San Diego Divorce Attorney Blog

The latest chapter in perhaps one of the strangest paternity disputes in recent California history comes with the arrest of Robert Powell in San Diego County over Thanksgiving weekend. The arrest, in one sense, gave Powell an opportunity to insert himself into the recent paternity dispute involving pop signer Justin Bieber. Mariah Yeater, a 20 year-old Lakeside resident, publicly claimed that Bieber is the father of her child. Powell now claims that he is the father, and that Yeater lied about the child's paternity for money.

Bieber has steadfastly denied not only being the child's father, but even knowing Yeater at all. Yeater filed a lawsuit claiming Bieber is the father of her child a few months ago, but withdrew it without prejudice in November. She alleges that she had a sexual encounter with Bieber backstage at Los Angeles' Staples Center after a concert last fall. Yeater says she had just turned 19 years old at the time. Bieber would have been 16 years old. The child was born in July 2011.

Yeater did not produce any evidence to substantiate any of her claims, but Bieber submitted to a paternity test. She dismissed the suit while results were still pending. Yeater cited the media frenzy surrounding her claims, which includes death threats from Bieber fans, led to her decision to withdraw her petition. Her lawyer stated that he expects both sides will sign confidentiality agreements regarding the paternity test. Since she dismissed her suit without prejudice, she is free to re-file it at any time.

Yeater's paternity claims have mostly met with ridicule and disdain, but it appears Bieber has followed the standard legal procedure. If Yeater was unmarried when the child was conceived and born, the law makes no presumption as to the father's identity. She may allege the father's identity, or someone claiming to be the father may come forward. A child's paternity, if in dispute, is generally established through a paternity test, which compares DNA samples from the child and the alleged father. A father may also sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, or whatever equivalent form is used in his state, which he then files with a state registry. In this case, Powell may request his own paternity test. Once paternity is legally established, questions of child custody and child support come to the fore.

Continue reading "Possible Father of Alleged "Bieber Baby" Located in San Diego" »

A recent decision from the Fourth District Court of Appeals in San Diego, In re I.A., et al, affirmed a trial court decision to remove two children from their home after the children allegedly witnessed one or more incidents of domestic violence between their parents involving weapons. The mother had appealed the trial court's order, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence.

The case began with a petition by the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency on behalf of two children, identified as 4 year-old I.A. and 2 year-old N.A. The petition alleged that the children were at "substantial risk of serious physical harm" due to domestic violence between their parents, identified as M.G., their mother, and Ivan A., their father. The parents were apparently divorced but living together for financial reasons. The Agency alleged that the parents had an argument in the presence of the children in which Ivan threatened to hurt M.G., after which M.G. used a cup to hit Ivan on the head, making his nose bleed, and cut him on the arm and chest with a box cutter. Police arrested M.G. and charged her with assault with a deadly weapon, but Ivan declined to request a protective order and helped pay her bail.

The Agency took the children to a children's center and later placed them with nonrelative extended family. I.A., the older of the two children, told the social worker assigned to the case that he had witnessed arguments and incidents of violence between his parents, including attempts by Ivan to choke M.G., but he denied seeing the box cutter attack. While the parents' accounts of the fight conflicted in many ways, the main aggressor was found to the the mother, M.G. She reportedly expressed remorse and agreed to work services that would reunite her with the children.

After a hearing that included testimony from social workers and child care workers assigned to the case and who had worked with the parents and the children, the court concluded that domestic violence had occurred. It ordered the children placed with the nonrelative extended family member and ordered the parents to engage in reunification services. M.G. appealed, contending that the evidence did not support the court's findings of domestic violence or risk to the children.

Continue reading "Court Approves Removal of Children from San Diego Home Because of Domestic Violence" »

The stories are finally coming to an end as to the Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries 72 day marriage. Reportedly, Kris Humphries was upset by Kim's decision and conclusion that the "irreconcilable differences" could not be resolved by marriage counseling. Kim filed for dissolution of marriage in a California Superior Court 72 days after the marriage ceremony. And, further, reportedly the LGBT community was enraged by Kim's filing for divorce after just 72 days. I understood from this article that many persons in the LGBT community felt that their right to marry was denied to them on the basis that this "right" only belonged too sacred for them; however, then persons in the heterosexual community treat the right disrespectfully.

In the hundreds of articles that were coming out, after Ms. Kardashian's filing, the two articles above were good examples of the strong feelings expressed. As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney, I see some clarity in this event. Actually, both of these articles and hundreds of others expressing disapproval for the filing after 72 days, are all united in a common thought: Something is wrong when a marriage fails. Something is wrong; someone is wrong. Sorrow or grief is natural. And it is unnatural to marry and divorce for frivolous or reasons that are unworthy. However, let me offer the following in Ms. Kardashian's defense.

