California Family Law Lawyer Attorney Blog /Blawg

The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that in the case of an annulment, the marriage is void, voidable, or not legal from its inception. A divorce involves the legal termination of a marriage by court order. In most cases it's much more difficult to obtain an annulment, than a divorce.

Examples of void, voidable, or marriages not legal from their inception are: certain marriages between relatives (incest); marriages to minors who are not emancipated (under 18 in California); marriages that are not legal in other States; marriages in California where a proper license was not obtained, or where a ceremony of marriage was not performed, or where the marriage was not consummated; marriages to persons who did not have the capacity to enter into a marriage, etc.

Many people are under the mistaken belief that they can have there marriages annulled if they were only married for a few weeks. This is a mistaken belief, if a license was obtained, a ceremony was performed, and the marriage was consummated. Unless it can be shown that the marriage was void, voidable, or not legal from its inception, you will have to go through the dissolution of marriage process. (Divorce)

My firm does family law in Southern California. You may contact me through my family law website by clicking here, or by calling 818-584-8831.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007

On a personal level, I was in Los Angeles Superior Court Central District, Department 2, The Honorable Judge Schnider presiding, on February 20, 2007 for an ex parte hearing. Low and behold as I turned the corner to go to the Department, I observed about 50 people standing outside of the Courtroom. It turns out that a hearing was being held that same morning, in the same department, and at the same time as my hearing, in the Anna Nicole Smith paternity case. I had no clue. There were reporters everywhere. I can tell you war stories about practicing law in Los Angeles. Anyway.............

Many things have happened since my last article on the death of Anna Nicole Smith. I was incorrectly informed before I wrote the article that Anna’s mother was given the body for burial. We have since learned otherwise.

A Florida Judge determined that her infant daughter is her heir. (Pursuant to the laws of intestate succession) The Florida Court then appointed a guardian ad litem (minors counsel) for the child, to represent the child’s interest because she is under the age of majority. (A minor) The Judge then directed the guardian ad litem to do what is in the child’s best interest, but strongly suggested that he look at the intent of Anna Nicole as to where she wanted to be buried. (The Bahamas)

I do not do probate law, but all California Lawyers must take Wills & Trust, which is a subject that is tested on the California State Bar. I still very much remember the subject but it is not one of my practice areas.

Testamentary intent is a huge factor not only for wills, but for other issues as well. It is not rocket science. What we observed in the Florida Court is that the judge took testimony on the intent of Anna Nicole. (And many other things) “Where did Anna Nicole Smith want to be buried?” (The Judge opined that it was in the Bahamas)

I am not going to comment on the proceedings in Florida other than to say that I am not used to such informality. In the Court’s that I play in, the rules are much more formal and structured. The Florida proceeding was a free for all.

This issue is moot now. Anna Nicole Smith has been buried in the Bahamas after an appellate court in Florida let the decision of the probate court stand. I feel that a Guardian should have been appointed for the body of Anna Nicole Smith to carry out her intent rather than a guardian ad litem for the child, because a guardian ad litem is supposed to do what is in the minor’s best interest. What does the burial of a mother have to do with the minor’s best interest? Anyway, the end result would have been the same anyway.

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We have all read about the untimely death of 39 year old Anna Nicole Smith. Ms. Smith, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, had a tumultuous life to say the least. She was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She became a stripper in that small town. She met and married a geriatric billionaire who subsequently died leaving a billion dollar plus estate.

Subsequently a lengthy legal battle ensued between Anna Nicole Smith, and the estate of her deceased geriatric husband which continues to this day. What is novel about this case is that it has gone on for approximately 9 years, and has gone up all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Many of you probably watched or heard about the Anna Nicole Show on cable TV. Her antics on that show were sometimes bizarre to say the least. She was always seen on the TV show with a man which I will not name here, who represented himself as Anna Nicole Smith’s Attorney. I do not know what State this attorney is licensed to practice law in, but I did check the California State Bar register, and there are a few attorney’s listed with his last name.

