LONG TERM MARRIAGES--EQUITY--SPOUSAL SUPPORT--REIMBURSEMENTS-- NO MARRIAGE--NO VISITATION BECAUSE NO SUPERVISORS?? !!!! BEWARE, BEWARE,BEWARE!!

$ FINANCIAL $  ISSUES FIRST, THEN BELOW,

 VISITATION ISSUES........Covid again, 

and likely wrong, wrong, wrong......

                  NOTE--ATTORNEY DOES NOT TAKE VACATIONS, COVID OR NOT*

*Sorry, looks like I have two black eyes, my bad photoshop attempts....

WELL, here we go again....the ups and downs of real estate, who paid what for whom, who borrowed what for whom, who has no job, who had a job, who doesn't qualify for support, who is not fit to work, who needs to work but doesn't, who is entitled to equity and who is not, who should get the personal property and who should not, who hid personal property and if so, what is the outcome?

Was Bitcoin purchased and then hidden, not hidden?  Same for all forms of precious metals, and gems, especially when there is proof of having seen such items?  Huge amounts of gold jewelry purchased?  Stocks sold? (* Attorney used to be in a law office with a Special Master in San Diego, so is well aware of how much material goods or paper/other valuables  can be hidden, sold, etc.!!)

MANY many people that are married, or just shacked up, have engaged in various combinations of buying real property, selling property, obtaining joint accounts, savings, and many other types of financial vehicles?

In whose name were such vehicle or monies deposited? Was there actually a valid divorce? Marriage? No marriage? Agreement? Trust? Documented financial papers with witnesses?  Was one party never informed?  Was there ever a valid change of ownership? Was there fraud? What was done online? [*Attorney has at least 3 computer specialists to rely on for evidentiary data tracing and the like; one has decoded for the Pentagon; the other two are specialists in coding/detection..]

Were children involved?  Were children or offspring named? in what type of financial vehicle? what type of documents? Evidence? Who are the witnesses? WAS THERE FRAUD INVOLVED??
                           _____________________________________________________

Many long term relationships fall into cracks that don't fit 100% into normal marriages.

 These cases often will not go forward as marriages BUT will fall into (most likely)

 some type of contractual category, or some type of equitable relief issues.  

Just because not everything was done 100% the way most people do things, 

does not necessarily mean you are the loser. 

Far from it, which is why there is such a thing called doing "equity." 

Equitable relief is known as that type of relief which can be used where something

is so obviously wrong -- to allow it to NOT be fixed 

would mean a miscarriage of justice?  See https://www.upcounsel.com/equitable-relief-meaning

So basically, doing equity is just another way the law can help make your case!

As a defense attorney, I have defended many cases which are predicated upon winning

with a credible and sound defensive position. Equitable relief,  when argued correctly, can

have excellent results.

After one has seen multiple miscarriages of justice in just about every

area of law possible, in particular-- it happens in animal law cases quite

frequently--and most people don't have a clue about animal law cases...

or the CA Penal Code  on such cases, or the civil or criminal animal law cases, 

or even the AETA  (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act) which calls for federal time when

certain animal laws are breached -- despite activists attempting to stop

the laws by using a constitutional law defense ---- trust me, it's just about a lost cause!!

The federal law breakers usually end up with long federal prison time.

Like 14 years of federal prison for releasing live minks?

                             _____________________________________________________

In this day of "COVID, COVID, COVID", 

WE ARE EXPECTING and predicting that

 many new cases will come about --

as a RESULT of "COVID" laws or legal rules,

 that may in fact, not be the best solution(s) for every problem.  

For example, even if one WAS married, or NOT--

 but then placed on "supervised" visitation, 

and let's say--that in Butte County, 

one was told-- there 

IS NOT ANY SUPERVISED VISITATION ALLOWED? 
or...there aren't any supervisors??
Due to "Covid" rules???  Huh???

_____________________________________________________________________

 THEN ONE DOESN'T GET TO SEE ONE'S OWN CHILD???SERIOUSLY?????  

