How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: DENNIS FORDHAM
Being married is significant both for a married person’s lifetime estate planning and subsequent administration of the estate at death. Important rights and responsibilities exist between married persons.
The capacity — or understanding — necessary to be able to marry is low. It is very difficult to invalidate a marriage afterward.
In California, “[t]wo unmarried persons 18 years of age or older, who are not otherwise disqualified, are capable of consenting to and consummating marriage [section 301 Family Code].”
Even a person who is conserved due to being severely incapacitated can marry unless there a court order says otherwise. Unfortunately, predatory persons sometimes marry susceptible persons to take advantage of being married.
Sometimes a person may in good faith believe themselves married when they are not. A so-called, “putative spouse” is someone who is found by a court to have genuinely believed that he or she was legitimately married although the marriage was invalid, void or voidable due to some legal defect affecting the union, e.g., bigamy.
Once married, each spouse owes the other spouse a, “ … duty of the highest good faith and fair dealing … and neither shall take unfair advantage of the other [section 721(b) Family Code].”
Marital earnings are community property and belong equally to both spouses. Anything acquired while married and living together in California is presumed to be community property.
Community property assets are generally liable for the debts of either spouse incurred before or during marriage (Family Code sections 900 et. seq.).
It is possible for the earnings of the non-debtor spouse to become answerable for the premarital debts of the debtor spouse. This is true even if only one spouse is a party to the debt or to the judgment (Family Code section 910(a)).
Two important exceptions exist: First, if a married person puts his or her earnings during marriage (i.e community property) into a separate bank account that their spouse cannot access then these deposited earnings are not liable for the debtor spouse’s debts incurred prior to marriage; and second, the debts of a deceased spouse’s last illness and funeral are chargeable against the deceased spouse’s own estate, i.e., the deceased spouse’s separate property and one-half of the community property estate.
Conversely, a married person’s own separate property is not answerable for their spouse’s own premarital debts or for any marital debts allocated by court order, either at divorce or at death, to their spouse.
If a married person dies intestate, i.e., without a will, the surviving spouse is entitled to inherit all of the couple’s community property and either one-third or one-half of the deceased spouse’s own separate property.
Similarly if a married person dies without having updated their estate planning after getting married, the surviving spouse is presumed to be an unintentionally, “omitted spouse” and so is entitled to an intestate share.
Moreover, if a probate is commenced, a surviving spouse can petition for a probate homestead to be set-aside for the decedent’s surviving spouse and minor children. Probates are generally not used by a spouse to inherit from a deceased spouse’s estate. A so-called “spousal property petition” allows the surviving spouse to claim assets either under the decedent’s will or the laws of intestacy without probate.
In California, pre and post marital agreements allow couples an opportunity to dictate their property rights and legal obligations to each other once married in some important ways. Such agreements require separate representation of each party and full disclosure of each party’s assets and income.
Premarital agreements, for example, can be used to confirm one’s property rights in each party’s separate property and prevent the community estate from gaining an interest in either spouse’s own separate property. It can also address spousal support but cannot address child support.
In sum, marriage creates rights and responsibilities that have affect during life and at death. Estate planning is done with these rights and responsibilities in mind.
The foregoing is a brief discussion of a more complex and broader subject. It is not legal advice. Anyone confronting such issues should consult with a qualified attorney.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The City of Clearlake Animal Association also is seeking fosters for the animals waiting to be adopted.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
The newest dogs are listed at the top of the following list.
‘Andy’
“Andy” is a male American pit bull mix with a short gray and white coat.
He is dog No. 48995415.
‘Annie’
“Annie” is a female Labrador retriever mix with a short black coat.
She is dog No. 49409961.
‘Arnold’
“Arnold” is a male American Staffordshire terrier mix with a short brindle coat with white markings.
He is dog No. 49029348.
‘Bear’
“Bear” is a male Labrador retriever-American pit bull mix with a short charcoal and fawn coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 48443153.
‘Bear No. 2’
“Bear No. 2” is a male American pit bull mix with a short tan coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 48731556.
‘Bella’
“Bella” is a female American pit bull mix with a short gray brindle coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 48448381.
