Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP

Mel Gibson sentenced to 3 years probation for domestic abuse

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:09:38 +0000

Actor Mel Gibson recently plead no contest to charges of domestic violence stemming from an incident with his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, in January 2010. Griforieva contacted police and told them she had been attacked at their Malibu home.

Gibson agree to a plea deal in order to reduce “trauma and impact” on his and Grigorieva’s daughter, Lucia. The no contest plea does not admit guilt on Gibson’s part and prevents civil damages from being filed against him by any victims. Otherwise, the plea is treated the same as a guilty plea.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner sentenced Gibson to 3 years of probation, 16 hours of community service and a participation in a yearlong domestic violence counseling program.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic violence, contact the Carlsbad domestic violence lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 today, to speak with a compassionate family law attorney about protecting yourself or your children.

AAML says Facebook is to blame in 20 percent of divorces

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:18:57 +0000

According to a recent study conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 20 percent of married couples in the United States decide to divorce because of reasons related to the social networking website, Facebook. Furthermore, 80 percent of attorneys say that they have seen an increase in the use of Facebook as a source of evidence in divorce and family law courts over the past five years.

“In court, they put on their best face, but their true beliefs and character are often unmasked in their social media communications,” said one member of the AAML.

While 66 percent of lawyers say that they primarily use Facebook for online evidence in court, other online memberships and activity on websites like Twitter, online dating sites, or photo uploading sites could be used as evidence against your or your spouse in court.

If your spouse has failed to meet court ordered obligations like child or spousal support payments, contact the Carlsbad enforcement action lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 to learn more about the steps to take to have these orders enforced.

Halle Berry given custody of 2-year old daughter

admin — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:31:17 +0000

Last month, a Los Angeles County judge gave actress Halle Berry custody of her 2-year old daughter, Nahla. Berry and her ex-boyfriend, Nahla’s father Gabriel Aubry, were unable to come to an agreement on custody of the toddler and decided to take the issue to court to have it resolved.

“We are pleased the judge took the time to deal with this very imminent and important issue,” said Berry, in a written statement released to the public after the judge’s decision. Specifically, the judge said that Berry could take Nahla with her to live with her in New York City while she filmed a movie.

Sources say that Aubry intends to continue to fight for joint custody by having a paternity test done to officially have on record that he is the 2-year old’s father.

Contact the Carlsbad child custody lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 today, if you or someone you know is having troubling resolving child custody decisions with their child’s mother or father.

Aguilera and husband settle divorce, divide property

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:05:59 +0000

Pop singer and Grammy award winner Christina Aguilera, 30, recently finalized a divorce with her music producer husband, 33-year old Jordan Bratman. The two were married in November 2005 and have a 3-year old son named Max.

According to California divorce laws, a divorce is not official until six months from the date it was filed. Aguilera filed divorce papers in October, so her and Bratman will not be officially divorced until April. However, the two were recently able to come to agreement on all the terms of their divorce.

The couple agreed to share custody of their son. In addition, because Aguilera signed a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying Bratman, all of her property, even assets earned during their marriage, are considered completely her own.

To discuss how your property can be divided in a divorce with an experienced family law attorney, contact the Carlsbad division of assets lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 today.

NY pharmacies to sell paternity tests

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:16:17 +0000

This week, DNA paternity kit producer Identigene announced that they will be selling their product in Duane Reade pharmacies in the state of New York. The world’s largest manufacturer of direct-to-consumer DNA paternity kits began distributing their product to pharmacy chains three years ago.

The paternity tests are being sold over-the-counter for $29.99 and are administered on a walk-in basis at the pharmacy. However, with lab processing fees and other charges are included the test costs around $300. Buyers must have authorization from a doctor or lawyer before having the test administered. In addition, tests must only be witnessed by disinterested third parties, or workers at the pharmacy.

One New York resident stated, “I’d be worried about privacy in a place like Duane Reade. The whole neighborhood shops here.”

If you are considering having a paternity test in Carlsbad and would like to speak with a family law attorney about the best way to do so, contact the Carlsbad paternity test lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 today.

Recession negatively affected one-third of marriages

admin — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:11:43 +0000

The authors of a recent study on the economic recession of 2007-2009 and its affect on marriages in the United States found that almost the same percentage of people who said their marriage was negatively affected by the recession said that their relationship with their spouse grew stronger. ”On the one hand, some Americans deepened their commitment to marriage, [while] other Americans are stressed out in ways that undercut marriages,” said sociologist and author of the “Survey of Marital Generosity”.

