Smart Law Blog

To get child support in California for your children, you must get a child support order. To get a child support order, a parent must ask for a court order from the court or from a local child support agency.

How this is done depends on whether you already have a family court case that involves both of the child’s parents or if you are starting a case for the first time.

The process of getting a child support order can be complicated. Here, you should try to get help if you can before you try to complete this process on your own without assistance from a lawyer.

How you go about getting a child support order may depend on whether you are married to the other parent or have a registered domestic partnership. If both parents are married or have a registered domestic partnership, child support orders can be asked for if there is a divorce, legal separation, or annulment, if there is a domestic violence restraining order, if there is a petition for custody and support of minor children, or if there is a local child support agency case. Once you have started one of these cases, you can ask for child support order.

If you are not married to the other parent and do not have a registered domestic partnership, you can ask for a child support order if there is a paternity case, if there is a domestic violence restraining order, if there is a petition for custody and support of minor children, or if there is a local child support agency case.

To insure that you have the best chance of success with you child support order, contact SmartLaw to be referred to a qualified child support attorney in Southern California. (866)SMARTLAW, SmartLaw.org.

In California, generally, “child abduction” is the violation of another’s right to physical custody of or visitation with a child. Here, a violation may be the result of a taking, enticing away, keeping, withholding, or concealing the involved child. It may be important to distinguish “child abduction,” which refers to a family related abduction, and “kidnapping,” which is an abduction by a stranger.

Most often, abduction occurs within the context of parents who are subject to a custody order.

If there is a child abduction within the context of an out-of-state custody order, court orders from other states or countries are generally enforceable in California. Here, if you live in California, it is child abduction for another person to deprive you of visitation or custody, even if your custody rights are contingent on court orders from another state.

If you believe your child has been abducted, contact your county’s district attorney to find out how to report child abduction in your county. If you believe that your child is in immediate danger, call 911.

The issue of so called Jackson Credits typically arises when one parent claims that the other parent has not paid the appropriate amount of child support. Here, the parent that is in arrears, the parent charged with owing unpaid child support, can request Jackson Credits for the time that he or she has unnecessarily had custody of the child. The basic idea is that by having custody of the child when not being required to have custody of the child, the parent has paid his or her share of child support and should get a type of credit against his or her obligation to pay child support.

Jackson Credits arose out of a case known as Jackson v. Jackson. In this case, the mother of the child charged the child’s father with not paying the required amount of child support. However, the father had 100% custody of the child. Though the previously approved child support order required the father to pay child support, the court determined that the father in this case met his child support obligation by maintaining custody of the child.

If you think you may be entitled to Jackson Credits, you may be able to request a judicial review of unpaid child support. To accomplish this, a motion must be filed with the correct court with an explanation and itemization of your child support, including the amount you have paid in child support, and evidence showing that you are entitled to a Jackson Credit.

To get the right start with obtaining Jackson Credits, it is important to contact an experienced attorney that can help you determine if you qualify for Jackson Credits and assist you throughout the process of obtaining Jackson Credits. Contact SmartLaw now to find a qualified lawyer to assist with Jackson Credits.

Before 2018, in divorce proceedings pets were considered to be property, meaning that one spouse would become the sole owner of the pet after divorce. At that time, if you did not become the sole owner of a pet, you may never see the pet again.

However, due to new legislation, after January 1, 2019, judges in court proceedings throughout California are to defer to the best interest and care of the animal. Below are some key points in this relatively new law regarding pet custody:

• Either spouse can petition an order seeking custody of their pet.
• Companion animals must be treated differently from other kinds of marital property.
• California courts can establish a custody-like arrangement (shared custody) between the separating or divorcing spouses and their pets.
• The court can enter an order requesting one spouse to take care of the animal before final ownership is determined.
• The court will assign joint or sole ownership of community property pets taking the pet’s well-being into consideration.

Some of the factors that a court may consider when determining the shared custody of a pet are as follows:

• Safety and health of the pet
• Spouse who covers the vet costs
• Spouse who acquired the pet
• Spouse who has a more emotional connection with the pet
• Spouse with enough resources or space to care for the pet
• Spouse that puts the most time in to feed, play with, and otherwise care for the pet
• Spouse who often manages the animal’s daily needs
• Which spouse is the better care provider
• Spouse whose name the animal is registered under

Since pets are considered to be community property in California, a family court may assign joint and sole ownership of the pet.

If you are considering divorce and would like to have a divorce attorney that is experienced in dealing with pet custody issues, contact SmartLaw today.