Title: January 23, 2008
Q: My husband is filing for divorce. He says he will drop me from his health insurance. Can he do that?
A: No, he cannot. On the back of the Summons that will be served on you, along with the Petition for Dissolution, there are specific “Standard Family Law restraining Orders”. One of these orders states as follows: “Starting immediately, you and your spouse are restrained from … changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties.” This means neither one of you can cancel insurance on the other.
Q: When calculating child support that I will have to pay by ex-wife, is the income of my new wife considered?
A: Family Code Section 4057.5 specifically mandates and precludes the Court from directly considering the new mate’s income in raising or lowering child support absent an “extraordinary case” in which a child would otherwise suffer extreme hardship under the guideline amount. In other words, the Court is precluded from considering your new wife’s income in setting the amount you must pay in child support, unless Dissomaster, the program used by California Courts, dictates such a low amount of child support if you have no income of your own while your new wife enjoys a large income that it would be a considerable hardship on the child to live on such a low child support amount. It is extremely rare for the Court to consider the new spouse’s income to award child support for a child from a previous marriage because Family Code Section 4057.5 prohibits it, except in dire circumstances.
Q: If I divorce my stay-at-home wife of 15 years, how much spousal support should I expect to pay and for how long? She was a teacher before she married me and could easily go back to work.
A: The Dissomaster program is used by the Court to ascertain the amount of spousal support you need to give your wife. Your income is used as a basis. A 15-year marriage is considered a long term marriage, and therefore it is possible that you may have to support your wife until she remarries or dies. It also depends on her age and her health condition. If she is in her sixties and not in very good health, it is unlikely that she will be hired by any school district. If she is in her forties and in excellent health, she will be urged to get a job as soon as possible. If a marriage is less than 10 years in length, often the Court use half the length of the marriage as the gauge to award spousal support. You must realize that circumstances are different in every divorce and the Court must take these differences into consideration.
Maxine de Villefranche has been an attorney for 15 years and is practicing law in Tehachapi and Lancaster. Send your questions via fax at (661)825-8880 or e-mail at maxinedev@msn.com. She will answer your questions to the best of her abilities.
Showing posts with label health insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health insurance. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Legal Eaze #63 Destructive Child/Prepaid Legal Plans
Title: February 7, 2007
Q. I am a single mother of two. My son is 12 years old and my daughter, 7 years old. Their father has been in prison for the last 5 years. My son is very big for his age and it has been reported to me that he is a bully at school. I searched his room on several occasions, and he appears to have a growing collection of items that I believe he took by force from other kids, such as backpacks, fancy pens, journals, jackets and shirts, etc. I also caught him once burning the tail of our family dog. I just do not know what to do to stop my son from this destructive behavior and I am terribly worried that he will eventually hurt another kid and I will be sued for his actions. Please help!
A. I certainly cannot be the first professional that you have turned to for help! An attorney may not be the best person to give you advice in this situation. Drastic measures need to be taken very quickly before your son turns into a habitual criminal. Either he needs to be scared straight, or be in therapy, or both. He is showing all the signs of growing up to be the worst kind of human being possible. I am sure there are counselors available at his school. I would suggest consulting a psychologist who could provide you with guidance. Make sure to question your daughter about her brother’s behavior towards her. If your son is a bully at school, he may also be a bully at home, harming your daughter. In the meantime, I believe it would be a good idea for you to place the family dog with another family. I would hate for both your daughter and your dog to be injured by your son. You have a very serious problem on your hands and I am afraid that you have little influence or control over the dangerous propensities shown by your son. Please get some professional help as soon as possible.
Q. Is there such a thing as “legal insurance” just like “health insurance”? Can you please tell me where to find it?
A. Yes there is. There are several Prepaid legal plans available on the market. However, I cannot advertise any one of them, so I would suggest you go on the Internet, using your favorite search engine and input the words “Prepaid Legal Plans”. Several plans will come up. Contact each one and find out the requirements for joining the Plan. Good luck!
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
Q. I am a single mother of two. My son is 12 years old and my daughter, 7 years old. Their father has been in prison for the last 5 years. My son is very big for his age and it has been reported to me that he is a bully at school. I searched his room on several occasions, and he appears to have a growing collection of items that I believe he took by force from other kids, such as backpacks, fancy pens, journals, jackets and shirts, etc. I also caught him once burning the tail of our family dog. I just do not know what to do to stop my son from this destructive behavior and I am terribly worried that he will eventually hurt another kid and I will be sued for his actions. Please help!
A. I certainly cannot be the first professional that you have turned to for help! An attorney may not be the best person to give you advice in this situation. Drastic measures need to be taken very quickly before your son turns into a habitual criminal. Either he needs to be scared straight, or be in therapy, or both. He is showing all the signs of growing up to be the worst kind of human being possible. I am sure there are counselors available at his school. I would suggest consulting a psychologist who could provide you with guidance. Make sure to question your daughter about her brother’s behavior towards her. If your son is a bully at school, he may also be a bully at home, harming your daughter. In the meantime, I believe it would be a good idea for you to place the family dog with another family. I would hate for both your daughter and your dog to be injured by your son. You have a very serious problem on your hands and I am afraid that you have little influence or control over the dangerous propensities shown by your son. Please get some professional help as soon as possible.
Q. Is there such a thing as “legal insurance” just like “health insurance”? Can you please tell me where to find it?
A. Yes there is. There are several Prepaid legal plans available on the market. However, I cannot advertise any one of them, so I would suggest you go on the Internet, using your favorite search engine and input the words “Prepaid Legal Plans”. Several plans will come up. Contact each one and find out the requirements for joining the Plan. Good luck!
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 14 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661)825-8880
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