VIRTUAL LECTURE 2

A. MARRIAGE IN CALIFORNIA

1. CALIFORNIA REQUIREMENTS
a. Must have reached majority (18+ years old);
b. Must have obtained a License;
c. Must have undergone a medical examination; and
d. Must have a "Solemn " ceremony

2. COMMON LAW MARRIAGE
a. Doesn't really exist in California

3. COHABITATION
a. See Case Marvin v. Marvin. Where it was decided that a couple cohabiting have the same rights as married people to decide what to do with their property, as long as they are not exchanging goods for meretricious services.

B. END OF MARRIAGE

In CA there are several ways to end a marriage. Of course, some are not as agreeable as others. Death is a sure way to end a marriage but not one that comes highly recommended. The others are characterized below.

1. NULLITY (ANNULMENT) :
a. Presumes marriage is not now nor ever was "valid" - the marriage's existence is deemed and declared void. The parties are returned to their status of unmarried persons, as if the marriage had never happened.
b. Must be brought on specific grounds: incest; bigamy; not yet reached age of majority; prior existing marriage; unsound mind; fraud; force; and physical incapacity.

2. Dissolution (Summary): This is a simple relatively painless method of divorce. Of course if you meet all these requirements your divorce should be absolutely painless. You had to have been married a very short time, not acquired any property to speak of, not own anything really except a car (a cheap one at that), not have had any children from the marriage, no investments, and you have to be in full agreement in the division of your property. That pretty much covers everything people argue about in a divorce

ALL of the following requirements must be met to qualify to file this much simpler dissolution:

a. Residency - Resided in CA for a minimum of 6 months and County of filing for 3 months;
b. Irreconcilable differences have caused an "irremedial breakdown" of the marriage, and the marriage should be dissolved;
c. No children of the relationship;
d. Not currently pregnant;
e. Must have been married to each other less than 5 years at time of filing;
f. Neither party can possess any real estate;
g. No debts larger than $4,000 except car loans;
h. Total assets acquired during marriage cannot be greater than $25,000;
i. Parties have signed an agreement dividing all assets and debts, and have signed all documents transferring title;
j. Both parties waive rights to spousal support, to request an appeal, and to a new trial; and
k. Parties must have indicated to the court that they have read and understood the brochure contemplated, have read FC § 2406, and are still desirous of dissolving the marriage.

3. Dissolution (Standard)
l. There is no longer a requirement of specific grounds to file for divorce in California, only for an annulment. We have no-fault divorce. Which means that if you want to end your marriage, then you can end it. All you have to do is state that irreconcilable differences have caused an "irremedial breakdown" of the marriage, and the marriage should be dissolved. That is the only easy part of a divorce. There are many issues that arise in a divorce, most of which are things we all feel strongly about.

The clients coming in to an attorney's office seeking help with their dissolution are usually not at the high point of their lives. As a paralegal in a family law practice you have to have a certain amount of understanding, yet not too much empathy lest you get embroiled in their problems, something you would be well advised to avoid, even if it did not violate ethics codes (which it does).

Before they are done with their divorce, your clients will have made decisions about everything near and dear to them, bar none. And there are specific judicial council forms for everything you petition the court to do. The desired outcome is one that is equitable or fair to everyone concerned.

Having looked at what the requirements are for a marriage, as well as some about divorce, it should be noted that the Family Code, which has had a couple of major overhauls within the past 6 or 7 years, very thoroughly covers those things very thoroughly covers those things in Code sections FC §§ 100 through 2500. This area of the Code is full of definitions and requirements etc& Yet, even so, the Courts are full of cases and disputes, deciding between nuances which have turned into chasms.

The case we will read in support of this lecture was a famous and controversial case of its day. Partly because one of the parties was a famous actor, and partly because it changed our perspective of marriage forever. Reading this case will help in our understanding of the case we will be visiting for the discussion question.

Our Forms/Project today entails paying attention to the assets and debts uncovered in our client interview. Then, armed with that information, you will fill in the forms that were previously downloaded.

