Source: https://www.lpeplaw.com/category/family-law/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 21:13:30+00:00

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California Divorce: What is a Moore Marsden Analysis?
Who or What are Moore and Marsden?
Moore and Marsden are two cases decided by the California Supreme Court and the California Appellate Court in 1980 and 1982 respectively. These cases dealt with the issue of how to determine the community property interest in a house.
Generally, a house purchased before marriage will be treated as the purchaser’s separate property. However, during marriage if the mortgage is paid with community funds a portion of the value of the house may become community property. Because California is a community property state, this means all community property is divided equally in a divorce.
When do I Use a Moore Marsden analysis?
The decisions of the Moore and Marsden cases are the basis for what is called the Moore Marsden analysis. The Moore Marsden analysis applies a formula to determine what portion of a house is community property due to mortgage payments made during marriage with community funds.
To apply the Moore Marsden analysis, you need to have two key factors. First, any mortgage payments made must be made with community funds. Second, these payments must include payment of the loan principal and not only interest.
How do I Apply a Moore Marsden Calculation?
If you meet the above two factors, you must compare the market value of your home at the time of your marriage and the market value at them time of your divorce proceedings to calculate the amount the house has increased in value during the marriage.
You then compare the amount principal paid during the marriage to the total purchase price of the house to calculate what percentage of the purchase price was paid during the marriage.
Next you take the percentage of the purchase price that was paid by the community and compare that to the amount your house has increased in value during marriage and add to it the amount of the principal paid by the community to calculate the total amount of the house that the community is entitled to.
Finally, in a divorce this amount is divided between the spouses because it is community property.
For example, if your house was worth $100,000 at the time of marriage and $200.000 at the time of divorce, then the house has increased in value by $100,000.
If you purchased the house for $50.000 and during your marriage paid off $10,000 of principal with community funds, then 20% was paid by the community.
Using the above examples, you take the percentage paid by the community, 20%, of the amount your house increased in value, $100,000, and add the amount of principal paid during the marriage, $10,000, which equals $30,000. This means that the community would be entitled to $30,000 of the $200,000 house.
This would mean that in the above example, each spouse would be entitled to $15,000 as community property is divided equally. The remainder of the house value and the balance due on the loan is kept by the spouse that purchased the house with separate funds before the marriage.
In a typical divorce, there are many additional factors that may be involved in the calculation. Refinancing and home improvements made with community funds both influence the calculation. Further, it may simply be difficult to agree on the required values of the home with your spouse.
Because of the complex nature of the Moore Marsden analysis, it is important to discuss your circumstances with a knowledgeable expert. If you own a home and are considering divorce, please contact one of the experienced attorneys at Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri.
https://www.lpeplaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LPEP_PC.png 0 0 Michael Lonich https://www.lpeplaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/LPEP_PC.png Michael Lonich2019-03-14 08:00:192019-03-12 18:57:45California Divorce: What is a Moore Marsden Analysis?
About forty percent of all marriage proposals occur during the proposal season – the time between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s day – with Valentine’s day as one of the most popular days of the year. While Valentine’s day brings a romantic feeling full of roses and chocolates, February is also the beginning of another season: divorce season. February has the highest rate of divorce filings out of the year, and there is a dramatic increase in referrals for divorce lawyers the day after Valentine’s day. Valentine’s day can elicit strong emotions and the statistics show that people follow their passions this month either by beginning or ending a marriage.
Staying married is not always easy or simple. In the United States, the divorce rate is around 50% and is even higher for second and third marriages. There are many complex issues that arise during marriage that a couple must navigate, particularly surrounding finances. Money is often the number one cause of conflict in a marriage, and as many as thirty percent of couples that fight about money end up divorced.
Typically, a premarital agreement is intended to create conditions that will encourage the growth and health of a marriage. The traditional agreement tends to focus on property owned before marriage by the couple as well as property that may be earned during the marriage. Although it seems like a premarital agreement would be counter-intuitive to romance, discussion of these important financial issues can help a couple grow. It can benefit the confidence in a relationship for couples to openly discuss their concerns and to plan together for the future.
Because of the cost, a premarital agreement may not be for everyone. The traditional factors a couple should consider include the total amount of wealth they possess, and whether there is an un-equal amount of wealth between the couple. Additionally, premarital agreements are gaining popularity with young people who have pursued careers that may lead to a lucrative profession. Protecting their personal efforts is an increasing concern amongst people who might rather not have the state determine their financial future.
If you are feeling swept up by Valentine’s day romance and are planning to propose, considering a premarital agreement may be a great benefit to your future. For more information and advice, please contact one of the experienced attorneys at Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri.
