Yes to annulment?

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Today's post covers annulment. Many people are confused as to what constitutes grounds for an annulment in the state of California, so we thought we'd clear the mystery up a bit for you.

A question was posed to two of our attorneys recently. The question was on annulment in California. Here is the question:

I got married in the County of San Diego less than a year ago. I just found out that my husband has not filed tax returns, or reported any income in at least the last 13 years and in order to protect myself from prosecution I will need to extricate myself from this marriage as soon as possible. Would this constitute fraud as it relates to the definition for an annulment in this state?

Colin T. Greene Esq. our resident family law expert and attorney answered: Probably not. The fraud looked for under Family Code § 2210(d) is fraud that goes to the basis of the marriage -- the intention to be married. Typically, fraud of a purely financial nature is insufficient. You'll need more.

And Mark Russakow Esq. also answered: This is not grounds for annulment according to case law on point. You also when getting divorce should make sure you have an innocent spouse exclusion on your settlement agreement for tax issues. Good luck. Also see Colin T Greene answer of our firm. (We even work as a team answering questions)

So, what constitutes an annulment in the state of California?

An annulment (or "nullity of marriage" or "nullity of domestic partnership") is when a court says your marriage or domestic partnership is NOT legally valid. A marriage or domestic partnership that is incestuous or bigamous is never valid. Other marriages and partnerships can be declared "void" because:

• of force, fraud, or physical or mental incapacity;
• one of the spouses or partners was too young to legally marry or enter into a domestic partnership; or
• one of the spouses or partners was already married or in a registered domestic partnership.

Annulments are very rare. If you ask to have your marriage or domestic partnership annulled, you will have to go to hearing with a judge.

You can find out what you need to consider when filing for an annulment or a divorce, please do so by calling us here at RRJ 626.683.8869 or email cgreene@rrjlaw.com. And to do some research on your own, please also consider this website: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/divorce/divlinks.htm

Business Law: Q&A

Welcome back!

Legal Questions?!

Please feel free to submit it here

Today's questions have been answered by Mark Russakow Esq.

The topic of this post is Business Law. Please feel free to leave comments on this post and we will try to answer them in a timely manner.

Question:
I work for a manufacturing subsidiary of a larger distribution company. I was given access to the distributor's customer database to assist my work. I have printed their customer list with contact names and numbers and parts list and have given this info to a friend who is starting a competing company. Is this a crime? They knowingly gave me access. What if I take the info and use it myself?

Answer:
You have some issues that may be a problem. The customer lists may be called a "trade secret" and you also may be sued under the uniform trade secret act or Business and Professions code section 17200 for unfair competition. You and your friend should NOT use this list. You do not go to jail, but you can be sued in civil court for lots of money. Not a good idea to use this list.

Question:
I have sued a defendant in small claims for colliding with my car while it was parked and causing damage to it. Her insurance co. has refused to pay my damages.

Can her insurance co. defend her at the small claims trial? Or must she defend herself?

Answer:
No. She must show herself as lawyers are not allowed in small claims court unless they are representing a corporation. She is not a corporation, and the insurance company is just paying the coverage, and is not the defendant.

Question:
we have an employee that was since fired. we want to file a claim for misappropriation of funds. he was with us for 5 months and took 4 weeks of vacation and overpaid himself $3500. he was an interim president so signed his own checks.

how much can we sue him for? just the value of the amount stolen or damages as well? jail time? this is in response to a frivolous claim he is filing against me.

Answer:
You can sue him for breach of fiduciary duty as the president of the company. As an officer, he must not take funds from the company and he breached his duty.

Question:
We just discovered that One vendor that we are about to sign a contract with is a CA corporation and his corporation status is Suspended. What does it mean if we sign a contract with such a vendor. Do we the client corporation, land in any trouble?

Answer:
It means the corporation is not entitled to be afforded the protections of California Law. You will not get in trouble, but I would have the officer of the corporation sign as an individual. Usually suspension happens when corps fail to pay the yearly fee. It can easily be fixed by paying the state the fee.