II. READINGS

.A. FROM TEXT "CALIFORNIA FAMILY LAW FOR PARALEGALS"

B. FROM THE CALIFORNIA FAMILY CODE

LOOK OVER THE CODES FROM FC §100 THROUGH FC §2500, THE UPCOMING TEST COULD HAVE QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THESE CODES. MAKE SURE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING:

FC §125 FC §215 FC §300 FC §308 FC §310 FC §1500
FC §1610 FC §1611 FC §1612 - FC §1620 incl. FC §2000 FC §2010

C. ASSOCIATED CASE

Before Marvin Mitchelson represented Lee Marvin's live-in girlfriend Michelle, women had no right to property acquired while cohabiting as husband and wife without the piece of paper that entitled them to it. Our entire way of looking at couples is different because of this case. Clicking on the citation should link you to the case. If you have any problems linking to the case please do not hesitate to email Prof Jordan. Your success in this class depends upon being able to access the materials. Please read the Marvin v. Marvin (1976) case, 18 Cal 3d 660. A clear and complete understanding of the issues in that case will help in your understanding of today's Discussion Question.

B. PROJECT SCENARIO

We are seated with the client in the conference room, fortified with coffee and soft drinks, and begin. She was born Imogene Ruby Woods on August 8, 1958, in Southern California (SSN 570-12-3456, CDL N8883355). She met her future husband Forrest Evergreen Branch while attending Notre Dame University. He was born May 27, 1957 in Northern Michigan (SSN 350-98-7654, CDL A1234567). They dated in the 70's in college then lost touch. A few years later, both working for the same company in southern California, they resumed their relationship, and were married on April 9, 1982. A couple of years later Imogene (hereinafter referred to as Ima) got pregnant and quit work to be a stay at home Mom. Ima and Forrest have had a total of five children their full names, Date of Birth, and Social Security Numbers are as follows:

Rose Woods December 24, 1984 666-55-4321
Olive Meadow January 6, 1986 666-55-4111
Douglas EricFir April 21, 1989 666-55-4666
Jasmine Blossom September 1, 1991 666-55-6665
Cypress Lief October 4, 1994 666-55-8888

Real Property
In 1987, Ima lost her Grandfather and received a substantial inheritance of $100,000 in the form of an insurance policy, which was added to their savings of $50,000 and used to purchase the family home located at 4999 Longridge Avenue, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. Purchase price was $250,000. They financed the remaining $100,000 over 30 years through Franklin Home Funding. They currently owe $50,000 - Loan #R1234569. The Legal Description (metes and bounds) for the family residence is as follows:

Lot 20 of Tract 3000 in the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, State of California, as per Map recorded in Book 4251 Pages 52-53 of Maps in the Office of the County Recorder of said County, commonly known as
4999 Longridge Avenue, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

A.P.N.: 004-52-3020

A similar property two doors down recently sold for $720,000. Ima has been and is still living in the family residence with all 5 of her children all of whom attend The Buckley School. A private school two blocks from their home. Her granddad also left her his rare cane collection which he had had appraised for insurance purposes at $60,000.

Beach House

Her Mom passed away in 1995, leaving her the family beach house in Newport Beach. It is a Duplex on the boardwalk in Newport Beach near the pier. She rents out one of the units to a couple of UC Irvine kids from Sept thru June @ $1200/month. During the summer, she keeps it available for visiting family and friends, as well as for her own kids to use. The Legal Description for the Beach house is as follows:

Duplex (one 2-BR and one 3-BR)

Lot 69, Block G, Tract 338, in the City of Newport Beach, County of Orange, State of California as per map recorded in Book 1, pages 41-47 of Maps in the Office of the County Recorder of said County. It is common known as 102 - 32nd Street, Newport Beach,CA 92663.

A.P.N.: 002-83-0080

There is no more Real Property belonging to the parties.

Mr. Branch works still works with what is now known as Boeing Aircraft Company. They design, produce, sell and maintain aircraft for military and civilian purposes, both here and internationally. Mr. Branch is the Liaison Engineer responsible for integrity of military aircraft. His office is situated in the Long Beach Facility; however, he is just as often at the hangar in Palmdale when he is in Southern California. Approx. two to three weeks each month he is at the Corp HQ in Seattle, and he also is often times called upon to make presentations in Washington DC.. For purposes of Service, the best place to serve would be in Seattle, through the mail with a notice and acknowledgement letter to be returned.

