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An Overview of California’s Supervised Visitation Law

January 12, 2011/in Family Law /by Julia Lemon

Supervised visitation is judicial order for a neutral third party to be present when a child is spending time with his/her parent. When making a supervised visitation order, a judge may consider a wide variety of factors and goals. Some of the reasons a judge may order supervised visitation include giving the parent time to deal with specific issues, helping reintroduce a parent to a child after a long absence, introducing the parent to the child when there has been no prior relationship, avoiding potential domestic abuse or neglect, or if there is a threat of abduction.

If you think that supervised visitation may be in your child’s best interest, please contact the well-informed child custody lawyers at Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri for more information. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

What Happens to Out-of-State Real Property Upon a Divorce in California?

January 11, 2011/in Family Law /by Mitchell Ehrlich

Upon a divorce, it is often a complicated and challenging process to divide real property existing in another state. The correct treatment of an out of state home or piece of land depends on how the property is characterized under California community property law. Generally, most property acquired during marriage is considered community property. At divorce, community property is divided equally between spouses. However, property acquired during marriage while living in a non-community property state is not community property. To find out what happens to this out of state real property, it is best to look at an example.

Let’s assume you and your spouse meet, marry, and reside in non-community property state. While married, you purchase a home with the savings you both earned during your marriage. Now, let’s assume, your spouse gets a job in California and you relocated without selling your home. Years later, you file for divorce. Under California law, this property is not community property as it was not acquired in a community property state. Instead, this property is characterized as “quasi-community property.”

Quasi-community property is property (wherever located) that would have been community property if the spouses had acquired it while domiciled in California. In a California divorce proceeding, quasi-community property will be treated the same as community property. Thus, in the above example, the out of state home would be divided the same way as if it were located in California. If located in California, the home would have been considered community property as it was acquired during marriage with martial earnings. It is important to remember that California community property law is complex, and it is filled with numerous exceptions.

For more information on how your property would be characterized under California law, please contact us. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

“He Wants What?!” – The Basics of California Community Property Law

January 6, 2011/in Family Law /by Julia Lemon

Did you just find out that your husband or wife wants ownership of a special piece of personal property or real estate that you acquired before you were married? If so, you should be aware of some basic rules in California family law.

First, California is a community property state. This means that all property acquired by spouses during marriage while living in California is presumed to be community property. However, property that is acquired during marriage by gift, bequest, or devise, or income from property acquired prior to marriage is presumed to be separate property of the receiving spouse. In addition, all property acquired by each spouse prior to marriage is presumptively the property of the owner spouse. Thus, if your spouse is currently twisting your arm to give you possession of a valuable asset you acquired before marriage, your spouse may not have any legal claim to this property.

However, under certain circumstances, your spouse may have a claim in your separate property. For example, if you owned a home before marriage but community funds were used during the marriage to pay down the mortgage, the community may have an interest in the home. In addition, if you purchased real estate or personal property during marriage with your separate property but agreed with your spouse in writing that you were converting this property into community property; your spouse may also have an interest in the asset.

For more information on California community property law, please contact us. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

The Importance of an Advance Health Care Directive

January 5, 2011/in Estate Planning /by Michael Lonich

An advance health care directive is a written instrument that describes your health care wishes in the event of your incapacity or injury. It serves to inform family members and healthcare professionals about your wishes and desires when you are unable to do so. The importance of having an advanced health care directive is often overlooked.

An advance health care directive can address several key issues, including whether or not you want doctors to resuscitate you if you stop breathing or if your heart stops, if and when to use breathing machines or dialysis, and whether you wish to be an organ and tissue donor. While many people prefer not to think about their own mortality, it is important that your loved ones know your desires before it is too late for you to express them. In addition, an advance health care directive allows you to choose an agent to act as your attorney-in-fact. Your attorney-in-fact is the person you designate to make health care decisions for you. Appointing such a person in advance often helps alleviate family tension during difficult times.

To find out how you can protect your family by incorporating an advance health care directive into your estate plan, please contact our estate planning attorneys at Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri for more information. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Celebrity Engagements Remind Couples of the Importance of the Prenup

December 30, 2010/in Family Law /by Mitchell Ehrlich

Over the past year, numerous celebrity couples have stepped forward with plans to marry. In early November 2010, Nick Lachey announced he was engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Minnillo. The couple had been dating for approximately four years prior to the engagement. Shortly after Nick announced his soon-to-be marriage, news of Jessica Simpson’s (Lachey’s ex-wife) engagement surfaced. Unlike the long courtship of her ex-husband, Simpson had only been dating her now-fiancé, NFL player Eric Johnson, for five and a half months prior to the engagement. Additionally, Kelsey Grammer, who is not yet divorced from his third wife, announced plans to wed his fourth, Kayte Walsh. With all of the buzz around celebrity engagements and divorces, one can only hope that these pop culture icons will enter into prenuptial agreements to protect their sizable assets.

Jessica Simpson has allegedly learned a valuable lesson involving the dangers of marrying without a prenuptial agreement. Simpson’s decision not to sign a prenuptial agreement with Lachey reportedly cost her around $10 million. Rumors in early December 2010 show that Jessica has learned her lesson and will “definitely” have a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying Johnson.

Unlike Simpson, Grammer does not appear to have learned the importance of the prenup. Grammer’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Camille Donatacci, has just recently rejected Grammer’s offer to settle their case for around $30 million. Because Donatacci and Grammer did not enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage, Donataci appears to be holding out for at least $50 million in addition to child and spousal support. According to Perez Hilton’s blog, an insider close to the couple shares that Grammer is “deeply in love” with Kayte Walsh would not “insult her by asking her to sign a prenup.”

As divorce rates rise, family law attorneys recommend that engaged couples consider entering into prenuptial agreements prior to marriage. Prenuptial agreements are especially recommended if either party has significant assets or owns real estate. For more information on California prenuptial agreements, please visit our website. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Sources:

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/how_camille_got_more_M6sGhLN4M07esaEQP6AKaJ

http://perezhilton.com/2010-12-30-kelsey-grammer-not-getting-prenup-for-third-marriage

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=76889

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/19/inside-jessica-simpsons-e_n_786165.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/15/joe-simpson-reacts-to-jes_n_783508.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/09/2010-12-09_jessica_simpson_will_have_a_prenup_with_eric_johnson_report.html

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Phone: (408) 553-0801 | Fax: (408) 553-0807 | Email: contact@lpeplaw.com

LONICH PATTON EHRLICH POLICASTRI

Phone: (408) 553-0801
Fax: (408) 553-0807
Email: contact@lpeplaw.com

1871 The Alameda, Suite 400
San Jose, CA 95126

Located in San Jose, Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri handles matters for clients in northern California, specifically San Jose and Silicon Valley. Our services are available to anyone within the following counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and San Francisco. For a full listing of areas where we practice, please click here.

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