H. William Edgar
LATEST ARTICLES BY: H. William Edgar
Grandmother Retains Custody Despite Out-of-State Father’s Request
In this case, filed on August 7 but certified for publication on August 28, the Second District affirmed a Los Angeles County…
Mother Granted Custody of Her Child After Year of Foster Care
In this case, the Fourth District affirmed an Orange County juvenile court’s order granting M’s section 388 petition returning three-year-old I.B. to…
Mother Wins Reunification After Reversal of Earlier Ruling
In this case, filed on May 29 but certified for publication on June 17, the second Division reversed a Los Angeles County…
Mother Challenges Juvenile Court Order Terminating Reunification
In this case, the Fourth District granted M’s petition for a writ challenging an Orange County juvenile court’s order terminating reunification services…
Can Juvenile Courts Rule on Family Law Cases?
In this case, the Fourth District affirmed a San Bernardino County juvenile court judge’s orders at a combined jurisdictional and disposition hearing.…
Case Review: Trial Court Rules in Favor of Wife in 3 Separate Appeals
In three consolidated cases, the Sixth District affirmed the trial court’s issuance of a DVRO in Wife’s favor, reversed an order rescinding…
How California Courts Decide a Parent Is Unfit
In California and across the country, family courts operate to protect the best interests of children in divorces, custody disputes, and other family law matters. Most of…
CA Supreme Court Rules on Community Property in Bankruptcy
In this case, a California Supreme Court majority held: When a married couple uses community funds to acquire property as joint tenants,…
What Happens When an Abuser Files a Restraining Order?
Here is a recently published opinion arising from the Orange County Superior Court regarding restraining orders and an OSC re Contempt. This…
Domestic Partnerships Aren’t Just for Same-Sex Couples
Just last year, only same-sex couples could apply for domestic partnerships—unless they were over the age of 62. However, with the passage of State…
At What Age Can a Child Decide Which Parent to Live With?
If you’re divorcing and you have children, then you’re facing a challenging situation: which parent will your child or children live with? This is…
How Long Does It Take to Get an Uncontested Divorce in California?
If you and your spouse are in the process of getting a divorce, but you want both want the process to be over…
Who has UCCJEA jurisdiction?
This issue often comes up. Which court will have jurisdiction to modify existing court orders. In this case, the 2nd district correctly determines…
Can You Deny Visitation If Child Support Is Not Paid?
Family litigation is complex because it involves emotional distress and even disputes. One of the most common issues that occur between divorced…
Best Interest of your Pet?
On National Pet Day, we take a peek into how California family law judges now try to look more to the best…
What Are the Requirements for a Summary Dissolution?
Divorce is an emotionally overwhelming process, which is no surprise that most couples would like the divorce process to end as soon…
What Are Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders?
An automatic, temporary restraining order (ATROs) is a specific type of restraining order that is issued in connection with divorce proceedings, legal…
Same-Sex Marriage Custody Issues
A same-sex marriage divorce is a challenging process—especially when children are involved. Since same-sex marriage and custodial laws are new and constantly…
Reliability of Juvenile Witnessess
Recently, I was discussing the holding in In Re I.C with our juvenile dependency attorney Nicole Anderson. Nicole has been practicing…
What is domestic violence? A series on Dr. Bradley’s sourcebook (part 5) The History of Domestic Violence
The History of Domestic Violence In order to get a full understanding of domestic violence and learn what we can do to…
What is domestic violence? A series on Dr. Bradley’s sourcebook (part 4) The legacy of the O.J Simpson case
The Legacy of the O.J Simpson Case The aftermath of the infamous O.J Simpson case had a tremendous amount of effects concerning…
Personal Jurisdiction
In Hogue vs Hogue (September 29, 2017) Third District finds that husband’s sending video of his mock suicide from Georgia to wife in…
Edgar Family Law Recognized as One of Fastest Growing Firms in the US
Edgar & Dow Named a 2017 Law Firm 500 Honoree for Fastest Growing Law Firms in the United States Over the past 3-years,…
Know the Most Common Physical Symptoms of Divorce
Divorce comes with all kinds of changes. It typically requires people to move, adjust their budget and even see their children less.…
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At the Edgar & Dow, we strive to provide excellent family law representation with honesty and integrity. We will always tell you…
Should I file for divorce?
