Spousal Support

Rudy Giuliani’s Tumultuous Divorce

November 13, 2018 | by Roy M. Doppelt

The Law Office of Doppelt and Forney, APLC practices in all aspects of family law including divorce, legal separation and paternity. Call us to schedule your free consultation. At the consultation, we give a legal analysis of the issues with specific techniques and strategies to try and obtain client goals as well as protecting client’s rights.

If you retain our services, we are a full-service law firm. Leave all the confusing paperwork, filings and pleadings to us. We prepare the petition and summons and all the initial dissolution pleadings for filing with the San Diego Superior Court. We will assist with the mandatory preliminary declaration of disclosures including the schedule of assets and debts and income and expense declaration. We can assist with emergency hearings [ex parte] as needed. We also assist with motions for child custody, child visitation, spousal support, alimony, attorney fees, residence exclusion orders and others. We can prepare the marriage settlement agreement and judgment pleadings. We negotiate with opposing counsel and/or opposing party to try and settle case if at all possible. We represent clients in family law court in all of the court houses in San Diego County including downtown, Vista, Chula Vista and El Cajon. Our firm assists with the preparation of all pleadings and court appearances as necessary including the family resolution conferences. We can assist with income withholding orders for wage garnishments.

For Rudy Giuliani and Judith Giuliani, the third time is not the charm.

What are Temporary Orders?

October 26, 2018 | by Roy M. Doppelt

Trust the lawyers at The Law Offices of Doppelt and Forney, APLC to assist you in your divorce, legal separation or paternity case in San Diego County. During the free consultation, we will provide you with legal analysis and potential techniques to help you obtain your legal goals and protect your rights. We represent clients in family law court in all of the court houses in San Diego County including downtown, Vista, Chula Vista and El Cajon. Our firm assists with the preparation of all pleadings and court appearances as necessary including the family resolution conferences. We also handle post judgment motions including motions for modification of child and spousal support and the parenting plan as well as motions to set aside the judgment and enforcement of the judgment, among many other services.

To fully understand our range of services and how we could help you in your San Diego divorce case, call us today to schedule a free consultation.

Once the divorce is final, you and your ex-spouse will have figured out how to handle things such as child custody and visitation, child support and spousal support. But what do you do until then?

New Tax Law Causes Divorce Rush

October 1, 2018 | by Roy M. Doppelt

Trust the San Diego divorce lawyers at The Law Office of Doppelt and Forney, APLC to handle your divorce, legal separation or paternity case. At Doppelt and Forney, our lawyers are constantly learning and adapting to stay ahead of the curve and bring you an unmatched level of expertise.

Rushing to get a divorce? That’s the case for many local San Diego residents, working to quickly finalize their divorce by December 31st, 2018 in lieu of the new tax laws affecting spousal support.

Starting January 1st, 2019, new federal tax laws will eliminate the spousal support deduction. By divorcing in 2018, spousal support payers will be able to annually deduct the money from their taxable income, which may mean thousands of dollars in tax savings for high-income earners.

Seniors, Retirement, and Spousal Support in California Divorce Cases

March 14, 2017 | by Roy M. Doppelt

In 2015, the New York Times reported that, while divorce rates were falling in many groups, they were rising among seniors. According to a Bowling Green State University study reported by usnews.com, the divorce rate among seniors doubled between 1990 and 2010. Divorcing seniors face their own unique set of issues. One of these is the interaction of spousal support and retirement. A recent ruling from the Fourth Appellate District Court offers an important reminder that, just because you are seeking spousal support, that doesn’t diminish your right to retire.

California Woman’s Case for Support Lacks Essential Proof of Man’s Intent to Enter into Contract

March 7, 2017 | by Roy M. Doppelt

Romantic relationships can take many varieties and forms. While many partners desire to ensure the comfort and well-being of their partners, what happens when one partner allegedly enters into an oral contract to support the other for life? That was the issue presented to the First Appellate District recently, which upheld a lower court ruling that found the absence of a valid contract because the case lacked proof of a “meeting of the minds.”

When Fault May Still Matter in Your California Divorce Case

December 13, 2016 | by Roy M. Doppelt

California has operated under a “no-fault” standard for divorce cases since Governor Ronald Reagan signed the country’s first no-fault divorce law in 1970. Since that time, spouses may seek a dissolution of their marriage in California as long as they meet the jurisdictional requirements and allege that the marriage has suffered an irretrievable breakdown due to irreconcilable differences. As a recent Southern California case decided by the Second District Court of Appeal demonstrates, the standard for deciding spousal support is not the same. In litigating spousal support, the parties may offer evidence of fault, especially if the at-fault party is the spouse seeking support.

Despite Wife’s Conduct, Orange County Husband’s Lack of Proof of Remarriage Dooms Effort to End Alimony Obligation

December 6, 2016 | by Roy M. Doppelt

In family law, as with many areas of the law, it pays to pay close attention to “the fine print.” Each detail and every term of any legal agreement into which you enter has the potential to have a profound impact on you. For example, if you agree in a marital settlement to pay alimony until your ex-spouse’s death or your ex-spouse’s remarriage, the law and the courts will hold you to that. As a result, if you want to end your alimony payments, you’ll need clear proof of an actual marriage, not just evidence that your ex is holding herself out as married to her new partner. That was what ultimately defeated one Southern California husband’s case, recently decided by the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

California Wife Entitled to Compensation After Husband’s Waiver of Military Pension Cuts off Payments

November 22, 2016 | by Roy M. Doppelt

In family law cases, as with many areas of life, one can sometimes lose an individual battle but still achieve a larger outcome of success in the end. In a recent example, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s ruling that raised an ex-husband’s spousal support obligation to make up for the man’s declining receipt of future military pension payments. The ex-wife was not allowed to receive this money as spousal support because the law doesn’t allow judges to increase spousal support just to make up for lost community property interests. The ex-wife was entitled to receive this money, but it just could not be in the form of spousal support.

California Court Interprets Agreement’s ‘Cohabitation’ Language to Require ‘Committed Relationship’

September 27, 2016 | by Roy M. Doppelt

A recent case from the Fourth District Court of Appeal serves as a reminder of the factual and legal intricacies that can be involved in the issues of cohabitation and the termination of spousal support. In this case, the ex-husband had ample evidence that the ex-wife had a boyfriend who resided primarily with her and that the couple were in a romantic/sexual relationship that included sleeping together, vacationing together, and spending holidays and birthdays together. This, the appeals court ruled, was not enough. To bring an end to his spousal support payments, the husband needed to offer evidence regarding whether the wife’s relationship was “akin to marriage” in involving a mutual commitment to support each other, and he also needed to establish the extent to which the new relationship affected the wife’s need for spousal support.

Wording of Stipulated Divorce Judgment Didn’t Allow California Husband to Alter Child and Spousal Support Obligations

September 13, 2016 | by Roy M. Doppelt

One way to resolve your divorce case is to agree to a stipulated judgment of dissolution. You should be very cautious about agreeing to a stipulated judgment without consulting counsel first, however, since doing so may involve your surrendering certain rights you might otherwise have. In a recent case originating in Orange County, that’s exactly what happened. In the Fourth District Court of Appeal‘s ruling, the husband could not pursue a termination of his spousal support, even though the statutes allow for cessation after a recipient spouse remarries, since he had contracted to continue paying even if his ex-wife remarried.