A social media profile can reveal a surprising amount of detail on an individual. Social media profiles can reveal a person’s state of mind, whether they are happy/sad/depressed about the end of their marriage or losing parenting rights to their kids. Social media also provides evidence of communication, meaning it is possible to see if two parties are conspiring together or if they have been in touch or made any threats.

Also interesting is how the mobility of social media can also come into play for legal reasons. Evidence of a person’s location and time of actions can be supported by Facebook or Foursquare check-ins. Social media also shows a person’s actions, if they like a certain product, check-in to a store, or announce via their status update something they have previously denied doing.

It is important for divorcing couples to be aware of how much social media can affect their divorce case. Did you know for example that since May 19, 2011, divorce parties can be court ordered to turn over their usernames and passwords for the social media accounts.

If you are going through divorce, you will want to find a legal team who understand the power of social media and will have your best interest in mind. Contact the Encinitas divorce attorneys at The Edmunds Law Firm at (800) 431-2526, or fill out the contact form on our website.

According to E! News, Kardashian, 31, is ready to sign the divorce settlement and get on with her life, but Humphries, 27, has not yet agreed to sign the agreement, hoping for an ever larger settlement in exchange for silence about private aspects of their relationship.

E!News also sights an unnamed “source in the know” as saying that Humphries is holding out for an unconfirmed $7 million settlement (the same amount he reportedly makes playing for the New Jersey Nets).

Kardashian, 31, filed for divorce last Halloween, making it nearly five months since the couple announced its plans for divorce.

Finding a Divorce Attorney in San Diego

If you find yourself faced with divorce and need professional, compassionate advice on how to handle this difficult time, please call The Edmunds Law Firm at (800) 431-2526, or fill out the contact form on our website. We have over 33 years of experience handling a variety of complicated family law cases in California.

Some holidays are easier to compromise on than others, such as allowing a father to take custody during Father’s Day and the mother to take custody on Mother’s Day. Others are multi-day holidays, such as Christmas, when one parent can get custody on Christmas Eve and the other Christmas Day, alternating between on odd and even years.

But Easter is harder. The big celebration is Easter Sunday, and there is no good alternative celebration date. Many families solve the problem by using Thanksgiving as an offset to Easter. This is often a good compromise since children tend to get equal days off of school for both holidays, and both holidays are generally enjoyed with extended families and friends. An example of how this might work is for one parent to get custody for Easter on odd-numbered years and the other parent to get custody on Thanksgiving, then switching on even-numbered years.

However, Easter is also a religious holiday causing some parents to see it as something more than a “Thanksgiving equivalent.” This is true even if each parent is not particularly religious due to long-held traditions in the extended family (such as church followed by an annual Easter Egg hunt).

The issue is even more complex in multi-religious households. An example might be when one parent is Jewish and the other is Christian. Easter and Passover always fall near each other on the calendar, but sometimes they fall during exactly the same period of time. If calls for a Passover Seder fall on Easter Sunday, what is a family to do? This needs to be determined well ahead of time and in the best interest of the children. Keep in mind that the stresses of a divorce often cause people to move closer to their familial and religious roots. So even if, historically, Easter or Passover was “not important” to someone before the divorce, that might no longer hold true.

In summary, don’t make any assumptions based on a parent’s views before the divorce. Always spell everything out to the greatest extent possible – and allow flexibility for religious differences.

Finding a Family Law Attorney in San Diego

If you find yourself faced with divorce in California and need professional, compassionate advice on how to handle this difficult time, please call The Edmunds Law Firm at (800) 431-2526, or fill out the contact form on our website. We have over 33 years of experience handling a variety of complicated family law cases in California.

The Kardhashian divorce is a potential departure from this scenario. The Edmunds Law Firm has, in fact, handled divorces which required the wife to pay moneys to the husband. Call us today for a free consultation at 800-481-2526

First, the definition of a “custodial parent” has changed. Prior to 2009, the custodial parent was determined by the stipulations of the divorce decree. From 2009 on, the custodial parent is defined as the parent with whom the child resides the greater number of nights. If the child splits his/her time equally among both parents, the custodial parent is considered the one with the highest adjusted gross income.

Second, filing provisions for dependent tax deductions have changed. Prior to 2008, a non-custodial parents could simply attach sections of the divorce decree outlining agreements about how many years each parent could claim children as dependents on his/her tax form. Under the new rules, any non-custodial parent claiming exemptions must complete an IRS Form 8332 – Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent. To ensure all parties wishes are clearly reflected, the custodial parent should also complete a Form 8332 at the time a settlement agreement is being executed.

Third, the custodial parent can now unilaterally revoke the release of a child exemption for calendar years 2009 and beyond, regardless of the date the release was actually made.

However, some important items have not changed.

1. Anybody claiming a dependency exemption is still entitled to benefit from a Child Tax Credit and any allowable Hope and/or Lifetime Learning Educational Tax Credits. Oftentimes, these credits are more valuable than the dependency exemption itself.
2. The custodial parent remains the only parent eligible for additional tax benefits, such as filing a Head of Household, Earned Income Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Tax Credits.

Understanding these issues fully can result in significant tax savings for non-custodial parents. If you live in California and are uncertain about how these new rules might apply to you, it is highly advisable that you contact a California divorce attorney about the tax implications of your divorce settlement.

Finding a Divorce Attorney in Encinitas

If you find yourself faced with difficult divorce and related tax questions and need advice on how to handle this difficult time, please call The Edmunds Law Firm at (800) 431-2526, or fill out the contact form on our website. We have over 33 years of experience handling a variety of complicated family law cases in California.

The answer to that question is opening up a whole host of new issues for divorce law, in California and nationwide.

As an example, when a husband and wife share an email account and password before a divorce, each one may legally be able to read and the other’s email messages – including ones involving romantic involvements, financial issues, even attorney-client conversations.

However, suppose a man installs snooping software on his wife’s personal computer in order to intercept her emails. In such a case, the man could face civil or criminal charges. Even is such charges are not filed, the information gathered still might not be admissible in court because of how it was obtained.

Privacy is even less protected on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Such sites are generally considered to be public. Nothing a person posts on them is considered to be “private.” This is true even in cases where access to the information was strictly restricted through privacy settings, but someone else reposted the information to his/her Facebook page or Tweeted about it. As such, courts may consider anything placed on social media sites as open and relevant during a divorce proceeding.

In this new digital age, divorce attorneys are advising their clients to, at a minimum:

• Change all computer and email passwords as soon as divorce proceedings begin
• Rely on attorneys to file motions for important information, rather than using snooping software
• Avoid posting any potentially damaging information on a Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites, including a “new relationship” status. (See related post on the dangers of dating during divorce proceedings.)

Finding a Divorce Attorney in San Diego

If you find yourself faced with divorce and need professional, compassionate advice on how to handle this difficult time, please call The Edmunds Law Firm at (800) 431-2526, or fill out the contact form on our website. We have over 33 years of experience handling a variety of complicated family law cases in California.

City of hearing: Family Law Division – Vista, CA

Issues before the court: Spousal support and Attorney fees

City and State of client: Thousand Oaks, CA

Description: This was a long term marriage of twenty four years. We brought forth the Motion, on behalf of our client, for Spousal support and Attorney fees. The Edmunds Law Firm was able to enter into a
Stipulation regarding Spousal support and the court reserved on the issue of attorney fees.

Client comments: “He [Stephen Smith] is a fine young attorney and I will do all in my power financially to keep him retained”, as well as, “Thank you for being so kind, understanding and as I mentioned earlier, patient,
not to mention compassionate.”