Pasadena Family Law

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Divorce




Recent Posts in Divorce Category

  • Why Knowing the Risks of Settling Versus Going to Trial is Critical to the Outcome of Your Divorce

    A common expression I hear from family law judges is that the perfect outcome of a divorce is where both parties feel disappointed because they did not get everything they wanted. Although I do not agree with the notion that people should feel dissatisfied at the conclusion of their divorce, I believe in many cases, it makes sense for parties to settle rather than go to trial. I hold this belief ...
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  • Divorce Busters: 3 Spousal Support Myths

    No one enters into a marriage expecting it to end in divorce. However, this is the outcome for about 1 in every 2 marriages. Separating from your partner can inspire feelings of stress, disappointment, and frustration within you. These are perfectly natural emotions. However, you should not let them prevent you from looking after your material interests. A divorce is the dissolution of your ...
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  • The Rise of Gray Divorce in California

    Divorce is one of the most difficult and traumatic things that anyone can go through. Although it may seem impossible to ignore the pain, anxiety, and uncertainty that comes with divorce, it is important to look after your material interests. A divorce attorney can help you do just that. Divorce is not just something that only young couples go through. Middle-aged and elderly people get divorced ...
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  • How to Divorce-Proof Your Business

    According to information from the American Small Business Administration, 90% of the country's businesses are family-owned. With the current divorce rate at around 50%, many family companies are put at risk because of asset division in times of divorce. Because California has community property laws, any money earned during a marriage is counted as a shared asset. Even a business started before a ...
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  • 3 Mistakes in a High Asset Divorce

    Regardless of the circumstances, divorce can create an expensive toll on the emotions and the finances of each party. In a high-asset divorce, there is a lot at stake. How does one fairly divide the property and finances? A family law attorney can help. In addition, it is critical to avoid these three costly mistakes. 1. Making Emotional Decisions When emotions are high, it's easy to make rash ...
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  • Who Gets the Vacation Home in a Divorce?

    Divorces can be messy when it comes to property ownership. Some things might be easier to determine, such as the owned house may go to the spouse that has custody over the children. Figuring out who gets the vacation house, however, is a little trickier than that. Be it a vacation house or second house, factors are usually dependent on a decision made by the marital couple, the court, or the type ...
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  • ORIGINS - Office Beginnings

    In this installment of our ORIGINS Series. Donald and Maria Schweitzer discuss the beginnings of our law firm and how it got started https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cssPOcJEEms&index=3&t=0s&list=PL39a9T-qpCl_cMAboxq2QZJ91zSFwgB5E
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  • Kick Out Orders - GOOD TO KNOW

    Don discusses Kick Out Orders and gives advice on getting an exclusion of the family residence and tips on the best options for your situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1EBqQw_Yg&t=5s
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  • GOOD TO KNOW - CAN I GET A RESTRAINING ORDER?

    In this Episode of GOOD TO KNOW, Don discusses Restraining Orders and gives advice on the correct way to handle getting a restraining order and tips on the best options for your situation. https://youtu.be/dWme648RXo8
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  • GOOD TO KNOW - Date of Seperation

    On this episode of GOOD TO KNOW - Family Law Topics, Don discusses the delicate and sometimes confusing topic: Date of Separation. Watch to learn important information that will help you in your situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdMrN_RF9q4&t=3s
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  • Keeping Track of Your Divorce: The Eight Stages Involved in the Divorce Process

    Many people going through the process of a divorce feel lost. The end of the tunnel seems nowhere in sight because it feels as if they are walking blindfolded through a complicated and mysterious maze. These feelings are largely due to a lack of understanding of the various stages involved in the divorce process, especially since many of the stages tend to overlap with each other. Understanding ...
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  • Five Reimbursement Claims You May Be Entitled to From Your Soon to be Ex-Spouse

    A big part of the divorce process involves determining each parties’ right to be reimbursed for various expenditures made either during their marriage or after the parties separated. In fact, the reimbursement claims made by the parties are often the most litigated issues of a divorce, and given the numerous reimbursement rights afforded by law, identifying reimbursement claims worth pursuing can ...
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  • Five Tips on Preserving and Tracing Your Separate Property Claims

    An important part of the divorce process is the division of marital assets, which is governed by our state's unique community property laws. In California, property acquired from the date of marriage to the date of separation is presumed to be community property. Spouses have equal interests in their community's property. Conversely, property acquired before marriage, after the date of separation, ...
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  • California Adopts New Digital Assets Act

