WILL MY HUSBAND MAKE A CASE IF I FILE FOR DEFAULT CUSTODY AND DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE MOTION?

QUESTION: I filed for dissolution and custody and served my husband the papers. We have an OSC hearing on the 30th day after I served the papers on my husband. Will that hearing cause an issue with filing a motion for default. I’m almost positive he wont be filing an answer. I'm just wondering if the hearing is on the 30th day if he will be able to make his case in court or is he still bound by the 30 days to file an answer?

MY RESPONSE: The OSC and your husband's time to file and serve his Response to your Petition are two separate and unrelated matters. If your husband appears for the OSC, that will not affect the time for him to file and serve his Response, but until you file your Request to Enter Default, he could file his Response, even after 30 days have passed. There is no such thing as a "Motion for Default". Parties are not permitted to serve papers in their own cases. If you were the person who personally served your husband, the service was invalid. You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you in your divorce.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW LONG DOES MY WIFE HAVE TO SERVE DIVORCE PAPERS AFTER FILING?

QUESTION: My wife has already filed a divorce case against me, but I have not been served papers yet. How long does she have until she has to refile again?

MY RESPONSE: Code of Civil Procedure Section 583.420 permits dismissal of a case for delay in prosecution if service is not made within two years after the action is commenced. Your local county rules may have more stringent requirements. If you want to get the case moving, ask your wife for a copy of the papers that she filed, and you can prepare, file and serve your Response.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO I HAVE TO RETURN AN ENGAGEMENT RING IF MY FIANCE BROKE IT OFF?

QUESTION: Do I need to return engagement ring to an ex-fiance valued at $4000 in California? He broke off engagement.

MY RESPONSE: If he broke off the engagement, you get to keep the engagement ring. Were you the one to break off the engagement, you would have to return it.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT SHOULD MY HUSBAND DO ABOUT THE 14-YEAR OLD CHILD HE JUST LEARNED HE HAS?

QUESTION: My husband just found out that he may be the father of a 14 year old child. We would like some custody rights and would like a say in the child's life. The mother is difficult to deal with and we are not sure what to do. We want to know if we will have to pay back child support once paternity is verified. Can we get visitation if paternity is verified?

MY RESPONSE: If the mother was on welfare, there may be a need to reimburse some of the welfare payments for the child's support, but likely not 14 years of payments. If your husband wants to assert rights to custody and/or visitation, he should actively participate in a Paternity (Uniform Parentage Act) case. If he learned of the child only through the support agency case, he will need to file and pursue a Paternity case, seeking custody and visitation rights to his child. I assume that he has taken a DNA test to establish whether or not he is the child's father. If the test results clearly indicate that he is the father, he should waste no time in pursuing his custody/visitation rights in a Paternity case. Since he has not been in the child's life for the first 14 years, the Court would likely issue visitation orders which start with a little time with the child, and subsequent step-ups. You would have no rights or obligations in connection you’re your husband’s child – the child aready has a mother. Your husband would best be served by retaining an experienced Family Law Attorney, ASAP.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

ON WHAT GROUNDS CAN I GET A DIVORCE IF MY SPOUSE WON’T AGREE TO DIVORCE ME?

QUESTION: What are the legal grounds to get a divorce from my husband who has mental problems if he refuses to divorce me? Do I need to prove he has these mental problems?

MY RESPONSE: Whereas incurable insanity is one of the grounds for a dissolution of marriage, the easiest ground, by far, is "irreconcilable differences". You have irreconcilable differences with your husband: You want a divorce, and he doesn't. The Court will grant you the divorce you seek.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

IF I CAN’T AFFORD AN ATTORNEY OF MY OWN, CAN I CONTACT MY EX-HUSBAND’S ATTORNEY?

QUESTION: Since I cannot afford my own representation, can I directly contact my ex-husband's attorney to discuss modifications to our divorce decree?

MY RESPONSE: You can, but you could possibly qualify for an attorney's fee order, and you would be far safer if you are represented by your own attorney in dealings with your husband's attorney. If your husband is represented by counsel, you should at least contact and consult with experienced Family Law Attorneys in your local area to determine whether you can find an attorney to represent you and seek an order for Attorney's Fees to fund whatever work is needed. If the "decree" that you address is a proposed Judgment, you would best be served by an experieced Family Law Attorney's dealing with your husband's attorney. If the Judgment has already been entered and there has been a material change of circumstances since its entry, you may qualify for a modification of certain terms.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com

HOW CAN I STOP MY DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS?

QUESTION: How long after the divorce petition has been filed can it be stopped?

MY RESPONSE: If your Petition has never been served, or if it hasn't been responded to, you should promptly file a Request for Dismissal of the entire action without Prejudice, and that should stop and cause the dismissal of the divorce case. If your spouse has filed a Response, the signatures of both parties are required on the Request for Dismissal in order for the case to be dismissed.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com

WHO SHOULD SERVE MY DIVORCE PAPERS?

QUESTION: Who can serve the papers if my husband is just couch surfing with his friends and I don't know where he is living right now?

