Recent Blog Posts
California Man Receives Five-Year Sentence in Domestic Violence Case
Earlier this month, a California judge handed down a five-year sentence for a man who stood accused of domestic violence. The defendant, who offered pleas of no contest to charges including felony domestic violence and felony criminal threats, in addition to a number of misdemeanor domestic violence counts, was also charged with violating an… Read More »
Man Continues Protesting Child Support Order After DNA Test Confirmed Child Was Not His
In 1998, Willie Shorter had a DNA test to determine paternity on his young child. The lab conducting the test returned results that, with a 99.8 percent certainty, Shorter was not the child’s biological father. Nearly two decades later, Shorter says he is still being forced to pay child support for the child, despite… Read More »
Prenuptial Agreements: A Trend Towards Financial Independence
For a long time many people considered prenuptial agreements for only those who have a large fortune or potential inheritance. In addition to this, they were generally written to protect the male party to the marriage. Recently, however, the trends have been changing. Prenuptial agreements are becoming more popular with younger generations, women, and… Read More »
Paternity and Parentage Basics in California
Most people think about paternity in the context of paternity tests to determine who is the father of a child. While this is one aspect of paternity, parentage arises in other scenarios as well. For example, it is common for an individual to desire to be deemed a parent of the child and to… Read More »
Man Forced to Obey Child Support Order Despite Failed Paternity Test
A man residing in Colorado has been ruled legally responsible for more than $700 in monthly child support fees, despite failed paternity tests more than four years ago. The man, Chris Atkins, discovered that his now 15-year-old daughter was not biologically his more than four years ago, after a DNA test brought on by… Read More »
California Man Sentenced to Jail After Failing to Pay $139K in Child Support
Last month, a Monterey County Superior Court handed down a six-month jail sentence for a California man with more than $139,000 in unpaid child support. According to the Monterey County Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), the sentence came as the result of repeated violations of an existing support order. The man had previously… Read More »
Thousands of Children in the Primary Custody of Their Abuser
The Center of Judicial Excellence (CJE), a California-based watchdog with a keen eye on family courts, has found that far too many children are being left in the primary custody of their abusers. Recent research conducted by the organization found that between 2008 and 2016, 58 children were killed by their custodial parents after… Read More »
$9.9M Mansion Sale Highlights Importance of Same-Sex Prenups
In November of 2016 a video of Ellen DeGeneres receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom went viral. The video, showing the comedian in tears, celebrated DeGeneres’ courage in coming out as a gay female almost two decades ago. But that is not the only news story which has gone viral about DeGeneres. A perpetual… Read More »
Man Finds Stepson Dead in Closet in Case of Alleged Domestic Abuse
Three years ago, a boy’s mother told her husband that she had sent her autistic son to an institution in Mexico. Recently, however, the boy’s stepfather learned the disturbing truth when his wife led him to a closet in their home and revealed the dead body of her son. Unbeknown to his stepfather, the… Read More »
Same-Sex Couples Navigate Prenuptial Waters
While marriage brings love, excitement and joy, it also can bring anxiety, stress and heartbreak. After decades of fighting for marriage equality, same-sex couples are now facing the complex legal issues that come with planning a future together. For the first time, the LGBT community is discovering the potential financial consequences of divorce. While… Read More »
