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Questions Answered by Tobie B. Waxman
3 Answers | Asked in Divorce, Family Law, Personal Injury and Civil Litigation for California on
Q: Discovery Responses: Motion to Compel vs. Motion to Exclude Evidence

During Divorce, the Ex's counsel requested financial and tax documents in discovery. I provided a Dropbox link in my verified responses. Now, 50 days later, they threaten to file a Motion to Compel Further unless I send the link again within one hour. I informed them that the 45-day deadline... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jan 4, 2025

Expanding on Mr Light’s response, it sounds like counsel made no effort to try to open that link up to 50 days after you provided it. Why? Why not let you know sooner that the link allegedly didn’t work? You cannot move to exclude evidence until after the party has violated a court order... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Criminal Law, Family Law, Personal Injury and Civil Litigation for California on
Q: Partial Discovery Responses: Motion Options After 50 Days

If my ex sent 10 discovery questions (1-5 asking for financial documents and 6-10 general written questions), I provided verified responses for all 10, with written answers for 6-10 and for 1-5, I wrote "See Dropbox" and shared an Onedrive link via email. Now, 50 days later, my ex claims... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jan 2, 2025

To compel further responses to discovery, the moving party must file the motion within 45 days (plus 5 additional calendar days if the responses were served by USPS) to file their motion. There is a meet and confer requirement that must be satisfied before the motion is filed. If your ex waited... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Divorce and Child Custody for California on
Q: How to Withdraw an Ex Parte Hearing for Custody Visitation Schedule

I filed ex parte for custody visitation schedule urgently and the judge denied but scheduled for the hearing 1 month later. However, I want to withdraw the ex parte hearing. Is there a specific FL-Form I need to submit, or can I create my own document for this purpose instead of calling the... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Dec 18, 2024

If there has been no response filed to the ex parte or a responsive declaration filed/served, you can simply call the courtroom and tell the clerk you are withdrawing your motion or aka taking your motion off calendar. You can then file a "Notice of Taking Motion/RFO Off Calendar".... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: Factors a judge must consider when deciding long-term spousal support? income, property or debt, and standard living?

So, 23 yr marriage, she stayed at home w/partial SSI (1/4 of income). I worked full time making (3/4 of income) and provided for family health insurance. We lived a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle and used REFIs to bail us out of any emergency accrued debt.

Before D.O.S. she inherited $1m... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Dec 9, 2024

Couple different things in your question that the court will look at (see Family Code §4320 for all the statutory factors the court will consider when ordering spousal support). In terms of duration of support to be paid, the court looks at the length of marriage (from date of marriage to date of... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Adoption and Family Law for California on
Q: How do I undo an adoption?

I have had the child 5 years, adopted 2 years now. Child not bonding with me or family. Behavior and mental not so good. Been in mental health services from day 1. Refuse to take meds.

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Dec 5, 2024

Adoptions can be reversed (aka "vacated") under certain limited circumstances. These limited circumstances are statutory and can be found at Family Code §9100 et. seq. Such limited circumstances include if the adopted child shows evidence of a developmental disability or mental... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: Divorce filed with the court on 10/21

Now my question is… if and when the judge signs the MSA, does it make the divorce official from the date the divorce was filed with the court or when the judge signs the judgment? Just wondering because it just seems like it’s been a while now and haven’t heard anything update from the court.

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Dec 4, 2024

You are divorced when the Judgment and Notice of Entry of Judgment have been filed with the court. A marital settlement agreement alone is not enough to get you to the end of your case. There are other steps to be taken and other documents that need to be filed.... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Child Custody and Family Law for California on
Q: filed RFO 2 Modify custody, mediation date given.Ex filed RFO affter,How many days b4 mediation do papers have 2 b serve

When I filed RFO I had to send blank response for her. There were none for me.I was expecting the response papers not a RFO in return. I am confused. Can I change what I requested in my original RFO?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Nov 15, 2024

The deadline for service of a Request for Order is 16 court days (plus 5 calendar days for service by USPS) prior to the hearing date on that Request for Order. The service deadline is not related to the date of your mediation. The fact that she failed to serve you with a blank Responsive... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Child Support and Family Law for California on
Q: If ex and I settle for child support payment less than what the "courts" would dictate can she in the future void this

can she void this agreement and ask for more money if all parties agree to this.

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Nov 6, 2024

It's not a matter of voiding the agreement. What either party can do is seek a modification of the agreement or otherwise get a court order for a different amount of child support. What the court "dictates" is known as "guideline support". It's the law. If you and... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Child Custody, Child Support and Family Law for California on
Q: My ex wife for 4 years has been living with her boyfriend for over a year and another before that. Alimony? California

My 16 year old visits and tells me everything. I have social media info. that verifies their relationship and it's seriousness. She also only has her daughter 8% of the time when it's supposed to be 30%. How much will it cost to correct this?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Nov 3, 2024

It's not a "correction". The fact of her cohabitation is grounds for modification of an existing spousal support order if the cohabitant has income and that income is used to contribute to the household expenses/cost of living expenses. It is not relevant to child support however.... View More

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5 Answers | Asked in Family Law for California on
Q: I signed a retainer agreement and paid the retainer fee. The attorney never signed the retainer

The case was very short, he spent the retainer and says I still owe him a lot of money.

California law is he entitled to more payments if he did not sign the retainer agreement?