The competency of a party in a family law proceeding can significantly affect how a case will be litigated in California. While California is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that the parties may divorce due to “irreconcilable differences”, the law requires that a person must have the capacity to understand the basic legal and financial consequences of entering into a divorce. Under California Probate Code Section 4609, “capacity” means a person’s ability to understand the nature and consequences of a decision and to make and communicate a decision. In the case of proposed health care, capacity is defined as the ability to understand its significant benefits, risks, and alternatives. To ensure that parties with mental health and competency issues are represented fairly in divorce proceedings, the California legislature gave the judiciary the express authority to appoint a guardian ad litem or a conservator to represent the incompetent person’s best interests.
If the spouse is already protected by a conservator, then the court will presume that a guardian ad litem is necessary and will appoint one without a competency hearing. A guardian ad litem differs from a conservator because a guardian ad litem only serves up until the conclusion of the court proceeding in question. The Latin term “ad litem” means “for the suit.” Thus, a guardian ad litem is a temporary guardian. In contrast, a conservator may persist beyond the final adjudication of a single case.
Competency of a party may also be an issue in proceedings to obtain an annulment. Pursuant to Family Code section 2210(c), a marriage is voidable if either party is of “unsound mind” while entering the marriage. Accordingly, a marriage can later be annulled where there is a showing that at least one of the parties was incompetent. Just as a third-party may move for a court to order a guardian ad litem or conservator, certain third parties can also bring annulments. Some children for example may choose to bring a nullity action after their parent has died, when the new marriage results in that child being cut off from the inheritance.
If you are seeking information or counsel regarding competency issues during divorce, please contact one of the experienced attorneys at Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri – we offer free half-hour consultations. We also offer free wills to all of our family law clients during the process of their divorce.
Debating on whether or not to present your future spouse with a prenuptial agreement can be a hot button issue. Nothing is more romantic than planning for the possibility of divorce before your wedding day. If you are the type of person that would like to have protections regarding your property, but do not want a full-fledged prenuptial agreement, there are many options available to you. Since in California we run a community property system, acting upon these options are necessary to ensure that your separate property stays separate. Community property is all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state. (Cal Fam Code § 760). Separate property is all property acquired before marriage or during marriage by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, including the rents, issues, and profits of the separate property. (Cal Fam Code § 770). As a married person, however, you can generally maintain your own “separate property” by making sure it literally stays separate and doesn’t mingle with anything community.
Separate Property Inventories: the best way to ensure you have adequate accounting for your separate property assets is to keep an inventory of them. You would identify the property you are bringing into the marriage and identify the rents, issues, and profits from them. Think of this as a proactive tracking and accounting of what you have. While this task is time consuming, it would be helpful to identify the fair market value of each item you are listing as well. In case there is any appreciation in value of your property, your spouse may have a claim to some reimbursement to that appreciation, discussed more later. This inventory does not need to be limited solely to property you acquired prior to marriage. You can update this list during the marriage by identifying any property you received as a gift, devise, bequest or descent. As noted above, property in these categories are also your separate property whether or not you are married at the time you receive it. Id.
Separate Funds: Keep your non-marital funds separate. The best way to generally ensure your marital funds are separate would be to keep any money you earned before marriage, or inherited at any time, in a bank account separate from your spouse’s. Obtaining a sole account in your name gives only you access to the funds in the account and the ability to obtain information from the account. (Carillo, supra at 38-39). Any earnings you receive during marriage should go into another account, either another sole account or a joint account with your spouse. Any earnings you receive during marriage are community property barring an agreement between you and your spouse. This includes any expenditures of time, talent, and labor. (In re Marriage of Dekker, 17 Cal. App. 4th 842, 850, 21 Cal. Rptr. 2d 642, 647 (1993)). When your community property earnings are combined with you separate property earnings it results in “commingled” funds. (Carillo, supra at 79). Courts would need trace the funds back to both separate funds and community funds to determine their contribution to the purchase and thus their entitlement to reimbursement. Keeping funds separate saves a lot of time and confusion and is more likely to result in those funds being treated as your separate property later than if the funds have to be traced.
Real estate: Keep your real property separate from your spouse. One example: purchasing a home before you met or were married to your spouse. If you want that property to remain solely your separate property then you would refrain from adding your spouse’s name to the title of your home. Having joint title on the deed of your home raises a presumption that the property is community property. (Cal Fam Code § 2581). In addition, you would also need to maintain the home solely with non-marital funds. This could be done with money you earned before marriage or an inheritance because these are your separate property, as defined above.
