If you are getting divorced and have children, you may question how to tell your kids about the divorce. They may need help learning to cope with all the changes in their lives. Parents, and other adults who love the children, may need tips on helping kids survive divorce. We will look at few tips in this article.
After telling your children about the divorce, watch for the following emotions and behavior:
At every stage, parents may have the opportunity to help their children cope.
The parents’ behavior goes a long way toward helping kids learn to survive and thrive during a divorce. With that in mind:
In addition, negotiate your marital settlement and parenting plan in good faith. Try to come up with a plan that helps your kids survive divorce.
Laws, statutes, and regulations cannot eliminate feelings of rage, revenge, unworthiness, and grief. It may be difficult to control your emotions and actions. However, judges will assess how parents relate to their children when deciding child custody arrangements. Courts are required to keep the children’s best interests in mind, even when the parents struggle with addressing their kids’ feelings along with their own.
It’s not always easy, though. Having an attorney help with a divorce may ease some of your tension.
Judy Burger is a California Certified Family Law Specialist, and founder of the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger. Please call our offices at 415-293-8314 to set up an appointment with one of our attorneys. We assist clients along the Northern to Central California Coast.
Sarah felt it was time to end her marriage to Albert. They’d been together seven years. After the honeymoon, their relationship shifted, work tugged them apart, and they rarely spent time together any more. However, Sarah wondered if she needed grounds for divorce in California? She couldn’t just ‘dissolve’ their marriage without some big problem like infidelity or domestic violence, right? Let’s address this question and others you may have about no-fault divorce.
The fact that you want to dissolve your marriage is a reason. It’s not necessary to make allegations of adultery, abuse, or abandonment. Instead, you simply file the papers to dissolve your marital bonds citing something like irreconcilable differences or irreparable breakdown of the marriage.
California was actually the first state to pass a no-fault divorce law in 1969. All other states now allow no-fault divorce.
Well, it’s not just a 1984 movie starring Ryan O’Neal and Drew Barrymore. You’ve probably heard the term mentioned in the news, though.
A strict legal definition of irreconcilable differences means that the two parties face obstacles to continuing their marriage. Basically, their situation has become too bad to fix.
Before no-fault divorce, the party filing for dissolution had to prove to the court that the marriage should be terminated.
Divorces take at least six months to finalize. However, the length of time it takes to resolve all issues varies greatly depending on those issues. For example, a marriage with children or extensive financial holdings may take longer than a less complex situation.
Generally, though, a no-fault divorce is less complicated than a ‘fault’ divorce. It’s not necessary to gather evidence to present to the judge who would then decide whether or not your marriage could end.
It’s not necessary to prove wrongdoing to get a divorce in California. However, a spouse’s bad behavior or misconduct may affect property division, child support, child custody, and spousal support. Talk to an experienced California divorce attorney to learn more about your options.
Ms. Burger is a California Certified Family Law Specialist and founder of the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger. We assist clients in California’s Northern to Central Coast, including San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Gold River, Santa Barbara, Ventura/Oxnard, and surrounding communities.
Please call us at (415) 293-8314 to schedule a confidential appointment with one of our attorneys.
Divorce is hard enough for most people. However, when one – or both – of the parties serve in the military, the process may feel more like a 20-mile hike with full pack than a court proceeding. While military divorces do require a few extra steps, it’s usually possible to get over any obstacles that arise.
In a California divorce, at least one party must meet the following conditions regarding residency:
A military divorce can be filed in California if:
As with any divorce, the person who wants the divorce can file for legal separation if he or she does not meet the residency requirements.
Branches of the military handle certain issues differently for servicemembers than civilians. For example, a divorced spouse may be able to use base housing in some circumstances. Benefits, including health care, may still be offered to some divorced spouses. Other benefits like commissary and exchange privileges may be appropriate depending on the length of the marriage and other factors.
Divorce is a civil matter handled by civil courts. However, active duty service members may be able to stop or delay an action taken in a divorce.
California divorce laws govern much of the divorce proceeding. However, other laws relate to military divorces:
To get through your military divorce, find an attorney with a deep understanding of California divorce law and military divorce procedures.
To discuss how to handle military divorce issues, please call us at 415-293-8314. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger assist clients in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Marin County, Santa Barbara, Ventura/Oxnard, San Jose, Gold River (Sacramento), and surrounding communities.
Myths are widely-held beliefs that are actually incorrect. Even California divorces face a few myths, especially about spousal support. Fortunately, those myths are easy to debunk using California divorce laws.
