Cases: Family Law

The Statutes Serves Separate Policy Purposes, Such That They Can Be Concurrently Applied In Dissolution Proceedings. Arora v. Arora, Case No. D086321 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 28, 2026) (unpublished) involved a clash between two schemes, contempt proceedings and Family Code section 271 sanctions, with ex-wife arguing that that her failure to prevail in earlier

In The End, The Award Was Just Because Ex-Husband Drove Up The Costs Of The Litigation. Marriage of Houghteling, Case No. B348954 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Sept. 14, 2026) (unpublished) is interesting because the family law judge made some conflicting statements about the disparity to access factors, finding that maybe both sides had the same

Husband’s Waiver Of A $12,750 Spousal Support Overpayment By Husband In Return For Foregoing Payment Of An Additional 2030 Award Of $4,000 To Wife Was A Reasonable Result. We liked Marriage of Mackey, Case No. B349404 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Sept. 10, 2026) (unpublished) because it seemed to do “rough justice” in a case where ex-wife

Case Remanded To Reconsider The 2030 Fee Request (Including If Fees Were Appropriate); Fees Were Properly Denied Under Family Code Section 3557 Relating To Child Support Enforcement. Marriage of Trousset and Kelley, Case No. A172398 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Sept. 4, 2026) (published), is an interesting opinion on the need to make express findings on the

$60,000 Was The Denied Request. In Marriage of Patel, Case No. B351488 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Aug. 24, 2026) (unpublished), the family law judge denied ex-wife’s request for $60,000 in needs-based fees under Family Code section 2030.  The appellate court affirmed.  Although the lower court’s reasons at the oral hearing were not a model of

Ex-Husband Was The Higher Wage Earner, Such That The Record Supported Needs-Based Fees And An Award Of 271 Sanctions To Ex-Wife. Marriage of Stout, Case No. B343600 (2d Dist., Div. 1 July 24, 2026) (unpublished) was a situation where an ex-husband, the higher wage earner by far, sold a motorcycle in breach of fiduciary duties,

As A Matter Of Law, The Totality Of Circumstances Showed No Predicate For 271 Sanctions. The result in Marriage of Ortiz and Rivera, Case No. G064694 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 15, 2026) (unpublished) does not happen often, but it does show that an appellate court can review the entire record and determine that, as

Delay In Asserting An Objection To Bifurcating Trial Was Dispositive. Perceived gamesmanship can be punished; we bloggers are not the judges of whether that has happened, but we only post on what we see is decided by the courts and subject to what you readers think when reading the case.   Gamesmanship, we believe, was not