When the state of California passed legislation ending fault divorces and instituting no-fault as the standard, "irreconcilable differences" became the universal statement by the Petitioner to justify his or her divorce under California Family Law. Irreconcilable differences are supposed to be "substantial" as you can see if you look un Family Code Section 2311. In reality, the Petitioner never has to specify his or her exact reasons and the reasons are not questioned. In cases where there are children and child custody issues, the event of a divorce may be very significant in the lives of the parents and the children.

Continue reading ""Until Death Do Us Part"--California Divorce " »

Approximately on November 1, 2011, a video of a father spanking his daughter, with his belt, became viral on the Internet. This video is shown below, although I caution you that this video is violent and disturbing. Since hundreds of thousands of viewers have already seen this video, I'm not disclosing anything that is private. The topic of spanking, or violent discipline--when will it lead to the loss of child custody rights? Caution: This video is disturbing so I recommend that you watch a few seconds just to understand the nature of the punishment.
As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist lawyer, my office handles many child custody cases. Many will read this posting and wonder, up to this point, why I am using the word "spanking" when the video displays, in my opinion, an angry, violent beating. However the question in law is when does any of this type of behavior lead to a loss of custody rights. This issue was raised by journalist Tim Sakahara in an online news story posted on HawaiiNewsNow. The mom died in an accident and the father is raising the child. The mom was the daughter of "Dog" Chapman (TV show--Dog, the Bounty Hunter). The father's child custody rights are at risk by virtue of an incident brought before the family court where the father is alleged to have beaten the child with a belt.

California child custody law involves terms of "joint custody", "legal custody", "physical custody" and other rights known as "visitation" rights. Visitation may be ordered as supervised visitation when the court believes that a parent is a danger to the child. My office brought a motion against a father who took a belt to his son leaving a visible mark on the child's arm which appeared to be a perfect impression of the belt buckle of the belt which the father used. My office is aware of the many legal cases and statutes which support a motion to take custody away from an abusive parent.

Continue reading "Child Custody Law and Spanking Your Child" »

Foster children, almost by definition, have faced more than their fair share of obstacles and difficulties. Whatever circumstances brought them into the foster care system, someone in a position of authority had to make a determination that those circumstances merited removing them from their homes and placing them somewhere else. It is therefore upsetting to learn that foster children in California and around the country are becoming the victims of identity theft in ever greater numbers, as reported recently in the California Bar Journal. Often because of the uncertain situation in which they live, foster children make an attractive target for unscrupulous identity thieves. California divorce attorneys who might have to deal with situations of abuse or neglect of children must understand the risks these children face.

Children usually land in foster care after a report of abuse or neglect leads to an investigation by state or local child protection agencies. Case workers may recommend removal of the child or children, who may then be placed with relatives or with families approved by the state as foster homes. In some instances, children may go to a facility such as a hospital or group home. While the removal may prove to truly be in the child's best interest, it often leaves the child emotionally, and as it turns out financially, vulnerable. Identity thieves may prey on them for their pristine credit scores.

An investigation led by the California Office of Privacy Protection in Los Angeles County looked at older children in the foster system to determine the extent of the problem and develop processes to repair damage and prevent future harm. State and county officials ran credit checks on 2,110 youths aged 16 to 17 in the foster system. Generally speaking, children should not have credit histories. They found that five percent of the group, 104 children, had credit problems. They identified 247 accounts opened in these children's names, with some resulting from simple errors and others from outright identity theft. They found an average account balance of $1,811, and in one case a child had a $217,000 home mortgage outstanding. The officials were able to clear all of the problem accounts.

Studies on identity theft have yielded widely varied results. A study by a security firm that deal with identity theft issues found possible identity fraud in 140,000 children out of a total of 172,000 enrolled in their program. Another firm found 10.2 percent of the children enrolled had suspicious outstanding credit balances.

Continue reading "California Foster Children Deal With Identity Theft" »

A controversial new law in California, Assembly Bill 499, allows minors between the ages of 12 and 17 to receive vaccinations and preventative treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without first obtaining parental consent. This includes the vaccine that prevents HPV infections in girls and women. HPV can cause cervical cancer in many who are infected. Several other states have passed laws either allowing or mandating this particular vaccine, and these moves have been quite controversial. Supporters of the California law, which was introduced by Democratic Assembly Member Toni Atkins of San Diego, say that it provides needed protection for children aged 12 to 17 years from serious health concerns. Opponents have expressed concern over both the safety of the vaccines themselves and the broader implications for parental rights to make decisions regarding their children's health. The law could have an interesting effect on the practice of San Diego divorce law, both in how parents approach the issue of medical decisions in negotiation or litigation and in how attorneys draft divorce and custody decrees.

