Parenting tips for having a safe and fun Halloween with your children.

Halloween is upon us again. Children are looking forward to wearing their best ghoul and goblin and princess costumes.

Halloween tends to be a festive celebration. One where there can also be party goers who drink alcohol and choose to drive to and from their Halloween parties.

So parents when you take your children out for trick or treating, keep in mind some of the following helpful tips:

Start your trick or treating early:

During daylight and prior to dusk is a good time in which to start your child's trick or treating. Your children can be seen by drivers. As dusk passes, bring a flashlight that can illuminate for over 30 feet if possible. Cell phones can also download certain flashlight apps making the cell phone a flashlight. For example, Torch Flashlight App can be obtained trough the App Store from iTunes. Although such apps provide illumination, a typical hardware flashlight may be your best bet.

Have an adult be the leader of the pack and also have an adult protect the rear:

Children do like to run off on their own to various homes to be the first to get the candy. It is wise, however, to have an adult maintain a reasonable distance ahead of the pack to make certain a child does not run across a street. An adult should also cover the rear to make certain no child is left behind or is not accounted for in the event the pack gets a bit to far ahead. Always keep a count of the children and always use your flashlights to direct crossing a street if necessary.

Designate a location to meet ahead of time in the event your pack separates:

It does happen. Parents cannot hold the pack together. That is fine should it occur; just a normal part of the fun. But parents can designate a certain landmark as a meeting place for the pack to get together again in the event there is a break in the group. Such landmarks can include the corner of the street, the house at the end of the street, the stop sign area, just to name a few examples.

Keep an eye out for careless drivers:

Keep a watch out for drivers who do not have their car headlights on, the driver who is using the cell phone while driving, the driver who may be driving a bit too fast for driving conditions. They are out there. Parents should be watchful and attentive to their surroundings while their kids are trick or treating. Use your cell phone to call 911 to report such careless drivers especially any driver that may be driving a bit erractically in a neighborhood. Such a driver may be driving under the influence of alchohol so it is wise to involve your local police agency should you suspect such a driver.

Just a word of advice to any one who may drive to and from their Halloween parties: if you are going to drink, do so wisely and responsibly. Designate a driver who has not consumed any alcohol to drive you to your destination. Use a fun shuttle or limousine service. Do the right thing: DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL AND THEN GET BEHIND AN AUTOMOBILE TO DRIVE. If you do so, you risk putting the lives of children and others in danger. There are stiff penalities in California for drinking and driving. A first time conviction for driving under the influence criminal charge charge can include jail time, years on probation, loss or suspension of a driver license, court fees and fines, and participation and completion of a state mandated alcohol program. A person can spend about $5,000.00 in fees, penalties, and fines. Furthermore, the drunk driving conviction can remain on a driver's licensing record for 10 years. Convictions for second or third DUI offenses can be even more severe. If a driver has consumed alcohol and gets involved in a car accident, that person faces a felony charge and possible felony conviction. A jail sentence for a period of months may be ordered by the judge.

Halloween should be a time of fun for all. Children get the most fun wearing that cool ninja constume or that beautiful princess costume. Parents love to see their children radiate wearing such costumes and getting their favorite candy in their Halloween bag. Let all of us do our best to maintain a safe and sane Halloween.

The Gonzalez Law Firm has over 18 years of experience helping families with their legal issues. Attorney David Gonzalez has offices in Fullerton and Santa Ana and can assist you with your child custody issue, parenting rights, or dissolution of marriage matter. His firm also assists persons who may be accused of criminal charges including misdemeanor or felony DUI charges. Contact his firm for a consultation concerning your legal issue.

Fullerton Attorney discusses domestic violence and its impact on child custody.

The California Family Code defines domestic violence under Family Code 3044 (c): a person has perpetrated domestic violence when he or she is found by the court to have intentionally or recklessly caused or attempted to cause bodily injury, sexual assault, or to have placed a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another, or to have engaged in any behavior involving but not limted to, threatening, striking, harassing, destroying personal property or disturbing the peace of another, for which a court may issue an ex-parte order pursuant to Section 6320 to protect the other party seeking custody of the child or to protect the child and the child's siblings.

