Message from the Editor

Dawn Gray

This issue of Family Law News, the last one of 2017 (wow—where has the year gone?), has a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and hopefully a little bit of something of interest to everyone. It is about as far from a single-topic issue that you can get! We start with the incoming FLEXCOM Chair Avi Levi’s comments about the State Bar bill and the upcoming separation of the Sections from the Bar. Stay tuned during 2018 as this comes to pass and the Family Law Section, no longer restricted by the Bar’s regulations and requirements, offers more opportunities for education and networking with other family law attorneys throughout the state.

The MCLE article in this issue, by Denise Treviño, discusses the relatively recent (and misnamed) "three-parent law" and the cases that have interpreted it thus far. These cases are on the cutting edge of family law and only time will tell how they develop. Speaking of cutting edge, we have an article contributed by New York attorneys Delphine Eskanazi, who is also licensed to practice in France, and Jeremy Morley, who practices international family law. They are joined by Carmel Brown, an assistant solicitor based in London. The three have written about France’s new divorce by mutual consent, a procedure for divorce by signed agreement without the intervention of a judicial officer. They discuss the problems this raises in recognition of these divorces in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Rounding out the international portion of the issue, Nathan Gabbard, who practices in Santa Monica, discusses the recent case of Marriage of Kumar, in which the First District held that an immigrant alien spouse can enforce her sponsor’s Affidavit of Support separately from any Family Code support right.

Turning to more domestic issues, John Martin, a civil litigator practicing in San Diego, writes about Marvin actions from a litigator’s point of view. He emphasizes that these are not family law actions and discusses the differences in the two types of actions, with an eye toward helping family law attorneys determine whether their clients have valid Marvin claims that can survive the civil court procedures. Continuing the "little bit of this" in this issue, attorney Dorie Rogers of Orange County writes about the types of motions available in family law cases. Many are rarely used, but with a little bit of additional knowledge, you can add new motions to your toolkit.