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Oct 24, 2024

Review the invoices. If the work done was legitimate and necessary to your case, then yes, you should pay the invoices. The fact that your attorney may not have signed the retainer agreement you signed does not mean you are no longer obligated to pay for his/her services. If the fees were... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law and Child Custody for California on
Q: family court case can i write a letter to the judge regarding the current case?
Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 29, 2024

No one will read it. Unless there is a pending hearing, anything you file with the court will get stuck in the case file and no one will see it, read it, or consider it. If you have a hearing pending, the best way to get information to the judge that is relevant to that hearing is by way of... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: substitution of attorney

My attorney sent me substitution of attorney form which I signed. It has been 1 week and she has not returned the stamped copy to me. Also, she has not returned my file to me. They are telling me the form has not been returned from court yet. Does it take so long to get the form from the court?... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 20, 2024

Depends on the court. With some court (such as Los Angeles county), a Substitution of Attorney can be turned around the same day it is efiled. If you need it to hire new counsel, just get the signed (fully executed) copy from your attorney (whether filed or not). That will be sufficient for... View More

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4 Answers | Asked in Child Support, Child Custody and Family Law for California on
Q: No custody. Child support order changed to 0$. The grandpa of mother now has custody and is asking for child support.

in 2013. after 5 years of court. I relinquished my rights and we agreed on a child support order/ change, to 0$... The mother from my understanding has not seen our son in the past 3-7 years. My past court date was to transfer parental rights from our son's mother to her father. Now I received... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 19, 2024

Not sure what you mean by "released your rights". You cannot relinquish your parental rights unless your child is being adopted. Your obligation to pay child support/to financially support your child remains enforceable regardless of what agreements you may have reached with the other... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: How long will it take for me to received child and spouse support after I request a court order?

I filed for divorce 2 months ago. There’s a custody hearing next month (that my ex requested) but I have not received support or requested an order for it. I’m going to file for it now but wanted to know, how long will it take for me to receive any temporary support while divorce is pending ?... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 19, 2024

If you don't have a court order for support, you won't get support. Once you get your court order for support, you should obtain an "Income Withholding Order" and then serve that on the supporting parent's employer. It may take a couple months to process before support... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: A close friend of mine has been wanting to get a divorce from her spouse for the past two years now.

He hasn't been cooperative or responsive in any way ever since they separated. She cheated on her, abandoned her, and cut any type of communication with her. He even started living with the person he cheated on her with. So far, she has been trying to get the divorce started by filling out the... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 15, 2024

I don't understand the problem. She doesn't need his cooperation. What paperwork did she send to him that she believes he has to fill out for her to proceed with a divorce. Sounds like a lot of misunderstanding about how the process works. California is a no-fault state. If she wants... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Child Support, Divorce and Family Law for California on
Q: married 23 yrs and lived apart 10 after dv case but reconciled but continued to live apart spousal support still option

Herecievedlarge settlement in p.i. Case this year and required my signature to receive it and promised 25,000.00 for signing can I take it to court for verbal agreement only

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 15, 2024

It's difficult to prove the existence of a verbal agreement. Further, you have been separated for 10 years. When did the injury occur that gave rise to the lawsuit and later settlement? The settlement may be separate property to which you are not entitled to any share. Reconciliation may... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce, Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: [DISCOVERY] Sanctions for Lack of Meet and Confer Before Filing Motion to Compel

In family law (LA County), my ex’s attorney sent me 25 questions, followed by 35 more questions 10 days later. I requested a 20-day extension for the second set, but she refused. I tried to personally serve the first set 3 days before the deadline according to her instruction, but she was not in... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Sep 9, 2024

There is no meet and confer requirement when no responses have been served at all. There is a difference between filing a motion to compel and filing a motion to compel further responses. With an initial motion to compel, when no responses have been served at all, there is no meet and confer... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce, Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: Ex's attorney filed Prop FOAH without my knowledge and the Judge signed it.

We had hearing last week and the Court issued 4 page minute order regarding custody (very detailed) 2 days later. The judge ordered "The RP's counsel is to write Order after Hearing, serve it on the opposition for approval....etc". and I know the Court rule 5.125 and I was waiting... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 18, 2024

Immediately file an objection to the proposed FOAH and specify in your objection, the grounds for the objection. Be very clear. Attach a copy of the minute order to your objection (assuming the minute order is different from the proposed FOAH). Since the FOAH has already been signed by the... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: I would like to change my children's last name and file for sole custody due to parent abandonment.

The father is claiming he is homeless. I previously filed for child support and sole custody but I don't believe the filing was ever made official and put into effect. I would like to find out if proving parent abandonment automatically terminates the father's rights. I was previously... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 17, 2024

"I previously filed for child support and sole custody but I don't believe the filing was ever made official and put into effect" - filing a petition for custody and support, without filing anything else, will not result in you getting any court orders. Your case may still be open.... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Divorce, Family Law, Child Custody and Child Support for California on
Q: Court order for child's screen time/sleep due to co-parent's smartphone addiction?

We have 50/50 custody (3-4-4-3 schedule) of our 4-year-old child with my ex. I am deeply concerned about my ex's serious smartphone game addiction, which negatively impacts our child's sleep and overall well-being. Ex has promoted the child to play smartphone game for easier parenting for... View More

Tobie B. Waxman
Tobie B. Waxman
answered on Jun 16, 2024

There is no "device" you can use to monitor the child's sleep. You can get court orders however regarding a 4-year-old's use of a smart phone all together, regarding bedtime, and regarding bedtime routines, and regarding time spent on the smart phone whether playing games or... View More

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