In re the Marriage of Marc and Nina Bianchi

Redwood City, California family lawyer lawyers represented the parties in a divorce.



"In 2014, Nina and Marc married in Texas. Their daughter (hereinafter Daughter) was born the same year. They soon went into debt, sold the house Marc owned in Texas, and went to live with Marc's mother in San Mateo.



"The couple divorced in 2019. The stipulated judgment of dissolution awarded sole legal and primary physical custody of Daughter to Marc, with reasonable visitation by Nina. Nina subsequently moved to Southern California to live with a new romantic partner, D.A. She returned to San Mateo several times to visit Daughter, staying at the San Mateo house with Marc and his mother.



"Later in 2019, Nina and D.A. went their separate ways. Nina demanded to move back in with Marc and threatened to' "turn [him] in for abuse"' if he refused. Marc and his mother agreed to let Nina stay for a few days-but she stayed for months. During that time, she made complaints about D.A. to the police and told Marc she was going to start fabricating and expanding on her story. Marc warned her he was' "not going to perjure [him]self if there's any kind of lawsuit,'" to which Nina replied,' "Don't worry. I'm going to kill you and take the $2 million [life insurance payment] before you'll need to . . . perjure yourself." '



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Legal issue Can attorney fees and costs in a divorce proceeding be allocated between the parties based on their ability to pay and previous financial support from family members?

Headnote



FAMILY LAW. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER. The appeal concerns the trial court's rulings on cross-petitions for domestic violence restraining orders, where the court had to assess credibility to determine the appropriate protective orders and custody arrangements for the child involved.



FAMILY LAW. ATTORNEY FEES. The issue on appeal involved the denial of attorney fees under California Family Code sections 6344 and 2030, where the court had to evaluate the parties' ability to pay in light of their financial circumstances and litigation strategy.



FAMILY LAW. CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATION COSTS. The appeal addressed the allocation of costs for a court-ordered child custody evaluation, focusing on whether the trial court considered the parties' respective financial capabilities pursuant to Family Code section 3112.



FAMILY LAW. SUPERVISED VISITATION COSTS. The court's allocation of supervised visitation costs was challenged, with the appellate court reviewing whether the lower court adequately assessed the financial ability of the party being ordered to reimburse.



FAMILY LAW. CHILD SUPPORT. The court's modification of child support obligations included an imputed earning capacity to the appellant, where the court had to determine if the imputation was consistent with the parent's ability and opportunity to earn income, within the framework of California's child support guidelines.

Key Phrases Attorney fees; Child custody evaluation; Supervised visitation costs; Domestic violence restraining orders; Earning capacity

At its conclusion, the trial court announced its decision, granting Marc's request for a DVRO and denying Nina's. The court awarded sole legal and physical custody of Daughter to Marc.