- DivorceWhy do lawyers say Family Law when they're talking about divorce? Isn't there a Divorce Law somewhere? Yes there is, and lots of it, but it's found in a collection of laws called the Family Code. The Family Code covers marriage as well as divorce, but the getting married part is tiny compared to the getting divorced part, just the way getting married is quick and easy but getting divorced is long and usually hard. Sometimes I think the Family Code has the wrong name. Most of it is more like the Unfamily Code. Whatever. If you're thinking about getting divorced or in the middle of one, you ought to know a little something about the Family Code. So here we go. Brace yourselves - this is like homework, and it's not funny.
- Child SupportEx-husbands and ex-wives need to be conscious of the modifiability of support orders contained in their divorce judgments. There are three basic rules to keep in mind. First, it is impossible to agree in a Marital Settlement Agreement that child support is not modifiable, and a judge can’t order nonmodifiable child support. It’s illegal. Second, an ex-husband or ex-wife who wants to
- Child Custody and VisitationFirst is court-sponsored mediation. This only happens if you’re already going to court because one party has filed an “Order to Show Cause” why a child custody order in that party’s favor should be made by the judge. (An Order to Show Cause asks the judge to order somebody to do something.
- Premarital AgreementWhen a marriage fails, a prenup nearly always disadvantages one party over the other. As a result, a prenup will almost always be challenged and litigated. Fortunately the legal profession has devised stratagems to make prenups bulletproof. Some of these may seem overly elaborate and expensive, but, if a premarital agreement is truly worth doing, it is worth doing right. If you are contemplating marriage and feel uncomfortable with the likely application of community property rules to your financial situation, you would be well-advised to consult an attorney who specializes in family law and has experience in drawing premarital agreements.
- Spousal SupportThe California Family Code was enacted effective January 1, 1994 to consolidate in one place previously enacted laws dealing with marriage, divorce (more accurately, dissolution of marriage), spousal support (otherwise known as alimony)...
- Restraining OrderRestraining order prohibiting the removal of the children from the County. The restraining order will go into a law enforcement database accessible by police and sheriffs. A violation will mean jail and contempt of court. Most people will obey the restraining order once we serve it on them.
- Business DisputesMr. Prowse is an exceptionally talented and brilliant lawyer. He was able to understand my legal issue and provide me with very valuable insight and direction in how to manage a very complicated business law issue. He saved me a great deal of money and gave me a plan to approach this conflict in a clear and focused way. He's a life saver.
- Real Estate LitigationCustom homes ownership and title insurance including deeds, boundary disputes, easement disputes, and adverse possession. Easement lawsuits are particularly interesting from a purely legal viewpoint, and I have testified as an expert in the area. Successful adverse possession cases are rare in California, but I've done one. I've also been corporate counsel for a large homebuilder, which was an extremely valuable experience.
- Premises LiabilityOther nightmares are premises liability and uninhabitability. If the tenant falls through the deck, the landlord is strictly liable for the tenant’s injuries, even if the tenant never complained about the deck and the landlord had no idea it had termites. Uninhabitability prevents eviction for non-payment of rent. That sounds fine in theory, but uninhabitability now extends to things your grandparents would have fixed themselves or ignored. And now there’s that new four letter word, MOLD! Add allegations of mold by the tenant and things get seriously ugly under landlord tenant laws. If you insist on becoming an amateur landlord, hire a professional management company to handle repairs and deal with tenants. A professional management company is in a much better position than you are to handle those tasks. They also stand between you and the tenant, their insurance as well as your own protects you, and you can yell at them instead of the mirror. If you insist on being hands on, at least get a lawyer to handle evictions for you. If you attempt to navigate the unlawful detainer minefield yourself, you will probably blow it. Getting a lawyer to form your own corporation or limited liability company to own your rental property will also help protect your nest egg.
- Construction LitigationConstruction litigation, both large and small, involving mechanics' liens, nondisclosure, mass grading, infrastructure installation, landslides, and cracked slabs.
- Real Estate TransactionsThe California Association of Realtors ( CAR ) use a form of contract entitled, “Residential Purchase and Sale Agreement and Escrow Instructions,” which is a difficult document for the average home buyer and seller to understand. We’ll call it the Real Estate Purchase Agreement. Over the years the Residential Purchase and Sale Agreement has grown from a few to many pages and grown more complicated at the same time. Nonetheless, it is the standard contract in California for buying and selling a home because the vast majority of real estate sales agents in California are members of
- Easement
- Landlord-Tenant DisputesLandlord tenant law. Landlords now face complicated advance notice requirements to inspect their own property, and even more complicated ones to show their property for sale.
- Auto Accidents
- Bankruptcy
- ForeclosureFending off foreclosures has become a cottage industry in California and around the nation. What does a typical case look like? We start with a homeowner who borrowed more money than he could repay, usually with an adjustable rate mortgage of some variety. The homeowner had plenty of encouragement to overextend himself, from the halls of Congress down to his friendly mortgage broker, who was happy to provide assurance that when the ridiculously low monthly payment adjusted to a ridiculously high one, the loan could be refinanced with another loan with another ridiculously low one. Proof of income and substantial down payments were so 1950's.