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Law Offices of Solis Cooperson
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We have provided a "question" format and we have attempted to answer those questions most readily asked...
A common question asked: "Do I need an Attorney?"
..A Marital proceeding is often complex and concerns some of the most important issues, those regarding your children and your property.
..An Attorney should most often be used.
..Marriages of short duration, which do not contain real estate, pension plans, alimony, children, child support, and/or domestic violence issues can be terminated with a Summary Dissolution, not involving an attorney. The Superior Court has information concerning this procedure.
.. Contacting a qualified Attorney for all the other areas is advised.
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Another Question: "How long does it take?"
..There is a minimum period in California of six months, from the time the petition is filed and there is a response. Generally however, the procedure takes about one year, or more, if there are child and property issues which cannot be settled.
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Question: "Who will get custody of the children?"
...California uses a standard known as "best interests" of the children and this is entirely within the discretion of the Judge, if the parents cannot agree.
..The court will weigh issues of status quo, which parent shares, age of the children, domestic violence issues, and a variety of other factors.
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Question: "How long will support last and who pays?"
...Support is usually paid by the party who has the greater income to the party who has lesser income. The biggest variable in child support is the relative time factor of the parties relating to custody and visitation.
...Child support lasts until the child is 18 yrs old and has graduated high school.
...Spousal support typically lasts for about one half the term of the marriage, howver a marriage of over 20 yrs can result in life long support, or until the supported spouse remarries.
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Question: "Can we save Attorney Fees though Mediation?"
..Answer is Yes.
.. Mediation is the attempt to reach a common solution without protracted litigation.
.....If the parties are agreeable, this office can Mediate the Dispute, with a waiver from the parties as to a conflict of interest. A Mediation will require the parties to disclose all areas, and we will apply the Law fairly and evenly as to the parties. If the parties do not like the result or still cannot agree, the Mediation can be terminated without prejudice, and the parties can then seek independent counsel.
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Question: "What property needs to be divided?"
..California is a Community Property State, which means that all property acquired by either or both of the parties during the marriage, except for property acquired by Inheritance, must be evenly divided.
...There are many exceptions however, and each situations needs consideration on its respective merits.
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An Attorney choice is important...
..You will want an attorney who will work with you and who will understand your personal needs and goals.
>>>>Solis Cooperson is uniquely qualified to represent you or to mediate your Dissolution.
..Mr. Cooperson is an Attorney with over 20 years experience in California.
...Our clients are important to us.
.. Even before becoming an Attorney Mr. Cooperson obtained a Graduate Education in Business, Accounting and Economics.
..While attending Grad School, Mr. Cooperson was employed at the Internal Revenue Service, and he earned two Certificates of Award there.
..While in Law School, Mr. Cooperson worked as a TAX MANAGER for a large CPA firm in West Los Angeles. He supervised and mananged Certified Public Accountants, in the preparation of Income Tax Returns.
...Mr. Cooperson has lectured to Accountants in the Santa Monica Area, with respect to the Accountants role in a dissolution proceeding.
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Most Dissolution actions have issues concerning property dissolution and support.
..It all comes down to the money issues in most cases.
...Having an Attorney who is, and has also worked at and who has an active Tax Business is a tremendous asset.
..Mr. Cooperson has encountered other Divorce Attorneys, who haven't the slightest idea of what a Tax Return or a business Balance Sheet is supposed to look like.
...The first thing that a non educated Attorney will do, is to hire an additional expert, an Accountant, at your expense.
..Mr. Cooperson also has a great advantage in the examination and cross examination of Accounting experts hired by the opposing party. Additionally, the Attorney will likely bill you for more of his time as he now has to communicate with the Accountant.
.. Why pay for two experts, when Mr. Cooperson is an Attorney and an Accountant.
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Some of the complex areas which arise concerning money issues is in the case of Entertainment Workers and also people that run their own business, are self employed, or that have professional pactices.
..Very often, the Tax Return does not correctly reflect the person's ability to pay support.
..Only with proper Accounting expertise and analysis can the proper determinations be made.
.. Person who are in the Entertainment Industry frequestly have periods of high income, and maybe no income at all, follwoed by another period of income.
.. Only with the proper Accounting Analysis can a proper determination be made.
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Abuse in the Family:
...A grave area in Dissolution sometimes involves situations where there is abuse in the Family, either regarding a child or a spouse.
...This requires special care.
..Mr. Cooperson has extensive expertise in the areas of Child and/or Spousal abuse and has prosecuted many cases regarding these issues.
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>>>Question:
.."How is support calculated?"
..California uses a mathematical formula involving many variables. The most important are: time share and income.
..A computer program is available to make the calculation which is complex. Most people cannot afford to purchase the software to do this and Attorneys uually have this as part of their regular tools.
..At the Attorney interview, a client will need to bring information concerning the present income of both spouses. Additionally, all Income Tax Returns for all individuals and Businesses must be reviewed.
. We have provided for your information a copy of the DissoMaster screen, used for the input. This will give you an idea of what information is required. (Please go to page 5, to see the DissoMaster.)
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After the Dissolution action is completed, then what should a client expect?
"Do I have any rights after the Judgment is entered?"
...A Marital Judgment can be changed or modified. One thing that might occur, is that a party intentionally omitted an asset. This can result in a "fraud" in the agreement and it may be subject to modification.
...Parties should monitor Judgments as circumstances change. Most commonly, people change jobs and their income changes. A party has a right to annually monitor the income of the other party. Based on a Change of Circumstances, or in increase or decrease in income which will result in a child or spousal support award change, a party can go back to court to get a Modified Judgment.
...Modifications may also be need when the child's needs change, or when a party has to move away for a new job or even a new marriage.
There is self help procedure a party can use to ascertain any annual change in income. (Note that our office can also do this for you.)
...A party has the right to get information concerning the income of the other party. We have provide to you, the Cout Web Site where you can download the forms to do this.
Request for Income Data
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/fl150.pdf
Download the form and follow the instuctions. Remember that you cannot execute your own proof of service and this can be signed by a friend.
You will also need to download Form FL150 at the same site.
Note that the hyperlink given require a Version of Adobe of 5.0 or greater. If you are using a lower version you cannot load the "fillable" form and must use the following links:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/documents/fl396.pdf
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/documents/fl150.pdf
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