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG !!!!

That is just plain illegal.  Don't fall for it.

CONTACT ATTORNEY IMMEDIATELY !!

_____________________________________________________________________

POSTING ONLINE, RUINING YOUR CASE, CREATING HARM TO YOURSELF?

Privacy these days is a HUGE issue, and it will only get worse! Attorney is familiar with claims involving personal data being published, private and sexual data being placed into lawsuits inappropriately, especially where it is intertwined with DOMESTIC VIOLENCE; children being abused both physically and mentally (and it has been documented or recorded); illegal surveillance inside one's home, and then using such surveillance as grounds for wrongdoing, or to gain custody.

Placing fake postings on Facebook, Instagram, etc.:  The law has been rapidly changing for Internet sites such as Yelp, where purported defamation may or may not create a cause of action, depending on what and how it was actually done, and what rules were in place at the time? Many claims involving these issues actually end up in Family law cases?

                                                                                 WARNING:

FOR ANY SPECIFIED LEGAL CLAIM, AN ATTORNEY SHOULD BE CONSULTED

FIRST, TO ENSURE THAT THE PROPER CAUSE OF ACTION IS DONE.

DESPITE TELEVISION AND THE INTERNET, MANY CASES ARE NOT SUITED FOR

JURY RESULTS, AND MANY TYPES OF CASES DO NOT ALLOW JURIES AT ALL, 

SUCH AS FAMILY LAW CASES.

Do You Want to Win Your Case? Should You Hire a Litigator? Do You Care?

What Type of Attorney do You Really Need? Do You Want to Win? You Don't Care?

*People must care because about 2,609 people have read this post*

Do you have a case where you want to win, or need to win your case?
Do you have the winning facts?  Do you know what law would or would not support your position? Do you want or need an actual litigator for your case?

Hiring an advocate (attorney litigator) is not the same as hiring collaborative attorneys. Also, mediating* a case with only one attorney means ...The mediator helps people talk the issues through, supposedly helping to "settle" the dispute themselves. In this attorney's opinion, it would not be recommended in most cases, because typically the overbearing spouse simply bulldozes the other spouse.

*[Mediation for visitation is not the same thing as mediation of an entire divorce case. Mediation for visitation/custody is required by law in CA when there is no agreement.]


There are many pitfalls that can arise in divorce; many of them involve financial transactions that one spouse had no knowledge of; assets that one spouse did not know about; children that were conceived outside the marriage and spouse never knew other spouse was paying; secret business dealings that was predicated on all cash; illegal actions by one spouse implicating the other spouse who had no knowledge; large debts racked up by one spouse, without the other spouse even knowing such debt existed; one spouse signing the other spouse's name for a credit card, then ruining the other spouse's credit.... NONE of these things, in this attorney's opinion, should be addressed in either mediation or collaborative law scenario.

That is because there was a huge breach of fiduciary duty that has serious consequences to the guilty spouse. That should be done in court since the guilty spouse should have to pay for wrongdoing. (Of course if you are too afraid because your spouse might try and kill you then you better go get help right away.)
                                           


Especially if you have issues in the 3 lines below, which happened BEFORE the case finalized---- you should never hire anyone except an advocate litigator. Aggressive at that. Plus, there are huge time barriers to trying to set aside any of this!

Fraud, Duress
Mistake, Coercion,
Failure to Exchange Declarations (Assets Debts)-or-
  when exchanged, i.e.--have false, misleading or improper numbers, values, dates..

We live in a society where people often want what they want, and when clients hire attorneys to get something done, especially in family law, it's often because one SIDE tried to take advantage of the other side.  If you have a family law case where both of you AGREE on everything then of course you don't really need an attorney, except perhaps to create a settlement agreement.

HOWEVER, the vast majority of most divorces and break ups, are because the couple cannot agree on a lot of things, including (just an example....) post judgment orders.........