I watched the show and thought that it was real bizarre that an Attorney at Law would constantly be hanging out and traveling with only one client. However, I figured that if she was paying him enough so be it. On a personal level that type of attorney/client relationship is not my cup of tea. I am a trial lawyer.

Based upon my personal opinion, Anna Nicole Smith seemed stoned out her mind on the show. She slurred her speech and seemed out of it. If you have watched the show, you know what I mean.

Anna Nicole Smith then went on to lose a tremendous amount of weight and recently got back into the limelight as a Spokesmodel for a weight loss company, and she started doing modeling again.

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In modern times many couples have children when they are not married. Problems can arise with respect to Child Custody, Visitation, and Child Support when these couples break off the relationship.

In a perfect world the mother and the father are amicable in such a situation, and do what is in the child or children’s best interest. However, it is much safer, and highly recommended, that you obtain Court orders with respect to custody, visitation, and support issues, so that the mother and father each know their respective rights and obligations, and so that there are no ambiguities regarding the same.

This article will discuss the issue of children who are born out of wedlock from both the mother and the father’s prospective to give you a general understanding of the law in California regarding children born out of wedlock.

The Mother’s Prospective

The mother of a child that is born out of wedlock has a unique advantage in that she does not normally have to prove that the child is hers. If hospital records indicate that a female has given birth to a child, and the birth certificate that is issued upon the birth of a child indicates that the female gave birth to the child, than there is usually no issue with the mother showing that she is the paternal mother.

The mother of a child born out of wedlock will automatically be entitled to full custody of a child absent a Court order indicating otherwise.

She may give the father visitation if she so chooses, or she can deny visitation to the father absent a Court order.

All minor children in California have a right to receive child support pursuant to a statutory guideline. (The subject of Child Support will be covered in a forthcoming separate article). If the mother of a child who is born out of wedlock wants to obtain child support from the father, she will have to file and serve a Petition to Establish Parentage on the father, and an Order to Show Cause for child support with the appropriate Court.

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Community Property

California is a community property state. All property that is purchased or acquired during marriage, or transmuted (converted) to community property during marriage is community property.

The husband and wife in a marriage, each own an undivided one half interest in all community property of the marriage.

Community property is not divided, unless divorce proceedings are initiated, or upon the death of either the husband or wife.

Community property can be either real property or personal property. Community property can also be businesses, pension plans, or any other type of tangible thing that is acquired during marriage.

Community property is ordinarily one of the major issues involved in divorce actions.

Quasi Community Property

Quasi community property is property that is acquired outside of the state of California during marriage. Although married couples may have purchased property in a state that is not a community property state like California, the property will basically be treated as though it were community property for purposes division in a divorce action in the state of California.

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Child custody issues in California family law can result by way of the initiation of dissolution of marriage proceedings (divorce), legal separation, annulment, or paternity proceedings. Child custody issues can arise even if the parties are not legally separated, but living apart.

There are several classifications of child custody in the state of California such as; Sole legal and physical custody, primary physical and legal custody, joint physical and legal custody, and no right to custody.

With respect to marriages, the father or the mother are equally entitled to custody of the minor children of the marriage, before a court ordered is entered. If you are contemplating a divorce, filing for divorce, legal separation, or living apart, it is very important to obtain court orders which articulate your rights to child custody as soon as possible. Without court orders, a child who is let's say is living with the mother (or father) could be legally taken by the other parent absent court orders. If you have minor children of the marriage, it is important to file an order to show cause for child custody along with any petition for dissolution of marriage, or legal separation paperwork, so that you can get a court order articulates your rights to child custody.

The court primarily focuses on what's in the child's best interests when it determines who is entitled to what type of custody of a minor child of the marriage. Although it sounds simple, child custody and visitation issues with respect to California law are quite complicated, and should not be litigated without the help of an experienced attorney.
In the old days it was thought that children should be with their mother. However, modernly the court looks at many factors in determining who gets what type of custody of minor children. If you are a mother, you should not assume that you will automatically get custody of the children. If you're a father, you have an equal chance of getting primary custody of the children.

