QUESTION: I want my child to receive financial support, however I am hesitant to go about doing so because the father is self-employed and has no proof of income. He does not keep money in the bank for his personal reasons. Would this even be worth bringing to the court? Can he not easily lie about assets and income, anyway?
MY RESPONSE: Contact your local public Child Support Agency (in Los Angeles, that would be the Child Support Services Dept.) and request that they obtain Child Support from the father. That way, you don't incur attorney's fees that you would incur if you hired a private Family Law Attorney to file and prosecute a Paternity case to seek Child Support from the father.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
CAN I SUE MY EX HUSBAND FOR BACK SUPPORT?
QUESTION: Back in 1993 I had a court order for my ex husband to pay child support until my son turned 18. I only received a handfull of payments over the years. Although my son is 20 now, is it possible to take him back to court and sue him for the back support I never received ?
MY RESPONSE: Most likely. There used to be a statute of limitations for collection of Child Support Arrearages. That statute of limitations was subsequently eliminated by the legislature. However, it is unlikely that the elimination is retroactively applicable. For all amounts which were due after the effective date of the legislature's elimination of the statute of limitations on Child Support Arrearages which your ex-husband failed to pay, he owes you those amounts plus 10% per annum interest until those amounts are fully paid.
MY RESPONSE: Most likely. There used to be a statute of limitations for collection of Child Support Arrearages. That statute of limitations was subsequently eliminated by the legislature. However, it is unlikely that the elimination is retroactively applicable. For all amounts which were due after the effective date of the legislature's elimination of the statute of limitations on Child Support Arrearages which your ex-husband failed to pay, he owes you those amounts plus 10% per annum interest until those amounts are fully paid.
CAN A PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT WORK IN MY FAVOR?
QUESTION: If I want the marriage to work but she doesn't and just wants to take 50% of everything or more including alimony, will a prenuptial agreement work in my favor and up to what percentage? If before she married me she signed that if she divorced me she would not take anything, not even alimony, will that work?
MY RESPONSE: If you had a well-drafted Prenuptial Agreement, prepared, reviewed and signed in accordance with Californa's Prenuptial Agreement statutes, where both parties reviewed it with his and her respective attorney at least a month, if not more, prior to the wedding, it may be upheld by the Divorce Court. But if it was an informal document prepared shortly before the wedding without the benefit of consultation with independent counsel and without the required Disclosures and appropriate waivers, it is unlikely that the Court would uphold the agreement. The Prenuptial Agreement can provide whatever the parties agree that it will provide, in terms of property ownership, Spousal Support, etc. However, in a divorce, the Court could disallow unconscionable terms in a Prenuptial Agreement or even an entire unconscionable Prenuptial Agreement.
MY RESPONSE: If you had a well-drafted Prenuptial Agreement, prepared, reviewed and signed in accordance with Californa's Prenuptial Agreement statutes, where both parties reviewed it with his and her respective attorney at least a month, if not more, prior to the wedding, it may be upheld by the Divorce Court. But if it was an informal document prepared shortly before the wedding without the benefit of consultation with independent counsel and without the required Disclosures and appropriate waivers, it is unlikely that the Court would uphold the agreement. The Prenuptial Agreement can provide whatever the parties agree that it will provide, in terms of property ownership, Spousal Support, etc. However, in a divorce, the Court could disallow unconscionable terms in a Prenuptial Agreement or even an entire unconscionable Prenuptial Agreement.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T HAVE THE CURRENT ADDRESS TO SERVE SOMEBODY?
QUESTION: I need to serve someone and don't have a current address for them. Do I go to the last known address and serve whoever is there or do I not try to serve the papers at all?
MY RESPONSE: You need to serve the person who is to be served. I assume that you are referring to a spouse to be served in a divorce case. If you can't locate your spouse for purposes of service, you would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney, who would have the resources available to have a due diligence search performed in an effort to locate your spouse, and if unable to locate your spouse, who would be able to apply for an obtain an Order for Publication of Summons, to enable your spouse to be served by Publication.
MY RESPONSE: You need to serve the person who is to be served. I assume that you are referring to a spouse to be served in a divorce case. If you can't locate your spouse for purposes of service, you would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney, who would have the resources available to have a due diligence search performed in an effort to locate your spouse, and if unable to locate your spouse, who would be able to apply for an obtain an Order for Publication of Summons, to enable your spouse to be served by Publication.