MY RESPONSE: Anybody over the age of 18 other than you, who can locate your husband, can serve him. If he is employed, he should be servable at his place of employment. You might have to hire a private investigator to try to find him to get him served. If you can't locate him, you would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to do what is necessary to get your husband served by publication.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO I NEED AN ATTORNEY TO PREPARE MY PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT?

QUESTION: Do I need an attorney to prepare a Prenuptial Agreement for me, or will it be enough just to have my fiance sign a paper saying she isn't entitled to my house or that she will be entitled to up to a certain amount of money?

MY RESPONSE: By all means, have an experienced Family Law Attorney prepare your Prenuptial Agreement. There are specific requirements that need to be complied with in drafting, presenting, negotiating and executing a Prenuptial Agreement, to make it enforceable. You do not have the education, training or experience to enable you to draft an enforceable Prenuptial Agreement. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you're going to do it, do it right.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS IF MY EX-GIRLFRIEND WANTS TO TAKE CUSTODY OF OUR CHILDREN?

QUESTION: I was with my girlfriend for 9 years. She has never worked. I always worked and still do. She left me for our roommate who has never had a job either. They have no place to go and she wants to take our kids. What rights do I have in keeping them? They live with me now and she wants to take them to her mom’s to live.

MY RESPONSE: Retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to file and pursue a Paternity (Uniform Parentage Act) case and an Order to Show Cause on your behalf, to seek custody rights to your children. Don't delay doing so. You and your ex-girlfriend have essentially equal rights to the children. Don’t play tug of war with the children; take your controversy to the Courts for a fair resolution. The Court will determine the issue of child custody based on their best interests, which will likely involve many factors, including but not limited to the parenting roles that each party has played. The fact that your ex-girlfriend left you for your ex-roommate is irrelevant to the issue of child custody. Whether your ex-girlfriend has a place for the children is relevant to the issue of child custody, but if she lives with her mother, an issue could be whether or not her mother’s home has appropriate space for the children. Whether or not your ex-girlfriend has ever worked is not relevant to the child custody issue, but will be considered by the Court for the child support issue. Child Support is based on the parties’ respective incomes and percentages of custodial timeshare.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO I HAVE TO PAY ALIMONY IF MY WIFE LIVES IN AOTHER STATE?

QUESTION: If I live out of state, will I have to pay alimony to my ex-wife? We have been separated for over a year now.

MY RESPONSE: If there is no court Order or Judgment requiring you to pay alimony, you have no current spousal support obligation. If you and your wife haven't yet divorced, she is your wife, not your ex-wife. If your wife files and serves a divorce case on you, you should retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you in the state in which the case is filed, in an effort to minimize your risks of a spousal support obligation (among other things). If there is a court order or Judgment requiring you to pay alimony (spousal support), the fact that your wife or ex-wife lives in a different state provides no justification for you to violate the requirements of that court Order or Judgment. You could face Contempt-of-Court and other enforcement proceedings if you fail to comply with a Spousal Support Order of Judgment, no matter what state you live in.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY WIFE MARRIED ME ONLY TO GET A GREEN CARD?

QUESTION: Right after I got my wife a green card, she demanded a divorce. Any judge or jury will see that she only wanted my money and a green card. We were married abroad and I didn't make her sign a pre-nup. What can I do?

MY RESPONSE: You could file a Petition for Annulment of your marriage based on fraud, but you should also request a Dissolution of your Marriage in your Petition, just in case the Court denies you the Annulment.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN I GET CUSTODY OF MY TWO KIDS IF MY WIFE GOT PREGNANT BY ANOTHER MAN?

QUESTION: My wife left me for another man and ended up getting pregnant by mistake while we're still married. Would this give me total say so in the courts? I don't even want to be nasty and try and take the kids away. I just want equal custody of our two kids. She can file one and I file one on our income taxes. I just want what's fair.

MY RESPONSE: You should promptly file a Motion for DNA Paternity Testing if she got pregnant by another man before the separation. California has no-fault divorces. Your wife's getting pregnant by another man after separation but before divorce is irrelevant to the issue of child custody, so the Court would likely not admit any evidence of your wife's affair or pregnancy under those circumstances. Child Custody is based on the relationships of the respective parents with the children, and the quality of their parenting. Seek child custody and income tax emptions based on the merits of the relevant facts in your case.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN MY DIVORCE LAWYER REVEAL INFORMATION WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?

QUESTION: I am divorced and I am seeing a guy who has been separated from his wife for 2 years. My lawyer is also representing my boy friend’s soon to be ex. At the last appointment I had with my lawyer over some issues with my own case,he asked me if I was dating this person. I was honest and said yes, thinking it would stay confidential. This lawyer is now trying to use this information in their case. Can the lawyer use this without my permission?

MY RESPONSE: Your lawyer is ethically required to keep your communications with him confidential. Address that, and your concern, to your lawyer (and perhaps to the State Bar), without delay. If your lawyer violates your trust, he shouldn't be your lawyer.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO I HAVE TO LET MY CHILDREN’S UNFIT, UNSTABLE FATHER VISIT WITH THEM?

