Los Angeles Family Lawyer Blog

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

Getting divorced in California, or anywhere else for that matter, typically brings the inevitable dividing of assets, which can be a never-ending fight. However, it also brings the division of debts. Many couples run into Divorce Court and get approval to divide their debts according to their agreed upon division without realizing that a Creditor must agree or it is not binding as to that particular Creditor.

Everything is fine, of course, as long as the divorced individuals keep making their payments. But, what happens when one person declares Bankruptcy or otherwise defaults on their debt payments? The creditor will look to see who is on the agreement, the ex-husband, ex-wife, or both. If both parties are on the agreement, then the creditor can go after either individual for the full amount owed! The fact that the Divorce Court has authorized the division of debt means absolutely nothing to the creditor unless that creditor has agreed otherwise. The obvious question becomes why the creditor would agree to let one of the parties off the hook, when they have no obligation to do so.

As a result, when a couple has more debts than assets, it can be wiser to file the divorce and bankruptcy at the same time. In this way, the joint debts can be discharged without worrying about whether your Ex is going to keep making their payments or not when you have not control over them. Ideally, this situation is best handled by an Attorney who performs both Family Law and Bankruptcy Law. Remember, Joint Debts survive Divorce until fully paid!

Kirk Laron
Family Law and Bankruptcy 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