The survey polled 1,197 married Americans. Researchers involved in the survey found that 29 percent of survey participants said their relationship with their spouse felt financial stress during the economic downturn. Nearly 12 percent of participants said that between 2007 and 2009 they struggled to meet mortgage payments and were threatened with foreclosure or faced foreclosure.

If your marriage has suffered financial stress and you are considering filing for divorce in Carlsbad, contact the Carlsbad divorce lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 to set up an appointment with one of our experience and compassionate divorce attorneys.

Best Actress Oscar jinx proved true

admin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:15:37 +0000

Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Reese Witherspoon, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis have all won the Academy Award for Best Actress. They all also filed for divorce shortly after. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management recently completed a study investigating this trend dubbed “the Oscar jinx”.

Analysts looked at the marriage length of all the winners and nominees in the Best Actress and Best Actor categories for the Academy Awards from 1936 to 2010. Results showed that Best Actress winners were 63 percent more likely to become divorced than nominees in the same category.

In addition, researchers concluded that the jinx only applies to actresses as the differences between marriage lengths for Best Actor winners and nominees were not nearly as strong. Best Actress winners had a median marriage length of 4.30 years and nominees had a median length of 9.51 years. Best Actor winners had a median marriage length of 11.97 years and nominees’ median marriage length was only slightly longer at 12.66 years.

Contact the Carlsbad divorce for women attorneys of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 today, if you or someone you know is considering filing for divorce from their husband or spouse in Carlsbad.

Study finds alcohol contributes to marriage delay and divorce

admin — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:12:24 +0000

According to a study recently published in the journal, “Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research”, people with a history of alcohol dependence are more likely to delay marriage and become divorced. ”For young adults who are drinking, if their drinking continues to levels of problem use, it could impact their likelihood of marriage as well as likelihood of having a really lasting marriage,” stated Mary Waldron, the study’s author.

Researchers studied 5,000 twins between the ages of 28 and 92-years old with a history of alcohol abuse and dependence. They concluded that people with a history of alcoholism were two times more likely to become separated or divorced. In addition, researchers found that single women were 23 percent more likely to delay marriage and men over the age of 29 were 36 percent more likely to delay marriage if they had been dependent on alcohol.

To discuss filing for contested divorce with a compassionate family law attorney, contact the Carlsbad contested divorce lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 to learn more about the divorce process.

Camille Grammer demands alimony and child support

admin — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:35:17 +0000

42-year old Camille Grammer of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” recently turned down an offer of $30 million from her ex-husband 55-year old Kelsey Grammer. The couple were married in 1997 and divorced in 2010. Camille and Kelsey have two children together, 9-year old Mason and 6-year old Jude.

Sources say Camille was unsatisfied with Kelsey’s offer because it only equated to one-third of the couple’s marital assets and property. In addition, it did not include any spousal or child support. Together, Camille and Kelsey operate a television production company that produced “Frasier” and several other shows. For this reason, Camille believes any personal or business assets should be divided equally.

If you and your spouse recently filed for divorce and are looking to settle permanent alimony, contact the Carlsbad permanent alimony lawyers of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 to learn more about determining alimony.

Elizabeth Edwards leaves John Edwards out of will

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:51:24 +0000

On December 1st, six days before her passing, Elizabeth Edwards edited her will. Last week, details of the will were released to the public. Elizabeth Edwards, who died after battling breast cancer for 6 years, left her 28-year old daughter Catherine as executor of the will and made no mention of her ex-husband. John and Elizabeth Edwards split after John’s extramarital affairs became public and paternity tests proved that he had fathered a child with one of his mistresses, Rielle Hunter.

“All of my furniture, furnishings, household goods, jewelry, china, silverware, and personal effects and any automobiles owned by me at the time of my death I give and bequeath to my children who shall be living at the time of my death,” said Edwards’ will. In addition, the will states that Catherine is to serve as guardian of Elizabeth’s other two children, 12-year old Emma Claire and 10-year old Jack.

If you or someone you love has questions about creating or editing a will, contact the Carlsbad wills and probate attorneys of Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP at 760-722-7646 today.