Los Angeles Family Lawyer Blog

As a Pasadena Family Law Attorney, I see the frustrations that many parents have when their day in court does not go as planned. Many people think you can simply come back into Court and argue the same issues. Unfortunately, for many who get unfavorable decisions, they usually must wait a full six months before they re-petition the Court, and only if there is a substantial change in circumstances to warrant a second look at the issues.

There is another alternative, but it can be difficult. A person can file a Motion for Reconsideration of the Issues if they do not agree. However, there are two major hurdles that must be overcome. 1) The Motion must be filed within 10 days of the prior Hearing that is not agreed upon. 2) The Reconsideration must be based on new facts, circumstances, or law that were not known at the time of the prior hearing.
Essentially, this translates to the reality that if a situation develops after the hearing that greatly changes the fairness of the situation for one parent, it is already too late. Also, if that parent could have or should have brought up a changed fact, law, or circumstance, then it is their fault and they typically will have no relief. This is often the source of much frustration for not only people who represent themselves, but attorneys as well.
The lesson learned is that plan carefully your arguments, as a second bite at the apple may be harder to come by than you think. Let an experienced Pasadena Family Law Attorney at Frazee/ Laron assist you in fighting for your rights without wasting your time.

Kirk Laron
Pasadena Family Law Attorney

Many parents in Los Angeles think that they can simply make an agreement as to how much Child Support needs to be paid. While Spousal Support can often be decided by agreement amongst the parties, Child Support must be based on certain mandated factors that the Court must consider. Those factors are known as guideline support and are as follows:

• The income that both parents either earn or are able to earn.
• Actual time spent with each child
• How many children there are that qualify for support
• Tax filing status based on each parent's tax returns
• Health Insurance coverage
• Additional sources of money that help support the children
• Retirement Contributions that are mandated and not by choice
• Additional costs for the benefit of the child such as Daycare, Tutoring, etc.

Many times, parents think they can simply get an attorney to come into Court and make their own rationale for appropriate Child Support, but this is totally false. The Judical Officer must abide and consider these factors specifically or that Judicial Officer subjects themselves to an embarrassing appeal.

The real attorney's worth comes in making sure the Court is accurately and thoroughly informed about these factors, and is able to demonstrate why the current facts of the case no longer supports the Court's last Order due to a change in circumstances, law, or facts of the case. Contact a Family Law attorney in Los Angeles in order to get a straightforward, no nonsense consultation to see if your Child Support needs to be re-opened to your benefit.

Kirk Laron
Los Angeles Family Law Attorney

Child Support Arrearages in Los Angeles have a funny way of adding up. Many people think, why hurry into Court when they are just adding up anyway. Well, this is only partially true. If you know that circumstances have changed and that you are owed more Child Support, then you had better file right away, or you will not receive anything prior to the time of filing. Arrearages only accrue on existing court orders.

Here's an example: Spouse A commits Domestice Violence and has a Restraining Order put against them, taking away their Visitation rights. Spouse B knows that now the Child Support is going to increase for Spouse B because now they have 100% custody, instead of something less. The person often thinks, no big deal, surely the Court will enforce the proper child support against the Spouse A, who has the Restraining Order.

Until Spouse B files for the Change in Child Support they will receive no extra support, no matter that it was Spouse A that caused the problem. Unbelievably, the Court expects the affected Spouse to file the next day, or they will lose the Child Support that they should be due under the concept of fairness.

The Lesson is: Don't Sleep on Your Rights! The Court will be unmoved by the obvious injustice. If you know that you need to modify your Child Support, get a Family Law Attorney right away to file your case. Every day you wait is lost Support that could be going to your Child's needs.

Kirk Laron
Family Law Attorney

The California economic downturn has led many to speculate that people cannot afford to get a Divorce nowadays. While there is some evidence to suggest that this may be true, the incidents of Child Support Modification filings appear to be growing. Since Child Support is largely based on two factors: 1) Income and 2) time spent with Parent, the fact that many people in Los Angeles have either lost their jobs or are underemployed has led to a significant decrease in what people can afford to pay. As a result, people are now coming to Court to get much needed relief from Child Support payments that are based on incomes they are no longer earning.

Many times, there has been the feeling by one parent that the other parent is not working ON PURPOSE in order to not pay more Child Support. This led to the concept of Imputed Income, whereby many parents were held to the standard of what they should be making rather than what they were actually making. Nowadays, however, the common excuse of "I can't find a job!" has become far more believable. The trend of lowering Child Support Payments will likely continue in the same direction as the unemployment rate, which is 11.9% in California according to July 2009 statistics.

If you think your Child Support is no longer based on your actual earnings, you should consult a Los Angeles Family Law Attorney. Otherwise, you may soon be consulting a Los Angeles Bankruptcy Attorney instead!

Kirk Laron
Pasadena Attorney