Attorney Maya Shulman discuss the latest family law matters on VoiceAmerica Talk Radio. Topics in this interview include Divorce, spousal and child support, Paternities and DNA testing, celebrity marriages, representing a 7 year old child in Family Law Court,  and the legal system. Maya is the managing partner at Adelman & Seide, LLP, a distinguished Southern California law firm, whose lawyers exclusively practice all aspects of family law including those matters which involve dissolution of marriage, legal separation of marriage, family law mediation,... 

Mediation is one of the less formal alternatives to litigation that involves impartial third party or panel that intervenes to promote the resolution of the dispute or grievance. HOW DOES MEDIATION WORK? At the beginning of the formal mediation, the mediator explains their role, the confidential nature of the proceedings, any ground rules, the benefits of mediation, and the procedural steps that will be followed, if any. During the fact-gathering stage, the mediator will begin to define the issues, helping the parties to focus on the issues rather than their... 

Attorney George N. Seide, of Adelman & Seide, LLP, was recently appointed to represent Pamelyn Ferdin, a well known animal rights activist and child star, who was the original voice of Lucy Van Pelt in three “Charlie Brown” television specials. Ms. Ferdin was peacefully protesting in Los Angeles on June 14, 2008, handing out fliers opposing primate research at UCLA, which contained the residence addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of four researchers, which she downloaded from a web site: uclaprimatefreedom.org. That act was the basis... 

Code of Hammurabi The practice of divorce has its origins in ancient times. The earliest divorce legislation appears in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the oldest set of laws in world history, which dates from approximately 1760 BCE. Under the Code a man initiating a divorce had to return her bridal dowry to his wife, including any money, land or goods, unless she had committed adultery. Not all of the Code was so enlightened. If a woman was considered to have brought her husband into ill-repute then it was within his rights to have her drowned. Ancient... 

The only statute which is directly relevant to date of separation does not concern the date of separation as the main thrust of the statute. Family Code §771 states: “The earnings and accumulations of a spouse and the minor children living with, or in the custody of the spouse while living separate and apart from the other spouse, are the separate property of the spouse”. However, there are three California cases, two major, which provide important law and useful factual analyses on determination of date of separation. Those cases are In Re Marriage... 

The leading case governing grandparent visitation and the rights of third parties seeking visitation is the U.S. Supreme Court case of Troxel v. Granville (2000), 530 U.S. 57. In Troxel, the unmarried parents of two girls stopped living together in 1991. Father moved in with his parents (the Troxels). Understandably, the children visited often with the Troxels when they were visiting with their Father. Father committed suicide in 1993. After Father’s death, Mother limited the children’s visits with the Troxels to one short monthly visit. The Troxels... 

1.    CAN SAME-SEX COUPLES MARRY IN CALIFORNIA? No longer.  Even though, on May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that barring same-sex couples from marriage was unconstitutional, the voters on November 4, 2008 passed a “Constitutional Amendment” identifying marriage as only between members of the opposite sex. 2.    CAN THE PASSAGE OF PROPOSITION 8 BE APPEALED TO THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT? Yes, but it is unlikely it will happen, as a negative ruling in the United States Supreme Court would have a devastating effect on this issue... 

All parents, whether married or unmarried, are obligated by law to contribute to the support of their children. Generally, the amount of child support in California is determined by: NUMBER OF CHILDREN Number of minor children of this relationship (until age 18 and graduated from high school if self-supporting, or until age 19 while still in high school). TIME SHARE PERCENTAGE Approximate percentage of time that each parent has primary physical responsibility for each minor child of this relationship. GROSS INCOME Commissions, salaries, royalties, wages,... 

A California domestic partnership is a legal relationship available to same-sex couples, and to certain opposite-sex couples in which at least one party is at least 62 years of age. It affords the couple virtually all of the same substantive legal benefits and privileges, and imposes upon the couple all of the same legal obligations and duties, that California law affords to and imposes upon a married couple. Enacted in 1999, the domestic partnership registry was the first of its kind in the United States created by a legislature without court intervention....