This belief is false. According to California law, the court may consider the following factors when deciding whether either party will receive spousal support:
The courts may decide not to give spousal support to a woman based on the factors listed above.
Also easily debunked. California law does not state that women can receive support under the circumstances listed above. Instead, it refers to the parties to the divorce.
For example, it is uncommon for wives who earn more than their husbands to receive support payments. In fact, they may be ordered to pay spousal support to their ex-husbands if the conditions are right.
This is a common misunderstanding. California law does mention marriages of long duration, which means marriages of 10 years or more.
However, the law states that the court “retains jurisdiction” indefinitely for marriages that meet the long duration test. Whether a party receives spousal support or not is still determined by the court’s consideration of the factors listed in Myth #1 above.
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger are experienced at all phases of divorce proceedings, including spousal support. Call us at 415-293-8314 to schedule a private appointment or visit our website. We maintain offices in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Marin County, Santa Barbara, Ventura/Oxnard, San Jose, Gold River (Sacramento), and surrounding communities.
There’s no denying that fathers are important in their children’s lives. In fact, studies have shown that a dad’s relationship with his children impacts their emotional and social development, as well as their future success. That important bond may become estranged when moms and dads split up. When it comes to dads and divorce, men have the same rights and obligations when it comes to custody and visitation agreements.
In the past, mothers often were given preference in custody decisions. However, California courts famously rule ‘in the best interests of the child’ for child-related issues. Sometimes handing custody to the moms is not best. When considering moms, kids, dads and divorce, judges look at several factors to find the right custody and visitation arrangements:
Fathers who bond with their children, who can support their children, and who have a clean record generally are likely to get favorable custody and visitation arrangements.
The financial obligations of raising children are not the responsibility of only one parent. In fact, both parents are expected to provide financial support for their kids.
When fathers have primary legal or physical custody, they have the right to expect child support from the children’s mother.
Kids should never be pawns sacrificed so one parent or the other can ‘win’ the divorce battle. Moms and dads alike should focus on what is best for their children. So, it’s important to remember what was mentioned above – fathers are important in their children’s lives.
Both parents have the responsibility of supporting their children. However, support comes in many forms, which includes just being there for the kids.
Dads may level the custody-and-support playing field by:
Dads, you don’t have to give up your kids just because your marriage ended. You can have awesome relationships and liberal custody arrangements. Considering a father’s influence over his children, it’s certainly a relationship worth protecting.
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger are experienced at all phases of divorce proceedings. Call us at 415-293-8314 to schedule a private appointment or visit our website. We maintain offices in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Marin County, Santa Barbara, Ventura/Oxnard, San Jose, Gold River (Sacramento), and surrounding communities.
Joyce, a successful singer/songwriter, recently married her high school sweetheart. Aspiring novelist Kristen and her agent have been married for eight years. And Jack has spent countless hours in his garage workshop honing his creations hoping for a big payoff someday with the help of his wife of eleven years. Each of these people may find themselves facing a tricky issue if they decide to divorce – what to do with the royalties earned from their creative works or inventions.
California is one of nine states that use community property as the basis for property division. This means that property and debts obtained during a marriage are presumed to be owned 50/50. Splitting a bank account between two people is fairly easy. However, dividing less tangible assets – like royalties – typically is more difficult.
A royalty is a sum of money paid to another person in exchange for using their property. Royalties may be paid to use someone’s:
An item that generates royalties is an asset, as is the income generated. In fact, royalties typically are reported as business income.
Property division can be a major part of a divorce case. A couple’s assets generally are separate property, community property, or commingled. How royalties are split may depend on when a royalty-producing work was:
Generally, work product or inventions created or developed during a marriage are community property. If the work was done prior to the marriage, but the spouse contributed to its success in some way, royalties could be split. Finally, an invention created during a marriage but not patented until after the marriage may still generate income for the ex-spouse.
A divorcing couple can certainly address royalty issues when negotiating their marital settlement:
Complicated divorces involving royalty-producing assets typically involve more than state divorce laws.
They are an undeniably important asset and a potential source of income. The spouse who produces the intellectual property or work of art may want to keep all the royalties. However, that person’s spouse may be entitled to a percentage.
Judy Burger is a California Certified Family Law Specialist, and founder of the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger. She uses her extensive experience with business-related valuations to help clients with business and royalty properties. Please call our offices at 415-293-8314 to set up an appointment with one of our attorneys. We assist clients along the Northern to Central California Coast.