“Chai” is a female Alaskan husky mix with a gray and white coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 49279552.
‘Claire’
“Claire” is a female border collie mix with a short black and white coat.
She has been spayed.
Claire is dog No. 49397880.
‘Ebenezer’
“Ebenezer” is a male American pit bull terrier mix with a short tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 49191651.
‘Edgar’
“Edgar” is a male terrier-American pit bull mix with a black and cream coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 48634546.
‘Fritz’
“Fritz” is a male Australian shepherd mix with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 49278179.
‘Isabella’
“Isabella” is a female Chihuahua mix with a short tan coat.
She is dog No. 49292130.
‘Jaxx’
“Jaxx” is a male Doberman pinscher mix with a black and rust-colored coat.
He has been neutered.
He is dog No. 49022184.
‘Levi’
“Levi” is a male golden retriever-Labrador retriever mix.
He has a short golden coat.
He is dog No. 48975687.
‘Maria’
“Maria” is a female Shar-Pei mix with a short tan coat.
She is dog No. 49047315.
‘Maui’
“Maui” is a male Labrador retriever mix with a short black coat and white markings.
He is dog No. 49334317.
‘Nala’
“Nala” is a 1-year-old female German shepherd mix.
She has a medium-length black and tan coat.
She is dog No. 48289638.
‘Noodle’
“Noodle” is a male Alaskan husky mix with a black and white coat.
He is dog No. 49375787.
‘Priscilla’
“Priscilla” is a female Brittany spaniel mix with a white and copper coat.
She is dog No. 49089138.
‘Sassy’
“Sassy” is a female American pit bull mix with a short black coat.
She has been spayed.
She is dog No. 48443128.
‘Snowball’
“Snowball” is a male American Staffordshire mix terrier with a white coat.
He is dog No. 49159168.
‘Terry’
“Terry” is a male shepherd mix with a short brindle coat.
He is dog No. 48443693.
‘Turk’
“Turk” is a male chocolate Labrador retriever mix.
He is dog No. 48911836.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
- Details
- Written by: Mara Johnson-Groh
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has taken its first visible light images of the surface of Venus from space.
Smothered in thick clouds, Venus’ surface is usually shrouded from sight. But in two recent flybys of the planet, Parker used its Wide-Field Imager, or WISPR, to image the entire nightside in wavelengths of the visible spectrum – the type of light that the human eye can see – and extending into the near-infrared.
The images, combined into a video, reveal a faint glow from the surface that shows distinctive features like continental regions, plains, and plateaus. A luminescent halo of oxygen in the atmosphere can also be seen surrounding the planet.
“We’re thrilled with the science insights Parker Solar Probe has provided thus far,” said Nicola Fox, division director for the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. “Parker continues to outperform our expectations, and we are excited that these novel observations taken during our gravity assist maneuver can help advance Venus research in unexpected ways.”
Such images of the planet, often called Earth’s twin, can help scientists learn more about Venus’ surface geology, what minerals might be present there, and the planet’s evolution. Given the similarities between the planets, this information can help scientists on the quest to understand why Venus became inhospitable and Earth became an oasis.
“Venus is the third brightest thing in the sky, but until recently we have not had much information on what the surface looked like because our view of it is blocked by a thick atmosphere,” said Brian Wood, lead author on the new study and physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. “Now, we finally are seeing the surface in visible wavelengths for the first time from space.”
Unexpected capabilities
The first WISPR images of Venus were taken in July 2020 as Parker embarked on its third flyby, which the spacecraft uses to bend its orbit closer to the Sun. WISPR was designed to see faint features in the solar atmosphere and wind, and some scientists thought they might be able to use WISPR to image the cloud tops veiling Venus as Parker passed the planet.
“The objective was to measure the speed of the clouds,” said WISPR project scientist Angelos Vourlidas, co-author on the new paper and researcher at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
But instead of just seeing clouds, WISPR also saw through to the surface of the planet. The images were so striking that the scientists turned on the cameras again during the fourth pass in February 2021. During the 2021 flyby, the spacecraft’s orbit lined up perfectly for WISPR to image Venus’ nightside in entirety.
