Divorce in California does not happen overnight. Not only is there a six-month waiting period for a divorce, but there are a number of things that must happen legally before the court can enter the divorce order. The divorce case begins when one spouse files a Petition of Dissolution with the court. That starts the six-month time period. When…
The Fourth Amendment provides you with the legal right to be free from an unreasonable search or seizure. There are a number of ways that a search or seizure can be wrongful. If the police have violated your Fourth Amendment rights, you may have certain recourse in court that could even mean the end of your criminal case. The…
Law enforcement is not infallible. Sometimes, in their zeal to make an arrest or win a conviction, they may cross a line when it comes to your legal rights. In other cases, they filed criminal charges that they never should have in the first place. There are times when you can get your charges dismissed by a judge, or…
The three primary issues in any divorce case involving children are: Where they will live and spend their time Who will make decisions on their behalf How will the children be supported In every divorce case, the primary concern is the children. The court would place their interests first, ahead of those of the parents. In any of the…
Alimony exists to help equalize the financial situation of the two divorcing spouses to an extent. There are two primary reasons why a court would award alimony to one spouse: To help one spouse “get back on their feet” or take steps to improve their earnings capacity in the future. To keep one spouse from having a permanently reduced…
California law harshly punishes theft. Even more “minor instances” have the potential to result in jail time. The punishment depends on the value of what is alleged to have been taken. Given the escalating values of property due to inflation and the lack of an indexing mechanism in the law, more cases of theft are being punished more severely….
No matter which jurisdiction files a white collar criminal charge against you, it is a serious matter. There are some differences between federal and state charges. Federal white collar charges are more common than those on the state level. The federal government has a strong arsenal of charges that they can file that can even criminalize a phone call…
California is a community property state. If you were to get divorced in California, all property that was acquired by the spouses during the marriage would be subject to division by the court. Usually, this is an equal division which is 50/50. If you have brought property into the marriage, it would usually become community property if the property…
Many divorcing spouses can agree on divorce terms and settle their cases without ever going to court. However, it is not surprising that some couples cannot agree. After all, divorce usually stems from conflict, and spouses might not be willing to compromise. When you cannot reach a decision on one or more issues, your case might need to go…
Burglary is considered a serious offense in California. The penalties reflect the fact that private property rights are inviolable, and entering someone’s property is a significant violation. Many burglary offenses are automatically charged as felonies, while others give the prosecutor the discretion to charge them as a felony or misdemeanor. The penalty for burglary depends on the severity of…