Question:
We filed a lawsuit for breach of contract. It's been 30 days and the defendant has not responded. I was told that in CA, as a courtesy, we wait another 15 days before asking a default judgment because otherwise, judges are not inclined to accept the default. Is it true? thanks

Answer:
Well you can request a default at 30 days, but usually the defendant will answer a few days later and make your request moot. Most courts do give a little slack. So I guess there is no rule about 15 days, but generally a good idea if you do not want to waste time and money.

Question:
I am starting a general partnership with two friends, one of whom has a history of debt. Could debt collectors come after me if I am linked to this person through our business? Could money be taken from our business to pay his debt?

Answer:
It depends. If the judgment debtor attaches an asset in his name and it is being used by the business yes. Also they can try and get his part of the partnership. So, you need to be careful how you take ownership of assets and the bank accounts. It is risky.

Question:
Wife owns a business with a partner. We are obtaining a divorce. She won't give me any info of profit and loss except a loss to our income tax person. Am I liable for this & how do I get released from liability?

Answer:
Once you file for divorce each side must turn over documents as part of the process or the court will order her to do so. You are responsible for actions she took during your marriage and any liabilities unless you had a pren-up or the liabilities are backed by her separate property during marriage. You absolutely should be entitled to this information.

Call or email us, we are here to help! mrussakow@rrjlaw.com or 626.683.8869

Questions and Answers on Real Estate and Real Property

We are going to re-post questions and answers by our firm here on our blog, please feel free to submit your questions on this blog too. Below are recent questions asked of Mark Russakow Esq. on Real Estate and Real Property.

Question:
The home we purchased in CA apparently has no drainage in the backyard. With heavy rain the entire back patio floods several inches each time over a 20' x 15' area against the house. The seller of the property was also the listing agent, so not only did she fail to disclose as the seller, she also failed to disclose as the broker/agent.

The sellers lived here for several years and they had to of known... what kind of recourse do I have... I purchased the house in May 2008.

Answer:
You may be able to recover against the seller and agent for failure to disclose known defect. As an agent, the seller has a much higher duty to advise of any defects. You need to take action before the time limit on the case runs out. Good luck.

Question:
Hi. We submitted an offer on a townhome which included a pre-approval letter from our lender. The seller's realtor phoned our lender and asked personal questions including ''what is the full amount [the buyer] could be qualified for'' and ''will you (the lender) provide a loan with 10% down terms to these people?''

We gave no authorization for this realtor to contact our lender. Speaking emotionally, we feel this is a tremendous invasion of privacy; speaking factually, we wonder: is the behavior potentially a breach of any civil statue?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Answer:
You can complain to the department of real estate, but I do not believe you have a civil action.

Question:
My Mother is living in the State of California, What else do i need to simplify the process in the event of her death beside ''Living Trust''...I am speaking about probate,Where i can have legal means to obtain ownership?

Answer: A trust is the best way.

Question:
My friend wants to buy a house in Vegas but he is an illegal immigrant. What could be the consequences of my husband and I lending ourselves to be legal owners of this house (costs $60,000.00). Would it affect our eligibility to buy our own home in the future?

Answer:
DO NOT DO IT!!!! LET ME REPEAT, DO NOT DO IT!!!!!! I have seen this exact situation about 20 times in the last year. Bad idea. 1. If they default on the loan, it is your credit that goes in the toilet. 2. Unpaid property taxes are your problem. 3. It will show up in your credit report and count as an obligation against you if you are trying to get a loan. 4. If they do not pay rent or you have a financial issue with the people living in "your house" you would have to evict them which will than cause them to sue you for unjust enrichment. I hate to be cynical, but in this case no good deed will go unpunished. I also think having people that can be deported as paying for a loan you are responsible for paying is also a bad idea. Good luck, and again do not do it. I do not know how to be more clear. Mark.

Question:
A person has an easement by prescription over my property to allow access to his property. I'm learning he is conducting large scale criminal activity (gigantic pot growing enterprise, 1 of largest in area)on his place. If I know this, do I become liable party to his activity? do I have legal obligation to report this to law enforcement? Do I have a responsibility or option to revoke his easement

Answer:
You have not duty to report the activity, but if you do will solve your easement issue. If they are in jail, no chance of keeping the easement. Also, you cannot revoke a prescriptive easement as it is granted by use not my agreement.

Please contact Mark at mrussakow@rrjlaw.com or 626.683.8869