ONE traditional way of obtaining permanent residency for most immigrants is through a petition by a US citizen spouse. As a spouse of a US Citizen, an alien is considered an immediate relative and entitled to immediately apply for a green card inside the United States.  This is usually done by simultaneously filing an I-130…

GENERALLY, in California, property acquired by a spouse prior to marriage is considered separate property under family code section 770 while those acquired after marriage are considered community assets under family code section 760.  How do you characterize real property purchased prior to marriage but with the mortgage principal paid down using community income or…

AN action under the DVPA (Domestic Violence Protection Act) seeking a restraining order often is necessary to protect parties from abuse or domestic violence perpetrated by the other spouse or significant other.   At times, it is effective in preventing harm to one of the parties.   At the same time, this process is sometimes…

THERE are situations in both Divorce and Child Support cases where the Summons and Petition resulted to a default against one party for failing to respond on time.  In certain situations, the defaulted party failed to respond on time because he or she did not even know that he or she was served with a…

MOST couples that want out of a marriage in California usually file for Divorce.  There are circumstances though that allow a couple to have their marriage “voided” rather than “dissolved.”  There is a big difference between the two concepts.  With a voided marriage, it restores the couple to status of unmarried person as if they…

“In the area of immigrant visas, a same sex US Citizen spouse or legal permanent resident spouse may now petition for an immigrant visa for their spouse as long as the marriage was valid in the place of celebration. Validity of the marriage is not based on the place of domicile.” On June 26, 2013,…

IN a divorce proceeding, people sometimes have a misconception that the only assets or properties that have to disclose assets and properties situated in California. Even worst, sometimes parties even think that since an asset or property is situated in a different country or state, that property is not community property and not subject to…

A TENANT may terminate his or her tenancy on written notice to the landlord that the tenant, or a household member, is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking or elder or dependent adult abuse. Civil Code § 1946.7 Code of Civil Procedure Section 1946.7 provides  (a) A tenant may notify the…

CALIFORNIA law on the nature of spouses’ rights and obligations with respect to management and control of community property has evolved over the last thirty years from less stringent “good faith” standards to heightened “confidential duty” and “fiduciary duty’ standards.  Under current law, the duties owed between spouses in transactions between themselves are the same…

ALL property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California is community property.  Family Code 760.  However, there are situations in which the marriage may be held to be null and void.  These situations include, but are not limited to entering into a bigamous marriage, fraud…

ON June 26, 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional in the landmark case US. V. Windsor.  The BIA shortly thereafter issued a decision in Matter of Zeleniak holding that DOMA is no longer an impediment in recognizing same-sex couples under the immigration and…

FAMILY Code 760 provides that all property acquired by the spouse during the marriage is community property.  That means each spouse has a half interest on any assets that are acquired during the marriage, with certain exceptions, since it is generally characterized as community property. On the same token, Family Code 771(a) provides that earnings…

MANY people try to file and open their own divorce case without an attorney in an effort to save on legal fees.  Often, the self-represented divorce litigant would seek the assistance of the court facilitator’s office in preparing the papers to open their own divorce case.  However once the divorce case is opened, many self-represented…

IMMIGRANTS sometimes find themselves in immigration removal proceedings (deportation) because they have obtained their green cards through fraud and or misrepresentation.  A common example would be married children of US citizens who lie to the US Embassy about their marital status by stating that they are single in order to obtain permanent residency.  Another common…

CONSIDER the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides  primary custody of the children  to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation.  The parties begin to file separate tax returns.  What are the tax consequences of the non custodial parents with regards to claiming the children in his or her return? A…

ALL property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in California is community property.  Family Code 760.  However, there are situations in which the marriage may be held to be null and void.  These situations include, but are not limited to entering into a bigamous marriage, fraud…

THE purpose of spousal support is not defined by the legislature in that its purpose varies according to the facts and circumstances of each case.  The facts and circumstances of a particular case may be such which call for no spousal support, or for support for a very limited period of time, with the purpose…

IN a divorce proceeding, people sometimes have a misconception that the only assets or properties that have to disclose assets and properties situated in California. Even worst, sometimes parties even think that since an asset or property is situated in a different country or state, that property is not community property and not subject to…

IT is very common for beneficiaries of family based petition to wait many years before their petition’s priority date becomes current.  This is usually  the case with US Citizen parent petitions to adult son or daughter. This is also common among petition’s between Siblings.  What happens when the Petitioner dies?  Are all those years of…

COUPLES get divorced for various reasons.  California is a no fault state.  The reasons why a couple is getting divorced are often irrelevant to the issues of the family law case.  Divorce is often a difficult and negative experience for most families.  However, getting divorce may have some unintended benefits in the immigration law arena. …

THERE are situations in both Divorce and Child Support cases where the Summons and Petition resulted to a default against one party for failing to respond on time.  In certain situations, the defaulted party failed to respond on time because he or she did not even know that he or she was served with a…

CONSIDER the common divorce scenario where the divorce judgment provides  primary custody of the children  to one spouse while the other spouse only gets visitation.  The parties begin to file separate tax returns.  What are the tax consequences of the non custodial parents with regards to claiming the children in his or her return? A…

DIVORCED parties are sometimes ordered to pay child support and spousal support in the divorce judgment.  The support orders are generally based on the parties’ financial situation and custody arrangements at the time of the settlement or trial.  However, what if your income decreases after the divorce or what if your spouse’s income increases after…

CHANGES in the economy and in the employment lanscape has made it more difficult to pursue certain traditional paths to obtaining permanent residency in the United States such as employment based. H1-b visas has been affected by the visa annual visa cap and does not lead to a green card.  In addition, it is a…

IN many professions, bonus is a material part of a professional’s compensation.  It is often a challenge characterizing bonuses in the context of a divorce case especially if the bonus has not yet been received by the employee spouse as of the date of separation. Marriage of Finby involved a wife who worked as a…

IN many professions, bonus is a material part of a professional’s compensation.  It is often a challenge characterizing bonuses in the context of a divorce case especially if the bonus has not yet been received by the employee spouse as of the date of separation. Marriage of Finby involved a wife who worked as a…

FAMILY Code 760 provides that all property acquired by the spouse during the marriage is community property.  That means each spouse has a half interest on any assets that are acquired during the marriage, with certain exceptions, since it is generally characterized as community property. On the same token, Family Code 771(a) provides that earnings…

BENEFICIARY spouse of marriage based immigrant petition’s where the marriage was less than 2 years old at the time of the immigrant visa or status was approved are issued a 2 year conditional green card.  In order for these immigrants to obtain their permanent green card, the immigrant has to either file a joint petition…

THE Department of State and the USCIS revised the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for adjustment of status.  The revised procedure will be available beginning October 2015. In the past, an adjustment of status applicant cannot file for adjustment of status until their priority date is current.  The priority date…

Family Code 760 provides that all property acquired by the spouse during the marriage is community property.  That means each spouse has a half interest on any assets that are acquired during the marriage, with certain exceptions, since it is generally characterized as community property. On the same token, Family Code 771(a) provides that earnings…