Fiduciary Duty Prevails in Los Angeles County Family Court

(Added 06/22/2009)

Well, it was a warm day in downtown Los Angeles but hotter in the court room where Attorney John H. Schweitzer presented his case to the court.  Mr. Schweitzer likes to ride the train to downtown Los Angeles because of convenience and location to the courthouse.  "I was looking over the paperwork both parties had filed over the past year looking for some clue as to financials with respect to the husband (opposing party)."  Although the opposing counsel in the matter has been very professional and she and Mr. Schweitzer have a great professional relationship, there were never any financials submitted by husband to back up his claim that he did not make very much money.  The two attorneys decided that sometimes it is better to argue in front of the judge and this case fostered the right circumstance.  "Opposing counsel did not have paperwork that her client should have submitted over one year ago and that placed her client in a bad spot and her in an untenable position as his counselor."

Both parties in the case have been living overseas for the past few years.  To complicate matters, the husband resigned his commission with the U.S. Army and moved to Dubai for civilian employment with a host nation corporation.  Wife (represented by Mr. Schweitzer), remained in Germany where the couple was last stationed and continues her employment with a large, U.S. - based company.  Effectively, the argument came down to the issue of whether or not husband complied with certain provisions of the family code related to disclosure of assets, etcetera.  Also, Mr. Schweitzer argued that husband breached his fiduciary duty to wife by virtue of his nondisclosure.  This had continued over one-and-a-half years since Mr. Schweitzer filed wife's order to show cause for spousal support and attorney fees.  At last, wife received good news - after argument, Mr. Schweitzer convinced the judge to award over $4,500.00 in attorney fees as sanctions, along with a spousal support order of $750.00 per month based upon husband's "seemingly negligent or intentional" nondisclosure.  When asked about the hearing's outcome, Mr. Schweitzer was quick to point out that, "It is about teamwork in our office.  This would not be possible without the support of my associate attorney, Maricela Amezola, and staff of My Military Divorce.  They really work hard behind the scenes to accomplish the firms goal of effective and affordable representation."