“The images and video just blew me away,” Wood said.
Glowing like an iron from the forge
Clouds obstruct most of the visible light coming from Venus’ surface, but the very longest visible wavelengths, which border the near-infrared wavelengths, make it through. On the dayside, this red light gets lost amid the bright sunshine reflected off Venus’ cloud tops, but in the darkness of night, the WISPR cameras were able to pick up this faint glow caused by the incredible heat emanating from the surface.
“The surface of Venus, even on the nightside, is about 860 degrees,” Wood said. “It's so hot that the rocky surface of Venus is visibly glowing, like a piece of iron pulled from a forge.”
As it passed by Venus, WISPR picked up a range of wavelengths from 470 nanometers to 800 nanometers. Some of that light is the near-infrared – wavelengths that we cannot see, but sense as heat – and some is in the visible range, between 380 nanometers and about 750 nanometers.
Venus in a new light
In 1975, the Venera 9 lander sent the first tantalizing glimpses of the surface after landing on Venus. Since then, Venus’ surface has been revealed further with radar and infrared instruments, which can peer through the thick clouds by using wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye.
NASA’s Magellan mission created the first maps in the 1990s using radar and JAXA’s Akatsuki spacecraft gathered infrared images after reaching orbit around Venus in 2016. The new images from Parker add to these findings by extending the observations to red wavelengths at the edge of what we can see.
The WISPR images show features on the Venusian surface, such as the continental region Aphrodite Terra, the Tellus Regio plateau, and the Aino Planitia plains. Since higher altitude regions are about 85 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than lower areas, they show up as dark patches amidst the brighter lowlands. These features can also be seen in previous radar images, such as those taken by Magellan.
Beyond looking at surface features, the new WISPR images will help scientists better understand the geology and mineral make-up of Venus. When heated, materials glow at unique wavelengths.
By combining the new images with previous ones, scientists now have a wider range of wavelengths to study, which can help identify what minerals are on the surface of the planet.
Such techniques have previously been used to study the surface of the Moon. Future missions will continue to expand this range of wavelengths, which will contribute to our understanding of habitable planets.
This information could also help scientists understand the planet’s evolution. While Venus, Earth, and Mars all formed around the same time, they are very different today. The atmosphere on Mars is a fraction of Earth’s while Venus has a much thicker atmosphere.
Scientists suspect volcanism played a role in creating the dense Venusian atmosphere, but more data are needed to know how. The new WISPR images might provide clues about how volcanoes may have affected the planet’s atmosphere.
In addition to the surface glow, the new images show a bright ring around the edge of the planet caused by oxygen atoms emitting light in the atmosphere. Called airglow, this type of light is also present in Earth’s atmosphere, where it’s visible from space and sometimes from the ground at night.
Flyby science
While Parker Solar Probe’s primary goal is solar science, the Venusian flybys are providing exciting opportunities for bonus data that wasn’t expected at the mission’s launch.
WISPR has also imaged Venus’ orbital dust ring – a doughnut-shaped track of microscopic particles strewn in the wake of Venus’ orbit around the Sun – and the FIELDS instrument made direct measurements of radio waves in the Venusian atmosphere, helping scientists understand how the upper atmosphere changes during the Sun’s 11-year cycle of activity.
In December 2021, researchers published new findings about the rediscovery of the comet-like tail of plasma streaming out behind Venus, called a “tail ray”. The new results showed this tail of particles extending nearly 5,000 miles out from the Venusian atmosphere. This tail could be how Venus’ water escaped from the planet, contributing to its current dry and inhospitable environment.
While the geometry of the next two flybys likely won’t allow Parker to image the nightside, scientists will continue to use Parker’s other instruments to study Venus’ space environment. In November 2024, the spacecraft will have a final chance to image the surface on its seventh and final flyby.
The future of Venus research
Parker Solar Probe, which is built and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, isn’t the first mission to gather bonus data on flybys, but its recent successes have inspired other missions to turn on their instruments as they pass Venus.
