This month, the Justice & Diversity Center is sharing a story from the Family Law Project concerning their client’s journey towards dissolving their marriage and establishing custody of their child. Five days after son her was born, the client experienced…
The Family Law Project’s Client Spotlight
The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) is thrilled to share a pro bono client success story for the month of June. This month’s story centers around Jenny, who with the help of the Family Law Project was able to settle…
Coercive Control and the 2020 Amendments to the DVPA
Effective as of September 2020 the California Legislature amended Section 6320 of the California Family Code, to include “coercive control” in the definition of abuse, for purposes of DVPA restraining orders. (See SB 1141, Rubio.) The amended DVPA defines “coercive…
The Evidence Code in Family Court
The Evidence Code is not just for criminal attorneys. Family law attorneys can also use the Evidence Code as a weapon and should. With a well-crafted Evidence Code objection and proposed order, it may be possible to keep problematic evidence…
The End of Long-Term Spousal Support?
Ongoing spousal support is a hot-button and often-litigated issue in many divorces. Changes in case law have made the recipients of permanent spousal support look back nostalgically to the days of long-term support awards with no questions asked, compared to…
Family Court Welcomes New Judges in 2021
The San Francisco Unified Family Court (UFC) is thrilled to welcome two new judges: Judge-elect Maria Evangelista Lopez Judge-elect Maria Evangelista Lopez will join UFC in January 2021 and replace Judge Sharon Reardon in Department 403. Since 2003, Evangelista Lopez…
Family Law Moving Forward
Let me wish you a Happy New Year 2021 and thank you for electing me Chair of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Family Law Section. Many are glad to see 2020 come to a close. The year proved…
We All Need a Little Support: Modifying Support Orders During a Pandemic
On March 4, 2020, when Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in California in response to COVID-19, most Californians had no idea what the broad sweeping implications of this pandemic would mean. As months have gone by, households are…
School Choice When Schools Are Closed?
As I write, the unprecedented 2019-2020 school year limps to an anti-climactic close for California’s K-12 students due to COVID-19. Parents are left wondering whether school will resume in-person in the Fall, and if so, will it be safe to…
Co-Parenting During a Pandemic
The Bay Area issued its first Shelter-in-Place (SIP) orders effective March 16, 2020. San Francisco Superior Court, and other Bay Area courts, responded swiftly with its first orders regarding operations during the SIP. The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts…
Boilerplate Provisions in Family Law
In order to craft strong, enforceable family law agreements, attorneys must consider incorporating certain provisions. This article sets forth a small selection of important provisions to consider. Governing Law If the agreement is drafted in California, include a provision that…
The Challenge of Imbalance
Where persons in a marital or nonmarital relationship have relatively equal bargaining power, that balance of power can help them dissolve those relationships amicably and reasonably, without a great deal of assistance from either attorneys or the court. In many…