Before AB 499 became law in August of this year, California did not allow teens access to preventative treatments for STD's without parental permission. Teens already had the legal right to seek treatment for existing infections without notifying their parents. Proponents have acknowledged that parental involvement is ideal, but not always possible. Part of the rationale offered for the new law is teenagers' need to access preventative health care regardless of their family situation, such as where parents are absent, abusive, or suffering from addictions or disabilities that might prevent them from engaging in the child's health care decisions. Critics have argued that this is too great a burden to place on children as young as 12, and that the law should emphasize uniting parents and children rather than separating them.

Continue reading "California Law Gives Minors Right to STD Prevention Without Parental Consent" »

Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith, a same-sex couple, adopted a 1 year-old boy in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2006 and took him home to New York. They completed the adoption process in New York and legally became the child's parents. The family later moved to San Diego, where they live now. The problem arose when they tried to obtain an amended birth certificate for their son from the state of Louisiana. Their case demonstrates how family law can vary from state to state and the difficulty in bringing a family case from one jurisdiction to another.

The Louisiana registrar of vital records and statistics denied Adar and Smith's request to be listed jointly as the child's parents on the birth certificate. Louisiana only allows joint adoption of a child by married couples. Louisiana does not recognize same-sex marriage. Therefore, as far as the state of Louisiana was concerned, the two were not married and could not both appear on the birth certificate.

While the registrar's office agreed to recognize the legality of the adoption and list one of them as a parent on the birth certificate, Adar and Smith insisted that they both be listed. They filed a federal civil rights claim, alleging that Louisiana's actions denied full recognition of the New York adoption decree and thus violated the Constitution's "full faith and credit" clause. That clause declares that each state must give "full faith and credit" to the judicial decrees of each other state. By refusing to list both legal parents on the birth certificate, Louisiana was effectively trying to negate the full legal effect of the adoption decree, according to Adar and Smith's suit.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans disagreed with Adar and Smith and dismissed the case. The court held in April 2011 that the question was actually legislative, not judicial, so the "full faith and credit" clause does not apply. It also concluded that each state has the right to create its own laws regarding birth certificates based on its own findings about what would benefit families and children in that state. Louisiana, the court declared, could conclude that adopted children would be best served by either a married couple or single person rather than "the freely severable relationship of unmarried partners." Of course, the court's logic only applies in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Continue reading "Supreme Court Denies Review of Louisiana Adoption Decision for Same-Sex Couple" »

Fox News published a story on Thursday, 22 Sep 2011, regarding Jesse James's child custody case. (Jesse James was married to Sandra Bullock and this marriage was dissolved in 2010.) The custody motion was filed by Mr. James to change the venue of the court case from Orange County California to the state of Texas. The case was between Mr. James and Janine Lindemulder. Wikipedia reports that Mr. James and Ms. Lindemulder have a daughter and that Ms. Lindemulder is an adult film star. (A photo of the Hays County courthouse is to the right.)

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney, my office receives calls from people all over the country and jurisdiction and venue issues are frequently involved. Just today a mom with a case in the Los Angeles court wanted to know which court would take over the case if she moved to San Diego and the father moved to Idaho. Similarly, Mr. James now reportedly lives in Texas while Ms. Lindemulder lives in Oregon. The news report did not say why Ms. Lindemulder opposed the motion to move the case to Texas, or whether she filed to move the case to Oregon. The report stated that the motion had been filed approximately one year ago. (Mr. James is shown in the video walking in Orange County California.)

There are extensive rules under the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) which helps courts to resolve which state should take over a child custody case. Years ago a parent could file a motion for the custody of a child in one state, for example, Indiana; then if the parent lost the custody motion, he or she could grab the child and file for custody in another state, for example, California. The UCCJEA law was passed in each and every state in the country and the law seeks to end this problem by only allowing one state to proceed with a custody case, to the exclusion of all other states.

Continue reading "Which Court Has Custody Of A Child Custody Case?" »

CBS 8 San Diego reports that child custody relocation cases have increased during our economic recession. In a story dated September 26, 2011, a survey from the AAML (American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers) is cited and discussed. The survey cites that a significant increase in housing debt during the last three years is connected with an increase in custody move away cases. As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist lawyer my office has witnessed similar events over the last three years.