Child custody cases can involve allegations that one parent has perpetrated or has threatened the other parent of domestic violence or abuse. A family court must consider any history of abuse perpetrated by one parent in order to determine whether it is in the best interest of a child that a parent who has perpetrated domestic violence be given custody of that child. If a court rules that a parent has committed domestic violence within the previous 5 years, that ruling creates a presumption in the law. The presumption is called a rebuttal presumption. Simply put, a family court would likely not award sole or joint legal or physical custody of a minor to that offending parent because such an order would be detrimental to the best interest of that child.

That presumption is a rebuttal presumption, meaning that a parent found to have committed domestic violence by the court can overcome that presumption by demonstrating evidence such that the court can understand that ordering custody rights to that parent would not endanger the health, welfare and safety of the minor child. Such evidence can include a completion of certain parenting programs, anger management programs, counseling, participation in volunteer programs assisting the community or helping with centers for the prevention of domestic violence, just to name a few examples.

A parent's right to have child custody or to have visitation with his or her child will be impacted when there exits independent corroboration that such parent has prepetrated domestic violence or has threatened domestic violence.

If you are a parent and you are facing allegations that you have perpetrated domestic violence, it is best to seek representation from a child custody family law attorney. Call the Gonzalez Law Firm at 1-877-345-2997 for a consultation. The Gonzalez Law Firm has offices in Santa Ana and Fullerton. Your parental legal right to have frequent and continuing with your children needs to be protected.

What do you need to show to a family court judge in order to change a Child Custody Order?

In child custody cases, California Family Court judges still need to see persuasive facts to help them determine whether a change of circumstance has occurred that is substantial enough for judges to modify a prior child custody order. That rule has been in place for quite some time now in the area of family law. Attorneys practicing in the field of family law are quite familiar with the rule.

Recently, in a case titled, Christina L. vs. Chauncey B. (September 2014), the Court of Appeal for California for the First Appellate District, ruled on a case coming out of Solano County family court. In that case, the appellate court once again affirmed the importance for the use and application of the change of circumstance rule.

In Christina L., the mother of two children argued successfully to the appellate court that the family court needed to determine whether the father had demonstrated a change of circumstance requiring the family court to modify a prior child custody order which gave legal and physical custody of the children to the mother. The mother and father had had previous family law litigation over the issue of child custody including mother's request for domestic violence orders which were granted to her by the family court in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011. In 2011, the family court awarded sole legal and sole physical custody of the two children to mother. Further, the restraining orders issued in 2011 were in effect for two years and were still effective by the time father brought his case to modify the child custody orders of 2011, as explained below.

In 2013, father then requested modification of the child custody orders of 2011 claiming that the mother had violated the previous restraining orders and further claiming mother made false accusations about him in order to obtain the previous custody orders. Father also claimed that he wanted his two children to have a relationship with another child he had from another relationship. The family court agreed with father's position despite the history of domestic violence perpretated by father and despite current restaining orders in effect. The family court stated that mother did not bring forward enough evidence for the court to show that the safety, welfare, and health of the children would not be met.

HUH?- strange but true; the court made an order giving the parents shared legal and physical custody.

The appellate court disagreed with the family court. The appellate court reversed the order made by the family court. Although the appellate court reversed that decision by examining and ruling about the effects of prior domestic violence orders currently in place, the appellate court also explained that any parent who seeks to modify a previous child custody order must demonstrate changes in circumstances affecting a child that would persuade a family court to change such an order. The parent who seeks to change a child custody order has the burden to prove there exist changes in circumstances.

Family court judges generally are reluctant to change prior child custody orders but will do so only when the changes of circumstances are substantial and there are material facts showing such changes that it would be in the best interest of the child to change a custody order.

Whenever you face legal challenges involving the custody of children, contact the Gonzalez Law Firm for an evaluation and consultation of your legal issue. Attorney David Gonzalez can help you get on the right track of your legal issue. He can effectively represent you and help you get the child custody or visitation order you are seeking. The Gonzalez Law Firm has offices in Santa Ana and Fullerton. He represents clients whose cases are before the family courts in the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange, California, the Pomona family court, the Riverside family court, and the Norwalk family court in Los Angeles County. Contact his firm at 1-877-345-2997.

