When people start divorce proceedings, they often think it will be as easy as signing some papers and paying legal fees. But it’s often much more nuanced and complicated—especially if you have children. Sure people think about working out custody agreements and child support payment amounts, but there are many other issues that couples often overlook at first. Here are some often-forgotten issues you’ll need to make sure you come to an agreement on during your divorce proceedings.

Most divorcing couples will need to remember to consider:

• How will bank accounts and liquid assets be divided?
• Who will gain possession of the family car, or will it be sold for the money to be split evenly?
• How will family photographs, jewelry, and other keepsakes be split up?
• Who will pay the legal costs of the divorce, including filing fees and expert witness fees, accountant fees, appraiser fees, etc.?

Those who have children will need to remember to consider:

• Will the child(ren) be able to visit and/or relocate to a foreign country? What kind of permission will be necessary – from just one or both parents?
• Will both parents need to be kept abreast of the child’s health status, as well as any illnesses and missed school days?
• Will visitation from all grandparents at anytime be allowed, or will the divorcing couple agree to limitations?
• Who will pay for extracurricular activities such as sports and summer camp?
• Who will pay for medical insurance coverage as well as dental, eyeglasses, and other miscellaneous expenses?
• Who will claim the children on their taxes?

When you hire Attorney Torrence L. Howell, he will walk you through the many legal issues surrounding a divorce. Rest assured he will handle your divorce proceedings with care and strict attention to detail. Call (909) 920-0908 to set up a free consultation today.

Going through a divorce is often hard on everyone involved, including children. If you’re getting a divorce and have children, make sure you ask yourself and discuss with your ex-spouse these key questions. This is just a sampling to get the ball rolling—other issues will surely come to mind as divorce proceedings continue.

Attorney Torrence L. Howell has over 13 years of experience helping Southern Californian families deal with divorce and reach harmonious outcomes for all parties, so he’d be happy to discuss your particular case anytime. Just call (909) 920-0908 to set up a free consultation.

First start with the physical presence of the children in the homes. Will one parent take sole custody and make all the decisions, or will there be joint decision-making and residence primarily with one parent? Alternatively, will the child live with each parent equal amounts of time, and will all decision making be done with both parents’ mutual consent? Which decisions will need to be made by both parents, and which ones can be left to one or the other parent’s discretion?

What about special times of year? Who will take care of the child during holidays, long weekends, school recesses, and summer vacations? Will birthdays be celebrated at one parent’s home, or the other? Will both parents be able to call their child anytime when he or she is at the other parent’s home? Will each parent be able to take the child out of the country for a vacation or permanent relocation?

How about access to medical and dental records? Will that be restricted to one parent, or both? Will both parents be in touch with the child’s school about grades and other matters, or just one? Will both parents need to be notified in case of illnesses and accidents?

In terms of the financial concerns, who will pay child support, and what amount? Who will pay extra expenses such as college or private school tuition, childcare costs, summer camp, and extracurricular activities expenses?

Parents often don’t realize how divisive these issues can be until they’re in the throws of divorce proceedings. Attorney Torrence L. Howell has helped hundreds of couples through these rather sticky issues, and eventually a settlement is always reached. Call (909) 920-0908 for a free consultation today.

Like any other business transaction, you might think that selling your business isn’t that complicated. Why would you need to consult a lawyer for legal assistance? It’s actually really important that you contact attorney Torrence L. Howell when you’re planning to sell your business. There are legal nuances that are nearly impossible for someone who isn’t extremely familiar with California laws to know about.

Torrence L. Howell is the best choice when you’re ready to sell your business because he is extremely experienced with both business and family law. This is an advantage because if you have your paperwork perfectly in order, no one will have to worry, even children who will eventually inherit your estate. If you don’t have the paperwork done well by a legal expert, there could be mistakes that could cost you and your heirs thousands. For example, you could leave yourself liable to damages incurred after the company has changed hands. That would be nightmare scenario.