This is easy to understand. For example, picture a couple coming to a point where one spouse files for a divorce. Assume that the Husband moves out of the family residence leaving the Wife and children behind. The Wife, with or without a job, finds herself unable to afford the mortgage. This is common. (The Ventura County Star reported on August 10, 2011, that foreclosures in California led the country in July 2011. That over 56,000 foreclosure filings occurred during the month.) The Wife, in our hypothetical, is the primary caretaker of the children. She cannot afford the home. Rental units are expensive in San Diego and she has family who will assist her in the mid-west. She files for a child custody order and permission to relocate with the children.

Child custody under California law is comprised of Physical Custody and Legal Custody. Simply put, these terms define where the child primarily lives and the rights of the parents as to information and decision making concerning the health, education and welfare of the child. The issue of "move away" or "relocation" is whether the physical custody parent may take the child with him or her when the custody parent relocates to another geographic area.

Continue reading "Child Custody Move Away Cases Increase" »

The Los Angeles Times reported the news as to the Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva settlement. Gibson and Grigorieva had been involved in a nasty and escalating family law case involving claims of domestic violence, the release of tapes to the media where Mr. Gibson reportedly was caught up in angry ranting, claims that Grigorieva was an unfit mother and therefore should have restricted child custody rights, etc. Mr. Gibson and Ms. Grigorieva were never married however they had a child together therefore the case came before a family law judge regarding custody and child support issues.

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney, my office has found that settlement skills are just that - techniques that are learned. There are many conferences, handbooks, and programs which specifically teach settlement skills. In California family law, the specific legal effort to settle a case and to avoid litigation is known as "alternative dispute resolution". How did this case, between Mel and Oksana, which started out so conflicted, with so much anger, result in a quick settlement which allow for Oksana's use of one of Mr. Gibson's home (to raise their child), and a reported case settlement of $750,000 to Oksana? How did this case head towards resolution out of court when cases such as the divorce between Jamie and Frank McCourt continue to return to court with one contested motion after another?

I am told by settlement experts that a case does not settle until both sides of the case are highly motivated to end the dispute. I have seen that some cases settle for the right reasons and some do not. For example, in a child custody case, the issue of the child's welfare must be examined prior to a settlement. Businesses and property need to be appraised. Support should be based on an examination of earnings. Settlements which come about for the wrong reason (for example, one party is bullied into the agreement), often come back into the court systems more conflicted than previous to the settlement.

Continue reading "California Divorce Resolution - Settlement Through Negotiation" »

You have heard that California divorce courts make child custody decisions based on the Best Interest Of The Child. Therefore, if mom is primarily available to raise a child and she's doing a good job, while dad is hard at work making a good income, then, while unfair to some, it's easy to see that the court will order primary physical custody of the child to mom. Further, the court would order dad to pay a significant amount of child support. However, what if mom does something that causes mom to lose much of her custody time to dad? Would the court still order dad to pay a significant amount of child support to mom?

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney, much of my time is spent in reading new cases and following changes in family law and child custody law. In researching, I came across an appellate court decision at the same time pop celebrity news was circulating the story of Jon Cryer's failed attempt to substantially lower his child support. This celebrity divorce story combines all of the elements of interesting news and legitimate legal education as to California child custody and support law. Actor Jon Cryer divorced Sarah Trigger in 2004. Reportedly, after a change of the custody order where Sarah only has a four (4) percent time share with the child, Jon motioned the court to terminate or greatly reduce his child support order. His motion failed; he appealed and lost. Why?

When the divorce judgment was entered in 2006, Sarah had a 65% time share of the child and Jon (actor on the popular Two and a Half Men TV show) was ordered to pay $10,000 per month in child support. Within a few years after the divorce, the court intervened and removed the child from Sarah pursuant to a report (and evidence presented) regarding neglect. Jon requested that his child support order be lowered to zero as Sarah, for all practical purposes, no longer was raising the child. The court reduced Sarah's child support from $10,000 per month to $8,000 per month even though her custody time had been reduced from 65% to 4%. Jon appealed however was he overlooking the factors of the child's "best interest" and his overall income available for support?

Continue reading "How Does Child Custody and Child Support Go Hand In Hand?" »

Cornell School of Law recently published an overview as to child custody law and this reminded me that there are many people searching the internet for basic information as opposed to advanced information. As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist lawyer I search for blog topics that appeal to my continuing education interest; however, this article reminded me that there is a need for basic child custody information. So, this blog starts with the reference to the Cornell SOL article and this is an excellent place to start for a child custody primer.

The U.S. Census Bureau publishes reports on a variety of child custody and support topics. Child care arrangements can be found here, up to the year 2006. The U.S. Census Bureau has more articles as to child support statistics. Statistical reports lend themselves better to numbers than to "arrangements" so this is understandable. Much of what the U.S. Census Bureau publishes pertains to the underpayment or nonpayment of child support.

