Guess what? You probably can’t include that in your prenup, as tempting as it is. Prenuptial agreements are versatile. Though, what you can put into your agreement may vary. Prenup laws are mostly state-dependent.

They’re also mainly meant to address asset division and a couple’s finances. So what can’t you put in your prenup agreement?

1. “I waive all child support duties.”

No. You do not. More specifically, you can’t.

Child support and child custody issues typically cannot be included in prenuptial agreements. This is considered a matter of public policy. After all, the money goes to financially support a minor. Courts usually use a “best interest of the child” standard to determine the amount of support granted. Further, some state courts have determined that the right to child support belongs to the child and therefore cannot be waived by the parents.

The same goes for child custody issues and visitation rights.

2. “I will not pay any alimony.”

Different jurisdictions treat alimony provisions differently. Some strike them down and explicitly have statutes that bar waiving alimony in the prenup. Others allow the clause. Some states will limit any alimony agreements.  Check with an attorney in your state to see if this is allowed by the Courts.

3. “We will spend all our holiday time with my parents.”

Provisions that detail personal instead of financial matters may get thrown out. This includes provisions that govern who does what chores, where the couple will spend their holidays, and other issues. Courts often do not want to relegate domestic matters to a contract.

There are other provisions that may be struck down as well. We previously even blogged about a British man who wanted to have sex at least twice a week. Most likely a provision about sex will not be allowed under a state’s prenup laws. For the most part, provisions that are against “public policy” will not be enforceable. For more information about what you can or can’t include in your prenup in your state, consult a family law attorney in your local area.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

As cigarette smoking decreases, hookah use seems to be rising, particularly amongst the younger generations, possibly contributing to the perception that hookah bars are legal while cigarette smoking is not.

This is actually not the case, as many hookah bars operate illegally.

The reason for this is the state of smoking laws across the country.

Smoking bans operate on a city, county and state level, prohibiting tobacco smoking in workplaces, with minor exceptions.

In jurisdictions with such bans, hookah bars must fit into these exceptions in order to operate legally.

Where laws allow smoking in outdoor patios, restaurants and bars, it’s quite possible that hookah bars are legal.

However, where the only major exception is for retail tobacco stores and smokers’ lounges, a hookah bar may actually be illegal.

Again, this depends entirely on the jurisdiction.

For example, California requires such lounges and stores to primarily be in the business of selling tobacco and tobacco-related products. Having a license to sell tobacco products is not sufficient, and selling food often disqualifies an establishment.

Now that you know the facts, keep in mind the following:

Hookah bars, legal or not, pose the same risks as establishments where cigarette smoking is permitted.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

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Peters brought the small claims suit after opting out of a proposed settlement in a Honda class action. The company was accused of overstating the fuel economy associated with its hybrid vehicles.

To settle those claims, the car manufacturer proposed a $200 settlement. It would also provide covered hybrid owners with a $1,000 nontransferable credit towards a new car.

Peters got the better deal, and actually received almost all of what she asked for — the $10,000 small claims maximum under state law.

Her case was somewhat solid, too. In a 26-page order — a rare action for a small claims case — the judge wrote “Honda was aware … there were problems with [the car] living up to its advertised mileage.”

It would be nice for Heather Peters if the Honda small claims lawsuit ends here. She could take her money and move on with her life. But Honda has the option to appeal — something the Los Angeles Times reports it is considering.

In most states, defendants can appeal a small claims case to a higher court. In California, a small claims appeal is heard by a different Superior Court judge. Different rules apply during an appeal, which means parties may bring in expensive attorneys.

The possibility of an appeal is thus something you should seriously consider when filing a small claims case against a corporation or someone with money. The stakes are small, but an appeal can be used to bully you into settling for a smaller amount.

But don’t worry about Heather Peters. The former attorney appears fit to handle a Honda small claims appeal.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

British tourists Leigh Van Bryan, 26, and Emily Bunting, 24, were stopped at Los Angeles International Airport last week after going through customs. Agents arrested the pair and interrogated them for 12 hours.

They were then deported over Twitter jokes.

Those jokes were made by Bryan, who tweeted at a friend, “Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America?”