DO I HAVE TO TELL MY EX-HUSBAND THAT I HAVE REMARRIED?
QUESTION: I am divorced and remarried and still receiving alimony checks, I'm I legally required to my ex-husband that I am married?
MY RESPONSE: Yes, you are required to tell your ex-husband that you have remarried. The Judgment provides that you receive Spousal Support payments until your death or remarriage. You should refund all Spousal Support payments that your ex-husband paid after you remarried. If you don't notify your ex-husband, and continue to receive and cash his Spousal Support payments, you will be committing fraud and deceit, subjecting you to a potential civil lawsuit and/or criminal prosecution.
MY RESPONSE: Yes, you are required to tell your ex-husband that you have remarried. The Judgment provides that you receive Spousal Support payments until your death or remarriage. You should refund all Spousal Support payments that your ex-husband paid after you remarried. If you don't notify your ex-husband, and continue to receive and cash his Spousal Support payments, you will be committing fraud and deceit, subjecting you to a potential civil lawsuit and/or criminal prosecution.
HOW CAN I LEGALLY DISOWN MY CHILD?
QUESTION: How can I legally disown my child to make it where I am no longer her mother and my husband makes her no longer her father. Can I hand her to a relative or to adoption? How would i go about either one?
MY RESPONSE: Parents can't just "disown" their children. If your daughter is a problem child, she probably would not be a good candidate for an adoption, but you and your husband can contact adoption agencies to investigate the possibility. If your daughter is 12 years old or older, her consent would be required for her to be adopted. You can't legally give her away to a relative, although a relative could seek to become her legal guardian through the Court.
MY RESPONSE: Parents can't just "disown" their children. If your daughter is a problem child, she probably would not be a good candidate for an adoption, but you and your husband can contact adoption agencies to investigate the possibility. If your daughter is 12 years old or older, her consent would be required for her to be adopted. You can't legally give her away to a relative, although a relative could seek to become her legal guardian through the Court.
HOW SOON CAN I SEEK SOLE CUSTODY OF MY UNBORN CHILD?
QUESTION: I'm currently 7 months pregnant & my babys father has just been in & out of our lives. He currently found a new gf & is now completely not interested in our childs life. He will not cooperate with me to get things settled custody wise & says he refuses to take a dna test. I just found out he had a kid he signed his rights over. He has two kids already & I'm not sure if to just get him to sign his rights over to me or get sole custody of the child. His interest isnt there for our baby. He has not helped out with any of the things the baby needs like his crib. His only intentions are to try & control me & I know its not for him wanting to be there for our son... If he signs his rights over to me would he still be responsible for child support? Could I get sole custody of my child? Should I just have him sign his rights away & how soon can & should start the process? Thank you for your time!
MY RESPONSE: File a Paternity case without further delay, and have the father served. Under the circumstances that you relate, you likely will receive full custody of your child, and based on the father's income, you may receive a child support order plus orders requiring him to pay some and/or all of the birth-related expenses. You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you, or at least have a face-to-face consultation with an experienced Family Law Attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, you may qualify for an attorney fee order if the father is employed, but you would have to apply for an attorney fee order, in that event. Also, if you can't afford an attorney, you can go to your local Superior Court's self-help clinic for advice and assistance from a volunteer lawyer. You can start the process now, before the child is born. A father can't sign his "rights" to a child away (other than for an adoption), although he can agree that he won't have any child custody or visitation. If the father has no child custody or visitation, his Child Support obligation would be the highest, because Child Support is based on the parties' respective incomes and the percentage of the Father's custodial timeshare.
MY RESPONSE: File a Paternity case without further delay, and have the father served. Under the circumstances that you relate, you likely will receive full custody of your child, and based on the father's income, you may receive a child support order plus orders requiring him to pay some and/or all of the birth-related expenses. You would best retain an experienced Family Law Attorney to represent you, or at least have a face-to-face consultation with an experienced Family Law Attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, you may qualify for an attorney fee order if the father is employed, but you would have to apply for an attorney fee order, in that event. Also, if you can't afford an attorney, you can go to your local Superior Court's self-help clinic for advice and assistance from a volunteer lawyer. You can start the process now, before the child is born. A father can't sign his "rights" to a child away (other than for an adoption), although he can agree that he won't have any child custody or visitation. If the father has no child custody or visitation, his Child Support obligation would be the highest, because Child Support is based on the parties' respective incomes and the percentage of the Father's custodial timeshare.
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