How to raise the kids-- too lenient?  too strict?
How to spend income from employment or inheritance
What to do with spouse that is either dangerous, aggressive, drinks too much
How to get out of supervised visits?? You have an ex spouse also?
Your spouse is bipolar and can't be controlled?


Of all the problems attorney has seen over several decades, the problems around children tend to generate the worst issues, followed by physical harm, financial issues, and alcohol or drug use.

And remarkably, attorney has seen clients REFUSE to take what he/she is entitled to, and then SETTLE a case by using an attorney who is or was a mediator, --- in other words, the attorney is not acting as a litigator for the client?

If you are entitled to something, why would you pay someone to settle a case when you could have settled it without help????   Collaborative law and mediation means if you don't settle the case using whomever you hired, those attorneys cannot represent you in court anyway.

You THEN have to hire new attorneys!!

While mediation and collaborative may be good for some cases (which means you are settling case by paying people to settle it without court)-- it is essentially negotiation. Judges are not involved. If you work something out and then don't like it later--- what you have -- is a problem.

              Some of the down sides of  collaborative law (which includes hiring people like accountants and other experts) and which makes it costly:

The Expense; Impact of termination and cost of new counsel; No advocacy for one or both parties; directed conversation between parties, power imbalances, difficult issues might remain secret (such as domestic violence, addictions, drugs, gambling, infidelities,etc.); Possible inadequate information collection, potentially less support for views of children.

Basically, in mediation there is no advocate for YOU.
In collaborative law, BOTH sides work on issues, but NO ONE is an advocate for YOUR side.
The collaborative view is to work out issues, not really take sides as an advocate----a true advocate is there to represent YOU, not the spouse.

This is part of the reason that most people in a divorce WANT an advocate, and need a litigator --- because they are being taken advantage of, steamrolled, or being misled or manipulated.

You don't have to believe attorney, look at one of my other sites for example, where it is stated in plain English, by the mediator--  that making the decisions with a mediator is not the fault of the mediator, and the mediator is quoted... (and quite frankly,the mediator does state the truth)

                        "The role of the mediator is to assist the participants reach an agreement. 

 It is not the mediator's role to give legal advice or to assure

 that the agreement is fair or equitable to either party.  

There may well be unintended consequences resulting in one or more

 of the participants suffering "buyers remorse", but they made the decision

  to accept the terms  and entered into the agreement, not the mediator..."

 Note--again, the "mediation" we are speaking of, is NOT the family law mediation process that the COURTS do, for contested custody.

       Private mediation means both parties choose to use one mediator to arrive at some agreement, and because a mediator does not dispense legal advice the way a legal advocate would do--as in actual litigation--where each party is represented by their own separate attorney-- the "mediator" himself or herself--- is only assisting both parties to REACH an agreement.

Carefully NOTE-- the mediator does not need to assure either party that the agreement is fair or equitable to either party.   LOL-- that's fine if you don't care what you are getting, or you don't know your rights and you don't care about about that either??

       Unfortunately---if you do this and then realize you lost out on something because you did NOT know your rights at all---then guess what??? You are in trouble, most likely.

*** I  can almost guarantee that this blog has more information in Northern CA than majority of  family law sites.  Attorney typically will write, argue, and inform... and help people, the purpose of the writing is to hopefully enlighten--so that you can make better decisions. 

                      

NOTE: all of our content is original, if we have mentioned a subject from another site, research info or similar, we will include a link. We have no need to use other people's content and claim it is ours. In animal law we may occasionally quote, due to the specificity of the data,but there will usually be a link also. All people reading and browsing should use their own diligence to obtain correct information and for checking laws, we would use findlaw.com.                        

SPOUSAL SUPPORT, HOW MUCH, AND MODIFICATION?

In California, much has been written re spousal support, and in general, most of the cases involve ex husbands paying ex wives?

Due to the historical nature of women often taking care of children, many women did not enter the workforce, however, although this has changed in past 40 years, most men still earn more than most women. And if the ex husband has an ex wife that did not work during the marriage, those are the men that will usually pay the most spousal support.

