While all areas of the law are difficult to navigate for people who weren’t trained in legal matters, family law is an especially tough part of the law to pilot. While some family law cases are settled in a relatively pleasant manner, a great deal of family law cases are more emotionally challenging. This is due to the fac that family law conflicts often involve tensions between family members and intimate partners, which are especially tense. However, thousands of people in California each year enter family law proceedings, in large part due to the great number of laws and regulations surrounding the modern American family.
While a family law debate may often feel like a personal issue that you would rather keep between you and your family members, it is not advisable to try and go through a family law debate without any help. For the best possible outcome in your family law case, it’s strongly encouraged that you call upon the assistance of a trained legal specialist. To speak with some of the best family law attorneys in the Lemon Grove area, call 619-610-7425. This legal expert can explain the complexities of family law in a manner that is easy to understand, and help you determine a legal strategy that works best for your unique family law case.
While you certainly should speak with an attorney before engaging in a family law matter, it is also almost certainly a smart idea to read a bit about family law yourself. Here is a synopsis of a few of the most important family law issues.
Wills and Probate
A will is a document that is signed by an individual that lays out how their property will be dispersed when they pass away. This topic generally falls under the purview of family law as the people receiving property as a result of the will are usually family members. For a will to be considered valid, it must be signed by someone who is of a sound mental status, and who is over the age of 18. Also, the will has to be signed under the observation of at minimum two unbiased witnesses, with unbiased meaning that neither of the two are named in the will. There are two main categories of people actually named in the will. Beneficiaries are the people who the individual has decided will receive property after the individual passes away. The executor of the estate is the person placed in charge of making sure that the instructions laid out in the will are fully followed.
Probate is a legal process that helps determine the validity of a will. The first step in the verification process is for the executor to file what is called a Petition of Probate. This document must be submitted to the superior court located in the California county where the deceased individual resided. A copy of the will, as well as a statement signed by the two witnesses must also be submitted. If the court deems all of these documents as valid, then it will issue a Letters of Testamentary. This document grants the executor the ability to disperse property in the way described in the will. To complete probate in California, one must fill out a number of legal documents, so the assistance of a Lemon Grove attorney may be helpful.
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive rights cover a wide category of rights governing an individual’s choice over their reproductive capacities. Reproductive rights cover a person’s right to free from any procedures involving forced sterilization, to participate in family planning, to make use of contraceptive measures, and end a pregnancy. Reproductive rights can also cover a person’s right to participate in sexual education courses in government-funded schools that introduce students to the basics of reproductive rights and STDs.
Compared to most states in the country, California maintains a fairly progressive legal system for reproductive issues. Employers who provide health insurance benefits are legally obligated to make birth control medications available to their employees as part of that healthcare package, as long as doing so does not violate their religious beliefs. Also, unlike in almost every other state, Californian women are able to gain access to birth control medication through their neighborhood pharmacist. To gain access to this birth control, women must fill out a legal document, but this document does not represent a legal barrier. The only purpose of the form is to make sure birth control medication won’t cause any health issues.
California’s laws surrounding abortion are also less strict than many other states. For instance, females who want to get an abortion in California don’t have to sit through a long waiting period before undergoing the operation. Females in California are allowed to obtain an abortion so long as the fetus isn’t considered medically viable. Generally, a fetus is not considered viable until the pregnancy has lasted for 22-24 weeks. Women may also obtain an abortion after this point if it can be determined that the pregnancy represents a fatal threat the life of the mother, or if the pregnancy only came about as the result of a rape. Also, women under the age of 18 do not need to gain permission from their parents before undergoing an abortion, minors a fully free to obtain abortions on their own in California.
Divorce Law
California operates under a no-fault divorce law, which means that no real requirement exists for a divorce to be granted by the courts. Technically, the person filing the divorce is required to state that the couple is divorcing due to “irreconcilable differences,” but since there is no legal definition for what constitutes an irreconcilable difference, there are no real legal requirements associated with grounds for divorce. This means that someone can obtain a divorce even if their spouse is 100% against the divorce, and regardless if the spouse against the divorce didn’t break the law in any way or commit any wrongdoing. The only real requirement surrounding divorce in the state is that the couple obtaining the divorce must have inhabited California for a period of at least 6 months before the divorce took place.
