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LegalZoom vs. Nolo vs. Rocket Lawyer & A People’s Choice – Compare Legal Document Services

By |March 28th, 2020|California Courts|

If you're looking for a legal document preparation service, a simple Google search will present a plethora of a results - but how can you know which service is best? In this post we'll compare LegalZoom, Nolo, and Rocket Lawyer, three of the most popular legal document services, and also alert you of some of their dangers. Read on to learn more!

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Should I Represent Myself in Family Court?

By |March 22nd, 2020|Family Law|

Some unhappily married people complain that they cannot afford to divorce their spouses. Family law attorneys often charge a lot of money for services involving the family courts. In order to save costs, people are now asking themselves, "should I represent myself in family court?" The answer is often "yes," but you also need to consider your circumstances. Here's what you need to know.

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Online QDRO Preparation – What You Need to Know

By |November 3rd, 2019|Family Law|

Don't settle for just any online QDRO preparation service. Did you know that most online QDRO services only prepare the forms? In other words, they do not provide the additional services you will require to actually complete the QDRO process. Remember, the actual division of the retirement account is only complete once a QDRO has been prepared, pre-approved by the Plan Administrator, signed by the parties, signed by the Judge, filed in the court case and a certified copy provided to the Plan.

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What is Substitute Service of Process?

By |August 12th, 2019|California Courts|

Serving someone with court papers is more complicated than it sounds. The law requires you to make every reasonable effort to notify the person you are suing, and you must carefully document your efforts to send notice to the defendant. Proper service of legal documents can involve a lot of paperwork, especially if you try to notify the defendant through substitute service of process.

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How to Resolve Mistakes Made by a Court Clerk

By |July 21st, 2019|California Courts|

Sometimes, even the court system makes simple mistakes. Unfortunately, mistakes made by a court clerk, for example, can create serious difficulties. For example, receiving a $100,000 award in a judgment, but finding the clerk accidentally wrote in "$10,000" instead. How devastating! How can you fix this "slip of the pen" and receive the award to which you are entitled? Attempting to resolve mistakes made by a court clerk should be simple, but many people find it harder than they expect. A People's Choice can help you get those errors corrected in a swift, timely fashion.

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What is a Joinder?   

By |July 6th, 2019|California Courts, Family Law|

Legal proceedings can be a complicated process. Sometimes, unexpected people and parties have an interest in the legal process. When this is the case, you must add them to the legal proceedings before you can fully resolve the case. You will use a joinder to do this. So what is a Joinder, and how does it affect a legal matter?

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Serving Legal Documents With No Address

By |July 6th, 2019|California Courts|

A court will not hear a case until the defendant or the opposing party has personally received a court summons and a copy of the complaint or petition. Usually, defendants receive these documents by personal delivery, substituted service, or service by mail. Unfortunately, serving legal documents gets complicated without the defendant's address. Here's what you need to know when serving legal documents with no address.

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Importance of a Custody Order For Unmarried Parents

By |January 1st, 2019|Family Law|

Many unmarried parents are raising children together, but what happens to the children if they split up? When a married couple divorces, the must settle child custody, visitation, and child support issues before they can finalize a divorce. But there is no requirement for an unmarried couple to go through the courts to end their relationship. Furthermore, there is no requirement for the couple to settle custody, visitation, and child support issues as part of their break up. In this regard, a custody order for unmarried parents becomes critical. Even if the split is amicable and the couple is in total agreement about all of the child-raising issues, it is important that they get a custody order from the court.

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Factors that Determine Spousal Support in California

By |October 7th, 2018|Family Law|

In a divorce or legal separation proceeding, a judge may order one spouse to pay the other alimony or spousal support as part of the separation judgment. With this in mind, what are the factors that determine spousal support? First and foremost, spousal support is based on the extent of each spouse’s earning capacity and how much is required to maintain the standard of living the pair enjoyed as a couple.

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How to Change a Child’s Name in California

By |February 4th, 2018|California Legal Documents|

There are many reasons a parent may want to change a child’s name. For example, a parent may want to change a child’s last name if there's been a divorce, a party has remarried or when there is a parent who is not involved. Sometimes a child simply hates the name their parent gave them at birth. Learn how A People's Choice can help you change a child's name in California.

Grounds For Emergency Custody or Visitation Order

By |January 22nd, 2018|Family Law|

If a child’s health and safety are in danger, a court will grant an emergency custody or visitation order. If a parent hides a child, threatens to kidnap them, abuses a child or refuses medial treatment to a child, a parent may consider filing an ex parte request for emergency custody or visitation orders.

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How to Register a Foreign Child Support Order in California

By |December 30th, 2017|Family Law|

Learn how to register a foreign child support order in California. When you register a foreign child support order in California, the California court will have the power to collect and enforce the child support order of another state. Here are the steps to register a foreign child support order in California.

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Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights in California and What it Means

By |September 11th, 2017|Family Law|

Parents may voluntarily relinquish parental rights in California. Voluntary relinquishment of parental rights, however, can only be made under specific legal circumstances. Obviously parents choose to relinquish their parental rights for a variety of reasons including divorce, adoption, legal guardianship, or foster care. The voluntary relinquishment of parental rights must be granted in a court [...]

The Effects of Cohabitation and Spousal Support

By |June 11th, 2017|Family Law|

Spousal support is based on one spouse’s obligation to provide financial help to their low wage earning spouse. Spousal support can be paid both during and after divorce to help maintain the marital standard of living of the supported spouse for a specified period. People commonly believe spousal support is paid for the lifetime of [...]

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How to Transfer Real Property Title

By |April 28th, 2017|Estate Planning|

If you need to transfer real property title in California, you will be pleased to know that the process is quite simple with the right help. Property deeds are used to memorialize the transfer in the County Recorder's office. In the past, title companies offered the services of preparing deeds. Over the years, that service [...]

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Adopting an Adult in California

By |March 25th, 2017|Adoption|

We often receive calls from people inquiring about adopting an adult in California. Believe it or not, it is fairly common for an older adult to adopt a younger adult in California. Doing so creates a legal parent-child relationship. Adult adoption helps simplify complicated estate planning issues. For example, a party can make sure his/her [...]

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How to File an Emergency Custody Motion

By |December 4th, 2016|Family Law|

Filing an emergency custody motion, also known as an ex parte motion, is common in family law cases. An emergency custody motion can help California residents get immediate legal relief regarding custody issues in divorce, legal separation and paternity cases. California Family Law Code section 3064 outlines the requirement of an emergency custody motion. [...]

How to Set Aside a Paternity Judgment

By |September 14th, 2016|Family Law|

Establishing paternity is a major psychological and economical factor that affects a child’s life.  For a child born to a married couple, that child is considered legitimate under California law. However, if a mother is unmarried, the person named as the child's father on a birth certificate does not, in fact, legally establish paternity. Furthermore,  [...]

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Dealing With Parental Alienation

By |September 2nd, 2016|Family Law|

Parental alienation syndrome (PAS) is a psychological condition often seen in children that have been traumatized by high conflict divorce. One of the main signs seen in children that are experiencing PAS is an unfounded hatred toward a parent for no logical reason. This article is an overview on how to identify and deal with [...]