IN setting spousal support initially, the court will usually employ the dissomaster software program initially--for calculation purposes, however for ongoing spousal support and usually modification thereof, the court will typically then use the 12 factors for setting spousal support under FC 4320. (See below..) 

 IF you require this type of hearing for ongoing and or modification of spousal support, do not attempt to do this yourself.

IF you are the husband and the ex wife files for such modification, do not do this yourself. An attorney should be used to handle this as there are too many facets to apply in each individual case--and it is best to hire a litigator to do this, NOT an attorney that settles everything [unless you do not care what you get?]
        IF you were never married then spousal support does not enter the picture notwithstanding some extraordinary facts (i.e. you believed you were actually married and after 10 years found out you were not, or something close, or fraud was involved,etc. which would open another can of worms!)

 (Attorney did not make up this quote but believes it to be true)


FACTORS USED BY THE COURT IN SETTING SPOUSAL SUPPORT

(a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage;   

(b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party(c) The ability to pay of the supporting party, taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living(d) The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage; 

(e) The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party(f) The duration of the marriage(g) The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party

(h) The age and health of the parties, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party where the court finds documented evidence of a history of domestic violence, as defined in FC Section 6211, against the supported party by the supporting party    (*NOTE--if you have had or do have a domestic violence case that was granted in your favor, and the spouse does owe you support, be sure to call attorney herein,  as attorney has not lost a domestic violence case...)

(i) The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party(j) The balance of the hardships to each party

(k) The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as described in FC Section 4336, a reasonable period of time for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage . But nothing in this section is intended to limit the court's discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time, based on any of the other factors listed in this section, FC Section 4336, and the circumstances of the parties; and

(l) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.

It is fairly obvious that just by the last 3 sections (i, j, k) above---one can see that there is a great deal of leeway in litigation to make or break your case---therefore, carefully consider if your attorney is in fact, a litigator. Many attorney only settle cases and do not engage in actual trial litigation, and not all litigators function the same way.  Litigation of issues is a methodical tool but some attorneys are less adept at it than others, particularly in the arguing phase.

As one might imagine, there are a ton of published cases on spousal support in California. Attorney keeps up on these cases so that the newest precedent cases can be applied where applicable. 

[***Note, attorney herein has the most affordable rate possible when compared to nearly  any other attorney regardless of what county the case is in; attorney has litigated many cases outside of this county, including San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Denver, CO/more..]

Parents, Marijuana Use and Custody in California

Could you lose custody of your children due to smoking marijuana?

[This post has over 1,851 views so apparently parents are concerned!]

Most county employed mediators have standard provisions that parents should adhere from smoking in presence of children, or sometimes even when the kids are under the control of that specific parent.
Further, even if smoking is allowed in certain areas, many mediators don't want kids near second hand smoke, period. EVEN if it's inside the house in another room...EVEN if it's anywhere near where the kids might be, play, or access? Like outside? 
     **Note: in one mediation case, a mediator told a client that because MJ smoking is legal, to drop the issue...quite frankly, the actual smoking or use of the drug (even where legal) is not necessarily proper inside, where kids are, or in cars and other certain places? or where kids have any type of respiratory issue/other ailments? In any event, despite the mediator, it is NOT a good idea for MJ to be used around kids, period. Don't care if it's legal. It doesn't necessarily help your case.

The "smoking" will generally cover most forms of tobacco and possibly edibles.... (cigar, cigarette, vape, medical MJ, etc...)  And many times, smoking by third parties in the home may not be a good idea due to secondhand smoke. VAPING is almost worst because it is becoming well known, that the nicotine involved, is fused with scents (i.e. cherry,etc) that the teens are running to buy/try?   https://vaping360.com/how-old-to-vape/

In Butte County, a jury has previously returned a guilty verdict over an issue of whether medical marijuana is a defense (to child endangerment charges)--- the long contested case of  Daisy Bram, where allegedly, the lesser count of misdemeanor child endangerment was found (as opposed to child endangerment likely to cause great bodily harm)... Judge Glusman ruled that no valid evidence was presented as to the certified use of medicinal marijuana and thus it was not available as a defense. Ms. Bram was not represented by counsel, which obviously hindered her defense.

http://reason.com/blog/2014/03/07/daisy-bram-a-witness-in-federal-case-aga

Child Endangerment in California...