The Basics of Filing for Divorce If it's clear to you that your marriage is over, it's time to start researching the…
Millennials and Divorce
One common belief is that 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, but it turns out this is a misleading statistic. That's…
5 Surprising Reasons for Divorce
We've all heard of "irreconcilable differences" as a common, somewhat vague reason for divorce. But that's not the only reason a couple…
Employment Termination & Child Support Obligations
How does child support work if the mother has no job? When it comes to child support obligations, does it matter whether she was…
How to Stick to Boundaries With Your Divorce Lawyer
As you start your divorce case, you first need to know how to properly work with your lawyer. After all, you hired your lawyer…
At the End of Your Case — What You Need to Know
If you have recently received a judgment for your divorce case, you are likely feeling a mixture of emotions. You may be…
Things to Consider Before Hiring a Divorce Lawyer-From a Retired Family Court Judge
Divorce is the most emotion-filled, vulnerable, and sometimes frightening time in many people’s lives. It is a complicated process, and without legal…
Are there Equitable Remedies/Defenses to Child Support Arrears?
This is a case that we have been working on this week in anticipation for trial. Father and Mother have a 50/50…
Successful Trial: Is it a Move Away?
We had a successful trial. Immediately after separation Mother moves to LA County away from Father in Riverside with their young son.…
How Can I Rebut the Presumption of Detriment for Domestic Violence?
An individual in the middle of a divorce or custody battle should avoid an allegation of domestic violence. When a former partner has made…
Can I Request a New Custody Order?
If you have a child custody agreement in place, can you request a new agreement? The short answer is yes, it is…
Can You Ignore Your Ex-Spouse’s Credit Card Debt?
You’re getting divorced, and the judge rules that the credit card debt that your spouse accrued belongs solely to them, so they’re…
5 Reasons Co-Parenting is Good for You & Your Kids
It’s easy to understand that you are not the biggest fan of your ex-spouse. This is probably at least a little bit…
Can I Get Those Text Messages?
As a divorce lawyer, this is a common question that many clients will ask. Can I get access to my spouse’s phone…
8 Ways to Improve Your Co-Parenting Situation
You and your now ex-spouse likely don’t get along and probably have not been getting along for quite some time now. It’s…
How Children Understand Divorce
In Laura Broadwell’s Parents blog, entitled “Age-by-Age Guide to What Children Understand About Divorce,” she breaks down the normative behavioral patterns in children in…
Are You Self-Employed? Choose Your Divorce Lawyer Carefully.
"The child support attorney did what?" I could not believe what I had heard. He had to repeat it. "She said ‘I…
Do I Really Need an Attorney?
Recently I heard something disturbing from a new client. While representing herself, she had gotten a bad custody ruling from a particular…
Marriage Presumption
What is the Marriage Presumption? What most people think is routine or normal, is not necessarily normal in the family law court. Incredible fact…
Social Security and Child Support
Not All Social Security Benefits Are the Same. Family Code section 4058 broadly defines income “from whatever source derived.” And in its…
Imputed Income For Child Support
In line with a substantial body of case law on the subject, Fam.C. § 4058 vests trial courts with discretion to consider a parent’s earning…
Custodial Timeshare: Daycare & School
There are many factors that the court can consider in making a timeshare determination. A parent’s custodial timeshare percentage can include the time the…
A Parent Quits Work To Take Care of New Family?
What Does the Court Do When a Spouse Quits Work and Relies On an Affluent New Spouse? The fact a parent intentionally remains…
What Happened to Proposition 8?
Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the California Constitution, as amended by “Proposition 8” (eff. 11/5/08), limited a…
Can the Other Parent and I Agree to a Child Support Amount?
The issue here is whether the agreement is above or below guideline. However, generally the court will not stand in the way…
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