QUESTION: My ex has visitation rights, but has been in and out of jail, and he is habitually on drugs real bad, more often than not homeless. We have been divorced for 10 years. In those 10 years, he has never done anything for the kids. He just got disability and has started living with his sister. He isn’t stable. All of a sudden, he wants the kids. Do I have drive them to visit with their dad if he is unfit, since our divorce papers say he has those rights?

MY RESPONSE: If you have a problem with your ex visiting your children, file an Order to Show Cause to modify his visitation and request that his visits be supervised by a professional visitation monitor. You can get in trouble with the Court if you deny your ex court-ordered visitation. You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW CAN MY EX-HUSBAND’S PARENTAL RIGHTS BE TERMINATED TO ENABLE MY NEW HUSBAND TO ADOPT OUR CHILDREN?

QUESTION: How do I go about terminating parental rights if my ex-husband is no longer in my children's lives and my new husband wants to adopt my children?

MY RESPONSE: If your new husband wants to adopt your children, and your ex-husband hasn't been in contact with your children for over a year and hasn't supported them for over a year, or if your ex-husband consents to the adoption, the Judge in the adoption case can terminate your ex-husband's parental rights to enable your new husband to adopt your children.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW SOON AFTER MY DIVORCE CAN I REMARRY?

QUESTION: How long do I have to wait to remarry after my divorce is finalized?

MY RESPONSE: You can re-marry the day that the Judgment is entered into the official records of the court. That date would be reflected on the Notice of Entry of Judgment and on the face of the Judgment, itself. You will need to get a marriage license before you can legally get re-married.

Note, however, that the other party can file a Notice of Appeal to appeal the Judgment within 60 calendar days from the date the Notice of Entry of Judgment is mailed, or if it wasn't mailed (which in a divorce case should never occur), within 180 days from the date of entry of Judgment. If the Judgment is timely appealed, depending upon whether or not the dissolution of marital status is or is not stayed in the appeal process, it might potentially affect the validity of your re-marriage, but that possibility is highly unlikely.

Even if an appeal is timely sought, reversal of the dissolution of marital status on appeal is extremely unlikely.

If your divorce was done with an Appearance, Stipulation and Waivers, or other language in your Judgment waiving the right to appeal, you would have no risk in re-marrying the date your Judgment is entered.

Even if your divorce was not done with a waiver of the right to appeal, you will most likely not have any problem if you re-marry the date the your Judgment is entered.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY EX-HUSBAND WON’T PAY SPOUSAL SUPPORT?

QUESTION: My ex-husband has not paid spousal support in months. He receiving SSI and working secretly.

MY RESPONSE:

If your ex-husband is working secretly, he is likely defrauding the Federal Government by collecting SSI payments.

SSI is designed to assist disabled, old or blind people with little or no income to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter.

If your ex-husband's secret income was not disclosed in his application for his SSI benefits, or has not been disclosed to the Social Security Administration since he began to receive it, he is risking criminal prosecution.

Unfortunately, SSI cannot be assigned or garnished for Spousal or Child Support, whereas ordinary Social Security benefits can be assigned or garnished pursuant to Section 459 of the Social Security Act).

SSI is considered a supplement to income based on need, whereas ordinary Social Security benefits are considered a substitute for income.

SSI is funded by general tax revenues, whereas ordinary Social Security benefits are funded by Social Security taxes.

If you believe that your husband is working secretly, you (or your attorney) should hire a private investigator to tail your husband to and from work, and hopefully, to observe him working and getting paid), and then you (or your attorney) should subpoena his work and pay records and his employer to a deposition to obtain the facts regarding his employment and compensation, and to the hearing on an Order to Show Cause to establish arrearages due and for an assignment of wages from his employer.

You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you and to hire a private investigator on your behalf.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW CAN I FIND A LAWYER TO REPRESENT ME IF I HAVE NO FINANCIAL RESOURCES?

QUESTION: How can I find a lawyer to represent me if I have no financial resources, but I make more than is allowed by Legal Aid?

MY RESPONSE: You might need to proceed in Pro Per, with the assistance of your local Superior Court's self-help clinic, unless you can find an attorney to represent or otherwise assist you.

If your spouse earns a good living, an attorney might be willing to take your case, either on a Limited-Scope basis to seek an attorney-fee order from the Court before taking your case on a full-service basis, or on a full-service basis from the start.

Effective January 1, 2011, as a result of the Elkins Task Force Report to the legislature, changes were made to Family Code Section 2030 to "level the playing field", by facilitating access to counsel by parties early on in the proceedings, requiring courts to make findings as to whether an award for attorney's fees and costs is appropriate, whether there is a disparity in access to funds to retain counsel, and whether one party is able to pay for the legal representation of both parties.

The appellate decision in Marriage of Hatch (1985) 169 Cal.App.3d 1213 suggested a disparity of earnings analysis, but many trial courts had ignored that decision.

Now, Family Code Section 2030 makes attorney's fee awards the standard, and not the exception.

The legislative changes were made to equalize litigating power between spouses. This section will likely advance women's rights in divorce proceedings. We need to wait until January 1, 2012 to receive new rules from the California Judicial Council to learn what information is to be submitted to the Court to support requests for attorney's fees.

Until then, we can only rely on case law, local Superior Court rules, and our experience with particular judicial officers to guide us.

