Reducing Child Support Arrears in California

Do you owe child support arrears to a local child support agency in California?

If you do, and depending on your circumstances, you may be able to negotiate the arrears (and interest) down significantly by an "offer in compromise". The current laws that allow this process expire on July 1, 2008 so you need to act quickly.

Normally, arrears owed to the local child support agency for public assistance reimbursement (i.e. welfare) may be negotiated downward if certain requirements are met. If you owe money directly to the custodial parent, the arrears cannot be reduced by the local child support agency unless the custodial parent participates in the settlement.

Some of the things the agency will take into account are the ability to pay back the arrears that have accrued and the needs of the children subject to the support order. These are not all of the factors that the child support agency will look at in determining whether they will accept a lesser amount to pay off child support arrears.

However, the child support agency can rescind the compromise if the owing party misrepresents or conceals any assets, income or other property that the owing party owns or will likely own in the future or the owing party does not meet any terms of the agreement.

This is only a brief summary of the factors and process involved in compromising or reducing child support arrears. The child support agency takes into account many other factors not discussed above.

If you would like further assistance, please contact the Law Offices of Scott D. Wu for a consultation.

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to take the opportunity to wish all of you a very happy holidays and a happy new year.

I hope 2008 is a successful year for all of us!

~Scott D. Wu
Attorney at Law

What Is Minor’s Counsel?

Minor’s counsel is a court-appointed attorney that represents the best interest of the children involved in a family law case. The mother and father are entitled to attorneys in representing their respective interests – and your children are entitled to that representation as well!

Minor’s counsel may be brought into a family law case when the mother and father have diametrically opposed views as to what is in the best interest of their children and cannot to agree to various child-related issues.

Although minor’s counsel is appointed by the Court, the attorney is charged with zealously representing his (or her) clients – the children. Minor’s counsel does not represent the Court, the judge, or mother or father. Minor’s counsel will zealously represent the best interest of the children after a thorough analysis of the specifics of the case. Among other things, counsel will likely interview both parents and possibly the children involved.

After his investigation, minor’s counsel will likely present his findings to both sides (mother and father) and the judge so that the children’s best interest is adequately represented.

The information on this blog is not legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal questions should be directed to a lawyer of your own choosing.

Scott D. Wu is an attorney licensed to practice in California. His firm focuses on various aspects of business law, family law, personal injury and real estate.

Temporary Spousal Support in California

If you are either contemplating a divorce or you have just been served with a dissolution petition (divorce papers), you may be concerned about how you are going to support yourself during the divorce proceedings.

In California, a Court can order temporary spousal support (pending the divorce) to a non-working spouse or a spouse that makes significantly less than the other spouse.

In order to get the Court to make a temporary spousal support order, the spouse requesting the order must file an Order to Show Cause with the Court. Upon filing of the proper paperwork and relevant filing fee (if any), the Court will schedule a hearing where it will decide whether to award temporary spousal support. At the hearing, the Judge will review the paperwork that has been filed by both sides and may hear testimony from both spouses.

The information on this blog is not legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal questions should be directed to a lawyer of your own choosing.

Scott D. Wu is an attorney licensed to practice in California. His firm focuses on various aspects of business law, family law, personal injury and real estate.

Who Pays for the Shiny Marble Floors and Fancy Paintings In Your High-Priced Attorney’s Office?

The short answer is – you are!

I have visited many attorneys’ offices for mediations, depositions, meetings, and settlement conferences. Some of these offices are beautiful – I mean museum beautiful with magnificent views to boot. As a solo practitioner with a very modest (yet efficient) office, I never understood it.

These firms can afford such extravagant offices because they bill their clients $400 or $500 per hour for partners and $300 for associate attorney work. Frequently, if two attorneys within the firm talk to each other for an hour about a case, they can easily bill their client $700 or $800 per hour by charging their client both attorneys’ hourly rate. No wonder their offices are so nice!

As any smart person knows that the beauty and overhead a law office maintains is in no way reflective of the quality of work that comes out of that firm. The judges never see the expensive paintings in the office’s hallway so it is both unlikely and unethical for the judge to rule in an attorney’s favor because the attorney’s office is nice. Nor do these fancy offices in any way guarantee your attorney’s availability to you.

Also, both the partners and associate attorneys in may, if not all, of these larger offices have minimum billing requirements. That’s right – within a certain time frame, these lawyers are required to bill “x” amount of hours or they do not get their end of the year bonus or get the promotion they are working so hard to obtain. These requirements make it very difficult for a lawyer in one of these firms to be as efficient with your case as possible.

This is the bottom line for any business – you need an attorney that will zealously and efficiently represent you. You do not need an attorney with a fancy office that needs to charge you more than is necessary to get handle your legal matter.

The information on this blog is not legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal questions should be directed to a lawyer of your own choosing.

Scott D. Wu is an attorney licensed to practice in California. His firm focuses on various aspects of business law, family law, personal injury and real estate.

Grounds for Divorce in California

California was the first state in the U.S. with "No-Fault" dissolutions. Essentially, in a "No-Fault" divorce, you can divorce your spouse even if s/he disagrees. A California judge can grant a divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences - neither spouse is required to give an exact reason why the divorce was filed. As such, in the eyes of the Court, it does not matter if you, your spouse, or both of you was the primary reason the divorce is being requested. Nor does it matter to the Court what that specific reason is.

The information on this blog is not legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Legal questions should be directed to a lawyer of your own choosing.

Scott D. Wu is an attorney licensed to practice in California. His firm focuses on various aspects of business law, family law, personal injury and real estate.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Divorce In California?

Once the your spouse is served with the summons and petition (the documents you file with the court to start the divorce proceedings), the earliest you can finalize your divorce is at least six (6) months. However, not all divorces can be processed this quickly since issues such as valuation of community property, child custody and support issues, etc. may affect how long finalizing the divorce will take.