Under Penal Code section 273a  there is a possibility of criminal prosecution whenever a child is under your care or custody and you:

• Willfully permit the child to suffer;
• Inflict unjustifiable physical or mental pain upon any child; or
• Willfully endanger the health of a child.

If the prosecuting agency in your county believes that you are “endangering the health of your child” by smoking marijuana or growing it in a home where your children reside, you may face criminal charges....

These charges may be filed as a misdemeanor or as a felony. Of course, if the court order stated that any type of smoking or use of same is not allowed while child is under your care, a violation might be a contempt charge potentially, if the other spouse or another was to bring that claim forward?

If convicted of felony child endangerment, you could be sentenced to up to six years in prison and ordered to pay a maximum $10,000 fine. A misdemeanor conviction is punishable by up to one year in county jail, up to a $1,000 fine, or both.

Why is Alcohol Allowed But Not MJ?

Generally, no courts like the idea of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, edibles, cigarettes, cigars, etc. when it comes to kids. Although there are tons of rules regarding drunk driving, there are not tons of rules for intoxication at home due to getting high on drugs, including legal marijuana and the like. While the hearsay out there is that MJ will be used, consumed and grown by large business, including beer companies, and that the feds will be changing those laws, it is a possibility, but we wouldn't bet your life on it happening super soon. The banks and other super duty corporations always want to benefit themselves first. BUT if they manage to do it, we can be assured that they will have already thought of safer ways to tone down common marijuana so that it would be as common as alcohol, and treated closer to the way alcohol is regulated.

OTOH, the presence of nicotine in the vaping formulas which are targeting teens (and apparently succeeding)-- is something that relies on curiosity and being popular, because "everyone" is trying it. However one is supposed to be 21 to be "vaping"....well, we are sure that plenty of people are ignoring that there law?? LOL

Parents that are smoking or vaping, your kids are watching you.

Note:  //The courts generally do not favor the smoking of MJ, even if it is medically prescribed. People with chronic anxiety often resort to marijuana use, or prescription meds. The meds only do so much, the overly anxious client will still be overly anxious, but somewhat better than with no meds at all.//
NOTE: JUST BECAUSE MARIJUANA HAS BEEN LEGALIZED TO SOME EXTENT, DOES NOT MEAN THAT OTHER MEANS OF USING MJ ARE LEGAL; FOR EXAMPLE, "SHATTER" IS NOT LEGAL? Using a huge commercial sized bong to ingest shatter is not legal? and certainly doing it with minor children in home is simply insane?  It becomes expensive to prove that one parent is an addict, especially on drugs which can be legal. Obviously that is due to fact that the parent who formerly witnessed such actions, is not living in home where it is presently being done?

https://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/marijuana-what-parents-need-to-know/safety/  [Extremely informative...]  *Includes Signs of Accidental Exposure to Edibles

https://buttecountyfamilylawlawyer.blogspot.com/  Another site by attorney C. Chan

Family Law Affordable Attorney 530 359 8810

affordablefamilylawattorneychico.blogspot.com

What Type of Attorney do You Really Need? Do You Want to Win? You Don't Care ... Affordable Family Law Cases, Is it Possible? Our NEW Maverick Paralegal ...

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When You Have Beaten Up Your Kid+Pretend It's Not Your Fault?

IF one who has illegally beaten up their own child,  

and has multiple criminal charges pending,

including criminal protective orders,

 expects a court to believe because that one parent 

(who beat up the kid)--

 was formerly involved with the education program 

of the beaten up child...

.....that this means she or he should

 have either joint legal or shared legal custody--

.............

let's just look at that premise for what it's worth?

