How to Create Joyful Holidays With Your Kids – Even (especially) During Divorce

One thing we know about divorce and its impact on children is that kids CAN and often do thrive after their parents separate when they are shielded from ongoing long-term conflict between their parents. It doesn’t mean you have to be best friends with your spouse (although if you are – we’re here for that). What it means is that by modeling a healthy relationship with yourself and a breakup that isn’t an all out war, you’re teaching your kids …
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How to Co-parent During the Coronavirus Pandemic Without Losing Your Mind

But if you lose it here and there, we aren’t going to judge (we’ve all been there!) 5 months and counting. Ahhh, life during a pandemic. The coronavirus has really shaken up the way we live, work, travel, shop, socialize, and educate. Just when we thought we had started to adjust to this new “normal,” something else comes up — like the decision made by many school districts across the country to not open schools for in-person classes this fall.  …
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Coronavirus/COVID-19 Shelter in Place in CA: What Happens to My Kids and to Child Custody Agreements?

Please note: The information on this post is accurate as of TIME on March 20, 2020. We will try to keep this post as updated as possible as events continue to unfold. But remember, if you have legal questions, it’s always best to get specific legal advice from a lawyer. LFLG is currently offering steeply discounted 30-minute legal consultations at a $99 flat rate, until April 1. Contact us here. California’s statewide shelter in place directive has left many parents …
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Will Coronavirus Impact My Divorce?

Coronavirus is on all of our minds. We’re following CDC guidance; we’re washing our hands, we’re sanitizing the surfaces we touch, stocking up on disinfectant, and hoarding toilet paper. (Why toilet paper? Why??)  What you might not be thinking about (yet) is how coronavirus could impact your divorce process. Which is why I’m here with this Q&A about how to prepare yourself if and when the time comes that coronavirus does start to impact your divorce:  I’m quarantined due to …
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Social Media & Divorce

By: Stan Sarkisov “The past decade has also seen the advent and ascendency of social media, with websites such as Facebook and Twitter occupying a central place in the lives of so many people.” – NY Supreme Court, ruling that spouses can be served divorce papers via Facebook (Baidoo v. Blood-Dzraku) Your ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ aren’t the only ones paying attention to your social media—so are judges, attorneys, and well, likely your ex and his or her community.   During the …
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LFLG Recognized by Super Lawyers for the 6th Year in a Row

Levine Family Law Group is pleased to share that two of our attorneys have been selected for recognition by Super Lawyers* of California. Erin Levine and Ashley Schuh have been selected as a Super Lawyers, 2018! An update on our story: This has been a fabulous year for the Levine Team! We continue to provide unique legal solutions for modern families in the San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve decided to use this post as an opportunity to share some of …
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Divorcing in a Second Language

By:  Monica Espinosa Going through divorce is challenging enough, but when English is not your first language the legal jargon, paperwork and process can be even more intimidating – and put you at a real disadvantage. There are linguistic and cultural nuances sometimes lost in translation that can make the difference between winning and losing on an issue. And though many court forms have instructions in other languages, responses and any declarations that the court will read must be in …
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It’s Over: The Checklist You Need For Your New Beginning

It’s over. Officially. But, now what? As a divorce lawyer for the last 12+ years, I can tell you that – as crazy as it sounds – sometimes one of the most difficult parts of divorce is the end. After enduring so many months of negotiation, paperwork, deadlines, heartache and perhaps even frustration or anger; when the divorce judgment is finally granted, it can feel all at once like an incredible burden lifted – but also like a thick cloud …
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10 Tips for Writing a Persuasive Family Law Declaration

A declaration is a written statement made under the penalty of perjury. If you are filing a “Request for Order” (or responding to a “Request for Order”) asking that the Judge enter orders providing you some type of temporary “relief”, you will need to attach a declaration explaining the basis for your request and the facts that support it. Examples of Request for Orders (RFOs) include (but are not limited to) requests for: An enforceable parenting plan Modification of an …
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15 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting the Divorce Forms

Through LFLG and Hello Divorce, we have a significant amount of clients who are self represented — using our resources to navigate the process but checking in with us when they need some guidance along the way. This week as I was overseeing the process of closing case files, I was reminded of some of our most influential clients and the outside the box path they chose to cooperatively ‘unhitch.’ When clients first come to us for legal coaching they …
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