It goes without saying: the kid’s needs should always be the highest priority when designing a custody plan. As you navigate divorce and look for amicable solutions, it’s helpful to consider daily routines that worked in the past. Use these parental roles and involvement to find the best solutions to support everyone’s needs. The children’s ages are important to consider as you create the terms for a custody Read More

The holidays and school breaks are critical times to ensure that you have an excellent custody schedule in place. Not only do you need to list major holidays in the schedule, but you also consider the days that children are off school or the daily routine is different than normal (such as summer break).  As with other custody details, it's essential to focus on the children's best interests. They need to have bonding Read More

It's no surprise that all family members need to adapt when parents go through a divorce. As you and your spouse are working through the logistics of this life transition, there are a few things that you can do to make it a smooth and amicable divorce.  The truth is that divorce doesn't have to be a battleground or a long, drawn-out process. By working together, a married couple can separate their lives to move in Read More

Next to child custody, dividing your assets may be the most challenging element of a divorce. As a reminder, California is a community property state. Additionally, California applies community property laws to domestic partnerships. When you live in a community property state, spouses have equal or joint ownership over the assets and debts accrued during the marriage. This does not extend to separate property, but Read More

Although you have likely heard of the term “paternity,” you may be unfamiliar with what parentage is and why it is essential. When we talk about parentage, we are referring to when the court issues orders declaring who the legal parents are. If you are a married parent, parentage was likely determined without you knowing about it. In California, the law assumes that the married couple is the child’s parents.  This is Read More

At Grey Legal, APC, we are proud to assist stepparents in adopting their stepchildren because it is a selfless and kind act. Typically, people do this because the biological parent isn’t a part of the child’s life. Although a stepparent can develop a close and meaningful relationship with their stepchild, there can only be two legal parents.  Nothing requires a stepparent to adopt, but they do so because they want to Read More

We have discussed what to do when your ex stops paying child support (which is something The Grey Legal Group, APC  is accustomed to dealing with). Rather than explaining how to react to the situation, we wanted to write about how to prevent it from happening. If more people understood the serious legal consequences of not paying child support, they might prioritize it. To clarify, we are talking about people who Read More

One of the biggest challenges of a California divorce that doesn’t involve children is the division of property (any asset that can be bought or sold). There is a significant amount of confusion surrounding the differences between community and separate property. This stems from the fact that California is a community property state where any property or debt made by either spouse during the marriage belongs to both Read More

Suppose you are an active duty member of the U.S. military (or married to one) and have made the difficult decision to divorce. In that case, it is important to understand that your process will differ from a civilian divorce in many ways. They include: Where and when you may file for divorce How child and spousal support are calculated Rights covering pensions and other benefits Military personnel have obligations Read More

After your divorce has been finalized, you still face the issue of becoming a reliable and responsible co-parent with your former spouse. Due to how emotional divorces can be, some people struggle to set their feelings aside and act in the best interests of their children. For instance, one parent may continually have scheduling conflicts that prevent them from following the custody agreement. Let’s take a closer Read More