Los Angeles Family and Divorce Overview
When your family is in the middle of a legal crisis, dealing with family law and divorce issues can often seem overwhelming, especially if you are not familiar with how the legal systems works. At Furman & Zavatsky LLP, our experienced Los Angeles family law attorneys will guide you through your legal options and provide answers to your important questions about a variety of decisions that will impact your future and the future of your family.
Whether you need to decide how to handle child custody, divorce, how to collect child support, or just not sure on issues involving the impending dissolution of your marriage, our family law lawyers will protect your rights and ensure that your best interests are always represented.
California family law is complex, and the legal system can be difficult to navigate. Family law covers many areas, including divorce, child support, child custody, alimony (i.e. spousal support), marital property distribution, and enforcement of court orders. California does not allow a common law marriage.
These issues can touch upon the most important aspects of your life and legal disputes related to them can be acrimonious and difficult to resolve without the assistance of an attorney. There are some key steps to take when a divorce is on the horizon.
If you are currently involved in a dispute related to family law, you need an experienced family law attorney on your side representing you throughout your case. Our experienced Los Angeles family law attorneys can assist you at every stage of your case and help to bring about a favorable resolution of disputed issues. We also handle cases involving domestic violence and restraining orders.
Divorce in California
California is a ‘no-fault' divorce state. This means that a court may grant a divorce based upon ‘irreconcilable differences,' as opposed to on fault grounds such as infidelity or abandonment. Read some tip on how to tell your spouse you want a divorce. California law imposes a six-month mandatory waiting period in divorce cases, and a divorce decree cannot be signed at any time before the expiration of that six-month period.
For some couples, the fear of divorce expense keeps them unhappily married. Better understanding the fees for a California divorce will give you an idea about how much it will likely cost.
Our Los Angeles divorce lawyers have extensive experience handling all aspects of divorce, including divorce mediation, divorce process, executive divorce, high asset divorce, law enforcement divorce, military divorce, legal separation, collaborative divorce, physician divorce, bifurcation divorce, high-conflict divorce, senior citizen divorce, and uncontested divorce. See related information: Divorce and Immigration Status.
Child Support and Alimony
California courts use child support guidelines to determine a non-custodial parent's child support obligation. Courts can deviate from these guidelines on a case-by-case basis, depending upon the circumstances. It might be possible to get long-term alimony or terminate spousal support payments.
As a result, if you are involved in a child support dispute, you should retain legal counsel to ensure that your case is resolved as favorably as possible. In some cases, a subpoena may be needed. Our Los Angeles divorce attorneys also handle issues involving child support modification.
A California court may also award alimony (or spousal support) under certain circumstances. In making a decision in regard to alimony, courts consider a variety of factors, including the following:
- The earning capacity of each spouse and the standard of living that was established during the marriage or partnership
- The length of the marriage or domestic partnership
- Whether there was any domestic violence during the marriage
- The age and health of the parties
- The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support, taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living
- The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party
Child Custody and Visitation
When the parties to a divorce case have minor children, a divorce decree will make provisions for legal and physical custody of the parties' children. Either type of custody may be joint (shared) or sole. All custody and visitation decisions are based upon the best interest of the child standard.
Our law firm also handles issues involving child custody modification, child relocation, infant custody, and parental visitation rights. Sometimes, a child might refuse visitation with the other parent. California gives some protection for grandparents who want to make sure they are able to keep in contact with their grandchildren in the future.
When determining the best interests of the child, some of the factors a court may consider include the following:
- The child's age
- If old enough to express a meaningful preference, the preference of the child
- The relationship of the child's parents and any other persons who may significantly affect the child's welfare
- The capacity of each parent to cooperate in childcare
- Any history of domestic violence
- The stability of any proposed living arrangements for the child
- The effect on the child if one parent has sole authority over the child's upbringing
- The motivation of the parties involved and their capacities to give the child love, affection, and guidance
When one spouse has sole physical custody of the children, the other parent will normally be entitled to reasonable visitation rights. See related information: Father's Rights. In some cases, the judge might order supervised child visitation. Child custody and visitation orders may be modified if one of the following events occurs:
- One parent moves out-of-state or somewhere else far away
- The needs of the children change, including educational, extra-curricular, and health needs
- One of the party's financial circumstances changes significantly
Distribution of Community Property and Responsibility for Community Debts
When parties acquire high-value assets and debts over the course of their marriage, distribution of the parties' community property and responsibility for community debts usually becomes an issue. Community property and community debt refers to assets and debts acquired by one or both parties over the course of their marriage.
Under California law, each spouse owns 50% of the spouses' community property and 50% of the spouses' community debt.
Gifts or inheritances acquired by one spouse during the marriage – or assets acquired before the marriage – are considered individual property, as opposed to community property. The parties can agree on how to distribute community property themselves, such as rental properties.
However, as with child support, custody, visitation, and alimony, if the parties cannot agree of property division themselves, then the court will decide the issue for them. Suppose wasteful dissipation of marital assets has occurred during your divorce. In that case, we can help you.
Contact a Los Angeles Family Law Attorney
California divorce lawyers at Furman & Zavatsky provide experienced and knowledgeable representation to clients throughout the Greater Los Angeles area in all aspects of family law. We dedicate our extensive resources and in-depth knowledge to helping you reach the best outcome for your case. California family law courts require a mandatory declaration of financial disclosures must be exchanged between in divorce cases.
Family Law is one of the most complex areas of law. In California, after divorce papers are served, the judge will typically hold a temporary hearing to make interim orders related to how you will manage during the process. Having the right family law attorney on your side is crucial to your success. We can help you avoid the common mistakes when planning a divorce. If you need help with attorney fees in a divorce proceedings, California Family Code § 2030 allows you to ask the judge to divide the expenses of the litigation.
Navigating the California family court system and resolving disputed family law issues can be challenging, and our experienced Los Angeles family law attorneys are here to assist you with your case. To schedule a free case evaluation with one of our Los Angeles family law lawyers, contact us today at 818-528-3471.