Nolo's Guide to California Law : A concise guide to the laws of the Golden State

This handy little legal reference is an essential resource for every California home and business. Nolo's Guide to California Law provides you with quick, clear answers to the everyday questions you have about: child support, custody, consumer rights, employee rights, divorce, bankruptcy, adoption, jury duty, real estate, debt and credit, workplace rights, workers' comp, wills, landlords and tenants, serious illness and much more. This is the only plain English guide to the laws that affect Californians every day. About This Book......Page 0 How the Book Is Organized......Page 9 Legal Citations......Page 10 Online legal research......Page 11 Finding Statutes......Page 12 Making Sure You Have the Most Recent Version of the Statute......Page 13 Finding Cases......Page 14 More Legal Research......Page 15 Abbreviations Used in This Book......Page 17 Children......Page 19 Adoption......Page 23 Age of Majority......Page 26 Birth Certificates......Page 27 Child Abuse and Neglect......Page 30 Child Support......Page 32 Custody......Page 36 Donor Insemination......Page 40 Education......Page 41 Emancipated Minors......Page 42 Foster Care......Page 43 Gay and Lesbian Parents......Page 44 Grandparents’ Rights......Page 46 Guardianships......Page 47 Housing Discrimination......Page 49 Juvenile Court......Page 51 Parental Kidnapping and Custodial Interference......Page 53 Parents’ Liability for Their Children’s Acts......Page 54 Safety......Page 55 Students and Teachers......Page 56 Visitation......Page 61 Citizens’ Rights......Page 63 California Citizenship and Residency......Page 65 Immigrating to the United States......Page 66 Local Government Meetings......Page 67 United States Citizenship......Page 69 Voting......Page 70 Consumers’ Rights......Page 73 Advertising......Page 76 Cancelling Contracts......Page 79 Car Rentals......Page 82 Car Repairs......Page 83 Car Sales......Page 85 Contractors......Page 89 Deliveries and Service Calls......Page 91 Gift Certificates......Page 93 Layaway Purchases......Page 94 Mail Order and Internet Merchandise......Page 95 Refunds and Exchanges......Page 96 Sales Tax......Page 97 Warranties......Page 98 Copyrights and Patents......Page 103 Copyrights......Page 106 Patents......Page 108 Courts, Lawsuits, and Mediation......Page 111 Alternatives to Court......Page 114 Appeals......Page 115 California Court System......Page 116 Discovery......Page 119 Federal Court System......Page 120 Good Samaritans......Page 121 Jury Duty......Page 122 Lawsuits Over Contracts......Page 123 Lawyers’ fees......Page 125 Personal Injury Lawsuits......Page 127 Settling a Lawsuit Out of Court......Page 129 Small Claims Court......Page 131 Statutes of Limitation......Page 137 Victims of Crime......Page 138 Debts, Loans, and Credit......Page 141 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and Debit Cards......Page 144 Bankruptcy......Page 145 Checks......Page 150 Cosigners’ Rights......Page 152 Credit and Charge Cards......Page 153 Credit Reporting Agencies......Page 158 Credit Discrimination......Page 162 Debt Collection......Page 164 Liens......Page 168 Loans......Page 169 Repossessing Property......Page 171 Student Loans......Page 173 Dogs......Page 179 Dog Bites and Other Injuries Caused by Dogs......Page 181 Dogs in Vehicles......Page 183 Guide, Signal, and Service Dogs......Page 184 Pet Stores......Page 187 Unhealthy Dogs......Page 188 Employees’ Rights......Page 191 Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)......Page 195 Child Labor......Page 196 Discrimination......Page 197 Domestic Violence......Page 199 Drug Testing......Page 200 Equal Pay......Page 201 Family and Medical Leave......Page 202 Firing......Page 203 Health and Safety Regulations......Page 205 Health Insurance......Page 207 Immigrant Workers......Page 208 Independent Contractors......Page 209 Lie Detector Tests......Page 212 Pregnancy......Page 213 Psychological Testing......Page 214 Sexual Harassment......Page 215 Unemployment Insurance......Page 217 Unions......Page 219 Wage and Hour Restrictions......Page 221 Workers’ Compensation......Page 223 Government Benefits......Page 225 Disability Insurance......Page 227 Medi-Cal......Page 229 Medicare......Page 231 Social Security......Page 236 Supplemental Security Income......Page 237 Veterans’ Benefits......Page 240 Inheritance and Wills......Page 243 Executors and Administrators......Page 246 Estate and Gift Tax......Page 247 Inheritance by a Spouse......Page 248 Inheritance by Children......Page 250 Inheritance When There’s No Will......Page 252 Joint Tenancy......Page 253 Probate......Page 255 Transfer-on-Death Registration for Securities......Page 257 Trusts......Page 258 Wills......Page 261 Landlords and Tenants......Page 263 Bankruptcy of Landlord or Tenant......Page 265 Condition of Rented Premises......Page 267 Condominium Conversion......Page 271 Deposits, Fees, and Last Month’s Rent......Page 272 Discrimination......Page 275 Evictions......Page 276 Leases and Rental Agreements......Page 279 Managers......Page 280 Pets......Page 281 Rent......Page 282 Rent Control......Page 283 Rental Listing Services......Page 286 Retaliatory Evictions and Rent Increases......Page 287 Roommates......Page 288 Sale of and Foreclosure On Rented Property......Page 289 Tenancies in Common......Page 292 Real Estate......Page 293 Buying and Selling a House......Page 296 Deeds......Page 300 Easements......Page 302 Fences......Page 305 Homestead......Page 306 Mortgages......Page 308 Nuisance......Page 309 Property Taxes......Page 310 Taxes From the Sale of a House......Page 311 Title......Page 312 Title Searches and Insurance......Page 314 Trees......Page 315 Zoning......Page 317 Relationships......Page 319 Annulment......Page 322 Bigamy......Page 323 Birth Control......Page 324 Common Law Marriage......Page 325 Community and Separate Property......Page 326 Divorce......Page 329 Domestic Partners......Page 331 Domestic Violence......Page 333 Gay and Lesbian Couples......Page 335 Living Together......Page 336 Marital Debts......Page 337 Marriage......Page 339 Separation......Page 340 Spousal Support (Alimony)......Page 341 Serious Illness......Page 345 Advance Health Care Directives (Living Wills and Powers of Attorney)......Page 347 Conservatorships......Page 349 Durable Power of Attorney for Finances......Page 351 Emergency Medical Treatment......Page 353 Organ and Body Donation......Page 354 Small Businesses......Page 357 Corporations......Page 361 Fictitious Business Names......Page 364 Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)......Page 365 Nonprofit Corporations......Page 368 Partnerships......Page 372 Professional Corporations......Page 374 Sole Proprietorships......Page 377 Trademarks and Service Marks......Page 379 Trade Secrets......Page 382 Traffic and Vehicle Laws......Page 385 Alcohol and Drug Related Offenses......Page 387 Car Insurance Requirements......Page 389 Equipment, License, and Registration Violations......Page 391 License Suspensions and Revocations......Page 392 Moving Violations......Page 396 Parking Tickets......Page 398 Registration and Smog Tests......Page 399 Seat Belt and Child Restraint Requirements......Page 401 Young Drivers......Page 402 Index......Page 405