Marin County Family Law Blog
What do you do when someone makes false allegations of child abuse against you in a child custody or domestic violence restraining order matter?
Making false allegations of child abuse in a family law matter can have significant consequences to the parent making the false allegations and to the parent against whom the false allegations are made. If you are the parent against whom the false allegations of child abuse are made you have…
Parenting Coordination
Are you tired of arguing with your coparent and getting nowhere? Do you want to learn how to work better together and resolve disputes rapidly? Then parenting coordination is the right choice for you. A parenting coordinator is appointed by agreement of the parents and has the authority to work…
Always Read (and Understand) Your Prenuptial Agreement Before You Sign!
The California Court of Appeal for the First District (Division 5) recently confirmed that a party neglects a legal duty by failing to make a reasonable inquiry or effort to understand the meaning and content of the contract. In Estate of Eskra (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 209, a husband had told…
Am I Entitled to My Spouse’s Stock Options?
Stock options are a form of compensation issued to employees that allows the employee to buy stock in the company at a set price regardless of the value of the stock. Normally, the option price is lower than the actual value of the stock allowing the employee receive an economic…
Renewing a Domestic Violence Restraining Order
When renewing a restraining order, it's best to be informed about the process in advance. The Court has the power to renew a restraining order upon the request of the protected party. The protected party must file a request to renew the domestic violence restraining order at within the three…
How to Obtain Your Spouse’s Financial Information
It is critical to understand your financial picture when you are going through divorce. Often, your spouse holds important information about your finances that you do not have access to. There are several mechanisms through which you can obtain your spouse's financial information, all of which fall under the general…
Innocent Spouse Relief in Tax Law
Generally, both spouses are responsible for paying any tax, interest, or penalties from their joint tax return. If you are going through a divorce and believe your current or soon to be former spouse should be solely responsible for an error or an underpayment of tax from your joint return,…
Obtaining and Renewing a Domestic Violence Restraining Order
Obtaining a Domestic Violence Restraining Order To obtain a domestic violence restraining order, the abused party must show that it was more likely than not that he or she suffered abuse by the other party. Requests for Domestic Violence Restraining Orders are usually made to the judge of the Superior…
Can I Still Deduct Alimony/Spousal Support?
The most profound effect the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has had on divorce planning is with regard to taxation of alimony payments. Before TCJA, payments that could be defined under tax-law as alimony would be considered deductible by the payor for federal income tax purposes, while the…