He was trying to make plans before he went on vacation. “Destroy” is slang for “party,” according to the New York Times.

Federal agents didn’t believe his explanation, or that he didn’t really plan to be “diggin’ Marilyn Monroe up” while here, reports ABC News. Investigators apparently asked Bunting if she was going to be Bryan’s lookout while he went for the body.

Okay, so you probably already knew that the Department of Homeland Security lacks a sense of humor. But how did it find these joking Tweets?

No one knows, but the department does have an office that focuses on “Publicly Available Social Media Monitoring and Situational Awareness.” It’s also working on an application that would scan social media for certain key words and phrases, according to the New York Times.

Though U.S. citizens can’t be deported over Twitter jokes, they can be hauled in for questioning if picked up by this scanning application. So be careful what you Tweet or share on social media.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

Which is why landlords often make mistakes — and the same ones, at that. Most try to stay on top of the law, but things change. Other laws are just open to legal interpretation.

Not sure if this applies to you? Consider the following landlord mistakes to see if you need to modify your behavior.

1. Using a generic lease. It’s easy, but it’s not custom. Your property and needs are unique, and only a customized lease can reflect that fact.

2. Wasting time. Things move fast in the rental business no matter how slow you want to be. You may be giving tenants some legal wiggle room if you don’t enforce lease terms in a prompt manner.

And if you don’t respond to complaints in a timely fashion? Well, you may be breaching the implied warranty of habitability.

3. Ignoring security deposit rules. This is perhaps the number one landlord mistake — and tenant complaint. The law requires you to return a security deposit within a set amount of time. It also limits deductions to rent and/or to damage beyond ordinary wear and tear.

4. Setting discriminatory policies. It’s usually unintentional, but building policies often discriminate on the basis of familial status. Low occupancy limits often violate the law. So do policies that limit the number of unrelated persons who can live in a unit.  Consider signing up for Fair Housing Training as a way to avoid these landlord mistakes.

5. Invading a tenant’s privacy. Yes, you have a right to enter the premises. No, you don’t have a right to enter whenever you want. State laws (and the lease) ordinarily require notice and consent.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a rigorous, multiphase rating process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis. 

The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. Since Super Lawyers is intended to be used as an aid in selecting a lawyer, we limit the lawyer ratings to those who can be hired and retained by the public, i.e., lawyers in private practice and Legal Aid attorneys.

The Super Lawyers selection process involves three basic steps: creation of the candidate pool; evaluation of candidates by the research department; and peer evaluation by practice area.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.

Super Lawyers magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-accredited law school libraries. Super Lawyers is also published as a special section in leading city and regional magazines across the country.

Super Lawyers magazine is published in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., reaching more than 13 million readers.

The final published list represents no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state. The lists are published annually in state and regional editions of Super Lawyers magazines and in inserts and special advertising sections in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers. All attorneys selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers, regardless of year, can be found on www.SuperLawyers.com

Which is kind of the point — beeping car alarms make it impossible to sleep. They wake you up at all hours, and continue on for minutes at a time.  So how do you make them stop? Doesn’t incessant beeping break some sort of car alarm law?

Quite possibly yes! But you should probably talk to your neighbor before you go all legal. It’s the polite thing to do.

If that doesn’t work, you have the following two options:

1. You can call the police and report a noise violation.

A number of cities and states have car alarm laws that limit the types and amount of noise a vehicle can emit. For example, the California Vehicle Code states that a police officer may tow a vehicle if the alarm system continues for 20 minutes. The Los Angeles Municipal Code also prohibits vehicle alarms that do not automatically silence within five minutes.

If you call enough times — or have the car towed — your neighbor might be convinced to change alarms.

2. You can file a tort lawsuit.

This is the more drastic option, and useful for those who live in a jurisdiction without a car alarm law. You’d have to prove that your neighbor’s conduct (and car alarm) has limited your ability to use and enjoy your home. Unfortunately, it’s possible that your neighbor’s right to protect his car is legally more important than your right to sleep.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

That’s because in this day and age, love and marriage also go together with adverse tax consequences, attorney and tax planner Jeff Schnepper writes for MSN Money. Unmarried couples who cohabitate may end up paying less in taxes than married couples, Schnepper suggests.