If your spouse earns a significant living, don't give up before trying to find an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you in your divorce.

Even if you can't find an attorney to take your case on a full-service basis, you might be able to find an attorney to take on one or more portions of your case on a Limited-Scope basis, or you might be able to find an attorney to assist you in consultations and preparation of legal documents for you on an Unbundled Services basis.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

IN A DIVORCE, WHO GETS THE WEDDING GIFTS?

QUESTION: Is a car that my father gave us as a wedding present community property or is it mine because my dad gave it to us?

MY RESPONSE: If your dad gave it to "us", it is community property. The fact that your father was the source of the gift is irrelevant. If a card accompanied the gift, it would be important to see specifically to whom it stated that the car was given. If that card reflects that it was given only to you, the car would be your separate property. If the card is directed to you and your spouse and states that the car was given to you and your spouse, the car would be community property. If the card doesn't reflect to whom the car was given, bear in mind that wedding gifts are typically given to the new married couple, and would most likely be held to be community property. Your father's deposition could be taken; if he testifies that he gave the car just to you, that may (or may not) help to persuade the court - his credibility and bias could be called into question since he is your father.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW CAN MY HUSBAND ADOPT MY SON?

QUESTION: My son is 3 and his biological father has not wanted anything to do with him in two years. My son only knows my husband as his father. My husband wants to adopt him. Is it possible to have it done or not?

MY RESPONSE: If biodad consents to the adoption, his parental rights can be terminated and your husband can adopt your son. If biodad does not consent to the adoption, his parental rights can be terminated for the purposes of the adoption only if biodad has neither provided any child support for your son nor contacted your son for over one year. If both of those conditions are satisfied, the adoption court will most likely terminate biodad's parental rights and allow the adoption, assuming that the adoption social worker's adoption report recommends the adoption.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN SEPARATED SPOUSES GET RE-MARRIED?

QUESTION: My wife and I separated over 6 months ago, but never filed for divorce. Can we get re-married?

MY RESPONSE: If you were merely separated, you are still married to each other. If you want to reconcile, you can, and there would be no reason or need for you to re-marry. You could re-marry if you wish, for emotional purposes, i.e., to re-cement your vows and marriage, but your official date of marriage would be your original date of marriage - important for derivative Social Security benefits.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHICH STATE’S LAWS APPLY TO MY DIVORCE?

QUESTION: When you get a divorce, which laws apply: the laws of the state in which you got married or laws of the state where you get divorced?

MY RESPONSE: The laws of the state in which the divorce is filed are the laws that apply to your divorce. However, if you and your spouse had a Prenup (aka a Prenuptial Agreement, Premarital Agreement, and/or Antenuptial Agreement) which require that the laws of a different state apply to the Prenup, the court in the state in which you get divorced will likely apply the laws of the specified state with regard to the Prenup.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

MUST I TELL MY SEPARATED HUSBAND THE DETAILS ABOUT MY PREGNANCY?

QUESTION: I am currently 4 months pregnant and have been separated from my husband for 2 months. We are in different states and he wants to get a divorce after the child is born. It is a very difficult time for me and I rather not speak to him anymore. Am I obligated to inform him about how my pregnancy is going when he hasn't been supporting me or been involved in much of pregnancy? Can he take me to court if I chose to not inform him about the child? Does he have the right to be there in the delivery room?

MY RESPONSE: As the father of your unborn child, he may have certain parental rights once the child is born, but he does not have the right to be in the delivery room for the birth. Either party could, in a divorce case, seek custodial or visitation rights, and you could seek Spousal Support, Child Support, and Attorney's Fees. You don't have to inform your husband about how the pregnancy is going if you don't want to. However, after the baby is born, if you don't allow him access to your child, he could claim that you denied him frequent and continuing contact, and you could be viewed unfavorably by the Court in custody litigation for doing that.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DOES AN UNMARRIED WOMAN AUTOMATICALLY HAVE FULL CHILD CUSTODY?

QUESTION: My son's father and I are not married, but my son and I are not living with him due to his habits. Do I have full custody of my son if we haven’t gone to court?

MY RESPONSE: As your son's mother (whose parentage cannot be denied), you do have de facto full custody rights, living with your son apart from his father. The father may be able, however, to assert and receive parental rights in a Paternity case.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

SHOULD I FILE A LEGAL SEPARATION?

QUESTION: I have been married for 10 yrs. My husband and I have agreed to separate in a matter of 6 months. In the event I want to move out before that time, would I be affected in any way at the time our divorce is finalized? I did file a report on spousal abuse but neither party pressed charges. Would it be in my best interest to file a legal separation?

MY RESPONSE:

Given that you address “divorce” in your question, it appears that you may be confused about Legal Separation.

It would be in your best interest to file for a Dissolution of your Marriage (Divorce), not a Legal Separation.

You would remain married to your husband after a Legal Separation, which would divide assets and award support if appropriate, but it would not dissolve your marriage.

Separation is different from Legal Separation.

You can "Separate" from your husband at any time, by moving out or otherwise telling him that your marriage is over.

If you want to get out of your marriage, file for a Divorce.

