A Child Support Attorney Can Help You Negotiate Back Payments

As a child support attorney, we can help you to negotiate any back child support payments that you owe.  It is common for people to get into financial binds and be unable to meet their obligations.  The challenge is that once the court sets the amount you have to pay, it can’t be simply waived or postponed like another debt.  If you get too far behind, the other party can take you to court, and you can even end up in jail.

If you work with a lawyer, this can typically be prevented since we can negotiate on your behalf with the other party and represent you in court before a judge.  The key is to make a case for why you are unable to meet your obligations and what you will be able to do going forward.  If you make enough money, simply not paying isn’t a good argument.  You must demonstrate that you need more of the money you make to pay for your basic living expenses or to support other children that you have.  The goal of the court is to ensure that your children are provided for, not to make you homeless. Keeping this in mind, hiring an attorney and showing up to court is the first step.

People will typically get into legal trouble by not responding to requests for child support, not making any payments, and not showing up for court hearings.  If you fail to appear in court, a judge can issue a warrant for your arrest, and many people have spent time in jail as a result.  If, however, you make an effort to meet your obligations but simply cannot pay the full amount, it becomes much easier to plead your case before a judge.  As a child support attorney, we fight for our clients and seek adjustments to what is owed on a regular basis.

Another reason people tend to need help is if they didn’t know that they had any support obligations in the first place.  For example, if you didn’t know that you had a child, how could you have been paying child support?  Logic would say that you don’t owe anything, but the legal system doesn’t work this way.  Even if you are not aware of a child, the mother could come back at a later date and seek current and back child support.  This can create a difficult situation since most people don’t have enough savings to take care of the obligation.  The court will often garnish wages, as a result, which can hurt your ability to pay for housing, food, etc. In order to prevent this scenario, we recommend hiring a child support attorney that can work with the court to create a plan for caring for the child going forward without crippling you financially today.  The key is to take action right away so that the situation won’t escalate.  To learn how we can help, call to schedule a consultation.

Things You Should Know Before Hiring a Divorce Lawyer

If you are looking for a divorce lawyer, Keen & Genochio Attorneys at Law can help you to navigate through the family court system and receive the best possible outcome.  There are no guarantees in a trial or a divorce, but having expert legal representation will ensure that your rights are protected and that you have someone fighting on your side. 

Before you speak with an attorney, there are several things you should know that will help you to select the right one.

Location is Important

Attorneys are licensed by the state, but each county tends to handle things differently.  This means different sets of paperwork, judges with different tendencies, ways of setting a trial date, etc.  These small differences may seem insignificant but if you hire an attorney outside of the area and they go up against a local one, the local lawyer may have an advantage.

Experience Counts

Make sure that you hire a divorce lawyer that is experienced with your type of case.  All divorces are not created equally.  For example, a standard divorce case typically involves two people that are living in the same general area and may or may not have children.  If you have significant assets, own a business, are looking to relocate, or are in the military, your case is automatically more complicated with several issues that need to be addressed.  Look for an attorney that has dealt with these types of complexities before and done so successfully.

Settlement and Court

If your divorce is amicable you may be able to settle it outside of court.  If not, you need to hire a lawyer that has the courtroom experience necessary to advocate on your behalf, question witnesses, and build a case in your favor.  This requires a different set of skills, so do not assume that your divorce lawyer has them, without asking.

Understand the Fee Structure

Before hiring someone, make sure that you understand how they charge and how much they charge.  Creating a mutual understanding is essential for ensuring that you are on the same page throughout the process.  You should also ask what fees you will be responsible for in addition to what your lawyer will charge.  This way you can budget for it.

Ask About Availability

Before hiring someone make sure that they have the time to take your case.  This is especially important if the case may go to trial.  If you are speaking with a firm with more than one attorney, ask if they work as a team or if someone is set to be a backup in case something happens to your main lawyer. The last thing you want is to end up in court with a junior associate that is new to your case.

With Keen & Genochio Attorneys at Law, you will receive expert legal advice and representation from an experienced divorce lawyer.  To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling (619) 232-2217.

A Divorce Attorney Can Help with Your Business Valuation

If you are getting a divorce, hire a divorce attorney to help you handle the case.  This is an incredibly difficult and sensitive time.  Trying to handle it on your own is unwise since emotion can complicate things, and your reasoning may not be as sharp as normal.  This is perfectly understandable since getting a divorce can be as traumatic as losing a family member.  Working with an expert lawyer can make the process easier so that you can focus on feeling better and taking care of your family.

There are many aspects to a divorce.  Not only are you changing your marital status but assets, and liabilities must be divided.  This includes everything from where you live to the cars that you drive and the family pet.  Every single item you own needs to be given to you or to your spouse, which can be cumbersome at best.  If you own a business, this process becomes much more complicated.