How does the California Family Code handle the issue of a child born during a marriage when the husband is not the biological father?

It does happen. Sometimes in a marriage, it turns out that a spouse has an extra-marital affair, becomes pregnant, does not tell her husband, and then the child is born during the marriage. Sometime later the secret affair is disclosed, and then it is also disclosed that the child born is not the biological child of the husband. The situation can become complicated when the actual biological father than wants to enter into the child’s life and assert his parental rights over the child while the married couple does not desire that situation. How does the California Family Code generally handle such a scenario?

California Family Code 7540 generally states that the child of a wife cohabiting with her husband, who is not impotent or sterile, is conclusively presumed to a child of the marriage. From the reading of Family Code 7540, the following elements need to be demonstrated to the family court:

1. There is a marriage;
2. The wife is cohabiting with her husband (i.e., living or residing such that the couple is making a home together by living together);
3. The husband is able to conceive children, meaning he cannot be impotent or sterile;
4. A child was born during the marriage

California case law has interpreted the application of Family Code 7540 over the years. Family courts may chose to apply or not apply the “conclusive presumption” rule of Family Code 7540 in a given case. The courts may try to balance the due process legal rights of each person affected in such a scenario where the biological father is seeking to assert his parenting rights when the child has been cared for or brought up by the wife and husband. If a family law judge believes it is in the best interest of the child that he or she be ruled to be a “child of the marriage” and thereby protecting the integrity and unity of the family, then the conclusive presumption state in Family Code 7540 will be applied.

Therefore, it is important to carefully examine the facts and evidence of a situation where another man is claiming to be the father of a child when that child was born during the marriage of a woman and another man. It is equally important for anyone involved in such a situation to obtain experienced legal representation from a family law attorney. At the Gonzalez Law Firm, with over 17 years of legal experience in matters involving paternity and custody issues, you can be assured that you will receive the best legal representation for your legal dilemma. Attorney David Gonzalez will guide you during any legal proceeding in which you face. He serves all counties, including Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties, in California. You can trust your child custody matter with his firm. Call his firm at 1-877-345-2997 today for a child custody consultation.

Personal Injury Lawsuits when Assaulted

Insights from a Personal Injury & Defense Lawyer Who You Can Trust

Can I file an injury lawsuit if I am assaulted?

If you have been physically assaulted by illicit touching of another person, you may seek compensation for an assault and battery injury. Assault cases are often considered to be criminal acts, but if you have suffered an injury it may also be construed as a personal injury claim. Seek legal advice from an experienced personal injury attorney like David Gonzalez who will take the time to meet with you in person to discuss the specifics of your case and your legal rights.

Assault and Battery

Assault is defined as the threat of bodily harm that reasonably causes fear of harm in the victim. Battery is the actual touching or striking another person. If the victim has not actually been touched, but only threatened, then the crime is assault. If the victim has been touched in a painful, harmful, violent, or offensive way by a person this might be battery. Even a minor touching can qualify as battery providing it is painful, harmful, or offensive to the victim.

An assault includes three factors:

• An intentional threat to cause injury to another by force.
• Circumstances that create in the other person a fear of being harmed.
• The person’s ability to go through with the act if not prevented.

The most common assault and battery cases range from fights between students at school, fights between neighbors or fights in public places such as bars or sporting events. Other more serious cases result from domestic violence disputes, rapes and sexual assaults or police brutality. If you have been the victim in any of these situations, contact a Santa Ana injury lawyer who has experience with assault and battery cases and knows how to help you deal with this hardship.

Anyone can sue for assault through a criminal defense lawyer or personal injury attorney, but the highest recovery comes from assault charges that result in serious personal injuries. Serious injuries may include being slugged in the face, hit in the temple, getting stabbed or being shot. They also usually involve a weapon of some type such as a crowbar, bat, knife, or gun. Finally, an attack classified as a hate crime is a serious assault and battery case.

If you have been injured injured due to an assault, get honest counsel from a reputable and competent attorney like David Gonzalez. Call us today to discuss the specifics of your case and your legals rights.