TLD's General Counsel Blog

DIVIDED HOUSE: SHARING CHILD CUSTODY

As adults, the process of divorce can be overwhelming for us.  However, from a child's perspective, dealing with parents who are divorcing, can be tough.  Unless you were a child of divorced parents, many of us, do not know how it feels to live with Dad in one house and then live with Mom in another house.  We do not know the feelings associated with having to transfer belongings back and forth, sometimes within several days or several weeks.  A study by Greenstein, a psychologist, worked with a group of children whose parents were either separated or divorced.  These Children came up with a Bill of Rights for Children Whose Parents are Separated/Divorced.  The Bill of Rights read, 'The right not to be told the details of bitter or nasty legal proceedings going on between their parents,' 'the right to privacy when talking to either parent on the telephone, the right not to be made to feel guilty for loving both parents.'  Click here to see a complete list of the Bill of Rights.

I also highly recommend the book, "Mom's House, Dad's House: Making Two Homes For Your Child," by Isolina Ricci, Ph.D., and can be purchased new or used at amazon.com.  It provides great instruction on how to turn your crisis into a positive force that will propel you and your family into a comfortable and happy home life.  Happy living!!!

Article Submitted By: Attorney Daniel Gold

Is Your Comany in Compliance With The Family Medical Leave Act?

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) mandates which accommodations employers must provide for employees who need to take time off in order to take care of themselves or their ailing family members. Every private business with at least 50 active employees, at work on any given work day, must abide by the rules provided in this piece of legislation.

Training Alert - Workers' Compensation, You Won't Want to Miss this One!

This class on Controlling Workers' Conmpensation Costs by HR NETwork Inc., is free to all clients of  Shannon Jenkins and is also open to the public. If interested in this class, whether you are a client or not, please contact Shannon by April 2nd, 2007 to RSVP.  Shannon can be contacted at sjenkins@tldlaw.com or by calling 949-756-0684. For more information on what is covered in this class please click the "Continue Reading" link below. 

PET CUSTODY BATTLES

Although pet custody battles, may sound unusual, it is increasingly becoming common.  A survey by the matrimonial lawyers found that 90 percent of the pet-custody battles were about dogs.  For many divorcing couples, the pet is like their child.  It has been reported that there is a shift occurring in our society in which the pet is considered more a member of the family and thus becomes a part of the divorce battle.

I recall a case last year involving a custody dispute over a white poodle.  The parties ended up reaching a custodial plan wherein both parties shared joint legal and physical custody of the dog.  One party had the dog on alternate weekends and a mid week overnight.  Both parties equally shared in the medical expenses of the dog.

Generally, pets stay in the home where the children primarily live.  However, if the splitting couple does not have children, then the issue becomes complicated.  Usually, some type of custodial schedule is put in place so that both parties have quality time with the pet.

Read more from the Tribune newspapers: The Hartford Courant.

Article Submitted By: Attorney Daniel Gold

What Your Firm Needs to Know About Liability For Retaliatory EEOC Actions.

Hopefully, most employers know that they are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability and sex. However, what many employer may not be aware of is that the manner in which they handle a discrimination lawsuit may expose them to liability for lawsuit based on a charge of retaliation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that in 2004 alone nearly 25,000 complaints for retaliation were filed in their office and over 90 million dollars in sanctions were imposed based on these complaints. Consequently, it is necessary for most HR managers to be aware of how an EEOC charge of retaliation may emerge and what they can do to prevent such unfortunate and unpleasant developments.

POSTNUPTIAL AGREEMENT: Where do I sign?

Many have heard of a Prenuptial Agreement but new to California is the Postnuptial Agreement.  A Postnuptial Agreement is an agreement between two persons who are married to each other and sets forth how they will hold title to property in the future, and how they will hold the property they presently own. It also sets out how their property will be divided in the event the marriage ends.

Entering into a postnup will allow the parties to become informed about how marriage can affect their estates, and can save a small fortune in legal fees in the event of a divorce. Because each person's situation is unique, and the law complex and difficult, a premarital agreement should be tailored to each parties particular circumstances.

A recent article by in the Wall Street Journal sheds some light on just what a postnup can and can not do.  Click here.

Article Submitted By: Attorney Daniel Gold

Orange County Small Business Conference 06/06/07

SCHEDULE OF THE DAY

The following is the schedule of the day for the Orange County Small Business Conference taking place on June 6th, 2007. This event is taking place at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. See below for the schedule

Vision Accommodation under the ADA

            In order to avoid liability under the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) employers must provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees. However, it is often difficult to determine if the person requesting an accommodation is actually entitled to receive one. In particular it is often unclear what if any duties employers owe to employees who are suffering from some form of visual impairment.

 Employers are obligated to provide reasonable accommodation for visually impaired employees but they are only required to do so in certain circumstances. Not every employee who has less than perfect eye sight will qualify for an accommodation. Simply wearing glasses will not qualify as a disability. An employee is only entitled to an accommodation, if their visual impairment is sufficiently severe to qualify as a disability. The visual impairment qualifies as a disability if the employee demonstrates that the impairment substantially limits a major life activity or that the employer treats this type of impairment as a disability. For example, individuals whose eye sight has become so deteriorated that they cannot read a book or a computer screen even with the aid of glasses will qualify as disabled. Likewise persons who only have one functioning eye and therefore have no depth perception may also qualify as disabled.