When families sustain devastating breakups or disputes, a number of issues may need resolution. At these traumatic times, people find themselves dealing with their own psychological health, the uncertainty of change, fear of losing their financial support, the loss of loving family members, as well as an host of legal issues. The competent legal representation of Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", will handle the legal part of family breakups and disputes, allowing you to better concentrate on other concerns. With three decades of experience dealing with family law cases, Robert Burns provides needed legal counsel and advocacy to individuals, couples, and families.
After enduring two divorces as a child of each of his parents, and enduring two divorces of his own one of which was civil and one which was nasty with predatory litigation tactics, Robert Burns believes that he acquired a legal education not taught in the Ivory Tower nor in law practice. These insights have fostered his drive to act as Minors' Counsel, to strive for collaboration and affordability in litigation, to work with issues of domestic violence, and to treat as special challenges the many cases involving litigants with high-conflict personality disorders. Yet, where the legal issues, factual issues, or litigation mismanagement by opposing litigants, opposing attorneys, or Judges require it, Mr. Burns litigates as zealously as necessary.
Mr. Burns' long history of practice in family law has embraced straight and gay couples, persons with substantial assets and debts, various private and public employments, various self-employments, various spousal and child support needs, various collections and defenses as to substantial support arrearages, relationships throughout the world, and (most importantly) various needs and realities as to their children. Mr. Burns offers consultations, negotiations, drafting legal agreements and other documents, and limited and full representation in litigation civil, criminal, and alternative (e.g., mediation, arbitration, collaboration).
It should be known that some matters and persons are well served by free services such as military J.A.G. attorneys located on military bases for agreed matters, the Office of the Family Law Facilitator located at Family Courthouses, and limited pro bono programs such as those offered by the San Diego Legal Aid Society, San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program, and the Modest Means Program offered by the San Diego County Bar Association.
Divorce
Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons. A divorce does not declare a marriage null and void, as in an annulment, but divorce cancels the marital status of the parties, allowing each to marry another. The legal process for divorce may also involve issues of spousal support, child custody, child support, division of property, division of debt, awards of attorneys' fees, and restraining orders. Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", provides legal representation for individuals finding themselves in a divorce dispute, and also counseling for couples who just need help sorting the legal responsibilities from the personal ones.
Spousal Support
Alimony or spousal support is an obligation established by divorce law is based on the premise that both spouses have an obligation to support each other during the marriage (or civil union). The obligation to support may continue after separation or divorce. Spousal support is viewed and awarded, as if through bifocal lenses, in terms of temporary spousal support and "permanent spousal support". Temporary spousal support is intended to keep spouses at the standard of living they enjoy when they separate, which is usually impossible, and a cookie-cutter guideline is used. "Permanent spousal support" is intended to last indefinitely until a substantial change of circumstances occurs sometimes predetermined in the judgment (such as a specified future termination date), which really means fully-adjudicated spousal support; the determination of this type of spousal support utilizes an array of factors and considerations along with the opportunity to present necessary evidence and utilize the tools of a trial. Spousal support is often enforced with wage assignments. Wage assignments are invaluable to the collection of spousal support but, in some cases, create unreasonable hardship and thus need to be modified or quashed. Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", provides counsel and representation in Court where necessary to provide necessary spousal support and resist unnecessary or oppressive spousal support.
Child Custody
Child custody is a legal terms which is used to describe the legal and practical relationships between a adults (usually parents but sometimes step-parents and grandparents) and children. Child custody is comprised of two components, "legal custody" and "physical custody". Legal custody relates to the right and responsibility to make decisions relating to the health, education, and welfare of children. Physical custody relates to the physical control and residence of children. In Probate Court, custody is a bit different and is comprised of "guardianship over the person" and "guardianship over the estate" of the children. In Juvenile Court, children are made "dependents" or "wards" of the Court and incarcerated in a jail or hospital or "placed" in foster care or even with one or both parents.
In most situations, the issue of with which parent the child will reside is determined in accordance with "the best interests of the child" standard. Family law proceedings which involve custody issues often generate the most acrimonious disputes with few limits. Custody is better described as "child sharing" or "child share" rather than terms such as "joint custody", "split custody", visitation, and the like. In very unfortunate situations a parent may suffer a suspension or termination of custodial rights or may given only "supervised visitation" with the supervision by a supervisor called a monitor and sometimes only at very circumscribed locations or facilities, e.g., at Hannah's House.