Dividing a business is not easy and normally not practical.  For example, you cannot take an operating company and say that one spouse gets the sales force and their revenue while the other gets the service staff and the revenue they generate.  A business doesn’t work like that so any division of it needs to be financial.  The question then becomes, what is your business worth?  A divorce attorney can help you to find out.

Since the business is a living and changing entity, a business valuation is typically done to determine how much it is worth.  This should be done by an expert such as a CPA or valuation specialist.  There are many ways to evaluate a company that may include looking at tax returns to determine net income along with placing  a value on intangibles like customer relationships and tangible items like equipment.   This is far more complicated that simply looking at your tax returns alone, so working with an expert is important.

Once the business value has been determined, the other party needs to agree to the value or dispute it by obtaining their own business valuation.  After each party has agreed to a set value, it is time to negotiate how much of the business each person should get and how the other person needs to pay them for it.  When hard assets like real estate are involved this can become easier by getting a loan to buy the other party out.  Otherwise, monthly payments are often arranged just like they would be if a partner buyout was being completed.  Working with an expert attorney will ensure that your interests are protected during this process.

As a divorce attorney, we often find that dividing up a business can be a sensitive matter.  This is because most people invest more than time in a business.  It can become their “baby” so to speak. Before you start the process call Keen & Genochio Attorneys at Law at (619) 232-2217 to schedule your consultation.

A Divorce Attorney Can Help You to Sort Through Your Finances

An attorney can help you to untangle your finances when getting a divorce. That is exactly what divorce is – an untangling of two lives and everything that is part of life.  This applies to large obvious things like a house to small things like a safety deposit box.  Anything that you own has to be sorted through with decisions made as to how it will be divided or who will keep what. This can be extremely tedious, especially for people that have been married a long time. 

It is wise to start by creating an inventory of every item that you own, every financial account, and every debt.  We can provide you with worksheets to take notes on.  Once this is done each item should be assigned a value, unless it is purely sentimental.  This way when everything is divided and it is easy to tell how fair the split is.  

The challenge is that most people cannot handle dividing everything up with their ex-spouse.  Tensions can be high, and each item represents a story or memory which can make emotions heightened.  Having an attorney help you to sort through everything is often the best way to go about it.  Most people are less inclined to be as emotional or passionate with a third party in the room so it can help to keep things calm.  If you and your ex each have an attorney, you can do this by having everyone sit down in a room for an hour or two.  Otherwise you can use the same attorney as a moderator.  This is typically only possible if you are getting along very well. 

When dividing larger assets it is common for the debt to stay with it.  For example, if you are keeping your home, the mortgage would also be your responsibility.  If they are keeping the truck, they will have the debt and payments associated with it.  For this reason some people choose not to have an equitable division of assets because they don’t want to make the debt payments.  If no one wants the asset or debt, a plan needs to be created for how to sell or liquidate it.  

Splitting up financial accounts can also be challenging.  Savings accounts are often split down the middle but retirement accounts can be a touchy issue. An attorney can help you to negotiate a compromise for these things when possible.  If one cannot be reached a judge will decide when the case goes to trial.  Reaching a compromise as quickly as possible is actually in your best interests.  It will make it possible for you to begin using the funds instead of having them frozen pending trial.  This can help you to pay for living expenses, etc.  It is okay if you can only reach an agreement on some of your assets and accounts.  Once an agreement is reached it can be signed and those items will not need to be addressed at trial which will shorten the process and remove unnecessary complications.  

To learn more about how an attorney can help you, call Keen & Genochio Attorneys at Law today.

A San Diego Lawyer Can Help You to Get a Restraining Order Against Your Ex

Divorce can get ugly and a lawyer can help you to navigate through the process.  There are times before or during the divorce one spouse can become violent, threatening, or volatile.  It is normal for people to get upset and worked up. The question is how upset are they getting and have they calmed down?  If your spouse or ex-spouse is threatening you and you are scared that you may become a victim of violence, a restraining order may be in order.  You can also obtain one if you believe they are stalking you.

A restraining order is a legal decree that prohibits them from coming within a certain distance of you.  If they violate the order you can call the police and have them arrested.  The major difference is that without a restraining order they would need to act violently or start threatening you before you can really call the police.  A restraining order gives you the right to do so before the situation escalates. 

It is important to have an experienced lawyer help you through the process. You have to prove that a restraining order is necessary, which can be difficult to do without help. Your ex-spouse may appear completely cool and calm in court which will give off the impression that they aren’t posing a threat to you.  Once outside of court, the behavior is likely to continue.  An attorney can help to present the facts so that the judge understands the severity of the issue and the need for you to be protected. 

There are two main types of restraining orders that you can get in California – personal conduct and stay-away orders.  

Personal Conduct Orders

This type of restraining order prevents the other party from contacting you via the phone, messages, and email.  They cannot harass you, stalk you, strike you, destroy your property or sexually harass you in any way. 

