Divorce
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In California, there are four main types of divorce proceedings: (1) Mediation, (2) Arbitration, (3) Litigation, and (4) Uncontested Divorce.
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Child Custody
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While California law presumes that both parents will retain custody of their children, judges have significant discretion in making child custody arrangements.
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Domestic Violence
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Under California law, domestic violence refers to abuse or threats of abuse between two people who are (or who have been) in an intimate relationship.
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Los Angeles Divorce Attorneys
Dedicated and Compassionate Divorce Lawyers Working with Clients with Issues Related to Divorce, Marriage Dissolution, Legal Separation, Child Custody, Child Support, Child Relocation, Spousal Support, Property Division, Paternity, Father's Rights, Parental Visitation Rights, Special Needs Children, Domestic Violence, Restraining Orders. Our Law Firm Serves Los Angeles County and Ventura County California From Our Office in the San Fernando Valley.
Family law is the area of law that affects the rights and responsibilities that we have with people to whom we have a domestic relationship. As a result, the way that disputes related to family law and divorce are resolved can have a significant impact on the most important relationships in your life as well as your financial situation.
For example, if you are getting a divorce, it could significantly impact the amount of time that you can spend with your children or even your financial stability. California Family Code 2300 defines divorce as a judge's order that restores the parties to the state of unmarried status.
Hiring a divorce attorney in Los Angeles means a partnership so you can clearly understand all your legal rights on the major decisions that will need to be made on the primary issues of divorce and marriage dissolution, uncontested divorce, divorce mediation, child custody, child relocation, child support, spousal support, visitation rights, and property division.
Our experienced and highly skilled Los Angeles divorce and family law attorneys are dedicated to protecting your legal rights and producing results for our clients. We take pride on being honest, dependable, and committed to your best interest throughout the typically stressful divorce process.
Whether we need to defend you against allegations of domestic violence, or help your children secure a brighter future, our Los Angeles divorce lawyers will provide you legal guidance to help you clearly understand how we can petition the Los Angeles County Family Law Courts to resolve all your major family related legal issues, including divorce, child custody, child support, and spousal support.
Types of Divorce and Family Law Issues We Handle
At Furman & Zavatsky LLP, our Los Angeles divorce and family law lawyers provide personal attention to your case and your individual needs related to every area of California's family laws. Our law firm focuses our practice on aggressively representing the rights of individuals with all legal issues related to family law.
Our family law and divorce practice areas include child custody, child custody modification, child relocation, child support, child support modification, divorce, marriage dissolution, divorce mediation, divorce trial, domestic violence and abuse, executive divorce, father's rights, high-asset divorce, law enforcement divorce, legal separation, parental visitation rights, paternity, prenuptial agreement, property division, restraining orders, special needs children, and spousal support.
Some examples of the types of cases we regularly handle are discussed below. You need to know how to protect yourself while your divorce is pending. You also need to know the list of steps before a California divorce is finalized. Do you need an attorney for an uncontested divorce in Los Angeles? We know from experience you will have many questions. For more information, call our office today at 818-528-3471 for a free case evaluation.
Residency Requirements for a California Divorce
Typically, you would file for a divorce in the county where you live. However, you have to follow California's residency rules. Under California Family Code 2320, these rules state that you MUST have lived in California for the past six months and the county where you are filing for a divorce for the past three months.
No divorce in California is finalized unless at least six months have passed since the filing of the divorce petition and summons has been served, as stated in California Family Code 2339. If, by chance, you and your spouse have already separated and currently living in different counties, you can file for a divorce in either one.
If you don't currently meet the residency rules in California to get a divorce, you may still file for a legal separation. Our Los Angeles divorce lawyers can assist you with this process. It's important to note that California is a community property state, meaning the primary goal of a Los Angeles divorce court judge is to divide marital property in half. According to California's community property laws, any assets and debts both spouses acquire during their marriage belong to both of them equally.
This simply means both spouses must divide them equally in a divorce. There are some important steps in dividing property, including determining whether the property is separate or marital, agreeing on the total value of marital property, and making the all-important decision on how to divide the property.
Obviously, it's not uncommon for couples to disagree on the important issues of property division, child custody, and child support.
