Learn how previously “unfit” parents can petition the court for increased contact with their kids.

In the state of California, the court makes custody and visitation orders based on what is proven to be in the best interests of the children. This is assumed to be frequent contact with both parents, unless some sort of extenuating circumstance applies and makes one of the parents “unfit” to have contact with their kids. Unfit parents are typically denied physical custody and may be given limited supervised visitation or no visitation at all.

If you have been denied custody or visitation on the grounds that you are unfit in some way, this isn’t necessarily a permanent defeat. If you can prove that you have changed your life for the better and are no longer unfit, Torrence L. Howell can help you petition for a modification to your child custody and visitation agreement that will allow you appropriate contact with your children.

Here are some example scenarios showing why a parent might have been declared unfit and how they could prove they have changed.

Parent was addicted to drugs or alcohol: Completing a substance abuse program and joining a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous can provide excellent evidence that a parent has conquered the substance abuse issues that previously interfered with their ability to parent their children. Compliance with drug testing would also be helpful.

Parent was unable to provide a safe, stable home environment: Sometimes parents are denied custody because they don’t have a safe place for their children to stay. Maybe they are homeless or maybe they live with another individual who is involved in criminal activity, addicted to drugs, or abusive. It may be necessary to have a social worker visit to confirm that you have moved to a better living situation.

Parent was involved in criminal activity or incarcerated: Successful completion of a criminal sentence including all the terms of probation, as well as staying out of trouble for a significant period of time, can help prove that you have paid your debt to society and are not going to be a bad influence on your children. In general, the court mainly concerns itself only with criminal activities that are relevant to parenting.

Parent was too ill to care for the child: Securing a clean bill of mental and/or physical health should prove that you deserve more contact with and responsibility for your children.

Get Started Now

You can contact the Law Offices of Torrence L. Howell right now for a free consultation to help determine if you are a good candidate for requesting modifications to your child custody and visitation agreements.

Case demonstrates how juggling conflicting demands can sometimes get businesses in trouble.

After 10 years in court, a class action suit accusing Apple of anti-competitive practices has finally been closed. The case, which was brought on behalf of 8 million iPod owners, alleged that Apple deliberately engaged in practices designed to force out competition and maintain its position as the dominant company in the digital music industry.

The attorney for the plaintiffs presented evidence showing that Apple issued an update that deleted music off of customers’ iPods without telling them. The update accomplished this by requiring users to reset their iPods every time they downloaded music from certain iTunes competitors. When the device rebooted after the reset, the non-iTunes tracks were suddenly missing.

Apple defended its actions as being inspired not by a plan to dominate the market but by a need to abide by the provisions of its contractual obligations to record labels. Apple founder Steve Jobs characterized the company’s position as “very scared” of being in non-compliance with the record labels. Apple had promised the record labels that they would protect the DRM (digital rights management) rights of artists and labels. Therefore, the company believed it could not allow tracks that had been downloaded from other sources and most likely lacked copyright encryption to be used.

The plaintiffs requested $350 million dollars in damages, covering not only deleted music but also the increase in the cost of Apple music products that the company’s alleged anti-competitive tactics caused. However, Apple will not have to pay a dime because in this case the jury found the company not guilty.

This case is interesting on multiple different levels. One important lesson for business owners is that attempting to balance conflicting demands from vendors and customers can sometimes lead to situations where it seems there is no “right” choice that will satisfy everyone. For example, in this case Apple had the choice of taking actions that could violate extremely important contracts or taking actions that would frustrate and alienate consumers. Either way, the action could potentially lead to a legal dispute. In this case it seems Apple made the right choice based on the jury’s decision.

How to Resolve Your Contract Dispute Out of Court

If you own a business, the idea of being tied up in court fighting out a contract dispute or other legal issue for 10 years probably fills you with dread. Fortunately, there are other options that can be utilized to bright contract disputes to an acceptable resolution without wasting years in court.

The very first thing to do is consult a business attorney like Torrence L. Howell with experience in contract law. Your attorney can review the details of your case and advise you of the strength of your legal position. This will help you decide what outcome to pursue in the case and how hard to push for it.

Once prepped by your attorney, you can then engage the services of an arbitrator or negotiator to help you work out a deal with the other party. In most cases, the other party doesn’t want to go to court either and you should be able to reach some kind of resolution in this way.