H gets mail at his office at the Headquarter on Casino Drive in Seattle, or he also gets mail delivery at the small hotel he stays at. The name address and phone number of said Hotel is: The Eagle's Nest Inn, 4680 Saratoga Road, Langley, WA 98260. 360-221-5331. He usually stays in Room 7, but you will have to call the Hotel to verify the Room # during any particular stay.

Any Vehicles, Boats, Trailers, etc&

The Community owns 3 vehicles:

'01 Mercedes MLV50 Blk BRANCH1 <$8,000>. $ 40,000
'02 Cad eLDorado DP Burg FORREST <$20,000> $ 36,000
'02 Jag Roadster Dp Teal SRACER <$5,000> $ 45,000

Partnerships/Business Interests/Unsecured Notes/Accts Rec, = NONE

Deferred Compensation Pre-Tax $ for tuition payment of $5,000

No Annuities No profit sharing

Roll-over IRAs $42,000 plus interest each of the two of us in Charles Schwabb Account # 11-25-8877963 in the name of Ima W. Branch and Schwabb Acct# 11-25-8877964 in the name of Forrest E. Branch. Also, Mr. Branch has accumulated 20 years of service with Boeing while married to client 0
Retirement Account 20 yrs of service

No Bonds

Mutual Funds $20,000 in Premier RiskRate C Franklin Acct #C7809972, and $80,000 in Tech fund RiskRateB Franklin Acct #B6465353

No Secured Notes

Blue Chip Stock Certificates brokered through Equifax Investment Program:

Exxon Co USA 11,000 shares at $48/share
Boeing 5000 shares $64/Share
Disney 7,000 shares@ $33/share
Greek Shipping 3300 shares@ $16/share
Norwegian Cruise LinesStockPurchase 1000shares @ $16/share
Guitar Center Inc. 800 shares @ $40/share

We each hold 6 life insurance policies on our life payable to ourselves and our 5 kidsare 6 policies held on each of the spouses' life. Payable upon the death of Imogene the beneficiaries for each of the six policies are Forrest and each of the 5 children, Rose, Olive, Doug, Jasmine and Cy. Payable upon the death of Forrest the beneficiaries are Imogene and each of the 5 children again, Rose, Olive, Doug, Jasmine, and Cy. Each policy pays $100,000 and the premiums total $300 each month. The Policies are held with New York Life Insurance and are policy #s POP 2281895-1 through POP 2281895-12. They only have 5 years of equity in it so far.

Tax refund has already been distributed

Roll-over CDs each 6 month period. There are 5 accts of $100,000 each, for a total of $500,000., plus interest. The acct #s are ACU LCD-1647-330-58835; lcd-1647-330-58883; lcd-1647-330-58912; lcd 1647-330-58973, and lcd-1647-59008.

The community has various different checking accounts:

Jefferson Mutual Acct # SI-423-192020 Savings Acct with $50,000; both
Jefferson Mutual Acct # CI-421-192449;Checking acct with $2,000 both
Aerospace Credit Union Acct # 1647-310-74512, Checking $2500 in FEB
Aerospace Credit Union Acct # 1647-310-74708; Checking $2200in IWB
Aerospace Credit Union Acct # 1647-330-55879; Savings $30,000 both
Coin Collection insured at 600,000 gathered and purchased during career as Eagle Scout. Separate Property of Husband and should stay as such.

Cane Collection insured for $60,000 willed to client from her paternal grandad.

2 Yamagata signed lithos (The Heist and County Fair) given as gifts insured for $25,000 each

3 sculptures by Dominguez sentimental value, priceless separate ppty

Home furnishings at Beach House are separate ppty. Valued at$4,000

Home furnishins and furniture valued at about 20,000 @ 50% =$10,000

Misc Jewelry given to wife as gifts totalling 10,000

Misc jewelry given as gift to husband totalling 4500

Misc clothing and other property of a personal nature belonging and in the possession of each party, themselves, or packed away in family residence. $5,000 each
.
Set of 24 place settings in Noritake China. Wedding Gift from Client's dad. Much sentimental Value can't put price but insured for $18,000

Husband earns $160,000/yr less $60,000 in deferred comp

updated: 8/30/04
Prof. J.