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Getting a Restraining Order in a California Divorce

Types of Restraining Orders

A restraining order can protect you from abuse or harassment during a separation or divorce. There are two common types of orders used in divorce: a domestic violence restraining order and a civil harassment restraining order. Each is used to target a different set of people.

1. A domestic violence restraining order is used to obtain protection from:

  • A spouse, former spouse, domestic partner, person you have dated or lived with intimately, or person who is the other parent of your child, or
  • Someone who is closely related to you, such as a parent, child, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, or in-law.

Restraining orders in California are granted to protect you from abuse, which means causing, attempting to cause, or threatening bodily harm or sexual assault, or molesting, stalking, or striking you. Continue Reading

Get the Whole Family Involved with Spring Cleaning!

Spring cleaning. Mention it to your spouse or kids, and you may just get groans in response. While enjoying the warmer weather, sunnier days, and growing gardens, few people look forward to buckling down and sprucing up the house.

It’s all just tiresome chores, right?

Actually, spring cleaning is more than just freshening up a home from winter. It helps detoxify the family environment, reduces clutter, and provides a brighter, cleaner atmosphere to enjoy the spring and summer months.

So how do you get the whole family behind the spring cleaning effort? After all, you’ll get more done faster with more hands involved. Continue Reading

5 Ways to Better Balance Work, Family, and Personal Needs

Balance.

It’s a word that gets used a lot these days, especially where family and work are concerned. That precious “Work/Life” balance seems increasingly elusive in a culture where bills must be paid, dinner must be made, soccer games must be attended, social events must be run, and both parents (or single parents) must work 9-5 or more in order to make ends meet.

Often enough, in the midst of life’s increasing chaos, things like personal health and alone time go by the wayside in order to handle all the external pressure. While that sort of self-sacrificing approach can be noble on the surface, it can actually be damaging to a family as a whole in the long run. Parents can suffer physical, mental, and emotional breakdowns if they devote all their resources to others without finding some way to balance their own needs in the mix.

So how does it happen? What can you do to carve out some healthy margin for yourself and your family and resist being pulled in all directions at once?
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Upcoming Family Events in San Diego

Each month, in an effort to provide San Diego families with child-friendly resources, we’ll be posting information about San Diego events we’ve found that we think parents may enjoy with their kids.

Here are some great events we found this month.

Seussical the Musical
Classic Dr. Seuss stories come to life in a mix of musical styles, with all your favorite characters.

Times:
Friday, Mar 1st – 7:00pm
Saturday, Mar 2nd – 7:00pm
Sunday, Mar 3rd – 3:00pm
Friday, Mar 8th – 7:00pm
Saturday, Mar 9th – 2:00pm , 7:00pm
Sunday, Mar 10th – 3:00pm Continue Reading

Minella Law Group Can Aid in Your Child Support Needs

Both parents are responsible for the financial support of all of their children until the children reach the age of 18. If the child or children are still in school at the age of 19, and still live at home and are unable to provide their own support, it is up to the parents to provide that support.

The state of California mandates the amount of child support that is paid from one parent to the other. The amount is figured by the computer generating of the payer’s financial status. The parent’s income, the amount of taxes that they pay, the amount of time that the parent has with the child, mandatory items that are deductible such as health insurance and retirement and the custodial parent’s ability to earn and their income are the main factors that determine the amount of child support to be paid. Child support can be altered should financial changes occur with the parent paying the support, or if the time share between the two parents should change at any time.
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How To Prepare For Your San Diego Child Support Attorney

Develop a Plan

To make everything as easy as possible and save on attorney costs, you will need to develop a plan. Take some time to think about what you want to accomplish during your child support case. Come up with some goals and objectives. Do you have a goal of gaining custody? Or, are you willing to negotiate mutually beneficial visits for both you and your ex-spouse? Are you comfortable with your ex-spouse gaining total custody? Deciding these factors and putting them in writing can make your attorney meeting more efficient. Also consider items such as what you want your child support to cover. How much can you reasonably afford? Get an idea by using an online calculator.
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Technology Can Ease the Strain of Co-Parenting

For couples with children who divorce, their relationship does not end when the divorce is final. Somehow, parents who have divorced still need to find a way to have a successful co-parenting relationship. While forming a co-parenting relationship is relatively easy for couples who have had an amicable divorce, this relationship can be more difficult for those who have had gone through a high-conflict divorce. Parents who have a strained relationship have started to opt for technological solutions to communicate with their ex-spouse about their children and coordinate schedules. Additionally, technology can help parents keep in touch when either they or their children have moved to another town or across the country.
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Keeping Family Communications Positive in all Circumstances

Funny, isn’t it, how just a few choice words can entirely change a family dynamic…either for good or for ill? Whether you’re trying to enjoy a meal together at the dinner table, on an outing, dealing with a split family situation, or otherwise, both what you say and how you say it can have an enormous impact on the results.

And the entire time you’re talking?

Your kids are listening. They’re learning the same communication patterns and habits you’re expressing, internalizing them, and will start responding in kind.

When you keep that fact in mind, the importance of establishing positive communication within your family becomes critical—and you recognize that, as a parent, you hold a primary responsibility in achieving this.

So, how do you lay the foundation for a future of strong and nurturing communication? Continue Reading