Category Archives: Child Support

In California You May Be Considered the “Baby Daddy” Without Being the Baby’s Daddy

PregnantCelebrities and the sometimes twisted lives they lead make for fabulous tabloid fodder – entertaining perhaps, but not usually educational per se. On the contrary, the current soap opera surrounding Kim Kardashian, Kris Humphries, and Kanye West provides the perfect scenario to learn about one aspect of California law most people may be unaware of. Kardashian and Humphries married on August 20, 2011.  Seventy-two days later, they split up and Humphries claimed the marriage was a fraud from the get-go.  In legal parlance, Humphries claimed grounds for an annulment.  Kardashian, on the other hand, wanted a divorce and denied any fraud on her part.  Leaving the intervening details to the tabloids, suffice it to say that as of January 2013 Kardashian and Humphries are still legally married. Which brings us to the twist in this story:  Kim Kardashian is pregnant and it’s no secret that the baby was sired by Kanye West.  Nonetheless, under California law, as long as Kardashian is married to Humphries, Humphries will be presumed by law to be the baby’s father.  Like other states, California has anti-bastardization laws, also known as parentage laws, which state when a mother is married, her newborn child is legally presumed to be her husband’s child. In other words, Humphries will be deemed to be the baby’s legal father unless he disputes parentage through the court system.  He will have all the rights and responsibilities of a father to include visitation rights and the duty to provide child support. Surely Kardashian and West can put together enough money for diapers and daycare, but you never can tell with some folks.  Humphries may want to take steps to protect his good name, especially since he claims he was never legally married to begin with. At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will persistently pursue the best outcome possible for you in your divorce, custody, or other family law matter.  Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas.  If you are a parent facing a custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help.  Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.

Decision to Stay Married Saves Kobe Bryant Millions

Bryant basketball The recent decision by Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa to forego divorce in favor of working out their differences is significant for several reasons. Most importantly their children will not have their lives turned upside down by the division of their family, and will continue to have Mommy and Daddy raising them together. Hopefully the decision was not financially motivated, but we would be remiss if we didn’t also point out the fact that Bryant will save millions of dollars in child support and spousal support. Based on his reported income, Bryant could have been ordered to pay $1.3 million per month in payments to Vanessa if she were awarded primary physical custody. Additionally, since the Bryants celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2011, their marriage is considered by California law to be long term. What this means is that all wages earned, and all items purchased since the day the exchanged nuptials would likely be considered community property and divided between the two accordingly. At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will aggressively pursue the best outcome possible for you in your divorce or custody proceedings.  Judy L. Burger is known for her tenacious representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas.  If you are a parent facing a divorce or custody dispute, call us today to learn more about how we can help.  Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.

My Ex-Spouse Refuses to Work – Is There Anything I Can Do?

Broke Adjusting to divorced life can be difficult, especially when struggling to make ends meet.  A child support order won’t pay the bills if the other spouse is not paying accordingly.  Some spouses who are ordered to pay child support or spousal support immediately commence the underworked and underpaid strategy.  Thankfully, California provides a mechanism for separating the vocationally disenfranchised from the lazy. If you believe your ex-spouse is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed and refuses to submit to a vocational examination, you can petition the family court to permit the examination.  The process is initiated by filing a petition and showing good cause to support your request. If the results of the examination show your ex has the capacity to generate earnings, the judge can impute income for purposes of calculating child support or spousal support.   This means the judge can determine a fictional amount of income the ex should reasonably be expected to generate. An experienced family law attorney knows the tactics used by parents who refuse to pay child support, including changing jobs frequently, moving from state to state, working for cash and childish defiance of the court order. At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will persistently pursue the best outcome possible for you in collecting back child support. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. If you are a spouse facing divorce, call us today to learn more about how we can help. Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.

How to Change Child Support in California

Changing Child Support in California
Changing Child Support in California
When your divorce was final, either you or your spouse was probably awarded primary physical custody of your children.  At that time, the court took many factors into consideration to determine what amount of child support the non-custodial parent would pay to the primary custodial parent.  Although California has statutory child support guidelines that can be used to estimate child support, the commissioner or family law judge has authority to make the final decision. With the passage of time, circumstances often change.  You may feel as though you are paying excessive child support under the circumstances, particularly if your income suffered a setback during the recent recession.  On the other hand, you may believe you are receiving too little child support due to similar circumstances on the receiving end. Some common reasons to seek a child support modification include changes in the receiving parent’s income, changes in the paying parent’s income, changes in the relative time spent with the children, changes in child care costs, and other factors related to the welfare and wellbeing of the child. There are a couple of ways to go about changing child support in California.  One method is to simply contact your former spouse and discuss the reasons you need the change.  If the two of you can reach an agreement, you should put it in writing and have it made into a court order immediately, preferably with the help of an experienced California family law attorney. If you and your former spouse cannot agree to modify child support, then you will need to seek the help of an attorney experienced in aggressively litigating family law matters to petition the court for a modification. If you feel that your child support order is due for a modification, contact an experienced, aggressive family law attorney. At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will discuss your options with you and persistently pursue the best outcome possible for you in modifying your child support order. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas.  If you are a parent looking to review your support order, call us today to learn more about how we can help.  Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.

Collecting Unpaid Child Support in California

Collecting Unpaid Child Support
Collecting Unpaid Child Support
Let’s face it.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  Your dreams of wedded bliss may have gone up in smoke when Prince Charming or Cinderella rode off into the sunset with someone else or decided family life was not all it was cracked up to be.  You may be left raising the children on a very tight budget, especially if the other parent is not paying his or her court-ordered child support payments. As adults, we have to accept the consequences of our decisions, good or bad.  But it certainly isn’t fair to make the children suffer, too.  A parent’s refusal to consistently help support his or her children is not taken lightly by courts, but nothing will change if you don’t take a stand and bring the matter to a court’s attention. In California, you have options for pursuing the payment of court-ordered child support. The state offers services to California families through the California Department of Child Services.  Another option is to use a private attorney who is experienced in family law and child support cases. An experienced family law attorney knows the tactics used by parents who refuse to pay child support, including changing jobs frequently, moving from state to state, working for cash and childish defiance of the court order.  At the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger, we will persistently pursue the best outcome possible for you in collecting back child support. Judy L. Burger is known for her aggressive representation of clients in high conflict cases in and around the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas.  If you are a spouse facing divorce, call us today to learn more about how we can help.  Call (415)293-8314 in the San Francisco Bay area or (916)631-1935 in the Sacramento area, or contact us online via our confidential inquiry form.