While there may be no requirements when it comes to grounds for divorce, there are requirements that must be completed for a divorce to be legally recognized. The person filing for the divorce, who in legal terms is named the “petitioner,” is required to file the petition for the dissolution of their marriage in the appropriate county court. The person on the receiving end of the petition, named the “respondent,” will receive a document called a summons, which informs them of the divorce, and gives them 30 days to respond. If a respondent fails to respond to the summons within 30 days, the divorce goes forward nonetheless, and the issues surrounding the divorce are settled in court without the respondent. If the respondent does indeed respond to the petition, which is usually the case, then the two parties and their legal teams will exchange evidence regarding assets, debts, and other relevant issues. Then, both parties will try to come to an arrangement regarding the terms of the divorce. This can either be settled outside a courtroom and approved by a judge in an uncontested divorce, or settled in legal setting via a contested divorce proceeding. Call a Lemon Grove attorney if you’re feeling confused by the process and feel as if you need professional assistance.
Annulment
An annulment, also known as a nullity of marriage, is a method of dissolving a marriage that is distinct from a divorce. However, unlike divorce, not every married couple is necessarily eligible for an annulment. Also, while a divorce simply brings an end to the marriage, an annulment does not only end the marriage, it also eliminates all legal records of the union, making it as if the marriage never even happened. While many members of the public seem to believe that the annulment process can be used by any couple that has only bee married for a short amount of time, this is not at all true.
For a couple to be granted by the California courts, the individual requesting the annulment is required to provide the courts with one of a few different rationales. If the individual requesting the annulment is able to demonstrate that the person that he/she married is a close relative, or that the person that he/she married was still married to another person when the marriage took place, than an annulment will automatically be granted. An annulment will also generally be granted if the person requesting the annulment can show that they were forced to get married against their will, or if they can show that the marriage occurred under fraudulent circumstances.
After an annulment is completed, the separating couple must go through a procedure that is akin to the divorce process, with a couple of notable differences. Property must be divided between the separating couple, but the issue of property division has to be settled outside of court since no legal record of the marriage exists. Alimony payments are not a part of this separation process, since only former spouses can be required to pay alimony, and those who have undergone an annulment aren’t legally former spouses due to the expungement of the legal record of the marriage. However, the processes involving child custody, child visitation, and child support must be adhered to, due to the fact that these laws are not dependent on marriage, and apply to unmarried couples and married couples in the exact same manner.
If you believe you might qualify for an annulment, and are looking to speak with a lawyer to see if you really are eligible.
Parents’ Rights
When going through an annulment, divorce, or any other form of legal separation, the question of parents’ rights over a child is always a tricky issue. The rights each parent has over a child can be determined outside of a legal setting, with an agreement subject to approval by a judge. However, it is common for parents’ rights issues to be determined in a legal setting, as parents often disagree over this subject. If this is the case, then the parents may try and resolve their differences in a nonbinding mediation session, where a trained mediator helps guide the parents to a consensual decision. If the two parents still cannot reach a consensual decision through mediation, they can either engage in a binding arbitration hearing, or enter a court proceeding and have a judge make a decision regarding parental rights.
There exist two main types of parent’s rights that have to be determined: physical child custody and legal child custody. Physical custody determines with which parent the child will live (or with both), and legal custody determines which parent (or both) will maintain control over major life choices for the child. These life choices include the decision over where the child will attend school, the child’s healthcare provider, and the child’s participation in religious activities or any other extracurricular activities. Both of these types of custody can either be determined as sole or joint. Sole custody belongs entirely to one parents, whereas joint custody is shared between the two parents. If one parent is granted sole custody when it comes to physical custody, then the other parent may be able to spend time with their child through visitation rights.
Find a Lemon Grove Family Law Lawyer Near Me
Are you thinking about hiring a lawyer with expertise in family law, or are just looking to speak with a trained expert about your case before taking any further action? Then immediately dial 619-610-7425, to reach a Lemon Grove attorney with San Diego Family Attorney, who has handled dozens of family law cases in the area and understands how to navigate the local courts. This lawyer can answer any questions regarding family law that you might be hoping to ask, and can evaluate your family law case without charging you any consultation fees.
