When a couple divorces, it is easy to divide physical items. One of the parties simply takes possession of items such as home furnishings, tools, jewelry, and even cars. Other property is more difficult to evaluate and divide. This is the case with employee stock options.
Stock options are granted by a company to an employee, usually managers and executives. Stock options represent the right of the employee, at some point in the future, to purchase company stock if he or she chooses to do so. Sometimes, a company gives an employee stock options to attract the employee to come to work for it; other times, a company offers stock options to try to keep an employee or to compensate him or her for future work. If and when a stock option “vests”, the employee has the right to buy the company’s stock.
A basic understanding of property rights in California is essential to understanding how family courts deal with stock options. You can learn more about these rights here.
In addition to understanding basic property law, it is important to understand what the term “vest” means in relation to stock options. The date a stock option “vests” is the date upon which an employee has the right to buy the stock. This is known as “exercising” the option right.
The first step in determining how to handle stock options in a divorce is deciding who owns the option. Courts have broad discretion on how this is done. However, two different approaches are typically used, both of which are named after the cases that established them. They are known as the Hug formula and the Nelson formula; they are also known as time rules. In essence, the sooner after the date of separation an option vests, the larger the community interest in them.
Which formula is applied, usually depends on the reason the company offered the stock option in the first place. The Hug formula typically applies to options that were given to the employee to attract him to work. The Nelson formula is usually used when the options were offered to keep an employee or to compensate him for future work. While many people assume that options that vest after the date of separation are separate property, this is simply not true when the Nelson time rule is applied.
Valuing stock options properly requires an attorney who understands all the law and who is experienced in making the strongest arguments for her client. To obtain the counsel of just such an attorney, please contact the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger. We have extensive experience in divorce, child custody, and child support matters. Call today to learn more: (415) 293-8314.
If you are the debtor in a family law judgment case who needs to defend against a collection action, your attorney may choose from a variety of options in your defense.
One of the tools used to defend collection by way of garnishment is a Claim of Exemption. Your attorney will prepare a document explaining why your wages should be excluded. Certain types of income and property are exempted from garnishment by law. After your attorney files your claim of exemption, the other party has ten days to oppose your claim.
Similarly, you can claim an exemption on certain types of property if a judgment creditor is seeking to impose a levy on your real or personal property. The claim of exemption should be prepared by your attorney, who knows which types of income and property are excluded from being subject to a levy.
If the other party submits a timely response to your claim of exemption, then the court will schedule a hearing and a judge will make the final decision regarding the exemptions.
If you are facing garnishment or levy, or if you are seeking to collect money from a family law judgment, call our office today. 
If a former spouse or partner owes you money based on a judgment in a family law case, it is important for you to know that in California the collection of money from a family law judgment is the responsibility of the person to whom the money is owed. In other words, if you don’t take steps to enforce payment, the court won’t do it for you.
You can begin collecting as soon as a money judgment is entered. Filing an appeal or a bankruptcy petition will not release the payer from the responsibility to pay judgments related to family support.
If the responsible party fails to pay you on or before the court-ordered deadline, you should take steps to seek payment. Statistically, the longer a debt is owed, the harder it is to collect. Don’t waste precious time wondering whether you should do anything. If a court ordered your former spouse or partner to pay, then he or she should be required to do so.
Most importantly you should contact an aggressive and caring family law attorney. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can get started on a plan to collect the money you are owed.
Many couples rushed at the chance to get married when Massachusetts passed a law allowing same-sex marriages back in 2004. From all over the country, couples flew to Massachusetts, staying only long enough to get married before returning to their home states. Unfortunately, just like many heterosexual marriages, things don’t always work out and many same-sex partners have decided to go their separate ways. This is where some same-sex couples are running into a problem.
If the state where a same-sex couple resides still does not recognize same-sex marriages, then the couple cannot get divorced. The obvious rationale is you can’t get divorced if you are not legally married.
In order to get legally divorced, a same-sex couple must seek a divorce in a state where the union is recognized. Most if not all states require residency for a minimum period of time before you can seek a divorce.
So, if a couple weds in Massachusetts but lives in Mississippi and they later decide to call it quits, they are typically stuck in the legal union, at least until they devise a solution to the lack of jurisdiction problem so they can get divorced in a same-sex marriage state.
Thankfully, California provides an option for same-sex couples who got married in California but now live in another state.
Same-sex married couples who got married in California but now live in another state that does not recognize same-sex marriages can file for divorced in California, despite California’s standard residency requirements for divorce.
If you need assistance getting divorced from your same-sex spouse, contact us to learn more about the filing requirements and limits on the court’s jurisdiction.
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When someone files a credible report regarding a child in danger, an investigation must be conducted by either a social worker or the police. They will decide if the child appears to be in imminent danger and whether it is necessary to remove the child from his or her home.
Police or the social workers may decide that a child should be placed in temporary foster care for his or her safety if they believe the child was neglected, molested, or abused. The child may be sent to live with a relative, to the other legal parent if the parents do not live together, or to a foster home or shelter.
Once a child is removed from the home, social services should conduct a deeper investigation about the home environment, the parent or other caretakers, and the child. After an investigation, social services will make recommendations regarding what action they consider to be best for the child’s safety and personal wellbeing. They may recommend filing a petition in court to have a child declared “dependent.”
If you believe you have been wrongfully targeted by social services and need someone on your side to fight for you and your child, seek the help of an experienced family law attorney as soon as possible. A delay could be used against you by social services later.
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