In addition to Parker, the ESA (European Space Agency) BepiColombo mission and the ESA and NASA Solar Orbiter mission have decided to gather data during their flybys in the coming years.
More spacecraft are headed to Venus around the end of this decade with NASA’s DAVINCI and VERITAS missions and ESA’s EnVision mission. These missions will help image and sample Venus’ atmosphere, as well as remap the surface at higher resolution with infrared wavelengths. This information will help scientists determine the surface mineral make-up and better understand the planet’s geologic history.
“By studying the surface and atmosphere of Venus, we hope the upcoming missions will help scientists understand the evolution of Venus and what was responsible for making Venus inhospitable today,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. “While both DAVINCI and VERITAS will use primarily near-infrared imaging, Parker’s results have shown the value of imaging a wide range of wavelengths.”
Mara Johnson-Groh works for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Sheriff Brian Martin, District Attorney Susan Krones and Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff spoke to MATH members and fielded questions during the first half of the group’s monthly meeting, held via Zoom.
They were asked to speak to the group, whose members have been concerned about crime in their communities.
One aspect of the discussion involved homelessness. Martin explained that driving factors include mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, high housing costs, voluntariness, domestic violence and lack of family support.
He referenced the 2021 point in time count that found 241 people in Lake County who met the federal definition of homeless, down from 572 the previous year. Of those, 36% self-identified as having chronic health issues, 19% said they receive disability benefits and 227 said they have lived in Lake County for more than five years.
Of that group, 177 people said they were homeless because of Lake County’s wildland fires.
Among those reported to be homeless, Martin said the ages range from 5 months to 94 years old.
Martin also discussed the impacts of prison realignment, which began in 2011. By 2014, county jail populations had skyrocketed and the Lake County Jail capacity, which was rated for 286 inmates, reached its highest level, at more than 400.
He said lawsuits were filed in several counties due to jail overpopulation, and in 2014, 19 of 58 county jail systems were operating under court-ordered population caps.
Martin, Krones and Hinchcliff would fault voter ballot measures such as Proposition 47, the “Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act, passed in 2014, and Proposition 57, passed in 2016, for negatively impacting efforts to reduce crime.
Martin said Proposition 47 reduced a number of felonies to misdemeanors, including property crimes valued at less than $950 — shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud and bad checks — as well as personal use of most illegal drugs.
Adding to the challenge are record case backlogs. Martin said many offenders now are failing to even show up for court appearances. Court clerks in Lake County are now adding a notation to case numbers indicating how many times a person has failed to appear in the same case. Martin said one individual has failed to appear eight separate times.
Martin said the 2021 Humphrey decision by the California Supreme Court found that the state's practice of requiring cash bail in most cases is unconstitutional. As a result, courts must now consider all non-monetary alternatives to detention, such as electronic monitoring, check-ins with pretrial case managers, community housing or shelter, stay away orders, and drug and alcohol testing and treatment.
He said courts also must consider a defendant's ability to pay and set bail at the defendant can reasonably pay.
If the court concludes that public or victim safety, or the arrestee's appearance in court, can't be reasonably assured if the individual is released, it may detain them only if it finds clear and convincing evidence that no nonfinancial condition of release can reasonably protect those interests, Martin said.
Martin also discussed the challenges in staffing for his department while at the same time incidents are growing in number.
In 2005, the sheriff's department had 163 employees. Today it has 118, with Martin noting during the discussion that he has 30 vacancies. The sheriff’s office received reports of 39,799 incidents in 2021, of which 5,337 were in the Middletown area.
In reviewing crime statistics for 2021, Martin said he noted that burglaries jumped for some reason in Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake.
Out of the 19 burglaries that occurred in that area, five were in Hidden Valley — three of them took place outside of the gates in the shopping center — and 14 occurred in Middletown.
The Hidden Valley Lake cases included a pharmacy smash-and-grab, a golf cart that was stolen and recovered and appeared to be the work of juveniles — deputies found tracks from “smaller than adult size feet” during the investigation — along with a stolen firearm from a house in which the suspect likely knew the victim, and two construction site burglaries, Martin said.