Anyone who understands legal custody at all,  must know what it means.

And even if one knew what it actually meant, it surely does not mean --- that one who knowingly and willingly beats up a special needs child, --- where that child has a special needs education program, and who regularly is in counseling under either an IEP program or similar--  is somehow --- "entitled" to have legal or even joint legal custody of the child that she or he beat or beats up? 

Why is this even a question?  

This shows sheer stupidity insofar as common sense is concerned.

Common sense indicates that if any parent or custodial guardian 

BEATS UP A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD, 

or even a child without special needs----

NO MATTER HOW, WHEN, OR WHERE THEY DID IT; 

WHETHER IT WAS REPORTED, NOT REPORTED, FILED, 

NOT FILMED OR OTHERWISE---

  THE PARENT THAT BEAT UP SUCH CHILD IS CERTAINLY 

NOT  ENTITLED  TO LEGAL OR JOINT LEGAL CUSTODY

 UNDER THE GUISE OF ANY THEORY OF "EDUCATION", or

Health and Welfare,  OR OTHERWISE.

This is both absurd and nonsensical at its lowest level!

In fact, IF it is shown that the child was beaten by one parent, and especially if that one parent is criminally charged with a crime or crimes, that parent is not entitled to legal custody or shared legal custody at all.

One cannot even imagine such an insane belief, especially as to how such nonsense would somehow benefit a child under the circumstances?   If such a parent provided financial provisions for the same, could we use THAT as a reason to allow more harm?  Hardly.  so WHY would fact that one parent who beats up his or her own child, be allowed to make decisions for that child's health or welfare or even education  after he or she has beaten up the kid????  Absurd!!!

IF a criminal protective order is in place (there may or may not be one)--- this is indicative that NO legal custody should be granted.  One doesn't need to be a brain surgeon to understand this.

     One may argue being a devil's advocate--- and claim that the parent who beats up a special needs child is entitled to participate in education choices? OMG?? NO, NO, NO !!!

 But in reality, if that was the case, then people who rape or attempt bodily injury to minor children, incapacitated children, even children without special needs, is somehow entitled to still participate in that child's education??   

Only an idiot would advance that insane theory!!  One must be so seriously off base to even begin to believe that anyone with such an opinion is all there.

But because there are some parents that ARE that far off base---that's pretty much why such parents

 would harm their own kids .....

--by beating them up in the first place?! 

 Most studies have already proven that child molesters, child beaters, murderers, etc.--- all have childhood trauma in their past or brain dysfunction--- or both??

All or nearly all-- it's almost inescapable. 

PTSD, molestation, rape, beatings, left alone most of the time, or inherited psychological problems that affect the brain.....far too many maladies to list. 

The majority of prisoners in prisons indicate that up to almost 70%+ may be affected..........

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By the numbers: Mental illness behind bars | PBS NewsHour

May 15, 2014 - Human brain, computer illustration. ... Psychological disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder and trauma-related ... In state prisons, 73 percent of women and 55 of men have at least one ... For many of those inmates, their path to incarceration started in childhoods marked by trauma and poverty.    https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/numbers-mental-illness-behind-bars

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 It may be a hard pill to swallow,  to own the fact that one is a child beater or a child molester--but there are many of them, and unfortunately, many of such people are so far off base, they actually believe they are doing no harm to kids?

 The harm alone already done is certainly wrong, and it would be a travesty of justice to allow an offending parent, especially where charged with more than several crimes against the child, to be given either access or the right to determine what is in the child's best interests--- because obviously, one does not get charged with criminal actions in most cases, if there is not evidence to support such criminal actions in first place?!!

ADHD (just as an example) ---  is classified as a specific disability under federal civil rights law, and because failure to provide needed services to affected students could result in emotional,educational or social harm, it makes sense that a parent who has BEATEN up such a child should NOT be involved with that child's health, education or welfare, especially if criminal charges are pending or eventually proven against that parent, or where there is a criminal protective order in place against that parent?  This is not rocket science.