Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Retainer?
A. A retainer is a sum of money a client pays in advance to reserve an attorney’s time or to pay for costs required for the litigation. The amount of the retainer depends on the costs, complexity and time involved with litigation. A retainer can range in price between $1,000.00 and $10,000.00 depending on the type of retainer and the litigation involved with the representation.
True Retainer is paid in advance so the law office can pay attorney’s fees pursuant to a sliding scale hourly rate, which ranges from $75.00 per hour to $255.00 per hour. Attorney Cadora bills at six (6) minutes increments so that client bills are reflected of the actual work performed on any given case.
Cost Retainer is used to pay costs such as filing fees, service of process, copying charges, postage, depositions, etc., and can range between $500.00 and $5000.00 depending on the amount of costs associated with the litigation.
Once any type of retainer is exhausted, Attorney Cadora provides a detailed itemized monthly billing statement to all Clients whereby Clients have the option of various payment plans or to renew the exhausted retainers. Once a retainer is exhausted, Clients are offered easy and affordable payment plans while also encouraged to voice concerns about any invoice because Attorney Cadora seeks to avoid conflicts of interest before a conflict arises.
Q: What is a Flat Fee?
A. Flat fees are offered for reviewing and/or preparing documents, pleadings or agreements, uncontested divorces, summary dissolutions, or the scope of the representation is limited to a specific legal issue such as child custody, visitation, support or drafting a marriage settlement agreement. Flat fees range from $500.00 to $5,000.00 depending on the services to be provided.
Q: What are the Differences Between a Dissolution, Legal Separation and Annulment?
A. A dissolution (divorce) is the total dissolving of a parties’ marriage or domestic partnership. Issues such as custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, division of property and attorney's fees are decided by way of settlement agreement or a judge. At the end of a divorce the parties are returned to a single status and may remarry or enter into a domestic partnership.
A legal separation is very similar to a dissolution but the parties remain married or domestic partners and may not legally remarry or enter another domestic partnership. Issues such as custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, division of property and attorney’s fees are decided in either by way of settlement agreement or a judge. There are a few reasons to obtain a legal separation such a religious or cultural reasons or because neither party has been a resident of California for at least six (6) months prior to filing.
An annulment is a judgment declaring the parties were never legally married or in a domestic partnership. The only ways to annul a marriage or domestic partnership include a bigamous marriage or domestic partnership, an incestuous marriage or domestic partnership, being under the age of 18 at the time of marriage or domestic partnership, a prior exiting marriage or domestic partnership of either party, unsound mind of the party or parties, fraud, incapacity or force. After a judgment of annulment is entered, the parties are put back as if they were never married or domestic partners.
Q: How is Child Support Calculated?
A. Child support is calculated using a Statewide Guideline Formula that is used by all family law attorneys and judges. Once the court makes a finding of a Guideline Child Support, the amount may not be increased or decreased without a very good reason such as a change in incomes or the parenting time with the children. The formula uses information such as the time the parents have with the children, the gross (pre tax) income of the parties, the tax filing status of the parties and qualified tax deductions.
Q: How is Spousal Support Calculated?
A. Spousal Support is the highest litigated issue in Family Law because it is based upon several factors and the order is completely up to the judge unless the issue is agreed upon by the parties. Some of the many factors used in calculating spousal support include the marital standard of living, marketable skills of the parties, duration of marriage, need for support, ability to pay support, criminal convictions and/or documented domestic violence.
Q: What is Paternity?
A. Paternity is the legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between the non-birthing parent and a child. Usually, a child born to the spouse during a marriage or domestic partnership is presumed to be the other spouse’s child but the presumption can be rebutted. Paternity assigns to the non-birthing parent complete rights, duties and obligations as to the child.
Q: Will I have to Pay Child Support for a Child that is not mine?
A. Maybe. If the court finds that a person has held a child out as their own and that it would be in the best interest of the child to receive child support from that person, the Court can order that person to pay child support for a child that is not biologically theirs.
Q: What is Adoption?
A. Adoption is the legal process where one or both natural parents' parental rights and obligations are terminated by the juvenile court and a stepparent, relative or third party is granted all the parental rights and obligations of the natural parent. Once an order of adoption is entered, the adopting parents' rights and obligations are no different than those of the natural parent. In most cases, the natural parent whose parental rights have been terminated is no longer obligated to pay child support.
Q: What is a Guardianship?
A. A guardianship is a court order that requires a person to exercise legal authority and care for the personal and/or property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability. A guardianship usually automatically terminates upon the ward reaching the age of 18. Upon the appointment of a guardian, the guardian has the right to request health insurance, fix the child's residence, enroll the child into school and obtain child support from one or both of the natural parents through family court.
Q: What is a Conservatorship?
A. A conservatorship is very similar to a guardianship except a conservatorship usually involves adults with dementia or adults with severe disabilities. There is no automatic termination of conservatorship, which must be terminated by court order.
Q: What is Probate?
A. Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person, specifically resolving all claims and distributing the decedent's property under a valid Will. Probate is a service that the Probate Court provides to confirm the validity of a deceased person's Will. Probate can be avoided by executing an estate plan or other non-probate transfers prior to death.
Q: What is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust?
A. A Will is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her property or family after death. Estates that are over $100,000.00 in value must be supervised by the Probate Court regardless of whether there is a valid Will, which can be very expensive. A trust is an arrangement whereby property is managed by one person (or persons, or organizations) for the benefit of another. The trustees owe a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries, who are the "beneficial" owners of the trust property. A trust survives the death of the ones’ who created the trust and therefore, a trust can avoid probate.
Q: What is an Estate Plan?
A. An estate plan usually consists of a trust, pour over Will, power of attorney and advance healthcare directive. A complete estate plan usually protects a person’s estate in the event of incapacity and from probate because a valid estate plan will usually survive the death and/or the incapacity of the one preparing the estate plan.
Q: What are Non-Probate Transfers?
A. A non probate transfer is a method of transferring property so as to avoid the process of Probate. Non-Probate Transfers can come in a variety of forms, which include trusts, joint tenancy with the right of survivorship, life tenancy estates and POD (Payable On Death) Accounts.
Q: What is a Power of Attorney?
A. A power of attorney is a written authorization to act on someone else's behalf in a legal and/or business matter. A power of attorney can either become effective immediately or upon the incapacity of the principal (Person Executing the Power of Attorney).
Q: What is an Advance Healthcare Directive?
A. An Advance Healthcare Directive, sometimes called a Living Will, is a Power of Attorney over someone else’s medical care and decisions. An Advance Healthcare Directive can either become effective immediately or upon the incapacity of the principal (Person Executing the Advance Healthcare Directive).