In one of those construction site burglaries, the victim is not assisting. However, in the second, a suspect has been identified and linked to crimes in the city of Clear Lake. Martin said the property has been recovered and they are awaiting an arrest warrant from the District Attorney's Office.
Regarding the 14 burglaries in the Middletown area, Martin said one of them involved the theft of three bags of pellets from a store, theft of money from a laundromat, a weed eater that was stolen from a storage shed in an apartment complex, money stolen from the closet of a residence, two residential burglaries at homes near Highway 29, a storage container lock that was cut and a weed eater stolen, a suspect arrested for being under the influence and found to have committed a burglary earlier in which he stole a car and a residential burglary in which guns were stolen in the victim is not assisting.
Another residential and community burglary involved a suspect who was arrested and has had seven counts filed against him by the district attorney. However, that suspect, identified by Martin as 29-year-old Luke Parker of Kelseyville, was released from jail and is at large. Martin warned people not to attend to apprehend Parker themselves.
Other burglaries in that group of 14 included one in connection to a domestic violence case, commercial burglaries on Main and one at Crazy Creek Gliders, for which there was a partial property recovery, and a burglary at an antique store, Martin said.
Martin urged community members to secure their property, don't leave items in plain sight, get security cameras, and alarm systems, know their neighbors and get serial numbers of property.
Those with security cameras can join the sheriff’s camera registry program at http://www.lakesheriff.com/Programs/Cameras.htm.
District attorney’s staff discusses law changes
Krones said under the new laws there is no incentive for people to stop stealing.
She said she’s among a group of 27 district attorneys from across the state that have filed an injunction against the California Department of Corrections for an increase to good conduct credits given to prisoners convicted of serious violent felonies.
She said new laws that went into effect in January take away the discretion of judges in sentencing in some situations, requiring them to give the middle terms unless aggravating factors are proved.
Another sentencing guideline involves younger offenders. If an individual is under age 26 when offense committed, the presumptive term is the low term, she said.
“We have an uphill battle to get even to the midterm, even in the most horrendous of offenses,” Krones said.
She also explained the no bail practice, which was implemented for most offenses due to COVID-19. “This has continued for the last two years.”
No bail and the Humphreys decision have added to the problem, with most people now being released or cited. As a result, “We’ve had a lot of failures to appear over the last two years,” Krones said.
Hinchcliff said Proposition 47 has “caused a huge increase in petty thefts in this county and all across the state,” explaining that people can commit repeated crimes with thefts of under $950 and never be prosecuted for a felony.
Hinchcliff, who was raised in Lake County and has been with the District Attorney’s Office for 27 years, said there are many people working in the agency who care about the community and have stayed to serve it.
“We’re doing everything that we can,” but Hinchcliff said their hands have been tied by voters passing bad laws that impact law enforcement.
He outlined the three biggest problems that he thinks need to be addressed to reduce crime:
• There is not enough treatment for people with mental health issues and drugs. He said it’s estimated that more than 90% of homeless individuals who are committing crimes day after day have serious mental health and drug issues.
• People must quit voting for laws that reduce the seriousness of crimes and law enforcement’s ability to arrest and prosecute people. “We need to reverse some of the damage that has been done in the last 15 years” by changing the laws back, Hinchcliff said.
• The District Attorney’s Office needs more staff. After a decade of getting only one 3% raise, the county has found money for raises and Hinchcliff said he hopes it helps. About five years ago, he said the office had 13 trial prosecutors, in addition to him and the district attorney. Now, those 13 have been reduced to eight. At the same time, they have just over half of the four secretary positions they have filled, which can cause case backlogs.
During a question and answer period, community members pressed Martin in particular on what they can do to partner with the sheriff’s office to get more response and presence.
Martin suggested involvement in Neighborhood Watch and volunteering at the sheriff’s office. He also urged them to reach out to their legislators about the tools that have been taken away from law enforcement.
He also fielded complaints about dispatcher responses to callers.
When asked about whether he had enough money to cover his hiring needs, Martin said yes, but added that money isn’t the issue and that if he can’t find the people to hire, the money doesn’t matter.
Email Elizabeth Larson at