Daniel Curtis McCammon

I am a Certified Family Law Specialist and represent clients in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and select matters in the Central Coast and Sacramento area. I work with clients of all background, including business owners, homemakers, those with 7/8 figure wealth, attorneys, doctors, therapists, teachers, and military servicemembers and veterans. I also work with forensic accountants, therapists, mediators, loan officers, real estate agents, and attorneys in other fields to holistically resolve your family law issues.  I have a lot of experience in high conflict custody matters, including domestic and international move away, domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues. While I litigate, I settle many of my cases because I maintain good relationships with my fellow family law attorneys, the Court, and other professionals, and work hard to know the facts of your matter so I can quickly work to resolve the matter with your partner/spouse. I strongly believe in the principal of informed consent. You will know where you stand and what decisions you can make so you can make the best choice for yourself and your family.  

I love the practice of family law. I know it's an unwanted service, but one that is necessary. People often come to me when they have been victims of abuse, made personal mistakes that have caused an end of a marriage or relationship, or simply have grown apart. It's hard for many people to let go of the past and the end of the relationship and move forward. That is why I work with a variety of family law related experts (financial planners, forensic accountants, life coaches, real estate professionals and therapists) to help you divide assets, heal, and take control of your future and the legacy you want to leave your loved ones.   

3/19/2026: Waiving Child Support Arrears Just Got Even Harder: A Look Into Brown v. Allen:

Brown v. Allen was a SLO County case where a payor motions to enforce a arrears waiver was denied by the trial court and affirmed on appeal. In this case, the father owed over a half a million in unpaid arrears to the mother (that is really bad). He tried to get the mother to agree with a stipulated agreement to pay 1/2 of the amount and even paid 1/2 of the amount. But the mother did not sign an agreement, and the father tried to enforce the "agreement". In a published opinion, the Appeals Court affirmed that Family Code section 3651, subdivision (c)(1), prohibits the reduction of child support arrearages. And while the Court did acknowledge that one can waive child support arrears through an accord and satisfaction, the Court went to great lengths to describe demonstrate how difficult it is to enforce those accord and satisfactions. First, there must be a Bonafide dispute over the amount of arrears, which includes principal and interest. If there is no dispute, then you cannot waive arrears. In my experience, this would eliminate nearly every arrears waiver case because DCSS arrears occur when someone fails to make a payment. Typically, DCSS is the one who tracks payments, or if it is owed privately, the burden is on the payor to disprove that he/she does not owe the arrears. Most payors cannot disprove the lack of payment, so they cannot establish a Bonafide dispute. The second part is for there to be an accord and satisfaction; the agreement must be formal, enforceable order of the Court. An unfiled, written agreement does not appear to be workable in these situations anymore.

The Court also weighed in on estoppel, which is a common law defense equity that requires some sort of financial injury. However, when you owe arrears, you do not suffer any financial injury by making a payment towards arrears because this is money already owed. Any waiver of child support benefits the payor and hurts the children, whether they are minors or adults. The Court also makes it clear that it is very difficult to establish a waiver of a right. If the payee contends they were not paid, there is no waiver.

In my opinion, if you owe arrears, it will be very difficult to waive arrears going forward. I don't think you are going see many attorneys' take on these cases anymore. I certainly will not.

3/20/26 Taylor Frankie Paul/ABC and Domestic Violence:

Today, ABC made the right decision and pulled an entire season of the Bachelorette because the star of this season, Taylor Frankie Paul has had longstanding issues with abusing her intimate partners and her children. And these are not allegations. They are fact because there are recordings showing her throwing heavy metal chairs at her partner, and one hitting her daughter. Taylor's publicist came out with a vague statement "Taylor is very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security. After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm."

ABC has themselves to blame for not vetting Taylor enough. The police report was from 2023. The concerns many people have raised about her have been ongoing for years. This was not a secret, and now that the report and video have surfaced, they had no choice but to pull the plug on this season or risk further damage to the brand and studio.

Clearly, Taylor has been abusive to her partner and her child. To be clear, throwing a chair at your partner in front of a child is abuse towards both the partner and child. No exceptions. And while it's possible that Taylor may also be a victim herself (I do not doubt the possibility that her partner may have been abusive to her as well and there may not be any video to prove it), it's clear that in that moment, Taylor was intoxicated, had escalated the violence, and was the primary aggressor. She probably still needs a lot of help, away from the TV shows she is involved in and in private settings. However, because she is a public figure she will now need to own her own personal problems, because having your PR team send out a statement that you are victim is not going to work.

Be careful about your relationships out there. Taylor and her former partner have a child together and have had an on and off again relationship that has resulted in lasting damage to each other, more Taylor than him. No one deserves to have a chair thrown at them. Children should never be hit, nor exposed to this behavior. Ever. If you find yourself in this type of relationship, please protect yourself and children and run.

3/24/26: Preparing To Litigate Your Case Through RFO's: 

California Family Cases allow you to request orders from the Court pending trial. Depending on where you case is (OC/LA versus San Diego/Riverside/San Bernardino), Courts can handle Requests for Orders quite differently. In LA/OC, child custody cases are usually testimonial in nature, and so these hearings can take more time resulting from client testimony, admission of exhibits, etc. Some Judges make orders on a temporary basis with argument, others want testimony all the time. It can be a free for all in LA/OC. In the Inland Empire and San Diego, RFO's are argument only unless a short cause trial is requested, and very time limited due to limited resources. 

It's important to know the rules in your particular county on how you can litigate your matter and what to expect. 

3/26/26: 45th Birthday:

Yesterday was my 45th Bday. My daughter made me a chocolate coconut cake. She's quite the baker and even toasted the coconut! My office also gave me a huge cake, which I accidentally left at the office. Skylar's cake won :). I used to not be so into my own birthday, as people who know me, know well, but I've grown to love because of special moments I share with my kids. I'm grateful for these moments. Grateful for those special people who in the past tried to make my birthdays a good experience.

Having kids around to celebrate your special day is important, as well as your celebrating their bday. Make sure your custody orders allow for this, as birthdays are designated as special days and override normal parenting time or even holidays themselves. 

4/3/26: April and May Caseload/Reminiscing:

This time of year is always challenging because seems like April and May, people really want to press through their cases before summer comes.  I usually work longer hours during the months of April and May as a result to keep up. The reason? Just the holidays, people often see the summer as a time to get away, which includes their divorce case.  

Was nice to take some time off, connect with people, and spend time going through old pictures and thinking of important memories. Even old emails from many years ago of traveling, hiking, and even a friend telling me to gain some weight! It's nice to see where your life was at certain points and be grateful those memories and the loved ones who created those memories with you.  

Happy to have a conversation about your family issues and can be contacted at my office by phone, email, in person meetings at the office, Zoom/Google Meet, WhatsApp at. 714. 335.  4683 for my prospective foreign clients, and Google Voice at 949.  287. 8301