Court files quickly fill with mutual accusations by one parent against the other including sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, brain-washing, parental alienation syndrome, sabotage, and manipulation. Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", is an assertive advocate for parental rights and children's rights always mindful of the legal mandate that custody terms must serve the best interests of children. By far, the most important advance in this context in years has been the development by William Eddy, long-time friend and colleague of Robert Burns, of the New Ways for Families method for dealing with persons with high-conflict personality disorders. The New Ways for Families method is a new structured, short-term counseling method at the front end of litigation, or any other time, for both parents and children, designed to give parents more skills for resolving their own disputes and to reduce the use of the courts for parents who are stuck in high conflict. It focuses on Individual Parent Counseling (6 sessions) and Parent-Child Counseling (3 sessions for each parent with the child(ren)). In 2009, San Diego Family Court Presiding Judge Alksne approved the use of the New Ways for Families method throughout all Family Courts in San Diego County. Robert Burns has been trained in this method. More information about the New Ways for Families method is found at this link.
Child Support
Child support or child maintenance is the ongoing obligation for a periodic payment made directly or indirectly for care and support of children of a relationship or marriage that has been terminated, or in some cases has become dysfunctional or never existed. The recipient of child support is usually the parent, caregiver, or guardian having primary time with the child, but it can be the government. Typically there is no gender requirement to child support; for example, a father may pay a mother, a mother may pay a father, and sometimes the persons are of the same gender as with grandparents or gay parents. A County Department of Child Support Services is often involved in enforcing child support orders, family support orders and some spousal support orders, and must be involved where the right to support is assigned to the County as in cases where the supported party is receiving A.F.D.C., food stamps, or other public assistance for the child(ren).
Child support is determined primarily pursuant to a State "guideline" or formula for which State-licensed software is necessary to crunch the numbers. Essentially, what must be calculated is (a) a "basic child support" amount and (b) "additional child support". "Additional child support" is for child care expenses (a) for employment or for education or training necessary for employment, (b) uninsured child healthcare expenses, (c) child education or special-needs expenses, or (d) visitation-related travel expenses. Child support is usually collected by a wage assignment called "Income Withholding for Support" but earlier versions still in effect are called "Order/Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support" or "Notice on an Order to Withhold Income for Child Support". Wage assignments are invaluable to the collection of child support but, in some cases, create unreasonable hardship and thus need to be modified or quashed. You may use such software, and an online users' guide, free at the State's website.
Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", has decades of experience sorting out child support issues and representing parents before the San Diego County Department of Child Support Services, Family Support Division Commissioners, and Family Court Judges on such issues. Robert Burns highly recommends enforcement of these support orders by the County Department of Child Support Services with little or no private attorney involvement in many cases because the service is free to the supported party and seeks no reimbursement for the County's attorneys' fees from the supporting party.
Dividing Assets and Debts
In divorce, legal-separation, and annulment proceedings, a judicial determination and division needs to be made of the marital property as well as a determination and confirmation of each party's respective separate property. The marital property is usually "community property" but may be "quasi-community property" if located outside of California or (in the case of annulments) "quasi-marital property". Marital property generally is traced from earnings of either spouse during marriage before separation. Much property is an hybrid of community property and "separate property". The determination, division, and confirmation is best done by agreement, as in a Marital Settlement Agreement, but is too often done by a judge at trial. There must be a substantially equal division, if not equal division, of marital property in most situations; but this is often done through "equalization payments" rather than strictly dividing every marital asset and liability in half. Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", provides counsel and representation in court if necessary for property settlements resulting from divorce or death.
Pre-Nuptial Agreements
A pre-nuptial agreement, or pre-marital agreement, is a contract entered into prior to marriage by people intending to marry. Similar agreements called "post-nuptial agreements" are entered into after marriage commences and "marital settlement agreements" are entered into after separation of spouses. Robert Burns prefers to use the terminology "pre-marital", "intra-marital", and "post-marital" agreements to accurately reflect the phase of marriage in which they enter. The content of such agreements can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or breakup of marriage and the suspension or alteration of community property laws meanwhile akin to the planning done regularly in the business world. Robert Burns, a "People's Lawyer", has reviewed, and been involved in the drafting of many pre-nuptial agreements for individuals who wanted reassurances before entering a marriage commitment, thus solidifying their confidence and commitment in a successful marriage, especially when one person brings substantial personal wealth or debt into the marriage when the other does not.
What Else Can You Do?
Though a family problem takes a psychological toll on everyone involved, remember these things: |