Wikipedia contains a section on parents who don't pay their court ordered child support. This section immediately cites statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Back to child custody--the specific issues are enormous: Move away custody orders; Legal Custody orders (does the child get the medical operation or not? Which school will the child attend?); Joint Physical Custody or Sole Custody; or Right of First Refusal.

Continue reading "California Child Custody Primer" »

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney I am involved in the family court system every work day. Change is a part of life and tremendous changes are now occurring in the San Diego divorce court. It is the job of my office to recognize the trends in family law and to work with the changes in the system to assist our clients. Journalist and TV personality Greta Van Susteren posted an article on 8/20/11 as to the California economy (mismanaged and disastrous) and used the California divorce court system to support her conclusions.

Greta's divorce court example was taken from a Wall Street Journal news report written by journalist David Ferry and published on August 20, 2011. He described the efforts of a California family going through a divorce and seeking to use the free services offered at the court house. The Husband and Wife lined up at 9 a.m. and by 4:00 p.m., when the free clinic stopped their services, the couple had still not been seen or helped by a court facilitator. These two articles are not blaming the courts, the attorney, facilitators or judges. They both use this example of the near bankrupt status of the California economy and charge those who are in charge of the economy with negligence to a degree that there are millions of victims impacted by the reduction in government services.

In recent years the California divorce system used a quasi fast track policy to push family law cases through the court in 12 months. Today, with cut backs to court personnel, loss of judges, fewer clerks, it is projected that it may take two years to get a divorce case to trial. It may take months to get into court to hear an initial child custody motion. Months--what a disaster. San Diego Family Court judges each have case loads of 4,000 and more. An extremely difficult situation. A family law "mission impossible". My office is turning more and more to private judging as a way to assist our clients.

Continue reading "San Diego Divorce Analysis: How to Navigate the Family Court System" »

The shocking news did not result in a direct hit as to San Diego divorce or child custody; however it was too close for comfort and it needs to be discussed. Journalist Bonny Russell of examiner.com provides the horrific details in her news report. This news story is discussed here even though it involves surrogacy law which is a remote area of family law. "Surrogacy" is described by Wikipedia and it involves a woman surrogate giving birth of a child for a contracting couple. The surrogate might even have the embryo of the adopting mom placed in the surrogate's uterus.

The story that Ms. Russell breaks is that of a surrogacy attorney who reportedly went too far and broke the law. San Diego attorney Theresa Erickson, operating out of a Poway office, represented, according to the report, that she specialized in surrogacy law, involving egg donation and international clients. However the very expensive arrangements were reportedly fraudulent and violated law. According to the news, attorney Erickson pled guilty last week to charges related to fraud and faces sentencing in October 2011 which could bring a fine of $250,000 or five years in prison. Another defendant in this case reportedly described herself as a member of the American Bar Association Family Law panel.

If you research, you will find a photo of attorney Erickson; however it is not licensed for reuse so it is not included here. You will also find a book on Amazon which was reportedly authored by the attorney. I researched the State Bar of California website and found attorney Erickson still listed. Her listing states that she is involved in "Family Law". As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney I picked up on this story and it leads to the topic of how can the public have some assurance that a divorce attorney is a solid choice.

Continue reading "San Diego Attorney with Family Law Connection Arrested" »

CBS 8, San Diego, reports a story of a congressman who reportedly owes over $100,000 in unpaid child support. Those opposed to the politics of the congressman are responding to this news by stating that his career is not effectively over. That he cannot go out into the public and campaign or speak as to financial matters when he cannot legally and properly handle his own financial matters. The congressman reports that the news stories are politically motivated and that individuals are attacking him to make him less effective as they disagree with his political views.

As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney, my office handles cases involving the two family law issues that go hand in hand, namely child custody and child support. The child support laws in California provide that there are many factors that will determine the amount of a child support order. One such factor is the amount of child custody time that is awarded to the child support paying parent. In other words a parent who has 50% child custody will pay less child support than a parent who has 20% child custody.

I further researched the child support delinquency problem and found a web page that claims that it has the father's point of view. Whether or not this is true, it quoted government sources that provided interesting statistics as to this problem. In a study from many years ago, $10 billion per year in child support in not paid. Likely the unpaid child support is much higher now than at the time of this study. The article goes on to state that government is not very effective in collecting unpaid child support. At this point I turned to the National Coalition for Child Support Options. The NCCSO is an organization that describes itself as a coalition of people from all around the country who are devoted to address the "national epidemic" of unpaid child support.

Continue reading "California Divorce Report: Child Support News" »