You can do that without moving out, if you so wish, although you might be more comfortable living separately from your husband during the divorce proceedings.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WILL I GET IN TROUBLE IF I MOVE OUT OF STATE WITH MY DAUGHTER?

QUESTION: I am leaving state with my daughter and her dad has no custody of any kind and has not set up visitation. Can I get in trouble? He has no rights at all. He is just ordered to pay support. I am losing everything and have no place to go but with family out of state.

MY RESPONSE:

If you got your support through a Governmental Child Support Agency case, your risk of custody/visitation problems would be far less than if you got your support through a Paternity case.

In a Support Agency case, only support is litigated, whereas in a Paternity case, custody, visitation, support and attorney's fees are litigated.

If you got your support through a Paternity case, you would best seek to enter a written agreement with the father allowing you to move to the other state, and if he refuses, file an Order to Show Cause seeking Court permission to move away with your daughter.

You wouldn't need to do those things if you got your support through a Support Agency case, but dad may thereafter seek parentage rights in a Paternity Case.

Before you have lived in the other state for six (6) months, California will remain the child's "home state" for custody litigation. If no custody litigation has been begun in California during that period, after you have lived in the other state for over six (6) months, that state will become the child's "home state", and any custody litigation would thereafter have to take place in that state.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT ARE MY CUSTODIAL RIGHTS IF MY WIFE IS HAVING AN AFFAIR?

QUESTION: My wife is having an affair and left to be with her new man. She left my son with me. What are my rights? She wants to take him Monday for the day but I’m afraid that she will not bring him back.

MY RESPONSE:

The affair does not deprive your wife of her parental rights.

If you want custody of your son, you should retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to file a divorce case and seek your son's custody via an Order to Show Cause.

If you deprive your wife of her relationship with your son, that might backfire on you, because she is entitled to frequent and continuing contact with your son.

If she refuses to return your son to you, waste no time in finding an experienced Family Law Attorney to file your divorce case and an OSC on your behalf.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT TIPS CAN YOU GIVE ME FOR GETTING CUSTODY OF MY CHILDREN?

QUESTION: I am the father of two children and am getting separated. What is some advice or things I should know before the court hearing and meeting with the mediator to be able to get custody of them?

MY RESPONSE:

Be a great dad.

Be involved in all phases of your children's lives.

Know who their dentists and doctors are.

Take them to their doctors' and dentists' appointments.

Make sure their schools have you as a contact person in case there is any emergency, and invite the school personnel to contact you in the event of any emergency.

Meet with their teachers.

Be involved in PTA and the childrens' sports and other extracurricular activities.

Read to the childlren.

Help them with their homework.

Show them your love.

Encourage them to have good relationships with both parents.

Make them happy.

Prepare a reasonable parenting plan that takes into account your schedule, the mother's schedule, the children's needs, and both parents having frequent and continuing contact with the children.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

IS MY CHILD CUSTODY AGREEMENT FOREVER BINDING?

QUESTION: I am getting a divorce and my husband and I agreed on 50/50 custody. There is a good chance at some point I will need to move out of state. Is the likelihood of the court granting me more custody and allowing me to move out of state less likely if I have originally agreed to 50/50 and not moving out of the sate? Or will they look at all circumstances and reassess in an unbiased manner? Do I need to make sure I file how I want to be long term now?

MY RESPONSE:

If you and your ex-husband already have a final 50/50 agreed child custody order, you would have to prove to the Court that it would be in the children's best interest to allow you to move away with the children, a difficult burden for you to carry, since your ex-husband's time with the children would be drastically affected by the move.

The burden would be significantly less if your ex-husband doesn't get joint custody - i.e., under 30% of the children's timeshare.

If your agreement is not a written agreement, or if it wasn't made in open Court, you may not be bound by that agreement.

You should at least consult, if not retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you, under the circumstances you describe.

Whereas a final child custody order may not be forever binding, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to change a joint custody order of 50/50 timeshare that you agreed to, and that may affect your ability to make the move with your child/children that you may want.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO I HAVE TIME TO FILE MY ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE?

QUESTION: My wife filed first but I got her served first. We already have a mediation date and a court date. Do I have a time limit to file my order to show cause? Would she get anything by default even though I was the first to complete the initial paperwork?

MY RESPONSE:

When you refer to a "court date", you provide insufficient information for me to determine what kind of hearing is set on that date - an Order to Show Cause, a Default hearing, a Trial, or any other kind of hearing.

I can't determine from your question which case the mediation date and "court date" are set in - your wife's divorce case or your divorce case.

Parties can't serve papers in their own cases. If you personally served your divorce papers on your wife, she wasn't properly served and her case would then be the operative case. If you got your case properly served on your wife before she got you served, your case should be the operative case, but a completed Proof of Service signed by your process server would have to be filed with the Court in your case. If that has been done, a Motion to Dismiss or Quash Proceeding should be promptly filed and served in your wife's case.

If you did not file and serve a timely Response to your wife's divorce case, she may have filed a request to enter your default. If that has occurred, you need to act quickly to file a Motion to Set Aside your Default in that case.

If there is already a mediation set and a hearing ("court date") set, it is possible that your wife already filed an Order to Show Cause, but perhaps hasn't served it on you yet. If she already had the Court enter your default in her case, you may have lost the opportunity to get notice of hearings in that case. Otherwise, the "court date" that you referred to may be a default hearing.