    Digital assets remain among the most beguiling aspects contemplated by my estate planning clients. Our online personalities are our photo albums, diaries and memory books. How can we maintain our privacy while also allowing the collection and transfer of these assets upon our deaths? As of January 1, 2017 the California legislature is helping its residents navigate that question. A new law ...
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  • Exceptions to Guideline Child Support: Different Rules for Wealthy People (Like Brad Pitt)

    Recent news articles report that Brad Pitt claims he will not pay monthly child support in the amount of $141,380 for the couple's six children. Brad sure sounded angry in this statement and there are probably people who were quick to condemn him as a jerk for refusing to be financially responsible for his children. After all, isn't there a guideline formula that dictates how much a payor of ...
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  • Why Using Self-Help to Retrieve Community Property is a Bad Idea

    You may have heard that "possession is nine tenths of the law." This old saying still rings true in many situations. However, those who embrace this principle during a divorce may want to think twice about fighting over personal property with their estranged spouses. According to a recent appellate court decision - People v. Aguilera*, a person who gains possession of community property against ...
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  • Legal Custody: What You Can and Cannot Do

    By Deborah Soleymani In cases involving child custody , parents will often share Joint legal custody of their children, which typically requires that they consult with one another concerning the health, education and welfare of their minor children. But that does not necessarily mean that either of them acting alone cannot make decisions which each of them believe are in the best interest of the ...
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  • Is There An Advantage to Filing for Bankruptcy During a Divorce?

    By Don Schweitzer Contrary to popular belief, when a spouse files for bankruptcy during a divorce there really is no advantage. If anything, it prolongs the finalization of the divorce since there is a hold on the divorce until the bankruptcy proceedings have concluded. A recent appellate court decision* illustrates my point well. In this case, Ms. Walker, the wife, filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy ...
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  • Divorce and Valuing a Family-Owned Business

    By Don Schweitzer During a divorce , the division of community property is usually straightforward and only requires simple mathematics. However, when a couple owns and operates a family business together, the division of that business is more complicated since a typical case involves one spouse buying out the other’s interest. In most cases this requires a forensic accounting in which both ...
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  • Child Custody Disputes: What is My Baby's "Home State?"

    By Don Schweitzer Most parents are unaware that their children have a designated "home state" under the law of every state in this country. A child's home state determines which court has jurisdiction to decide important issues such as legal and physical custody, visitation schedules, and requests by parents to move far away. To most parents who have child custody disputes, home state jurisdiction ...
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  • Court of Appeal Requires Full Adversarial Hearings for Move Away Requests with Children

    By Don Schweitzer, Certified Family Law Specialist When divorced parents share child custody and one of them wishes to move away (out of state or country) with the children, there are specific procedures under California law that protect the left behind parent’s rights before the move-away request can be granted. In one case, a mother requested a move-away with her children because her company ...
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  • Divorce and Navigating Separate vs Community Property

    By Don Schweitzer What's mine is mine and what’s yours is mine is a common misconception spouses have when going through a divorce and dividing property. In reviewing a recently published decision, entitled in re Marriage of Bonvino, we are reminded that the law provides for the preservation of spouse's separate property rights, so long as certain facts can be proven by the spouse who has the ...
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  • Child Support And The Gift That Keeps On Giving

    By Donald P. Schweitzer and Nitasha Khanna Public policy requires parents to make child support the top priority of all their financial obligations. California law also provides that children should share in the standard of living of both parents. Furthermore, the Family Code's definition of income available for support is very broad, as it includes "income from any source.” However, there are ...
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  • Different Perspectives - Shelly Sterling's knockout blow against V. Stiviano

    By Certified Family Law Specialist, Don Schweitzer, and Family Law Attorney, Nitasha Khanna, Schweitzer: As you know Nitasha, Donald and Shelly Sterling were back in the national spotlight recently, as members of the media reported on Shelly Sterling’s knockout blow against V. Stiviano. The Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in Shelly Sterling’s favor and ordered V. Stiviano to pay back money and ...
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  • Beware: The Gifts You Receive from Your New Beau May Not Be Yours to Keep

    By Deborah Soleymani, Esq. and Casey J. Marticorena, Esq., CFLS. A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge recently ruled in favor of Shelly Sterling, ordering V. Stiviano to return $800,000 in cash and cars, and a $1.8 million duplex gifted to her by Donald Sterling. The ruling is legitimate and comes from the legal principal of community property. The California community property law states that all ...
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