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Recent Posts in This Blog Category
| November 21, 2010 |
| The TIME PERIODS for FILING SET ASIDE MOTIONS DEPENDS.... |
| Posted By Thurman Arnold |
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Dear Thurmond:
Just thought you might want to point out that there is a different code section about setting aside judgments (2122) as opposed to orders (3691). It's important because the statute of limitations is 1 year for judgments and 6 mos. for orders.
Thanks for your excellent articles,
Bruce J.
Northern California Attorney
Bruce:
I appreciate you for pointing out that some clarification would be helpful (seriously) - most people won't drop me a note - and sometimes I am slow to respond. ; (
Anyway,, I am grateful to hear from you.
As you note, there are different statutes of limitations that serve to potentially cut off or extinguish your right to challenge settlement agreements, judgments, or court orders depending on which of these you are challenging and the grounds for the set aside request (i.e., fraud, duress, mistake, etc.) You need to carefully research and understand these rules as they apply to your situation. Mixing up the statutory time periods may result in the denial of your motion, and even subject you to attorney fees for the costs incurred by the other party. I wrote about a recent case in April, 2010, where this occurred entitled
Marriage of Zimmerman.
With respect orders for support, for instance, Family Code section 3691 generally sets a six month window on the time to file a set aside of child or spousal support orders.
For settlement agreements and stipulated judgments, Family Code section 2122 sets forth the time limits for filing set aside motions. These time-frames differ depending upon the grounds you allege for the set aside, but generally range from one to two years. Note that grounds for set-aside not only include alleged misconduct of the other party but also your own circumstances that contributed to a mistake or other situation that would tend to make a set aside the fair and just remedy. I recommend that you attempt to justify your motion on every legitimate ground, even if it appears to be time-barred, unless the claims are so unlikely as to appear frivolous.
Look at these statutes carefully. Events that trigger the time to commence running can be tricky and fact specific. This is an area where you need to find competent local counsel, because if you draft the motion yourself you may not recognize that what you thought you needed to say actually undermined or destroyed your claim.
T. W. Arnold, CFLS
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| October 20, 2010 |
| JAKE ARNOLD Turns SIX! |
| Posted By Thurman Arnold |
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The Lost and the Found
[One Attorney's Path to Redemption]
__________
Unconditional love is something we humans yearn for,
but just endlessly.
The difficulties of relationship break up prove this to be true,
but only every time.
Animals, friends and family are not
merely a sanctuary
when we are all working well -
but a ready invitation for redemption
when we are not,
every, every day.
In this way
devotion
to special creatures,
like children,
animals
our inner child,
and you ...
teaches that not only can we carry on
- but how to.
Happy Birthday to Puppy Dog Jake
and to all the beings whom you hold dear....
and now Merry Christmas!
~T.W. Arnold~
Happy Holidays!
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| June 01, 2010 |
| AFCC Conference in Denver, June 2-5, 2010 |
| Posted By Thurman Arnold |
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I am excited to be attending the 47th Annual Conference of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) from June 2 to 5, 2010, in Denver, Colorado.
This year's AFCC Conference is entitled Traversing the Trail of Alientation: Rocky Relationships, Mountains of Emotion, Mile High Conflict.
I am signed up for the following seminars, which I hope to blog in the evenings:
Hot Minds or Hot Heads? How the Brain Reacts to Conflict and How to Use Strategic, Skill-Based Tools to Help Mediation Clients
Family Bridges: Principles, Procedures and Ethical Considerations in Reconnecting Severely Alienated Children with Their Parents
Best Interest Parenting Time Schedules: The Intersection of Developmental Needs and Parenting Style
Evaluating Allegations of Parental Substance Abuse in the Context of Parental Alienation
How Do You Know What You Say You Know? A Family Lawyer's Guide to Confronting Mental Health Evidence
Attachment Relationships in the Courtroom
Getting Real About Parental Alienation
Calm in the Face of the Storm: Spiritual Intelligence and Daily Practice for the Peacemaker
Our goal is always to share whatever information we learn of that may help families and couples in relationship transitions. Hopefully we can do this in real time this week!
T.W. Arnold
www.ThurmanArnold.com
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| May 26, 2010 |
| Announcing the Opening of DESERT FAMILY MEDIATION SERVICES! |
| Posted By Thurman Arnold |
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To our honored visitors:
We are excited to give you advance notice that the first family law mediation center in the Coachella Valley is opening its offices in Palm Springs on June 15, 2010. Our hope and expectation is that we will be providing much needed peacemaking and reconciliation services to couples involved in relationship difficulties who live within the inland desert cities' empire, including all of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. We invite diversity in our clientele in all sizes, shapes, colors, and combinations!
Desert Family Mediation Services is the joint passion of the Honorable Gretchen W. Taylor, Retired Family Court Judge and Thurman W. Arnold, Attorney.
Former Judge Taylor was admitted to the Bar in California in 1979. She has practiced family law almost exclusively in the 31 years since. She is a Certified Family Law Specialist. Her practice was devoted to divorce and families in Beverly Hills until she became a Commissioner of the Indio Superior Court in Indio, California, in 1997. While in Indio she was one of two family court judges for the eastern Riverside County communities (excluding Blythe).
In 2003 Judge Taylor's assignment changed to the downtown Los Angeles Superior Court. She served as a family court commissioner in Los Angeles until 2009, when she retired and so left the bench. She has developed a particular expertise with high-conflict, high-asset dissolutions, domestic partnership breakups, but she cares deeply about all manner of relationship difficulties, small and large.
