In an incident that received little attention in the mainstream press, a man named Tom Ball, 58, committed suicide in front of the Keene, New Hampshire County Courthouse on June 15, 2011 by dousing himself with gasoline and lighting a match. His 15 page suicide note explained that he was…
I live and practice law in Fremont, California, one of the most diverse communities in the diverse San Francisco Bay area. Over half the population of Fremont is Asian and Fremont has more folks from Afghanistan than any city in the US. Consequently, many of my clients are Asian and…
To most couples planning to marry, marriage is a loving commitment between two people who want to share the rest of their lives. Under the law, however, marriage is a contract between two people … not a contract about love, but a contract about the legal and financial rights and…
California does not recognize community property rights between cohabiting couples and does not recognize “common law marriage”, and therefore does not protect those who opt out of traditional marriage or registered domestic partnerships. There are no automatic property rights or support rights under the California Family Code for unmarried cohabitants.…
There are so many reasons to end a marriage through the mediation or Collaborative process, rather than resorting to litigation and traditional legal representation. For example, the opportunity to create a positive and supportive co-parenting relationship for the benefit of children and parents, minimizing conflict so that children (and parents)…