Learn how your criminal record may affect your ability to secure custody or visitation rights.

When determining whether or not parents will share custody of their children, the court’s primary objective is to provide for the best interests of the children. Typically this is assumed to be ample contact with both parents, except in certain circumstances where one parent may be deemed unfit for this responsibility. A criminal past may be one such circumstance, but it does not necessarily have to be a permanent impediment to time with your kids.

What Kinds of Convictions May Be Considered?

Under Family Code section 3011, the court is given broad powers to consider any factors that it deems relevant to a parent’s fitness for physical custody or visitation. This can potentially include convictions for any type of crime as well as any evidence of past criminal conduct that the child’s other parent may present. However, in most cases the court is only concerned with criminal conduct that relates to parenting and affects the child’s safety or well-being. For example, a conviction for or even a history of domestic violence would be very detrimental to your attempts to gain custody, as would a history of sex crimes or crimes involving drugs or alcohol. Convictions for white collar crimes such as fraud are typically given less weight. The court will also consider the amount of time that has passed since the crime and whether you can present evidence that you have reformed.

Will Expunging a Conviction Help?

While expungement offers a means of “erasing” certain types of criminal convictions from your official record so that potential employers don’t see them, government entities will still see these records, and the court may consider them when making a judgment in a child custody case. However, going through the effort of getting an expungement can still help your case, as a court may perceive it as evidence that you have rehabilitated yourself from your past criminal conduct.

When to Seek Child Custody Modifications

Either parent may initiate a petition to modify the custody or visitation agreement under appropriate circumstances. For example, if you have relapsed into criminal conduct your co-parent may attempt to use this to get joint custody revoked, to require supervision for visits, or to revoke visitation altogether. However, as time passes and you continue to be law-abiding, comply with all requirements of the custody agreement, and demonstrate responsible parenting, you may be able to convince the court that you deserve the ability to exercise more of your parental rights to your children. Completing all the terms of your probation as well as undergoing substance abuse treatment or anger management counseling as may be appropriate can also be powerful factors in influencing the court to give you more time with your kids.

If you would like to discuss your options for child custody modifications, please contact Torrence L. Howell today.

While retirement does not guarantee an automatic reduction in alimony, it is a good time to reevaluate your spousal support order.

If a spousal support order was included in your divorce decree, you are no doubt familiar with the various considerations that the court may use to calculate the amount of support that must be paid. These considerations include the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, the high-earning spouse’s income, and the supported spouse’s ability to become self-sufficient. Considering that a high-earning spouse’s income typically takes a big hit at retirement, it might seem reasonable to assume that alimony should be automatically reduced or even ended at retirement. In reality, the question of spousal support after retirement is much more complex.

Whether you or your ex is the one paying alimony, it would be wise to reevaluate your alimony agreement now so that the process of requesting any necessary modifications may begin as promptly as possible after retirement.

Is the Supported Spouse Still Single?

In some cases, the question of alimony after retirement can be avoided completely due to the supported spouse entering a new relationship. If your ex gets remarried the alimony should be terminated, and if your ex can be proven to be cohabiting with a long-term partner and enjoying reduced living expenses as a result, the alimony should be reduced. Or course you don’t have to wait for retirement to approach to consider chancing alimony based on these factors, but you should not fail to consider them at retirement.

Recalculate Both Spouses’ Income

In the years following divorce, ideally the supported spouse will have moved towards greater self-sufficiency and be earning more income. This may reduce their need for alimony. As the spouse paying alimony enters retirement, typically their income will decrease, and the court must acknowledge this reduced ability to pay. It is important to remember that the ability to pay support is based on income, not assets. So while the income from retirement investments may be considered, the principals of those investments may not.

Check Social Security Benefits

The ability of the supported spouse to collect Social Security should also be considered, as getting Social Security benefits can help the supported spouse continue to make ends meet while helping to lift the burden of alimony from the paying spouse. Spouses can collect benefits from their ex’s work history, provided that the couple was married for at least 10 consecutive years, the working spouse paid Social Security tax for at least 10 years, and the low-earning spouse is not married. Any alimony being paid will be deducted from the supported spouse’s benefit.