Since retiring in 2009 she has served privately as a family court referee, special master, private judge, and mediator for families residing in Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and neighboring cities. She resides primarily in the Coachella Valley.
Thurman W. Arnold is a Palm Springs' native and was admitted to the practice of law in 1982. He has been practising law from his offices in Palm Springs since that time, and exclusively handles family law and related matters. He recently passed the California State Bar Certification Examination and so is eligible to become a Certified Family Law Specialist this year. He frequently serves as a Judge Pro Tem of the Riverside County Superior Court in Indio.
Retired Judge Taylor and Attorney Arnold are committed to serving couples - and their children - and to managing the resolution of your disputes sensibly and with dignity. Mediation is a far better alternative to adversary court dispute litigation, and we as seasoned professionals know this fact first hand.
Judge Taylor is not a member of the Law Firm of Thurman W. Arnold - Desert Family Mediation Services is an enterprise completely separate from Mr. Arnold's law practice. Indeed, former Judge Taylor is not available to represent individual parties in dissolution cases or in any other family law proceedings.
We are overjoyed to share our expertise in helping couples resolve their breakups neutrally, economically and safely. In addition to mediations, we will be available to conduct private settlement conferences and to assist with parenting plans and parenting coordination. Please watch for us!
We and other passionate mediators are available for free initial consults.
The website for DFMS launches on or about June 15, 2010, If you find the information contained in this website useful, you might share our excitement concerning what is about to become available to all those who find it!
Our heartfelt desire is to share the wisdom accumulated over many years in order to spare you and your family from unnecessary suffering.
Desert Family Mediation Services offers a peacemaking alternative to family court.
Thurman W. Arnold III
Hon. Gretchen W. Taylor (Retired)
May 26, 2010
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| January 20, 2010 |
| What should I do before selecting a divorce attorney? |
| Posted By Thurman Arnold |
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Q. What should I ask a family law attorney to see if we are a good fit?
A. Before you step into a lawyers office, you should know something about them. Today this is easy. Go to the California State Bar website. Search the attorney's name. You will learn where they attended undergraduate school and law school; when they were admitted to the Bar, whether they belong to any Bar Sections and stay current with the law, and how long they've been practicing. Not all law schools are created equally.
You will learn whether they have been disciplined. Lawyers can be disciplined for a number of reasons; some go to the essence of that attorney's character and affect their reputation in the community, including with Judges before whom they appear.
Second, ask for a referral. Be sure the reporting person is reliable themselves, not over-conflicted, and that they have a basis for their opinion.
Referrals from long practising mental health professionals are an excellent recommendation.
Referrals from other lawyers is a very good way to choose a lawyer, and if you know an attorney run the names you are considering by him or her. Martindale.comrates lawyers in terms of client satisfaction.
Web sites, like this one, are also a good place to start. They may tell you something about the attitude of the attorney and the style of their practice, or they may be a misleading billboard. Most attorney websites are put together by advertising firms and don't reflect the real personality of the lawyers. Many lawyers pay ghost writers to put up blogs or "articles" on their sites. They subscribe to "newsletters" that they appear to have, but have not, written.
Thurman Arnold has researched and written every word on this site (truly). We don't believe there is another family law website in the country that matches our commitment in making dissolution related information available to people for nothing.
Many lawyers will not charge for an initial consult. The Law Firm of Thurman Arnold III does not charge for initial consults, over the phone or in person, and we usually spend a half hour to an hour with clients when we first meet them. We want to know about you, and it is important that you get to know us.
Remember that lawyers are busy professionals, and time is their stock in trade. It isn't ethical for you to interview lawyers to gather free information or just to validate your opinions.
Asking the attorney their opinion on issues important to you at the initial meeting is not inappropriate or off limits in the slightest.
You are trying to determine several bits of information:
1) Is this attorney actually experienced in ways that are helpful to you?
Family law is complicated because it is not just the lawyer's experience with the law that is important, but it is also their familiarity with professional and life situations similar to your own.
2) What is the attorney's attitude about how divorces should be handled? Does she know how to listen?
Is that attitude consistent with your own goals? For instance, if you intend to lie to your spouse, hide assets, and if you care only about the outcome from your own perspective, you would need to hire a lawyer who tends to practice in a way that accomplishes that goal. If that is who you think you are, you want a divorce gunslinger.
But, beware, these lawyers will treat you the same way as you treat others.
If instead you are like most persons involved in the trauma of divorce, rational one day but distressed and confused and even nasty and reactive the next, you need someone compassionate and ethical to guide you. If you think that being ethical means being soft, examine what it is in your thinking that concludes that.
Conflict resolution is not the same as conflict avoidance. You do need to make sure that your lawyer has the background, ability, experience, and interest in you to manage your case. The best attorneys have some educational background in the family sciences or family studies, and regularly undertake family law continuing education. Such training reflects an unusual commitment to the craft that may distinguish them from the pack. The Law Firm of Thurman Arnold III actually lists our experience, training, and continuing education on this site to evaluate - we challenge other attorneys to do likewise.
3) You need to feel that you and the lawyer you hire are a good fit. If it reliably seems that the two of you can act as an empathetic team, and that you value the same things, you are on the right track.
T.W. Arnold
1/20/2010
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