MANY Pilipinos have misconceptions or are misinformed about family law here in the United States, specifically, in the State of California. They tend to not know their rights or the parameter of rights that deal with the area of family law. These include the areas of divorces, custody, child/spousal support, paternity actions, wills/trusts, property rights, and restraining orders etc.
In the years that I have practiced family law in Southern California, I found that my Pilipino clients have to be briefed about the law and what the law could and would provide for them. They tend to bring their own knowledge of the law from the Philippines and expect that the Philippine law would also apply here in the United States. This is rarely the case and is a cause of adverse rulings against them. California state laws are very progressive in this area and tend to be followed or adopted by the other states in this country. That is why it is very important that we Pilipinos know our rights in this area so that we could plan ahead of time before it is too late. When you are dealing with matters important as the area of “family”, you must be cautious. Contrary to what many Pilipinos believe, titles to properties do not necessarily determine whose property it belongs to. Property rights are determined by community property laws. Under community property laws, all assets and debts acquired by either spouse during marriage is community property, with certain exceptions.
For instance, if my husband has a credit card, under his name only and used that credit card to buy a motorcycle for $5000.00 that only he uses, then that debt and that motorcycle is ½ mine. That motorcycle is community property because my husband bought it at the time when we were married and living together as husband and wife. That credit card debt of $5000.00 is also a community debt because it was also incurred when we were married and living together as husband and wife. Therefore, I’m stuck. I now have a ½ of a motorcycle and possibly a $2500.00 debt that I never wanted.
The scenario above is one example of how property rights operate in California. Unfortunately, some of my Pilipino clients did not know this and assumed that whatever is his name is his and whatever is under her name is hers. Understanding your rights in family law could and would protect you from unexpected surprises. Our offices offer free initial consultations to help you try to understand your rights.
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Ethelene F. Salas, Esq. is a practicing family law attorney. Ms. Salas is a Filipino-American born in the Philippines, raised in the United States, and speaks Tagalog fluently. The Law Offices of Ethelene F. Salas is located at two locations – the main office at 100 N. Barranca St., Suite 700, West Covina, CA 91791 and affiliated offices at 18000 Studebaker Road, Suite 700, Cerritos, CA 90703. To schedule an appointment with her, please call (626) 858-4646 or visit www.EFS-Law.com.
