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…
As social media becomes increasingly more prevalent and dominant in our lives, not surprisingly it is increasingly involved in that time honored life passage known as Divorce. First, Facebook may actually help facilitate the divorce. A 2010 survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (an odd name for an…
Representative Pete Stark (D-Calif), U.S. House member from California on Tuesday introduced legislation that would bar discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in adoption cases. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act, HR 3827, which has 33 original co-sponsors, would restrict federal funds for states that allow…
Prior to the passage of Senate Bill AB 1050 recently approved by the California legislature, the children of parents in custody battles have rarely been able to testify in court. Court’s typically obtain information from the child through third parties, commonly court appointed mediators who are often marriage and family…
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.…
Potential Client: Good morning, my wife who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area has decided she wants a divorce and has retained an attorney. I received a letter from the attorney stating that my wife is interested in the Collaborative Divorce model and that to use that model I…
The North Dakota legislature has introduced SB 2367 which would require that couples with children seeking divorce must wait one year and undergo mandatory counseling before proceeding. During the one year waiting period, couples would have to participate separately or jointly in at least 10 one-hour counseling sessions. I won’t…
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)…