Blog Posts in September, 2013

Charlie Sheen's Child Support Drama Continues

Pasadena family law attorneys have been following actor Charlie Sheen's case with great interest. Sheen’s ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, has lost custody of their twin boys due to her drug addiction, but is still getting child support payments. Last week, Sheen and Mueller struck a deal in which he agreed to continue paying $25,000 a month in child support for the twins, even though they are no longer ...

When Do You Need an Attorney for Your Divorce?

A do-it-yourself divorce in Pasadena might sound like a great way to save money, but the process of ending your marriage is filled with potential complications. Just having children or significant assets or debts make a DIY divorce very difficult. Hiring an experienced attorney to represent you is the best way to make sure your interests are protected in the courtroom. The division of marital ...

Dealing with Death and Divorce

The death of a spouse during or shortly after your Pasadena divorce can present you with a number of legal questions. If your spouse dies before your divorce is finalized, you are still considered legally married. If your spouse has no will, assets are divided according to state intestacy statutes, which means that you and any children your spouse has would share in the estate. It does not matter ...

TOP 5 BENEFITS OF CREATING A SPECIAL NEEDS ESTATE PLAN

TOP 5 BENEFITS OF CREATING A SPECIAL NEEDS ESTATE PLAN When a parent caring for a child with special needs thinks, "What if something were to happen to me?" it triggers some common fears, such as: Who will continue to care and advocate for my child and ensure that his/her quality of life is maintained? Who will manage my child's financial welfare? If my child with special needs is named a ...

Don't Be the "Out" Spouse

Pasadena divorce lawyers often remark that divorcing couples typically have an "in" and an "out" spouse. The "in" spouse handles most of the family's financial decisions. He or she pays bills, controls discretionary spending, and makes important decisions regarding how money is invested or saved for future needs. The "out" spouse knows little or nothing about the family's financial health. ...

Yours, Mine and Whose?

By Bettijane Levine 08/12/2013 It’s tough enough to parent while alive. Doing it from the Great Beyond is almost, but not totally, impossible. In this family-oriented valley, where thousands of well-cared-for kids from current and prior marriages live in blended or original families, attorneys say that even young parents with small children are often savvy enough to make legal provisions for ...

Homeschooling After a Divorce

Homeschooling parents can face special challenges after a Pasadena divorce . Homeschooling isn't a problem in a two-parent home where both parents believe it's the best choice for the children. When the parents divorce, however, conflicts can occur if one parent believes it's best for the children to go back to public school. In cases where both parents aren't supportive of homeschooling, the ...

Protecting Yourself from Paternity Fraud

Pasadena family law lawyers know that establishing paternity is an important step in any child support case. However, paternity fraud is becoming a growing problem. Paternity fraud occurs when a woman acknowledges the wrong man as the biological father of her child. The term applies to both a willful deception and cases where a woman merely suspects that a man might not be the father of her child. ...