You should go on your Court's website and look at the case summary for your case and for her case.

If there is an Order to Show Cause on calendar (which would likely be the reason that there was a "court date" set), you should go to the Clerk's office and purchase a copy of your wife's Order to Show Cause, her Income and Expense Declaration, and any other documents that she filed that you don't already have (her Response to your Petition, and what else?). If there is an Order to Show Cause or other hearing on calendar, you should file (and have served) appropriate responsive papers as soon as possible.

You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you in your divorce, without delay.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW DO I GET A DIVORCE TO ENABLE ME TO RETURN TO THE UK?

QUESTION: I am from the UK. I want to divorce my husband in California and I'm fixing to leave to go back to England. How do I go about getting the divorce?

MY RESPONSE: Your best bet would be to retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to file a Divorce case and advise you regarding the specific facts of your marriage and divorce, regarding children (if any), support (child support and/or spousal support), property division, and seeking an order for your husband to pay attorney's fees and costs.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW CAN I DIVORCE MY ABSENT WIFE?

QUESTION: If I can't find my wife and I don't know where she moved how can I get a divorce and do I have to do it in that state or can I file where I live?

MY RESPONSE:

You can file for divorce only in the state whose residency requirements you have met, which would be in the state where you live.

You would best retain an experienced family law attorney to represent you in your divorce; the attorney would have the resources available to search for your wife, and if unable to locate her, to obtain an order allowing you to serve your wife by publication.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WILL I HAVE TO PAY ALIMONY TO MY HUSBAND?

QUESTION: I’m two months pregnant by my husband who is an unemployed alcoholic. Will I have to pay him alimony when we've been married for less than two years?

MY RESPONSE:

You didn't indicate whether or not you are employed.

I assume from your question that you are contemplating, or already in, an action for Dissolution of your Marriage.

If you aren’t employed, it is extremely unlikely that the Court would order you to pay spousal support to your husband.

If you are employed, your husband could possibly get a spousal support order against you, for 1/2 the duration of the marriage.

You would best seek the services of an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you, to try to get income imputed to your husband by the Court in an effort to minimize or eliminate your risk of a Spousal Support order against you, and to seek child custody and supervised visitation orders to protect your baby from your husband’s alcoholism.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT VISITATION AND CUSTODY RIGHTS DOES A SEPARATED FATHER HAVE?

QUESTION: Can someone help me? I am newly separated from my wife, I pay $140.00 per week child support and I only get to see my son for 3 hrs a week. I am looking for some help on knowing what my visitation rights are?

MY RESPONSE:

You can file an Order to Show Cause requesting joint legal and physical custody and/or liberal visitation.

You would best at least consult an experienced family law attorney with regard to the particulars of your situation, and if you can afford to retain one, do so.

If you can't afford to retain an attorney, you can get assistance from your Superior Court's self-help clinic, to prepare the necessary documents.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WILL I RECEIVE 50% OF EVERYTHING MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE?

QUESTION: I have been married for 3-1/2 years. We have been together for 27 years. If I divorce my husband will I be entitled to half of everything? His retirement is probably twice as much as mine, plus he receives money from various investments.

MY RESPONSE:

If you were married for only 3-1/2 years, in a divorce case, you would be entitled only to 1/2 of the community property, which would be the property accumulated during the marriage.

Any property acquired by your husband in his sole name prior to the marriage would be his separate property.

Your spousal support rights would be limited in duration to 1/2 the length of the marriage.

You may or may not be entitled to "Marvin" rights regarding property accumulated prior to the marriage, and possibly, to "Palimony", but those matters are litigated in the Civil Court, not the Divorce Court, unless the cases are consolidated.

Marvin and Palimony cases are difficult to win and expensive to litigate. They are based on written, oral, or implied agreements. Unfortunately, you would not be entitled to attorney's fees in a Marvin/Palimony case, whereas you would likely be entitled to an attorney's fee award in the Divorce case.

You should at least consult, if not retain, an experienced family lawyer to represent you.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO HAVE CUSTODY OF MY NEWBORN BY DEFAULT UNTIL THE COURT MAKES A DECISION?

QUESTION: I am 6 months pregnant and am going to be filing for a divorce in California. Since I don't believe custody will be decided until after the birth, will I have custody of my newborn by default until a decision is made in court? Should I have trouble getting full custody while the baby is a breast-feeding newborn if the father tries to contest it?

MY RESPONSE:

You can always tell who the mother is - the person who gave birth to the child. Unmarried mothers of newborns have de facto custody of their children. There is a presumption that a child born during the marriage or conceived during a marriage is a child of the married father unless he is sterile or impotent.

When you say: "I don't believe custody will be decided until after birth", I don't know if you mean that the alleged father may not be the biological father, or if you mean that you and your husband won't be able to come to agreement as to custody, or if you mean the Court will not determine custody until after birth.

Judges don't award child custody before the birth of the child.

If another man may be the biological father of your child, the alleged father will need to file a Paternity case to seek custodial/visitation rights. If he signs a Declaration of Paternity, or if you name him as the father on the birth certificate, he may have greater parental rights than he might otherwise have.

