter to attend his funeral. Reportedly, Dennis Hopper's attorney communicated with the Wife as to Dennis Hopper's expressed wishes for the daughter to attend. The daughter reportedly did not attend and this raises several California family law related questions and topics that every San Diego Child Custody attorney should consider.

Continue reading "Questions Relevant to San Diego Child Custody Cases" »

As a San Diego Divorce attorney for more than thirty years I frequently see a parent filing for sole physical custody of a child based on a claim that the other parent has abused the child or committed domestic violence. In my experience, claims of child abuse are increasing in custody cases. In San Diego California Family Court Services routinely contacts Child Protective Services (CPS) to request information as to the parents and a history, if any, regarding abuse reports.

Often, the abuse alleged is very subtle and can not immediately be confirmed by professionals. Consider this recent report of a baby fighting for life after the child was removed from the Mother's home. San Diego 6 news reports of a Mother who has lost custody of her four month old baby. In fact, CPS has removed all of the other children from the Mother's home based on this report.

Reportedly the police were called by the Mother's neighbor with a report of abuse. The police responded and contacted CPS. At the scene, the baby appeared to be free of signs of abuse, however something was wrong and the child was taken to a hospital. Now the child is reportedly at Rady Children's Hospital in critical condition with broken bones diagnosed and brain trauma. The Mother absolutely denies any abuse on her part and is fighting to regain custody of her children.

The psychology department at a college studied the correlation between divorce and child abuse and actually found that after a divorce a child has an increased chance of physical or sexual abuse from the new mate of the divorced parent. These findings held constant whether the child was living with the Mother or the Father.

Continue reading "San Diego Child Custody Cases Often Involve Claims of Child Abuse" »

This blog is devoting all blogs to Dennis Hopper this week. Dennis Hopper passed away last Saturday. He was in the middle of dissolution of marriage action at his death. California divorce law provides that there are two ways to end a marriage: by death and divorce. Divorce requires a six month waiting period; death has no such requirement. The divorce issues involving premarital agreements, restraining orders, property division, and property characterization were mentioned in the last blog published by this site. This blog will focus on Dennis Hopper and happier times when he lived in San Diego California and worked on stage in San Diego and in La Jolla.

As a La Jolla divorce lawyer, my office is a short drive from the La Jolla Playhouse where Dennis Hopper appeared in a Thornton Wilder play (The Skin of Our Teeth) in 1958. Many plays have gone on to Broadway from this small theater (for example, Jersey Boys). Many actors have graduated to the big screen and big stage from this actor's studio (for example, Cloris Leachman, James Whitmore, and Dennis Hopper).

San Diego news stories have circulated since the death last Saturday. Writer Pam Kragen of the North County Times has provided background information as to Dennis Hopper's earlier, and presumed, happier years attending High School in La Mesa; being voted as the "most likely to succeed" by his high school students; obtaining his first role in 1949 in "A Christmas Carol" at the Old Globe theater in San Diego.

Continue reading "La Jolla Divorce News: Dennis Hopper Remembered" »