southern california family law attorney

The California Child Abuse Central Index (“CACI”) is a tool created by the California Legislature to protect the health and safety of children. CACI is a list consisting of names of people who are investigated or charged with child abuse. Every child abuse investigation is reported to CACI. The reports detail the investigation of alleged physical abuse, sexual abuse, mental/emotional abuse, and severe neglect of a child.

Your name is be placed on CACI if an investigator determines that there is a “substantiated” or “inconclusive” reason that you were involved in the abuse or neglect of a child. After the initial investigation, the investigator will have one of three different conclusions: the allegations of child abuse or neglect are substantiated, inconclusive, or unfounded. A finding of “substantiated” and “inconclusive” will put your name on CACI. A finding of “unfounded” will not put your name on CACI.

In order to list anyone on the CACI, the county is required to notify the individual within five (5) business days of submitting the information to the Department of Justice. There are procedures that allow a person who is listed on CACI to challenge their placement on CACI. Specifically, a person can request a grievance hearing to remove their name from CACI. Once a hearing has been requested, the hearing must be heard in front of a grievance hearing officer within 60 calendar days.

After the grievance hearing, the hearing officer will make a decision within 30 days of the close of the grievance hearing. The decision will contain a summary statement of the facts, the issues involved, the findings, and the basis for the decision. The County Director, within ten (10) business days after the recommended decision is issued, will issue a written final decision adopting, rejecting, or modifying the recommended decision. The County Director will explain why the recommended decision was rejected or modified.

For more information, go to www.wklaw.com and read our CACI section. You will find more detail on the procedures for requesting a hearing and what one should expect during the hearing.

The consequences of being placed on CACI impact future employment involving children. With so much at stake it is essential that you speak with an experienced CACI attorney before taking any action on your case. Wallin & Klarich has over 30 years of experience defending the rights of our clients. Call us at (888) 749-0034 to learn more about your legal rights. We will be there when you call.

The LA Times recently reported on Sandra Bullock’s first public appearance since the Oscars at the Spike TV’s Guy’s Choice Awards. Ms. Bullock was not wearing her wedding ring as divorce proceedings between herself and Jesse James are currently underway. Jesse James was caught in a cheating scandal immediately following Bullock’s Best Actress win at the Oscars, and they have been separated ever since.

Under California Family Code Section 2310, a divorce can only be obtained on the grounds of irreconcilable differences or incurable insanity. California is a “no fault” state, which means that the court generally does not assess the “fault” of the parties when dissolving a marriage, dividing marital property, or ordering support. In addition, California is a community property state, meaning that the parties to the divorce will share an equal interest in any money earned or property acquired during marriage. By law, the court must equally divide the community property between both parties.

A divorce may also involve issues such as spousal and child support, child custody, and visitation rights. The combination of these issues can make it difficult to reach a settlement agreement with your spouse. Having an attorney represent you during the process can ensure that you are well informed about your legal rights in regards to custody, support, and property.

It is our goal to help you get your life back to as normal as possible. At Wallin & Klarich, our skilled team of family law attorneys and our outstanding support staff of legal assistants and law clerks will help you work through each detail of your case to get you the best possible settlement. Our emphasis on teamwork enables us to provide top notch legal assistance to each of our clients. Call Wallin & Klarich today at (888) —— and visit us on our website at www.wkfamilylaw.com to speak with one of our attorneys regarding your case. We will be here when you call.

It was recently reported by ABC News that Bruce Beresford-Redman left Mexico without the Mexican authorities’ knowledge or consent. While Bruce and his wife, Monica, were on vacation in Cancun, his wife was murdered. He has yet to be charged with any crimes, but Mexican authorities have named Bruce as a person of interest in his wife’s death. There is also a separate California child custody case to decide who will get ultimate custody of Bruce and Monica’s children.

It is the stated policy of California under California Family Code (CFC), Sections 3020-3032 and 3080-3089, to assure that the health, safety, and welfare of any involved children will be the court’s primary concern when making any orders regarding the physical or legal custody, or visitation of children. Therefore, the court attempts to make sure that children have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage, or ended their relationship.

Under CFC Section 3080, parents are encouraged to share the rights and responsibilities of child rearing, predominantly through joint custody, in order to ensure the health, safety and welfare of any involved children. However, where the contact between a parent and a child would not be in the best interest of the child – such as in cases of abuse, neglect, or crime – other custodial arrangements will be made.

