There has been some sweeping legislation involving paternity leave. Both male and female parents can ask for and are entitled to a reasonable amount of parental leave when a newborn enters the family. Much of these new rules were spearheaded by President Trump’s daughter who lobbied and fought for longer and fairer rules and new laws concerning the leave.

Before we get into the details of these new rules, it’s important to understand the definitions here;

• Paternity Leave: Paternity Leave is only for biological fathers and can be taken once the baby is born. 
• Maternity Leave: Maternity Leave is only for the biological mother. The leave can be taken while the mother is pregnant and after the baby is born.
• Parental Leave: Parental Leave is for either or both parents. It can be taken at the same time or at different times so that the baby is not left alone.

Parental leave has a very important purpose – bonding with the parents. If the baby is born to a same-sex couple then the biological parent involved in the birth can take the leave. If it is two women, the woman giving birth can take maternity leave, and the other can if the proper requirements were made under the ‘parental project’ law. 

If two men, then one can take paternity leave if his sperm was used to fertilize the egg of a midwife, or if both men’s sperm were used each can take paternity leave, although the law gets tricky here and you might want to consult an attorney who specializes in paternity leave law.

If all this sounds foreign to you, then you are not alone, as there have been new laws on this topic in recent years. For instance, the CFRA – California Family Rights Act, which is similar to the FMLA or Federal Marriage Law Act. These laws are for eligible employees and they can now take up to twelve weeks of paternity leave, albeit, unpaid leave.

There is a 30-day advance requirement of the father to notify his employer before taking leave. The employer cannot fire the employee and must take them back after the parental leave and give them the same or similar position and salary or pay. Companies that violate these rules stand to be slapped with big fines and face serious legal consequences. 

So, if you feel you’ve been wronged in such a matter concerning parental leave, maternity leave, or paternity leave you should contact an employment law attorney specialist as soon as possible.

Litigation is costly, and it involves an escalation of intensity in legal disputes, “a winner takes all” motif. California wants to prevent divorce disputes from getting out-of-hand and prevent unnecessary costly and time-consuming litigation. If every divorce case was litigated the courts would be jammed for decades. People need to get on with their lives and the courts have other important matters to deal with. 

Collaborative divorce law and divorce collaboration are when both parties agree to negotiate their division of marital assets without litigation. This allows the spouses to settle their divorces quickly and fairly with the best outcome for all concerned, which often includes children and custody issues.

How does collaborative divorce law work? Well, attorneys trained in collaborative law, who also know the case law surrounding divorce law work with financial professionals and coaches to help the parties with their mutual interests. This avoids unnecessary conflict and also turns out to be very good for the children. Divorce collaboration tends to mend fences rather than having all the hard work of the past reduced to rubble, as financial assets diminish and children are left with emotional scars.

Collaborative law is two steps below litigation and one step below mediation. Some consider it a form of alternative dispute resolution. Divorce collaboration focuses on solving problems without escalating the conflict. It often involves additional side contracts between parties that are attached to the divorce settlement. If done correctly, spouses can often settle the entire divorce without ever going to court – a truly amicable divorce. 

If all this sounds good to you, and it should, then it would be wise to find a divorce law firm that specializes in divorce collaboration. It will save you thousands of dollars and prevent animosity. It will also set you up in a better condition as you move forward to the next step of your life. 

What if it doesn’t work? Well, if it doesn’t work, then the collaborative lawyers will withdraw from the case. The spouses can then hire new attorneys and move to litigation or court-ordered mediation. 

During the divorce collaboration meetings and negotiations, everyone, including all of the attorneys are there for the right reasons, to settle the divorce amicably. To work together for a common cause and fair resolution. Are you beginning to see the benefits of collaborative divorce and why so many people are choosing it as their first option and best choice?

Generally speaking, divorce litigation should be the final choice and last resort in determining the distribution of marital assets. It is much better for the lawyers representing each party to come to an amicable agreement, sign off on the paperwork and report the settlement back to the court. Of course, that isn’t always possible. Remember, litigation can be very expensive and involve lots of billable hours on both sides. Win or lose, often both parties lose and the lawyers win. 

Unfortunately, sometimes divorce litigation is the only option when dealing with an unreasonable spouse out to take the other to the cleaners or out for vengeance. Let’s face it, emotions run high in divorce cases and there is always lots of blame to go around. Often there are kids involved and their interests are also a top priority, not only with the spouse being granted custody, but it is also a concern of the court. The children’s welfare and safety are something the courts take seriously. 

Another issue is spousal support – how much? Too much and it seems quite unreasonable to the spouse who will be paying far into the future. Too little and the other spouse cannot adequately survive, and could become reliant on social services paid for by the taxpayers. Something the court and family services definitely frown upon.

One of the biggest issues is personal and real property and the dividing of assets – who gets what? What must be sold and how will the proceeds be divided? Sometimes, there are tax consequences to go along with that. One big stickler to all this is fraud upon the court. Things like the hiding of assets, purposely overestimating expenses and under-reporting actual income. It’s amazing how much of this goes on during divorce litigation. 

Resolving a divorce through litigation should be a last resort, as it is much less expensive to mediate or work with a collaborative divorce strategy. If for some reason the parties cannot reach an agreement, then there is no other option but to litigate. While there is definitely a lot of case law on the books when it comes to children, child support, pensions, retirement accounts, and spousal support payments it gets a little trickier in complex cases that involve business interests, real estate holdings, and other assets. 
Divorces involving millions of dollars in assets or even 10s of millions of dollars often mean bringing in the big guns, powerful attorneys who specialize in winning for their clients. It’s a hostile environment and the two parties are at war until it’s over. It’s often not pretty. If you are going to go there, make sure you hire the right divorce firm that can craft a winning divorce litigation strategy.