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Legislative Update

Christina Ferrante, Attorney at Law — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:41:00 GMT

Bill AB 1349 (Chaptered) Conflicting Paternity Presumptions to Become Law Shortly:

Bill AB 1349 provides that a voluntary declaration of paternity is invalid if any of the following conditions were present at the time the declaration was executed:

The child had a presumed parent because he or she was the child of a marriage pursuant to Family Code Section 7540
The child already had a presumed parent under Family Code Section 7611
The man signing the declaration is a sperm donor who is not considered a natural father as provided in Family Code Section 7613(b)

NEW ADDITION TO FAMILY CODE SECTION 3751 - HEALTH INSURANCE

Christina Ferrante, Attorney at Law — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:43:00 GMT

Family Code Section 3751 provides in part that health insurance coverage shall be rebuttably presumed to be reasonable in cost if the cost to the responsible parent providing medical support does not exceed 5% of his or her gross income. In applying the 5% for the cost of health insurance, the cost is the difference between self-only and family coverage.

CHILD SUPPORT CASE LAW UPDATES

Christina Ferrante, Attorney at Law — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:18:00 GMT

The following are recent child support case law updates, made through decisions made by the Court of Appeals in California:

IRMO Stanton (2010) 190 C.A. 4th 547

Obligor, Father is in the military
BAH- Basic Allowance Housing
BAS- Basic Allowance Subsistence
Father's position is that since BAH and BAS are nontaxable and a federal exemption bars levy or garnishment they are not an income for purposes of calculating child support.

The Court found that the Federal Preemption is inapplicable and Family Code Section 4053 takes into account "actual income" not "taxable income." Therefore the BAH and BAS would be included in Father's income for purposes of determining support.

IRMO Kochan (2011) 193 C.A. 4th 420

Obligor, Father is a 40 year employee with the Cal State system. If he retired, he would earn more income than by continuing to work. Father does not want to retire; he wants to continue to work. The Trial Court imputed the retirement income in calculating child support.

The Court found that a party cannot be ordered to retire, even if it means the party would earn more income.

REQUIREMENTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF UNINSURED HEALTHCARE COSTS AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES

Christina Ferrante, Attorney at Law — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:03:00 GMT

If there is an order that each parent pay one half of any uncovered medical, dental, optometric, psychological, or orthodontic expenses, and either parent has accrued or paid these costs, that parent shall provide to the other parent an itemized statement of the costs within a reasonable time, but not more than thirty days after accruing the costs. These costs shall then be paid as follows: a) If a parent has already paid all of these costs, that parent shall provide proof of payment and a request for reimbursement of his or her court-ordered share to the other parent. b) If a parent has paid his or her court-ordered share of the costs only, that parent shall provide proof of payment to the other parent, request the other parent to pay the remainder of the cost directly to the provider, and provide the reimbursing parent with any necessary information about how to make the payment to the provider. c) The other parent shall make the reimbursement or pay the remaining costs within the time period specified by the court, or, if no period is specified within a reasonable time not to exceed thirty days from notification of the amount due, or according to any payment schedule set by the healthcare provider for either parent. d) If the reimbursing parent disputes a request for payment, that parent shall pay the requested amount and thereafter may seek judicial relief, or if the reimbursing parent fails to pay the other parent as required, the other parent may seek judicial relief. All of these reimbursement issues are covered by Family Code §4063.

New law prohibits advance fees for lawyers doing foreclosure work

Christina Ferrante, Attorney at Law — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:34:00 GMT

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 94 Oct.11, immediately prohibiting any person, including attorneys and real estate licensees, from collecting an advance fee to perform foreclosure relief services. The new law, adopted as an emergency measure, closes a loophole that permitted foreclosure scam artists to exploit the ability to charge advance fees.
     It is now unlawful for any licensed attorney or real estate agent "who negotiates, attempts to negotiate, arranges, attempts to arrange, or otherwise offers to perform a mortgage loan modification or other form of mortgage loan forbearance for a fee or other compensation paid by the borrower...to claim, demand, charge, collect, or recieve any compensation until after the [attorney or agent] has fully performed each and every service the licensee contracted to perform or represented that he, she, or it would perform."
     The new law also requires the following written disclosure in at least 14 point bold type regarding loan modification and/or loan forbearance services prior to entering into any fee agreement with a borrower:
     "It is not necessary to pay a third party to arrange for a loan modification or other form of forebearance from your mortgage lender or servicer. You may call your lender directly to ask for a change in your loan terms. Nonprofit housing counseling agencies also offer these and other forms of borrower assistance free of charge. A list of nonprofit housing counseling agencies approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is available from your local HUD office or by visiting www.hud.gov."
     If loan modification services are offered in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese or Korean, a translated copy of the disclosure must be provided in that language. A violation of the law can result in fines and up to a year in jail.
     The text of SB 94 is available at leginfo.ca.gov; click on "bill information." Information is also available from the Deaprtment of Real Estate at dre.ca.gov.
Article from the California Bar Journal, November 2009

Family Law Attorney in Riverside

Scorpion Design — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:41:00 GMT

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