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 |
Saturday, December 31, 2011
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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
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
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
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