The best possible child custody arrangement is essential to the well-being of your children. It is therefore necessary that you retain our experienced Southern California child custody lawyer as soon as you can. The child custody attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been handling custody arrangements for more than 30 years. Our Southern California attorneys will conduct a thorough review of the details of your case, and will advocate on your behalf to get you and your family the best possible outcome. Call Wallin & Klarich today at (888) —— and visit us on our website at www.wklaw.com to speak with one of our attorneys regarding your case. We will be here when you call.

The Associated Press recently reported that Dr. Conrad Murray, a doctor charged in the death of Michael Jackson, lost his bid to resolve a child support issue threatening his Nevada medical license. Murray requested relief from paying about $16,000 in back child support payments to the mother of his 12 year old son. Murray could face suspension of his medical license as early as August, depending on the hearing master’s recommendation and possible appeals.

Under the child support laws in the California Family Code (CFC) Section 4050-4076, the interests of any child involved are the state’s top priority. Accordingly, a parent’s first and principal obligation is to support any minor children according to the parent’s circumstances and station in life. Both parents are mutually responsible for the support of their children. The court will therefore take into account each parent’s actual income and level of responsibility for each child. Cost of living, as well as the standard of living, in California is high compared to other states. Therefore, children must receive fair, timely, and sufficient support reflecting these realities of living in California.

The statewide uniform guideline for determining child support payment orders is generally calculated with respect to the amount of both parents’ income to be allocated for child support, any disposable income, physical custody of each child, and parties’ gross income. A more thorough equation can be found under CFC Section 4055.

Child support is essential to the health and safety of your children. It is therefore necessary to retain our experienced legal representation as soon as you can. The child support attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been handling divorce proceedings for more than 30 years. Our Southern California attorneys will conduct a thorough review of the details of your case, and will advocate on your behalf to get you and your family the best possible outcome. Call Wallin & Klarich today at (888) —— and visit us on our website at www.wklaw.com to speak with one of our attorneys regarding your case. We will be here when you call.

A California Court of Appeals recently held that a restraining order cannot be issued under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act unless there was abusive conduct that placed victim in reasonable apprehension of injury. In S.M. v. E.P. No., D055230, proof of badgering without physical violence is not enough for the court to issue a restraining order. Without physical confrontation, it would be difficult for words to place one in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury. While the trial court granted the restraining order, it was declared improper on appeal.

Pursuant to California Family Code §§ 6300 and 6306, a restraining order may only be issued to prevent a recurrence of domestic violence if there is reasonable proof of past abuse. Courts issue restraining orders to protect a person from physical pain, injury, and threats of physical pain or injury. These may be issued against a family member, a member of the household, or a stalker.

Domestic violence, more specifically, pertains to abuse perpetrated between a person and their spouse, cohabitant, person in a past intimate relationship, or one’s child. CFC § 6211. But for an act to qualify as abuse, one must intentionally or recklessly cause or attempt to cause bodily harm, commit sexual assault, or place a person in reasonably apprehension of imminent serious bodily harm. CFC § 6203. Words alone, however, would rarely give rise to a domestic violence claim.

Additionally, if a restraining order is issued before or in the midst of a child custody dispute, then it may prevent the recipient of that order from gaining custody. CFC § 3044.

Though the law may seem organized and straight-forward on its face, this is rarely the case. Family law is a complex area and it takes someone with intimate knowledge of the law and experience navigating local courts to get you the best possible result in your case. It is vitally important for you to hire an experienced Southern California Family Law Attorney to make your case. With over 30 years of experience, Wallin & Klarich have handled thousands of family law cases. We know that your family and children are important to you and we feel the same way. Call us at (888) 749-7428 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (888) 749-7428      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or contact us on our website at www.wkfamilylaw.com. We will be there when you call.

MSNBC recently reported that former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper Gore, separated after 40 years of marriage. The Gores grew apart during Al Gore’s time spent on the road in his worldwide campaign to draw attention to climate change, which in 2007 led to a Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar for the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” It is reported that no affair was involved, however they are likely to discuss their divorce rights with a divorce attorney soon.

Under California Family Code (CFC) Section 2310-2313, dissolution of marriage or a legal separation of the parties may be based on either irreconcilable differences, or incurable insanity. Irreconcilable differences are those grounds which are determined by the court to be substantial reasons for dissolving the marriage. To dissolve a marriage because of incurable insanity, there must be proof that the insane spouse was, and remains, incurably insane. At least one of the parties must have been a resident in this state for six months and a resident of the county for three months before filing a petition.