Many divorces in Los Angeles County don't always have a mutual agreement between spouses. The end results of a divorce case will have life-altering consequences. It's always possible to pursue modifications of your divorce later, but not all aspects of your divorce will apply and it's typically not an easy legal process. Our Los Angeles divorce lawyers can assist you in finding a resolution to a wide range of critical family law-related areas.
Divorce
California is a no-fault divorce state. This means any proof of misconduct is not a factor in a judge's decision on granting a divorce. Clearly, going through a divorce can be one of the most difficult times in your life. The process of getting a divorce or dissolution of your marriage means both spouses will need to make critical decisions on property division, assets, pension plans, debts, and their incomes.
Our Los Angeles divorce attorneys are experienced and dedicated to defending your best interest. For example, we can help you if your spouse is recklessly spending during the divorce process. We can also advise you on how social media can affect your divorce. Our lawyers can also help you if your spouse lies about their finances in your divorce or if you are the victim of a financial abuse..
We understand the long-term consequences of decisions you will need to make in your divorce, and it's it very important to us you receive everything you are entitled to under California law. You need to know how the court will divide your property in a divorce. Our attorneys are well-versed in California divorce and family laws, enabling us to provide you with what you are legally entitled at the end of the divorce proceedings.
In some cases, a summary dissolution may be your best option. People choose to divorce for a variety of reasons, but as a no-fault state, California does not require people who get a divorce to let the court know what those reasons are. While this fact makes it relatively easy to get divorced in California, it does not mean that the process is simple.
Before a divorce can be finalized, many important issues must be resolved, many of which could affect your life for years to come. In addition, even if you and your spouse are able to agree about the way these issues should be resolved (a situation referred to as “uncontested divorce), you should retain an attorney to ensure that your rights are fully protected and that you address all the issues that need to be addressed.
One of the most overlooked issues is the tax implications in a divorce. You need to understand who can claim the children on their federal tax return after a divorce. Our attorneys understand that compared to all the major life-altering decisions you need to make in your divorce, filing income taxes after the divorce is probably at the bottom of your list. The decisions you make now on claiming the children on your tax return could have a significant impact on your finances. We will review the situation and explain your legal options. Our Los Angeles divorce lawyers also handle divorce cases that involve special needs children.
Child Custody
Parents often have strong feelings about how their children should be raised and cherish the time that they are able to spend with them. It should come as no surprise, then, that disputes regarding child custody are among the most contentious and hard-fought in many divorces.
There are many common issues in child custody cases. When parents can't come to an agreement on the division of their child's time, it typically becomes necessary to involve the Los Angeles County Family Law Courts for the legal arrangement of child custody. When this happens, it's critical that you are represented by an experienced Los Angeles divorce and family attorney at our law firm.
With extensive experience in representing parents in contested child custody cases, we have developed effective strategies to approach the courts based on your child's best interests. Our attorneys will thoroughly review your child custody situation to make sure we approach the court with facts regarding the specific amount of time and involvement both parents share in their child's life.
It's important to note that when one parent falls short on the time requirements that are necessary for consideration as the primary caregiver, they could be ordered by the family law court judge to pay child support to the other parent. Learn how to get more visitation time with your child.
As a parent, it is important to be aware of the fact that California courts have significant discretion when making decisions about child custody and, in a dispute, the judge's decision is often made based on the evidence each parent submits. For this reason, it is critical to retain a Los Angeles child custody attorney to protect your parental visitation rights and ensure that you obtain the child custody arrangement that you are seeking.
One of the most painful aspects of a divorce is when children are involved, and child custody and visitation with the non-custodial parent need to be resolved. You need to understand the terms of your child custody order after a divorce, especially on issues of child move away, or taking your child out of the country. Additionally, in some cases, the family law court might determine that child visitation must be supervised, which can come in many different forms.
When there are any safety or welfare issues involving the child, or one parent has current or past criminal charges, the judge will always use California's best interest of the child policy to make their decision. This is especially true if there is a history of domestic violence or sexual abuse. If you are a parent who has experienced abuse, our Los Angeles divorce and family law attorneys handle custody arrangements that involve supervised child visitation, sole custody, and emergency Ex Parte child custody order.
Child Support
Child support payments are payments paid from one parent to another parent in order to help with the costs associated with raising a child. They can be court-ordered or the parents can agree to a certain amount. Child support is generally paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent, but alternative arrangements may exist as well.
While child support is generally determined using a complex calculation that takes a number of factors into account, Los Angeles family law judges still have some discretion in making final decisions regarding child support.
