Category: Paternity

Divorce Law LA blog posts about paternity.

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Child Custody Child Visitation Family Law Mediation Modification to Family Court Orders Paternity

Appealing a Child Custody Ruling

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Child custody cases are difficult due to the nature of the subject. A family law court will always rule in the best interest of the child. It’s important to note that an appeals court will not review a case just because one party disagrees with what the judge decided. If you feel your child custody agreement was arrived at because the court made a substantive error (either procedural or legal) you are able to appeal the court’s decision. Here’s how to appeal a child custody ruling.

Work with a Family Law Attorney

Working with a family law attorney will help you prove your case. In the case of appealing an already decided agreement, the family law attorney will need to prove that the previous decision was arrived at inaccurately due to a legal error or a procedural error.

Rules of Your Jurisdiction

Every state has different rules that given child custody cases and appeals. A family law attorney will be familiar with the rules of your specific jurisdiction and will be able to help guide you through the process. If you are not working with a family law attorney, you will need to research the rules on your own. These jurisdiction rules govern what your timeline is for filing an appeal to your child custody case, as well as exact guidelines for what should be contained in the petition to appeal. You can find these rules online or at your local courthouse.

Prepare an Appellate Petition

Next, you will need to prepare an appellate petition. This petition outlines why you are appealing the current child custody decision, as well as lists the errors that the lower court made when deciding on your child custody decision. If you are not working with a family law attorney, you might want to have the petition you fill out reviewed by one, just to ensure it has been done correctly. Next, you will file this petition with the court, as well as have a notification of the filing served to your opposing party.

Review of Appellate Petition

The court will then review the appellate petition and decide whether or not to hear your child custody appeal. If the court decides to hear your case, you will need to prepare a brief that explains your reasons for appealing the initial child custody agreement. This brief should include the lower court’s rules, case law, and all the facts that were presented in the initial custody hearing. A judge will review this and offer a final decision.

Source: eHow, Preparing a Child Custody Appeal, 2014

Divorce Law LA, Esq.

Divorce Law LA

33 S. Catalina Ave. Ste. 202

Pasadena, Ca. 91106

(626) 478-3550

https://bestdivorcelawyer.co

Categories
Child Custody Child Visitation Family Law Mediation Paternity

Preparing for Your Sole Child Custody Mediation or Hearing

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One you have file your petition to be granted sole child custody you will receive a date for either a mediation session or a court hearing. You’ll want to be prepared going into this meeting. Here are some steps to prepare.

Work with Your Family Law Attorney

Your family law attorney will help you prepare for the mediation or court hearing. If you have been working with a family law attorney up to this point, chances are you have already built your case for why the other parent is unfit to raise the child or children you share. If you have not been working with a family law attorney, you will need to gather evidence of this on your own. We’ll discuss this more in depth further below.

Serve the Other Parent

After the petition has been filed, you’ll need to let the other parent know that you have done so, and that you are requesting that a change be made to the current custody agreement. You can either work with your family law attorney to have the notification served, or work with a service company or the courthouse to have this done.  Once the notification is served, the person who served the papers will need to provide you with proof that the other parent has been made aware. This is called “Proof of Service.” You’ll need to provide this to the court.

Preparing Evidence

Family law courts prefer to award joint custody to both parents. Because of this, you will need to prove that the other parent is unfit and unable to handle custody of your child. This may be proven a number of ways. Here are a few examples:

  • A history of abuse or neglect. Are there any police reports that have been filed against the other parent? Are there other pieces of evidence? Are there witnesses that can corroborate your story?
  • Lifestyle. Does the other parent have a job? Is it a steady job that can ensure the other parent is able to financially take care of the child? Where does the other parent live? Is it a safe environment?
  • Emotional and physical health. Is the other parent physically and mentally able to care for the child?

Once you have prepared all your evidence, either on your own, or with the help of a family law attorney, you will be ready for the mediation or court hearing. If during the mediation session you are unable to come to an agreement, then the case will need to go before a judge. Hopefully, either through mediation or the court hearing, you will then be granted with sole child custody.

Source: WikiHow, How to File for Full Custody, 2014

Divorce Law LA, Esq.

Divorce Law LA

33 S. Catalina Ave. Ste. 202

Pasadena, Ca. 91106

(626) 478-3550

https://bestdivorcelawyer.co

Categories
Child Custody Child Support Child Visitation Family Law Paternity Spousal Support

Miller Custody Battle

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An agreement has finally been reached in the custody battle between Olympic skier Bode Miller, 37, and his ex-girlfriend.

Custody Battle

Five-time world champion Miller and ex-girlfriend, Sara McKenna, 28, a student at Columbia University, have been stuck in a bitter custody battle over their 18-month-old son, Samuel. The two have struck a deal just on the eve of a trial where each were expected to bring witnesses to testify to the psychological impact of the the temporary joint custody arrangement was having on Samuel. The two were also in disagreement regarding the amount of child support McKenna had requested.

Previous Custody Ruling

McKenna is a retired Marine who is attending Columbia on the GI Bill. She gave birth to Samuel during her first semester at Columbia in New York. Prior to the baby even being born, Miller was awarded custody of him in California court. Initially, a New York family court judge supported the California ruling and thus, ordered McKenna to surrender Samuel to Miller. A judge in the Appellate Division in Manhattan overturned that decision, ruling that a custody decision needed to be made in New York (not California) because the baby had been born in New York. As a result, McKenna and the Samuel were reunited. Over the past year McKenna and Miller (along with his new wife, volleyball player Morgan Beck) have shared custody, splitting time between California and New York.

