Bay Area & Sacramento Area Family Law Blog

Parents in California who are considering divorce may be interested in understanding the impact that living accommodations have on child custody decisions. Courts will often make decisions about child custody and child visitation based on the conditions that the parents are living in. Different judges and states may have their own criteria, but there are a few universal things that will likely be considered.

The age and gender of the child are often factored in. If the child is of the opposite gender as the parent, the courts will likely want the child to have as much privacy as possible. This could mean having their own bedroom and bathroom. The older the child is, the more space the courts likely want the child to have. For example, the courts may not have a favorable impression of a circumstance where a teenage child is forced to share a bedroom with a sibling who is in elementary school. Courts could take the financial circumstances of the parent into consideration when making their decision.

When California spouses have unequal incomes or earning potential, a divorce court order might include spousal support. This might result in a permanent obligation for one former spouse to pay the other former spouse or a temporary support arrangement known as rehabilitative maintenance. Because low-earning former spouses might rely on this income, the agreement could require a payer to purchase life and disability insurance to cover the expense in the event of death or disability.

Although death ends a spousal support obligation, the parties might want to prepare for financial security in case the payer suffers an untimely demise. A life insurance policy solves this problem as long as the person is able to obtain a policy. Similarly, disability insurance provides a payee with peace of mind in case a payer becomes unable to work because of an accident or illness.

California parents are required to comply with their current custody arrangement whether they like its terms. However, there may be valid reasons to request one or more modifications to an existing child custody arrangement.

The family court will make decisions regarding the custody of a child based on what is in his or her best interests. It will typically not change a custody arrangement and alter a child's way of life unless there are serious reasons for doing so. In considering whether to order a modification of a current custody order, the court will carefully examine the reasons why the parents want the order changed.

As singer R. Kelly faces a firestorm of sexual abuse allegations after a documentary on his life and relationships, he will continue to face an order to pay $21,000 monthly in child support obligations. His lawyer told newspapers in California and across the country that the payments were kept at their current rate after a closed hearing on the case. The hearing came a week after the singer was put in jail for missing a deadline to pay over $161,000 in overdue child support payments to his ex-wife Andrea Kelly. She is the mother of his three children.

Despite Kelly's numerous highly charted songs, he claimed that he had only $350,000 in the bank. As a result, he said he was unable to pay his child support obligations. He was arrested for owing $161,000 in back child support, a felony in Illinois. He was released after three days in jail after he paid the full amount due. He claimed that he was able to pay the $161,000 in a matter of days due to support from family and friends.