Family Law Office of Jennifer J. Applegate

09/27/2022

Are you wondering whether your marriage is headed for a breakup? Unclear whether you will wind up in a divorce, and nervous about what that might mean? Check out this very useful article from the American Bar Association.

The initial steps when considering a breakup or divorce, from finding a reputable family lawyer, preparing for the initial consultation, and ways to keep costs down.

07/08/2021

The idea of getting a divorce can be daunting. But as Amy Dickinson asks in her excellent response to reader’s letter, “Your son will learn that men use and demean women, that husbands are rude and disrespectful toward their wives, and that fathers are uninvolved and unhelpful with their children. Your daughter will learn that women stoically accept whatever disrespect and abuse someone else wants to dole out, that motherhood is a long slog of suffering and sacrifice, and if a husband is drunk enough when he assaults his wife, then the wife will pay for his lawyer. Ask yourself: is divorce really worse than that?“

Dear Amy: I read your column every day and like your frank and fair advice.

04/09/2020

I am very honored to have been selected as “Best Divorce Attorney” in the annual Reader’s Poll of the North Bay Bohemian, our local weekly free paper (circulation 30,000). Thank you to my clients for this vote of confidence!

04/09/2020

The Family Courts are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic; the only court business being carried out is the review of new requests for emergency orders (domestic violence, child abuse). Hearings — even hearings for those emergency issues — are being set or re-set for May or later.

If you have a legal issue, we are still doing consultations by video or phone. Please email [email protected] with ONLY the following information:
- your name, address, and phone number (or the same information for the prospective client, if you are calling on behalf of someone else), and
- the full name of the opposing party.

AFTER we have conducted a check to ensure there is no conflict of interest, we will contact you to set up a consultation.

01/16/2020

Being a financial partner in marriage reduces the stress of divorce, says this article from Financial Adviser Magazine! Another tip? Don't "wing it" during the divorce process.

A Fidelity study found that Americans who have gone through a divorce regret not being engaged in the day-to-day finances.

10/18/2019

Family law can be heartbreaking. People’s capacity to lie is nearly boundless.

09/26/2019

Sometimes, the reason a divorce takes so long is because one party is dragging their feet. We have been trying to get financial disclosures from our client’s wife for a year and a half with no success even though she’s been sanctioned and ordered to comply with discovery rules. So the Family Law Office of Jennifer Applegate filed a motion for evidence sanctions: ‘Judge, she had a chance to weigh in on these matters, and she’s refused, so please make findings based on our evidence.’ Motion granted! Our client gets his house, his truck, and his personal property without having to go to trial. A great result.

08/02/2019

07/13/2019

An excellent result today. After our client was subjected to multiple false allegations of child sexual abuse by his ex over several years, we got a resounding validation from the court after a one-day trial. Not only does the ruling include a finding that no abuse occurred, but the mother has been warned that one more unfounded CPS report will almost certainly result in her own custodial time being reduced to professionally supervised visits.

Here’s hoping that continued counseling will help her work through whatever in her past has caused her to fixate on this belief — but in the meantime, the child’s dad doesn’t have to live in fear that every cuddle will be twisted into something ugly and sordid.

12/06/2018

Great news, just in time for Christmas!

Three years ago, a hardworking Santa Rosa dad hired me as his family law attorney. He had been denied the opportunity to even MEET his daughter, had missed out on the first seven months of her life, and was ordered to pay child support. Over the next two years, I told him that it would take a long time, but that we WOULD show the court that he was a loving and responsible father.

And we started making progress.

By about a year ago, we had gotten to an 80-20 time share. Child support was reduced. And were awarded $3,000 in sanctions for the bad behavior of my client's ex and her attorney.

By March of this year, the time share was 80-20. Child support went down even more. My client's daughter was thriving.

Today I learned that the parties will have a 50-50 time share. The child support order will be for zero dollars and zero cents. And that tiny screaming bundle that came into the world four years ago? She's happy and thriving; she has a brother and a sister; and she knows her father loves her.

And that is why I do what I do.

01/30/2018

Chocolate-covered strawberries from a happy client!

11/30/2017

I am pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2018, I will be operating as a solo practitioner here in Santa Rosa! The actual office move will happen in the next week or two, and we're working hard to ensure our clients a seamless transition.