Entire law books have been written on the subject of child custody.

If you have a child custody issues in Southern California and want a free consultation on your case, give our law firm a call at 818-584-8831 extension 1 or you can click here to go to our family law website.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2006

Going through a divorce is arguably one of the worst things you'll have to go through in your life. Emotionally, going through a divorce is analogous to go into a death in the family. The proper term for a divorce in the state of California is "dissolution of marriage."

The difference between a divorce and legal separation, is that in a divorce, formal dissolution of marriage paperwork has been filed with the court to terminate the marriage, whereas a legal separation can occur either by filing papers for legal separation with the court, or by one of the parties in a marriage deciding to separate with the intent to permanently end the marriage. It should be noted that a legal separation can occur even if the parties still live together.

The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that in the case of an annulment, the marriage is void, voidable, or not legal from its inception. In most cases it's much more difficult to obtain an annulment, then a divorce.

A divorce involves the legal termination of a marriage by court order. A divorce is not final in California until a court of competent jurisdiction issues an order stating that the marriage has been terminated.

In California, there are two types of dissolution of marriage proceedings are available; (1) Summary dissolution of marriage, and (2) Standard dissolution of marriage. Most marriages will not qualify for the summary dissolution of marriage procedure that is available in California.

Marriages can be contested proceedings, uncontested, or by way of a default judgment when one of the parties cannot be located, or refuses to participate in the proceeding.

California is one of the so-called "no-fault" divorce states. The most common ground for requesting a divorce in the state of California is irreconcilable differences. A party can also request a divorce on the grounds of death, or insanity.

The most common issues involved in a divorce case in the state a California are: dissolution of marriage, child custody, child visitation, child support, alimony which is actually known as spousal support in California, family support, the division of community property, determination of separate property, the division and/or allocation of community businesses, and the division and/or allocation of retirement plans.

Due to the complex nature of family law litigation in the state of California, we highly recommend retaining an attorney to represent you. Our law firm can represent you in your divorce proceeding, and all the issues related thereto. Our law firm can also provide limited representation for you with respect to certain issues related to your family Law case. We can even do document preparation for you if you decide not to retain an attorney. You may check out our family law website by clicking here now, or you may call us now for a free consultation at 818-584-8831 extension 1.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. © 2006

The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates is a Southern California Law Firm that handles many types of legal matters including Family Law Cases. We handle Family Law matters throughout the Southern California.

We are pleased to announce the creation of our new Southern California Family Law Blog / Blawg.

The purpose of the Blog will be not only to educate the general public about the various aspects of California Family Law in the State of California, but we will also publish valuable links, news, and other information related to California Family Law.

Articles will be written by Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez and other guest authors.

As time goes by the wealth of information that will be published in this Blog will grow tremendously. We invite you to bookmark our Blog.

If you have a Family Law matter in Southern California, you may contact us for a free consultation through our Family Law Website by clicking here, or you may call us directly at 818-584-8831 extension 1.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. , Copyright 2006.

The Biker and Motorcycle Lawyer Blog is published by Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., and The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates, as an educational resource only. None of the material on this site is expressly or impliedly meant to provide legal advice to you in any way shape or form. Since the material on this site is provided for educational use only, and laws continuously change from time to time, the author of this website neither expressly nor impliedly warrants that any of the material provided on this website is accurate. If you have a legal issue we strongly suggest that you contact a lawyer in your State for a legal consultation. If you are in the State of California, you may contact The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates for a consultation on your matter. No attorney / client relationship shall be expressly or impliedly created between Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., or The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez and you, by the publishing of articles on this site, nor should you interpret that any such relationship has been created by the publishing of any content on this site.

All articles related to Biker Safety are provided for educational use only, and constitute expressions of opinions and advice of the author only. Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez and The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez shall assume no liability whatsoever for your reliance on any of articles contained herein, nor should you rely on said articles as statements of fact.