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Welcome
to ArtisticLawyer.com and CineCounsel.com, home of the Law
Offices of Michael D. Finley, a firm that focuses on
entertainment law and related business issues.
We have years of experience in Family Law and are able to
handle the following matters:
Divorces:
Settlements or contested matters large and small, complex
and simple, including issues regarding children, property
rights, reimbursements, and support.
Domestic
Partnership Dissolutions: California domestic
partnerships are subject to Community Property Laws, as well
as custody, visitation, and support rules, just like a
marriage, and can be dissolved through the courts to enforce
those rights or by a filing with the state for a simpler
termination.
Child Custody &
Visitation: Custody and visitation issues may arise
during a pending divorce or paternity case or as a later
(post-judgment) proceeding, and require wise, experienced,
thoughtful help and advice.
Child Support: In
divorce, paternity, domestic partnership, and domestic
violence cases, the courts are required to follow the
state's guidelines for child support, with a few rare
exceptions that usually involve a stipulation between the
parties, but it can help to have an attorney to enter the
calculations correctly.
Spousal Support:
Interim spousal support prior to reaching trial is often
based upon a preferred rough formula in each county. There
is no absolute formula for calculating spousal support at
trial, but there are factors the courts consider. This makes
spousal support one of the biggest gray areas of the law. An
experienced attorney is familiar with the factors that can
be used to argue a case and uses the facts in your case to
try to convince the judge to give you a favorable
result.
Domestic Violence: If you
have been hurt or threatened by a spouse, former spouse,
boyfriend, girlfriend, ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, family
member, domestic partner, or someone sharing a residence
with you, you may qualify for a Temporary Restraining Order
and may be able to obtain a permanent restraining order for
as much as 3 to 5 years. If you are in fear of being
attacked in retaliation for seeking a restraining order, the
temporary restraining order may sometimes be issued without
prior notice to the other party. If you are being attacked
right now, please call 9-1-1. Police can also issue a
temporary criminal restraining order pending the filing of
criminal charges for domestic violence.
Civil Paternity: If you have
one or more children with someone who is not your spouse,
you can bring a civil paternity case to establish parentage,
obtain custody or visitation orders, or set child support.
These files are not public record and are kept
private by the court. If you are allegedly the father of a
child and have not admitted paternity in writing, you have a
right to a DNA test, which is done by rubbing a cotton swab
inside your cheek and sending it in for testing.
Governmental
Paternity: Any time a child receives government
assistance in California (Medi-Cal, food stamps, TANF, or
other welfare), the right to support is assigned to the
government. The government then brings an action for welfare
reimbursement that is known as a Government Parentage (or
Paternity) case. In Los Angeles County, all governmental
cases are heard at the Central Civil West courthouse located
at 600 South Commonwealth in Los Angeles. The main benefits
of having a private attorney in these cases are: being
advised of your rights and making sure that calculations are
run correctly.
Juvenile Dependency (Dept.
of Children's Services): When the Department of
Children's Services believes that a child's health or
welfare is in danger due to sexual or physical abuse,
neglect, parental drug use, or other problems, they can and
usually will take the child out of the home and bring a
Juvenile Dependency Action under the California Welfare
& Institutions Code. In Los Angeles County, these case
are heard at the Edmund Edelman Children's Court in Monterey
Park. Attorneys are appointed for each parent and each
child, but parents may hire private counsel, especially if
they feel that their appointed attorneys do not return their
calls or address their concerns at court.
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