McKenna and Miller

McKenna and Miller had a brief fling while McKenna was in California and McKenna got pregnant. Allegedly, when she got pregnant, Miller did not want to take part in Samuel’s life. Thus, McKenna enrolled in the veterans program at Columbia. She had already accepted the scholarship to Columbia and made plans to move to New York when Miller filed for custody in California.

 

For advice on child custody and paternity, you need the expert law firm of Divorce Law LA. Schedule a consultation today.

Source: Daily News, Bode Miller settles custody fight for son with ex Sara McKenna, November 17, 2014

Divorce Law LA, Esq.

Divorce Law LA

33 S. Catalina Ave. Ste. 202

Pasadena, Ca. 91106

(626) 478-3550

https://bestdivorcelawyer.co

Categories
Child Custody Child Support Child Visitation Family Law Paternity

Patric’s Paternity and Custody Ruling

Recently, a California court ruled Jason Patric is a legal parent of Gus Schreiber, the 4-year old boy that was conceived with Patric’s sperm. Patric’s custody lawsuit has made news for the past two years via accusations and media campaigns. Most notably, it has brought one question to the forefront of paternity issues: At what point does a sperm donor become a father?

Paternity and Custody Lawsuit

Patric agreed to donate his sperm to ex-girlfiend Danielle Schreiber in 2008. The donation was under the conditions that she did would not expect to receive child support and that she would not tell anyone that Patric was the biological father. Gus was born in 2009. At that time, Patric’s conditions remained the same. But in 2011, Patric and Schreiber rekindled their relationship. During that time, Schreiber, Gus, and Patric spent time together. Schreiber even told the child to call Patric “Dada.” The two broke up in 2012. Patric decided to sue for custody. A media circus ensued. Allegations of abuse by Patric were made. Patric put together an organization called “Stand Up For Gus,” with aims to change laws around sperm donor rights in the nation.

Family Code Section 7613(b)

California’s Family Code Section 7613(b) states if a man provides semen to a physician “for use in artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization of a woman other than the donor’s wife is treated in law as if he were not the natural father of a child thereby conceived.”  This law, like others pertaining to children conceived without intercourse, was written in the 1970s as a way to protect rights of parents using sperm banks, as well as the anonymous donors to the sperm banks. But that’s not the case as much anymore as families become more and more untraditional. There are now numerous parent-donor scenarios.

New Laws, in Light of Patric’s Case

Patric’s fight for custody of Gus has generated numerous new bills, such as the Modern Family Act, which defines and protects the rights of these new parent-donor scenarios and “nontraditional” parents such as LGBTQ families. It also defines cases where a donor (sperm or egg) plays a parental role in the child’s life, regardless of the type of relationship they share with the other parent.

But the judge’s ruling does not necessarily mean Patric will get custody of Gus. In light of the highly publicized and ugly paternity battle, a judge might decide Gus is best left in his mother’s care.

 

For advice on child custody and paternity, you need the expert law firm of Divorce Law LA. Schedule a consultation today.

Source: Refinery29, Jason Patric’s Ugly Battle Raises One Important Question, November 4, 2014

Divorce Law LA, Esq.

Divorce Law LA

33 S. Catalina Ave. Ste. 202

Pasadena, Ca. 91106

(626) 478-3550

https://bestdivorcelawyer.co

Categories
Paternity

Updated Paternity Test

DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC) has announced the launch of a new Paternity Test Kit that will be available for sale in national retail stores. 

The Paternity Test

The world’s largest DNA Paternity Testing Company, DDC, has created a user-friendly package that provides not only clear cut information to consumers, but also the results of the test for only an $89 lab fee, thus allowing the company to expand their nationwide consumer reach. The DDC will test all DNA samples twice, and return results within 2 business days. A 1 day option is available. The average Power of Exclusion is greater than 99.9999%. 

Online Registration

DDC will also allow customers to register online without having to complete a paper form – thus catering to consumers who need information, and are used to receiving information an an accelerate pace. Through the online registration, consumers are able to choose their preferred method of reception for the test results – with via text or email as options. 

Tested Twice

Chief Science Officer of DDC, Dr. Michael Baird is considered to be the country’s foremost expert in DNA and paternity testing. He proclaims the “DDC provides the only home paternity test in the US market that is always tested twice, and a serious tool that could change the dynamic of the customer’s family forever.” 

David Silver, Vice President of Marketing at DDC says, “We are thrilled to expand our sales outreach and have forged business relationships with online and traditional store retailers. We take pride in offering a convenient and private paternity test which includes many useful features like online registration and status updates for mobile phone users. Our customers want their information quickly and DDC will do everything we can to meet their needs.”

Court Consideration

For consumers who need their test to be recognized in court, Silver adds that “once the consumer purchases the kit, DDC will offer a special price consideration for customers to upgrade to a legal, court-admissible paternity test.”

For advice on paternity issues, you need the expert law firm of Divorce Law LA. Schedule a consultation today.

Source: News-medical, DNA Diagnostics Center launches new Paternity Test Kit, September 30, 2014

Divorce Law LA, Esq.

Divorce Law LA

33 S. Catalina Ave. Ste. 202

Pasadena, Ca. 91106

(626) 478-3550

https://bestdivorcelawyer.co

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