With respect to child custody issues, Under CFC section 3020-3032, it is the public policy of this state to assure that the health, safety, and welfare of children are the court’s primary concern in determining the best interest of children when making any orders regarding the physical or legal custody or visitation of children. It is the policy of California to assure that children have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage, unless some extenuating circumstance exists such as abuse or neglect.

In regards to support, under CFC Section 3580 a husband and wife may agree, in writing, to an immediate separation, and may provide in the agreement for the support of either of them and of their children during the separation or upon the dissolution of their marriage.

Divorce proceedings can be overwhelming. It is therefore necessary to retain our experienced legal representation as soon as you can. The divorce attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been handling divorce proceedings for more than 30 years. Our Southern California attorneys will conduct a thorough review of the details of your case, and will advocate on your behalf to get you the best possible outcome. Divorce proceedings are a taxing and daunting ordeal, and we will be here for you each step of the way. Call Wallin & Klarich today at (877) 466-5245 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (877) 466-5245      end_of_the_skype_highlighting and visit us on our website at www.wklaw.com to speak with one of our attorneys regarding your case. We will be here when you call.

There are two general types of divorces – uncontested divorces and contested divorces. In an uncontested divorce, an agreement is reached by both spouses as to all aspects of the divorce. The spouses agree on matters like how to divide their assets, how to divide child custody, who will pay child support and how much will be paid, and who will pay alimony as well as the amount of the alimony. In an uncontested case, you often won’t have to appear before a judge.

A contested divorce is one in which the spouses cannot reach an agreement on one or more items involved in the divorce proceedings, such as property division, child support, child custody, or alimony. Often a judge will become involved in a contested divorce to help settle the differences if they are not resolved in mediation or negotiations. However, if with the help of attorneys in mediation or through negotiations, agreements can be made without appearing in court.

In both types of divorces, it is important to contact a skilled and experienced San Diego Family Law attorney. A knowledgeable San Diego Family Law attorney will help guide you through your divorce proceedings and make it go as smoothly as possible. At Wallin and Klarich, we can provide you with a San Diego Family Law attorney who has the expertise and experience needed to help you in your divorce case. Contact us today.

If you recently filed for divorce, before you go any further in the divorce procedure you need to serve your divorce Petition for Dissolution, Summons, and any other supporting paperwork on your spouse. You personally are not allowed to give the paperwork to your spouse. You are also not allowed to simply mail the paperwork to your spouse.

Any person who is at least 18-years-old and not a party to the divorce may serve the divorce papers on your spouse. You can contact the sheriff’s department in your county to serve the paperwork for you. They may charge a fee for this. Having the sheriff’s department do it is sometimes favorable because they are inexpensive. However, it might take a while before service is completed. You can also pay a process server to serve your spouse with the paperwork. Legal process servers usually charge more than the sheriff’s department, but they are also usually faster. Or you can have a friend or family member serve your spouse. Hopefully, they would do this for you for free, and hopefully they would do it quickly for you.

The sheriff’s department and a legal process server will provide you with a completed Proof of Service form that you will have to file in court. The Proof of Service must be filed so that the judge knows for sure that your spouse was served with the paperwork. If a friend or family member does the service for you, you will want to provide that person with a blank Proof of Service form for him or her to fill out and sign.

If you have any other questions about serving your spouse with divorce papers, please call us. We’re here to answer your questions. Our experienced California family law attorneys can provide you with legal advice and will be your advocate in a family law court. If you’re thinking of hiring an attorney for a dissolution, call us today at 1-888-749-7428 for a consultation, or fill out the online case evaluation form to the right.

Spousal support is support paid to the non-working or disadvantaged spouse seeking marketable or renewed job skills to become self sufficient and self-supporting. Many times the former spouse being supported was previously the homemaker or main care-taker of the children.

Other instances provide that the supported party was out of the work force for so long that their job skills would have to be renewed to the point that re-training is required to enter to current job market. There also may be medical issues or medical limitations that restrict or limit the supported spouse from obtaining gainful employment in today’s job market. Also, age may be another significant factor courts take into consideration when awarding spousal support.

In California, a marriage of ten years or longer is considered a long term marriage, and the courts may have continuing jurisdiction on the issue of spousal support in these instances. This would allow the court to modify the amount of support and the duration of spousal support in the future, even after dissolution.

Call the Law Firm of Wallin & Klarich at 1-888-749-7428 to review your current marital situation and get the competent representation you deserve and visit our website at www.wkfamilylaw.com.