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…
DIVORCING couples may have established revocable living trust for estate planning pusposes during their marriage which was funded primarily with assets acquired by one spouse prior to the marriage. The issue is what is the characterization of those properties when the couple gets the divorce. Transmutation is the changing of the characterization of a property…
The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 (IMFA) requires an alien obtaining a green card through a marriage less than two years old to come back at the end of that two years with the petitioning spouse and show that they are still married or, if the marriage was terminated, to show that the marriage…
FOR most people, being served with divorce papers by your spouse is probably one of the biggest surprises in your life. The spouse in the receiving end of the divorce sometimes are not offered any explanation for the divorce petition by their spouse. You may start getting upset about how this can happen to you…
Certain aliens are barred from adjusting to legal permanent residents by virtue of having entered the United States under the following conditions: Entering the US as an alien crewman (C-1 visa/ jumpship) Accepting unauthorized employment Entering the US without inspection (No I-94 or crossing the border without a visa) Remaining in the US past the…
FOR most professional immigrants that seek long term immigration status in the US, the key to success is finding an employer that would Petition them for an H-1b visa. The problem recently though is the reduction in the visa numbers for this classification that makes this visa unavailable most of the year after the cap…
CONSIDER this common factual situation. You are over 21 years old and your US citizen parent petitions you while you are inside the United States. Since this is a preference category, you have to wait many years for your priority date to be current. As the years go by, your petitioning parent dies which in…
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…
IF you are contemplating divorce, have you ever wondered the exact date you “separated” from your spouse? The date of separation is one of the most litigated issues in a divorce case. Its determination can have a significant economic consequence in the outcome of the case. The reason being, a spouse’s “earnings and accumulations” after…
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 QUESTION that invariably arises during divorce proceedings is whether assets are properly characterized as community or separate property. If property is characterized as community property, it must be divided between spouses equally upon dissolution of marriage. Fam. Code Sec. 2550. Under California community property principles, a general presumption exists that property acquired during marriage…
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 absence of a premarital agreement, the general community property presumption under California family code section 760 controls which provides “ ….all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property.” Family Code §760. This becomes a problem if you…
THE economic crisis of the past few years and changes in immigration legislation has made it more difficult to pursue certain traditional paths to obtaining permanent residency in the United States. H1-b visas has been affected by the visa annual visa cap and does not lead to a greencard. In addition, it is a viable…
You just finalized your divorce. You are free and single again. Ever wonder what happens to the will or revocable trust you executed during your marriage with your ex spouse naming your ex spouse or her family as beneficiary in case you pass away? Well, those documents are revoked by operation of law. A judgment…
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…
CERTAIN aliens are barred from adjusting to legal permanent residents by virtue of having entered the United States under the following conditions: Entering the US as an alien crewman (C-1 visa/ jumpship) Accepting unauthorized employment Entering the US without inspection (No I-94 or crossing the border without a visa) Remaining in the US past the…
THE court does not always equally divide each piece of community property in a divorce case “In kind.” An equal partition of each item of property in the community estate is rarely practical or feasible and, in some cases, may be inequitable. The court may award a community asset exclusively to one party ‘on such…
On January 2, 2013, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the posting of a final rule in the Federal Register that reduces the time US citizens are separated from their immediate relatives (spouse, children and parents), who are in the process of obtaining visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States commonly…
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…
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…
THERE seems to be a misconception in the general public that you can only obtain a divorce in California if your spouse will sign the divorce papers. I get this question a lot from our family law clients. The fact is that California is a no fault state and you do not need your spouse’s…
One of the most emotional aspect of a marital dissolution case is dealing with Child custody issues. Sadly enough, this is an area where most parents play games with each other trying their best to deprive the other parents of their right to maintain relationship with their child. Child custody comes in two parts, 1)…
The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986 (IMFA) requires an alien obtaining a green card through a marriage less than two years old to come back at the end of that two years with the petitioning spouse and show that they are still married or, if the marriage was terminated, to show that the marriage…
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a series of executive actions that would benefit certain classes of aliens. In the coming months, USCIS will come up with guidance in implementing these policies. DACA expanded Deferred Acton for Childhood Arrivvals (DACA) has been expanded to include individuals born prior to June 15, 1981 provided they…
TO many people, the New Year signifies a chance to have a fresh beginning. People dispose of old personal items and clean out the closet in order to make room for the new. The same line of thinking goes with getting rid of the spouse upon realizing over the holidays that your spouse is stuck…
It is typical, if not natural, for Parties to a divorce case to start hiding assets and income from each other as soon as divorce is anticipated. Spouse’s are thinking ahead of the game on how they can outsmart the other spouse so that they end up with the larger portion of the pie. This…
Under Family Code Section 2320, a judgment of marriage dissolution (divorce) may not be entered unless one of the spouses has been a “resident” of California for six months and of the county where the proceeding is filed for three months immediately preceding the filing of the petition. This poses a problem for divorcing couples…
ESTABLISHING parentage rights for Moms is a lot easier than establishing one for unmarried Dads. Moms can establish this by simply showing proof of her having given birth to the child. Family Code §7610. Establishing parentage rights, including custody and visitation rights, becomes more problematic with unmarried Dads because proving yourself as the biological father…
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…
