Family Law Section

DEPENDENCY (current through 3/20/2023)By:  John Nieman The precise holdings in a given case are bolded. A.H. v. Superior Court A.H. v. Superior Court03/17/2023, CA 4/3: G061648https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/G061648.PDF See summary under FAMILY LAW In re N.M. et al. In re N.M. et al.3/2/23, CA 2/1 B315559https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B315559.PDF Father appealed the granting of sole physical custody upon dismissal. Jurisdiction was originally based upon mother’s driving under the influence of alcohol with a child in the car. Father and mother lived apart then, mother lived… Read more

FAMILY LAW (current through 3/20/2023)By:  Andrew Botros, CFLS The precise holdings in a given case are bolded. In re Marriage of Cohen In re Marriage of Cohen2/16/2023, certified for publication on 3/20/2023, CA 4/3: G060697https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/G060697.PDF The Motion to Dismiss in the Trial Court In this case, Husband’s request to modify child support and spousal support was dismissed under the disentitlement doctrine. This part of the order was affirmed. The Court of Appeal first addressed the fact that the trial court… Read more

Join our distinguished panelists for an in-depth presentation and discussion of unique issues in family law matters when there is a child with special needs. Read more

This presentation will begin with a brief overview of the QDRO process, and then continue with a discussion of the various ways family law attorneys can avoid problem arising from retirement plan divisions. Topics covered will include bifurcating marital status (including joinders and provisional QDROs), drafting MSAs and other written agreements to divide retirement plans, and the use of models provided by retirement plan administrators when drafting QDROs in-house. Materials will include sample language to help attorneys avoid the issues covered in the presentation.  Read more

In this case, the trial court erred in two respects when it signed husband’s QDRO. First, it erroneously used husband’s rank and salary at the time of the parties’ separation to calculate the community interest in his pension instead of his final rank and salary at the time of his retirement, as required by the time rule. This was error because “[u]nder the traditional time rule, the fraction of service during marriage divided by total service must be ‘multiplied by the final plan benefit to determine the community interest.’” and “because the community property interest at issue—the right to retirement benefits—'is a right to draw from a stream of income Read more

I can’t stress enough the importance of being cognizant of your client’s attorney’s fees and costs. As we all know, there is no winning in a divorce. Both parties suffer a loss. What’s worse is knowing you are burning through children’s college funds because the parties are unable (or unwilling) to agree about even the most basic issues. As an attorney, you must be heavily involved in management and communications regarding your client’s attorney’s fees. Staying involved and helping your client make reasonable decisions can help save them thousands of dollars and prevent high unpaid client bills in collections. Below are nine tips for keeping attorney’s fees and costs low in a divorce. Read more

FAMILY LAW (current through 1/20/2023)By:  Andrew Botros, CFLS The precise holdings in a given case are bolded. Destiny C. v. Justin C. 01/19/2023, CA 4/1: D553087 https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/D079123.PDF Family Code section 3044 creates a rebuttable presumption against awarding custody of a child upon “a finding by the court that a party seeking custody of a child has perpetrated domestic violence within the previous five years…” This five-year period runs backwards from the date of the trial court’s custody ruling, not from… Read more

Do you ever wonder if you can propound discovery in a domestic violence action? Are you curious about where to start? The benefit and impact of different discovery devices? Read more

This is a form for the 2023 Family Law Section awards Read more

As to Mother, the Court of Appeal, in dicta, suggested that the trial court could not issue Family Code section 271 sanctions pursuant to its own motion. It noted the absence of such language in Family Code section 271, while also noting that other sanctions statutes explicitly indicate that the trial court could issue sanctions on its own motion. It further noted that in “order to obtain an award under [Family Code section 271], the party requesting an award of attorney’s fees and costs is not required to demonstrate any financial need for the award.” (Emphasis in original.) Read more