If your husband is the biological father of your child, he will at least in theory have custody rights equal to yours, although many judicial officers realize that mothers have traditionally provided early care for their newborns.

Judges have ordered mothers to use a breast pump and provide that milk in bottles to the fathers to feed the infants.

It depends on the particular judicial officer, the requests of the parties, and the quality of the testimony of both parties and the evidence offered by both parties as to what custodial/visitation rights the judicial officer will award.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO I STILL HAVE TO SUPPORT MY DAUGHTER IF SHE HAS A CHILD?

QUESTION: If my 17 year old daughter, for whom I have to pay child support, is having her own child, do I still need to pay child support?

MY RESPONSE: Yes. The fact that your daughter is pregnant and will give birth does not reduce or eliminate your child support obligation.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN I COMPEL MY EX’S ATTORNEY TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME (I’M UNREPRESENTED).

QUESTION: I do not have an attorney, my Ex does. To avoid conflict with my ex, I want to only communicate through his attorney, but his attorney does not respond to me at all. Is there a law that defines lawyer’s responsibilities? And is there a law I can try to enforce to have the lawyer in the middle and not have to deal with my ex? Thank you for your help.

MY RESPONSE:

There is no law requiring your ex's attorney to communicate directly with you, other than through appropriate legal processes.

If your ex is harrassing you with calls, you could change your telephone number to an unlisted number.

If your ex is threatening you with harm, you could seek Domestic Violence Restraining Orders against him.

If you want to communicate with your ex's attorney, and you are not represented by counsel, send a letter, FAX or e-mail to your ex's attorney.

If you file and have documents served on your ex's attorney, your ex's attorney would have to serve responsive documents on you.

You could retain your own counsel, but in that event, your ex's attorney could not speak directly to you due to ethical restrictions against an attorney speaking to a represented party.

However, you would be better protected by retaining your own counsel, because your ex's attorney could use anything that you say to him/her against you, whereas anything your own attorney tells your ex's attorney can't be used against you, and an experienced Family Law Attorney would be better educated, trained, experienced and prepared than you to handle your divorce case.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW SOON DOES A DIVORCE CASE HAVE TO BE SERVED?

QUESTION: If my husband filed for divorce on Feb 18th 2011 but didn't serve me until June 22nd 2011. It it still valid?

MY RESPONSE:

The divorce case is still valid, even if your spouse delayed serving you.

It does not have to be served immediately, but it could be dismissed for failure to serve within three years, or for failure to bring to trial within five years, and there may be local rules in your county which prescribe shorter time limits.

Nevertheless, if the case hadn't been dismissed by the time it was served on you, the case is viable, and your Response was due to be filed and served within 30 days after service on you.

If you haven't yet filed and served your Response, do it without further delay, to avoid a default being entered against you.

This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP I SHOULD TAKE TO GET A DIVORCE?

QUESTION: My husband and I have been married 10.5 years with two children, both 5 years old. What is the initial step I need to take when deciding to divorce?

MY RESPONSE: The first step you should take is to have a face-to-face consultation with an experienced Family Law Attorney regarding the specifics of your marriage, children, income, your husband's income, assets, obligations, etc.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

AM I ENTITLED TO PART OF MY HUSBAND’S RETIREMENT ANNUITY?

QUESTION: I was divorced in 1972. I want to know if I am entitled to part of my ex-husbands retirement annuity. He remarried once and divorced. I never remarried. Thank you.


MY RESPONSE:

If your ex-husband's retirement annuity was paid for at least in part during your marriage to him, and if your divorce Judgment grants you an interest in that retirement annuity, you should be entitled to your community share of that retirement annuity.

You should consult with an experienced Family Law Attorney regarding the specifics of your situation, to evaluate whether or not you are entitled to a community share of the retirement annuity.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN I SERVE DIVORCE PAPERS ON SOMEONE WHO HAS RESTRAINING ORDERS AGAINST HIM?

QUESTION: There is currently a restraining order against my spouse, and the judge ordered that there be absolutely no contact between the two of us. If I were to send the divorce papers by certified mail would that be breaking the no contact rule?

MY RESPONSE:

If the restraining order is against your spouse, and not against you, you are not restricted from contacting your spouse.

However, a party cannot serve documents in his/her own case, and the restraining orders were issued for a reason, so it would not be a good idea for you to contact your spouse.

You should hire a process server to personally serve the divorce papers on your spouse.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN I REQUEST MONETARY DAMAGES FROM MY SPOUSE?

QUESTION: My divorce was bifurcated in July 2010 but the final settlement has not been reached and we will more than likely have to go to trial. My former spouse sent me a book on an after life in hell to my job at a securities firm (where he knows all correspondence must go through compliance and personal mail is not allowed), purposefully allowed our home to go into foreclosure (he had me sign a stipulation agreement to not live in the home and he would assume all PITI payments, maintenance, etc), forged my name on a military retirement SBP waiver (I have received the report and he has agreed to pay the back payments) and fraudulently has used one of my credit accounts. The first two items have placed my job in jeopardy. Can I request a monetary damage award in addition to spousal support?

