The dismissal of a California child support case involving Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić and his former fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, is drawing attention to a threshold issue that can determine the course of international family law disputes before a court ever reaches questions of custody or support: jurisdiction.
Goltes, who lives in Slovenia with the former couple's two young daughters, filed a petition in Los Angeles earlier this year seeking child support and attorneys' fees. Dončić challenged the California proceeding, arguing that the matter did not belong in California because the children reside in Slovenia and related proceedings were already underway there.
Goltes subsequently sought to withdraw her California petition, stating that she intended to resolve the matter "amicably and by a mutual agreement which is in the best interests of our children." The Los Angeles County Superior Court ultimately dismissed the petition without prejudice in August.
For Hossein Berenji, Founder and Lead Attorney of Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group in Beverly Hills, the case illustrates a question that increasingly arises in family law matters involving international families: whether California courts should get to decide a family's dispute ust because one parent lives or works in California.
"People often assume that if one parent lives in California, earns income here, or has substantial ties to the state, a California court can necessarily decide child support or custody," Berenji said. "In an international case, it can be much more complicated. Before you get to the question of how much support should be paid or what custody arrangement is appropriate, you may first have to determine which court has the legal authority to decide it."
That distinction is particularly significant in the Dončić matter. Although Dončić plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, his daughters reportedly reside with their mother in Slovenia. The California petition therefore raised issues extending beyond the financial circumstances of a high-earning professional athlete.
According to Berenji, courts confronting cross-border family disputes may have to consider where the children have been living, the nature and duration of each parent's connection to the jurisdiction, whether proceedings are already pending elsewhere, and which laws or international agreements govern the particular issue before the court.
"International families can find themselves in a situation where there are connections to two or even three countries, but that doesn't mean the parents can simply choose whichever court appears most favorable to them," Berenji said. "Where you file can become one of the most consequential decisions in the entire case."
The dismissal also illustrates another point that can easily be lost in headlines surrounding celebrity family law disputes: dismissal of a particular case does not necessarily resolve the underlying family law issue.
Because the California petition was dismissed without prejudice, the dismissal itself is not a determination that child support is or is not owed. Nor does it establish the terms of any agreement between Dončić and Goltes.
"A dismissed support petition and a determination that no support obligation exists are two very different things," Berenji said. "A case can disappear from one courtroom while the underlying financial and parenting issues remain very much alive."
The international dimension can also become important if parents reach a private agreement. An agreement addressing support, education, medical expenses, travel or other costs may resolve an immediate dispute, but Berenji cautions that parents with ties to different countries should consider from the outset how an agreement could ultimately be recognized and enforced.
"If the parents live on opposite sides of the world, enforceability cannot be an afterthought," Berenji said. "You have to think about what happens if circumstances change, where the paying parent's income or assets are located, and whether an agreement or order can actually be enforced in the country where enforcement becomes necessary."
For Berenji, the Dončić case is notable not because celebrity family law operates under different rules, but because the public nature of the dispute puts a spotlight on an increasingly common issue for internationally mobile families.
"Professional athletes may present the issue on a much larger financial scale, but the jurisdictional problem isn't unique to celebrities," Berenji said. "We see families with careers, property, businesses and children spanning multiple countries. In those cases, figuring out where the dispute should be decided can be every bit as important as figuring out how it should be decided."
About Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group
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Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group is a California family law firm with offices in Beverly Hills and Pasadena. The firm represents clients in complex divorce, high-net-worth and high-asset matters, child custody and child support disputes, including cases involving international assets and cross-border family law issues. Founder and Lead Attorney Hossein Berenji has practiced family law for more than 25 years and regularly provides legal analysis on developing issues involving divorce, custody, support and complex family law litigation.
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For more information about Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group, contact the company here:
Berenji Divorce & Family Law Group
Berenji & Associates
3102716290
nikoo@berenjilaw.com
9465 Wilshire Blvd.
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Beverly Hills, CA 90212