You may find yourself in a situation where it's a struggle to get child support from your ex-spouse and need to court to help with the enforcement of family law court orders. For these reasons, it is not advisable to forgo retaining a divorce and family attorney to represent you in a child custody dispute assuming that the judge will simply stick to the guidelines.
Child support in Los Angeles is not just a result of a divorced spouse's child custody agreement. At Furman & Zavatsky LLP, our Los Angeles child support lawyers have been successful in increasing the amount of child support payments for parents with primary care. We understand the legal process of holding parents accountable for the well-being of their children.
There are cases where one parent who is seeking child support needs to locate and test a father to prove paternity and their legal obligation under California law to help raise their child financially. Our lawyers have seen situations where fathers who were located become committed to doing much more than simply paying monthly child support.
Some of these located fathers decide they want to play an important role in raising their children. In fact, some even want to pursue legal visitation rights by making a contract agreement.
In other words, they are excited to be a father and have a strong desire to help raise their child. In these types of cases, our divorce attorneys can provide skilled father's rights defense to assist them in becoming a better father.
In other types of child support cases, the grandparents of the child want to become more involved in the child's quality of life as they grow up.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the rights of grandparents only become an issue when one of the child's parents is not keeping up with their legal obligation to provide adequate support for the child. Our attorneys have seen cases where grandparents are the child's best parenting option.
You need to understand California's Family Code 4053 and know when child support ends. In any type of child support case, our Los Angeles divorce lawyers will aggressively uphold your legal rights in securing the amount of child support you are entitled and can even help you with enforcing child support payments from a delinquent parent.
The first step is to let our attorneys review all the specific details of your divorce and child support issues in order to determine the best legal strategy moving forward.
Spousal Support
Spousal support, commonly known as alimony, are payments from one spouse to another based on a legal separation or divorce order from the Los Angeles Family Law Court. We are often asked: Can you get spousal support in California? The answer is yes as it's designed to assist a financially disadvantaged spouse to enjoy a similar standard of living after their marriage has ended.
You need to know how the courts decide alimony in Los Angeles County. In most cases, the spouse who earns the most income is ordered by the court to pay spousal support to their ex-spouse. If you are seeking to get spousal support or you believe you might be held responsible for paying spousal support, our Los Angeles divorce and family law attorneys can represent your best interest in court in order to secure a fair judgment.
It's important to note that spousal support is not a right or even a guarantee. Its purpose is not to punish one spouse for bad behavior during their marriage. It's also not some type of financial reward for tolerating misconduct by one spouse while married. In fact, under California's Family Code, Section 4320, it specifically says that marital misbehavior will have no impact on any financial resolution in a divorce.
As stated above, it's important to remember that California is a no-fault state. This means the primary reason for any spousal support is purely financial and to make sure both spouses can maintain a standard of living after the marriage ends to something that is least close to the standard of living that was established during the marriage.
In California, the family law judge has a lot of discretion in making decisions on spousal support. Therefore, it's important to have a good understanding of what specific factors might impact the support you receive or ordered to pay.
There are two types of spousal support in California. Temporary spousal support, which is commonly known as “pending litigation” support, is money paid to your spouse until a final agreement is reached, or until a final order of divorce is entered in the Los Angeles family law court. The amount is decided at your initial hearing.
Permanent spousal support is financial support to your spouse for an indefinite period of time in a specific amount that can possibly be modified later if the circumstances change for either the spouse responsible for paying, or the spouse who is receiving the spousal support. In most cases, a divorce will have a significant impact on the finances of either spouse because their combined incomes are now separate income.
In the majority of divorces, one spouse earns more income than the other, but they shared both incomes during their marriage. This typically means the spouse who earned less, will suffer a greater hardship. It might also be possible to receive palimony, which is compensation that one partner of an unmarried couple makes to the other after separation.
You should contact a Los Angeles divorce lawyer at our law firm to review your spousal support situation. Under California law, there are provisions to ensure that one spouse is not left poverty-stricken by a divorce in cases where they can show they were financially dependent on the other spouse.
In determining a request for spousal support, a family law court judge who is hearing the divorce case will consider many different factors. These factors include the length of the marriage, relative earnings and earning capacity of each spouse, ages of both spouses, whether there was any domestic violence, and physical and emotional conditions of each spouse.