Stay-Away Orders

This is the type of restraining order that most people think of because it prevents them from coming within either fifty or 100 yards of you.  It applies to your physical person.  For example, if they were to see you in a grocery store they could not come within fifty or 100 yards.  It also applies to where you live and work, where your kids go to school, your car, and other important places you include on the list like church or a relative’s home.  

Stay-away orders can become complicated when you are sharing custody with an ex-spouse.  You will want the assistance of a lawyer to navigate through these challenges.  For example, in a normal stay-away order the other party cannot be too close to your kid’s school.  If it is their child too, this becomes impractical so a creative solution will need to be implemented.  The same holds true for custody exchanges.  A solution will have to be worked out to where you can trade custody without the order being violated, unless of course the child is also protected as part of the order.  

To learn more about restraining orders and how a lawyer can help, call Keen & Genochio Attorneys at Law today.

An Attorney Can Help You Get a Child Support Judgment

If you are divorced and receiving child support, an attorney can help you to collect on that support when your ex stops paying.  Many parents that are required to pay child support live up to their end of the bargain.  The challenge is that if they stop paying it can create a financial hardship for the one that is supposed to receive the payments.  Fortunately, there are ways to obtain your court ordered child support.

During your initial consultation, we will discuss your specific case and the circumstances surrounding the non-payment of child support.  We will need to know how much they are supposed to pay every month, how far behind they are, and if they have been making any form of payment recently.  Once retained, we will review the court order before making a recommendation on how to proceed.

As an attorney, we can help you to calculate how much is owed to you and draft a letter to be sent to your ex formerly requesting payment.  Sometimes people will respond to a lawyer, even when they have been ignoring your request.  The understanding that you will take legal action is a very compelling incentive to work out a payment plan.  This is an option for resolving the dispute and can even be settled out of court.  The key is to have a lawyer draft the agreements so that if they fall behind again, you have additional documentation.

If your ex is unresponsive or simply refuses to cooperate and pay child support, the next option is to go to court.  We will have the opportunity to present the judge with the initial order to pay child support, the documentation proving that support has not been received, and a formal request for a judgment in order to collect on what is owed.

The judge will typically review the income and employment information for your ex prior to making a final ruling.  Any information that you have regarding their employment should be provided prior to the hearing so that we can properly prepare and include it into our arguments.  As your attorney, we will argue the case on your behalf and make a compelling argument for the judge to enforce the child support order. 

If your ex is currently employed, their wages may be garnished in order to collect the child support.  This means that there employer would receive a letter informing them that a certain amount of money needs to be withheld from their paycheck and paid towards the obligation.  If you know that your spouse has that money available, and can prove it, the judge may order a lump sum to be paid at one time.  The key in both scenarios is proving that they have the resources to pay child support.

If your ex refuses to comply with the judgment, they could be sentenced to jail on a temporary basis.  This threat is typically enough to prompt people to start paying.  As a local attorney, we can help you through the process so that you can begin collecting the money you deserve.  

A Lawyer Can Help You Increase Your Visitation Privileges

If you are divorced, a lawyer can help you to make changes to your child custody and visitation agreements.  Just because a custody arrangement has been set with the other parent, or by a judge, does not mean that it has to stay set in stone until the child turns eighteen.  There are ways to make changes to the schedule by going through the court system.

As a parent that does not have primary custody, it can be incredibly difficult and painful to not see your child as often as you would like.  Sometimes the situation arises due to a military deployment, financial issues, a living situation, work reasons, or even substance abuse.  It may be hard to comprehend living with a set schedule for years to come, once the reason for the limited custody or visitation has been resolved.  Fortunately, the court system is designed to provide room for change.

Before you file for a change in child custody or visitation, make sure to consult an experienced lawyer.  The court system is exactly that – a system.  There are set rules and procedures that must be followed in order for your case to be heard and in order to win.  Going before a judge without understanding the rules could be detrimental to your case.  Additionally, when arguing why your custody arrangement should be adjusted it is important that your reasons fit within the statute that the judge must reference prior to making a ruling.

When the custody arrangement involves two parents that live in different states, the case becomes even more complicated.  California has a specific law in place, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) which sets forth that California has the right to enforce its actions, even if a parent moves out of state.  This enables custody cases set in California to continue to be enforceable after someone has moved away, as long as one of the parties still lives in the state.  This can be particularly relevant in military divorces.  

As a California custody lawyer, we are experts at understanding custody laws and how they can impact your case. As an experienced attorney, we help clients to gain back some, or all, of the visitation they have lost.  We understand that life circumstances can create situations that negatively impact our clients.  Rather than judging, we help each client to build a case for why they should regain or increase the time they have with their children.  If this is something you want to pursue consider that you will have the burden of proof to show why your request should be granted.  You will also need to demonstrate stability and that you can provide a safe and caring environment for the children when they are with you.  The judge will also make sure that the children will not be impacted negatively by an increase in your visitation time.  As your lawyer, we will help you to create a winning strategy that can be pursued in court.