Save your time the hassle and consult with Torrence L. Howell. Your first meeting is absolutely free, so there’s nothing to lose and so much to gain. Give yourself some peace of mind before, during, and after the sale of your business and work with a hard-working, knowledgeable attorney who you can trust—Torrence L. Howell. Call today (909) 920-0908.

When choosing a lawyer in San Bernadino, Los Angeles, Riverside, or Orange counties in California, it’s important to pick the one who will represent you the best in court. Your freedom, financial stability, reputation, and/or family structure could be on the line, so you don’t want to scrimp when choosing a lawyer. Torrence L. Howell is the best choice for any case involving family law, business law, or criminal law. Here are the top 5 reasons why:

1. He has a ton of experience.Mr. Howell was admitted to the California and US District Court Central District of California bars in 1995. He has been in private practice in California for over 20 years, so there’s no situation he hasn’t seen before. No matter what legal situation you’re dealing with, he’ll know just what to do to attain the most favorable outcome.
2.  He’s a family man.Mr. Howell has been married since 1992 and has one son named Dylan Howell. He gets that when children are involved in any family dispute, the situation is much more dire and in need of compassionate support. If your family is going through a tough time, whether it’s a divorce, lack of child support payments, domestic violence, or any other hardship, you can count on Mr. Howell to treat you with respect and dignity. He’ll do everything he can to help your family recover and go on to live healthy, happy lives.
3. He will fight for you. You can count on Torrence L. Howell to conscientiously study every detail of your case to represent you and your needs in a way that will get results in court.

Call (909) 920-0908 for a free consultation.

A parenting plan can be a valuable tool for unmarried parents, but only if it is comprehensive.

Absent the automatic legal rights conferred on married couples, parents need to establish custody and visitation agreements through the family court system. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a judge decide every aspect of your case. In fact, whenever possible it is best to reach an agreement outside of court, as this will be faster and less costly. Assuming parentage is already established, you can begin by creating a parenting plan describing how you and your co-parent want to divide responsibilities in caring for your child. Then, you can file this plan with the court and its provisions will become enforceable by a judge in the event of any dispute between you and the child’s other parent.

Parenting plans will be most useful if they are comprehensive and address all the possible concerns that may come up in the course of co-parenting a child. Here are 10 important points to cover in your parenting plan.

Physical Custody: First of all, the parenting plan should designate whether physical custody is shared by both parents or held by only one parent. In the case of joint physical custody, the child’s primary residence should be specified.

Legal Custody: The parenting plan should also address legal custody, or the right to participate in important care decisions for the child. If legal custody is shared, the plan should specify which decisions require consent from both parents (school choice, medical care, vaccinations, etc.).

Time-Sharing Schedule: For shared custody, you need to set up a schedule for moving the child between the parents’ homes. For visitation, you would need to specify the frequency and length of visits, where visits will occur, and whether they need to be supervised.

Holiday Schedule: Be as detailed in possible in specifying how parents will share various holidays, birthdays, vacations, and other special days.

Transportation Arrangements: For harmonious handoffs, it is best to specify who will be responsible for taking kids to and from parents’ homes on visits and whether car seats must be used for young children.

Travel Permissions: The parenting plan can address the possibility of one parent traveling out of state or abroad with the kids. It might give automatic permission for certain trips or require the consent of both parents on a case by case basis.

Third Party Visitation Permissions: If both parents approve of the kids spending quality time alone with other relatives such as grandparents, relevant provisions can be written into the parenting plan.

Rules & Discipline: Co-parenting works best when parents present a united front on issues of rules and discipline. The parenting plan can help by specifying rules for things like curfews, internet use, cell phone use, etc. along with consequences for violations.

Communications: The parenting plan should also outline how parents will communicate with one another about parenting decisions and schedules.

Future Changes: Try to make your parenting plan relevant for the life of your child by including provisions that will allow for changes as the child grows. For example, you might specify that the custody sharing schedule will change when the child enters high school and needs a more stable routine during the week.

If you have questions or concerns about drafting a parenting plan, consult skilled child custody attorney Torrence L. Howell.