How does that happen? The answers can be found in five of Schnepper’s top tax reasons not to get married.

1. The “Marriage Penalty.” This comes into play if a couple gets married and files jointly. Spousal income is pooled and taxed at the highest rate of one spouse, Schnepper says. For example, if two unmarried people each brought in taxable income of $83,600, they’d each pay about $17,000 in taxes. But if the couple were to get married, they’d owe more than $800 in additional taxes. The more a couple brings in, the larger the “marriage penalty,” Schnepper says.
2. Social Security. Higher incomes also subject more of your Social Security payments to taxes. That means married couples with two incomes can get hit hard — as much as 85% of a married couple’s combined Social Security receipts may be subject to taxes, Schnepper says.
3. The Alternative Minimum Tax. Under our current tax system, you pay the higher of either your regular tax or the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The AMT exemption for two unmarried people is $48,450 each, or a total of $96,900. But a married couple’s exemption is only $74,450 — a difference of more than $22,000. This results in higher taxes under the AMT for married couples, Schnepper says.
4. Deductions. Medical-expense and itemized deductions must be reduced by 7.5% and 2% of your adjusted gross income, respectively. So if your spouse brings in $100,000 a year, filing jointly will reduce your medical-expense deduction by $7,500. It would also cut $2,000 from your total itemized deductions. Married couples can consider filing separate returns to avoid this, Schnepper says.
5. Bush-era tax benefits. These benefits are set to return in 2013, and will reduce the deductions for personal exemptions. “Marry an individual with substantial income and potentially all of your personal exemptions disappear,” Schnepper warns.

Of course tax laws are complicated, and they constantly change. You may want to consult a tax attorney to determine how your marital status may affect your taxes.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

But January 1, 2012 will bring high-profile changes at both the federal and state levels. Parts of the Affordable Health Care Act will come into force, and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs will cease to exist. Statewide voting restrictions are widespread, and hands-free cell phones are becoming the norm.

Here’s what you have to look forward to in 2012.

New Voting Laws in 2012

For anyone who wants to vote in the 2012 primaries and elections, make sure your state hasn’t made any changes. Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin will now require voters to show a picture ID. And Alabama, Kansas and Tennessee will demand proof of citizenship.  And Maine will no longer allow election day registration, so register now!

New DUI Laws in 2012

DUI laws are getting stricter in the next year. California has authorized 10-year license suspensions for repeat offenders. And Tennessee mandates breath or blood tests for those accompanied by a child.

Nebraska is also criminalizing driving drunk with a child in the vehicle. But the state will make interlock devices more available, allowing offenders to keep their licenses as long as they drive sober.

New Cell Phone Laws in 2012

Appalled that the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that states outlaw hands-free devices? Tough luck. The way 2012 is looking, a total ban may be near.

Nevada and North Dakota are going hands-free while Oregon and Pennsylvania are going text-free. That’s right–no texting at stoplights.

If you want to know more about your state’s new laws, do an Internet search. A number of state legislatures will be posting lists in the following weeks, and local newspapers often include a summary of new traffic laws.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com

However, cohabitation agreements can help fill in those gaps.  Unmarried couples who live together have none of the rights granted to married persons. Property rights, spousal support and power of attorney are not automatic. A well-written cohabitation agreement can fix this.

Partners who don’t want to (or can’t) get married or become registered domestic partners can still contract into many of the traditional rights and obligations. The variations are endless, but a cohabitation agreement can:

• Clearly delineate financial responsibilities during the relationship
• Designate liability for debt
• Create a right to support payments
• Ensure financial responsibility for a child
• Provide for visitation rights for the non-custodial partner
• Prevent property disputes
• Dictate the rights of the surviving partner
• Grant power to make medical and financial decisions

Cohabitation agreements can even be so specific as to designate who does what chores. It all depends on what you and your partner want to do.

But before you do it, talk to an attorney. State laws vary, and some rights may not legally be part of a cohabitation agreement.

This update brought to you by the Law Office of Jeffrey D. Stearman in Fullerton, Orange County, CA. Always a FREE initial consultation at (714) 871-7778. 

View our websites at www.Stearmanlaw.com and www.MyOCFamilyLawyer.com