MY RESPONSE:

Possibly, if appropriately sought. Some of your husband's conduct might qualify as a breach of fiduciary duty, for which you may be able to receive an award of the amount of your community share of economic loss caused by your husband, as well as sanctions and attorney's fees.

Family Code Section 1101(a) provides that a spouse has a claim against the other spouse for any breach of the fiduciary duty that results in impairment to the claimant spouse's present undivide one-half interest in the community estate. You could possibly be entitled to recover 100% of the economic loss, pursuant to Section 1101(h).

Also, if the Court determines that any of your husband's conduct comprised domestic violence, you might qualify for money damages.

If you are not now represented by counsel, you would best be served by retaining an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW SHOULD I DOCUMENT MY SPOUSE LEAVING OUR HOME?

QUESTION: My spouse left home. I want to document this issue with some authority so I may use this for any further procedures. How do I do this?

MY RESPONSE:

If you intend to divorce your spouse, and the last date that your spouse left the house you decided that your marriage was over, in your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, you can set forth that date as the date of separation.

Post-separation earnings of each party are the separate property of the respective parties.

If the parties reconciled after a prior separation, that reconciliation would likely result in the court's finding that the earnings during the prior separation were community property. Otherwise, a party could temporarily separate for a brief period of time to convert anticipated windfall income to separate property, and then reconcile.

However, after the final separation, earnings are separate property.

Prior separations may be relevant under Family Code Section 4336(b) in the calculation of the duration of the marriage for purposes of long-term spousal support, where it states that the court may consider periods of separation during the marriage in determining whether the marriage is in fact of long duration.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

HOW CAN A DAD STOP THE MOM FROM GETTING AN ABORTION?

QUESTION: My son got a girl pregnant; they are both of age, and he wants to keep the baby. She does not. Does he have any rights? Is there any way he can stop her from having an abortion if he wants to keep the baby? He told her if she did not want the baby, to sign over her right to the baby.


MY RESPONSE: Gentle efforts of persuasion would be the only possible way. He can offer to pay the prenatal care and birth expenses. He can't compel her to have the child. We live in a pro-choice society. She has the right to abort the fetus from her body.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

WHAT CAN I DO TO GET A DIVORCE AFTER MY SPOUSE WAS DEPORTED?

QUESTION: I was married in California but my husband just got deported. Can I get a divorce or annulment?

MY RESPONSE:

You can get a divorce, but he would have to be served in accordance with the laws of the place where he now resides (hopefully a Hague Convention country).

You could only get an annulment if you have valid grounds for an annulment - Courts don't hand those out just for the asking.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

DO YOU TERMINATE A SHORT MARRIAGE BY ANNULMENT?

QUESTION: After you get married and in less than a year you get divorced, is it called an annulment? Can she walk away with anything that belonged to me and not hers before we got married? What is she entitled to?

MY RESPONSE:

If a marriage doesn't work out, whether for less or more than a year, it is dissolved by Dissolution of Marriage (commonly known as divorce).

Annulment is only allowed when valid grounds for annulment exist, most commonly fraud that goes to the heart of the marriage.

Property owned by either party before marriage is that party's separate property. Your wife is not entitled to your separate property. She is only entitled to her own separate property and 1/2 of the net community property (if any exists).


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

AM I ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF THE BALANCE OF MY RETAINER?

QUESTION: If I start a divorce case and then decided to drop it completely, am I entitled to the remaining balance of the retainer fee?

MY RESPONSE: You likely would be entitled to a refund of the unearned portion of the retainer fee, except as to any genuine non-refundable retainer fee or portion of the retainer fee - specifically paid to make the attorney available to you and not for the attorney's time or services.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |

CAN I SERVE AN OSC ON MY EX-HUSBAND BY MAIL?

QUESTION: I have an Order to Show Cause that I need to serve on my ex husband. Can I do it by mail? I do not live near him.

MY RESPONSE:

A party cannot serve documents on the other party, whether by mail or otherwise.

If your husband has appeared in the case by filing and serving a Response, you can have somebody else, over the age of 18 years, serve the documents on your husband by mail, and the server would have to complete and sign a Proof of Service by Mail, a copy of which would accompany the papers that he/she serves by mail on your husband, the original of which would be filed with the Clerk of the Court.

Also, there are new rules in effect which require that, for service of post-judgment Motions or Orders to Show Cause by mail, the server must first verify the mailing address to be the actual mailing address of the party served by mail, before serving by mail, and the Proof of Service needs to set forth the facts of such verification.

If your husband didn't file a Response in the Divorce Case, you should have him personally served by a Process Server, who would provide you a completed Proof of Personal Service for you to file with the Clerk of the Court.


This educational blog is brought to you by DONALD F. CONVISER, an effective and aggressive Los Angeles Family Law Attorney and Divorce Lawyer serving clients in the courts of Los Angeles and Ventura County for over 35 years,owner of Warner Center Law Offices, with offices in Woodland Hills and Century City. Call 888.632.4447 or 818.880.8990 for a free confidential consultation with a Certified Family Law Specialist to discuss your divorce or family law issues. | www.conviser.net | www.conviserfamilylaw.com |