Separate Business: Obtain a valuation of your separate business prior to marriage. The value of your business at divorce will likely be higher than before marriage and would be subject to the community property presumption. Any community contributions to this increase will be entitled to some reimbursement at divorce. (In re Marriage of Dekker, 17 Cal. App. 4th 842, 851, 21 Cal. Rptr. 2d 642, 647 (1993)). The problem is, if you did not obtain the value of your business before marriage, your spouse may receive more than he or she is actually entitled to receive or actually contributed to the business growth. For example: your business was valued at $100,000 on the date of your marriage and worth $500,000 on the date of your divorce. Your spouse would be entitled to $200,000 which is half of the appreciation (or difference between the two valuations). If you did not receive that initial valuation, the court could end up valuing it at less than its actual value at the time, and your spouse would receive more.
If you have an issue concerning your separate property rights, please contact one of the experienced attorneys at Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri. We offer a free half-hour consultations.
Establishing paternity can be an overwhelming time for many parents. There are many situations in which a want or need to establish paternity arises from. One example being a child born out of wedlock, or during a time where the two parents were not married. Even if unmarried, the two can sign a voluntary declaration of parentage at the child’s birth in order to identify them as the mother and father. However, in some cases of children born out of wedlock, the mother may even omit adding the father’s name on the child’s birth certificate. When this happens, it is not hopeless to identify and establish a man as the father later on. The man hoping to establish himself as the child’s father, or even the mother, may file a petition with the court for a paternity judgment. There are many reasons why a parent may want to establish paternity.
First, it is usually, but not always, in the child’s best interest to have both a mother and father figure in the child’s life. Studies have shown that a good working relationship between mother and father are vital to a child’s emotional well-being and results in positive relationships and fewer behavioral problems. (41 Fam. Ct. Rev. 354). If the child has gone many years without knowing the identity of his biological father, it may also give him a sense of relief to finally receive this information and a part of his identity he had not known. Second, establishing paternity can hold a father of a child accountable for support, whether it be emotionally or financially. If a father has been resistant to claim a child as his, establishing this paternity judgement can ensure that he is held responsible for his duties as a father. Third, it could allow a father to be present in a child’s life when the mother is resisting. Lastly, it can allow the child to claim inheritances and social security benefits.
To enable a child to reap these benefits, parentage must be established. As noted above, there a few methods to do so. One option is to sign a voluntary declaration establishing parentage. Usually at birth of the child, the person responsible for registering live births shall offer to the mother, and to the person identified by the mother as being the child’s father, a voluntary declaration of paternity for the two to sign. (Cal Fam Code § 7571). This declaration will hold the same weight as if you had gotten a judgment of parentage in court. (Cal Fam Code § 7573). If signing a declaration at birth was not an option for you or was not done, a voluntary agreement can still be drafted and signed establishing you both as parents later on. The declaration would need to be executed on a form developed by the Department of Child Support Services in consultation with the State Department of Health Services, the California Family Support Council, and child support advocacy groups. (Cal Fam Code § 7574). It will then be signed by a judge and filed in the court.
To get a paternity judgment by a judge, you would need to file a parentage case with your local superior court. Only the child, the child’s biological mother, the presumed father of the child, an adoption agency who has the child, or a prospective adoptive parent may file an action for paternity. (Cal Fam Code § 7630). A presumed father is one who was married to the child’s biological mother when the child was born, there was a valid attempt to try to marry before the child’s birth, they married or attempted to marry after the child’s birth, or one who receives the child into his home as if the child is his. (Cal Fam Code § 7611). There are many forms to file to open a parentage case with the court, so it is advised that you reach out to an experienced attorney to help you. Once forms are filed, the other parent has thirty days to respond to the petition or else it is defaulted. If the other side does respond within that thirty days, they will likely contest the petition and ask the parties to submit to a blood test.
The court may, on its own or because of a motion to the court, order a mother, child, and alleged father to submit to genetic testing to establish paternity. (Cal Fam Code § 7551). So that both parties can feel confident about the results of the test will be accurate, it is required that the genetics testing is done by a laboratory approved by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Cal Fam Code § 7552). If it is determined that he is not the child’s biological father, then the court will resolve the matter accordingly. (Cal Fam Code § 7554). If, however, it is determined that the man is indeed the child’s father then he will have the same obligations and responsibilities to the child as if the issue of parentage was not even raised.
If you have an issue concerning issues of paternity or your rights as a parent, please contact one of the experienced attorneys at Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri. We offer a free half-hour consultations.

References: § 760
 § 770
 § 2581
 § 7571
 § 7573
 § 7574
 § 7630
 § 7611
 § 7551
 § 7552
 § 7554