Child Custody
When a couple has children, and the relationship ends, the couple needs to determine where their children will live and who will make decisions concerning those children. Physical custody refers to where (with which parent) the child lives. “Timeshare” refers to the amount of time (expressed as a percentage) that the child actually spends with each parent. Courts make a broad range of custody orders. Legal custody refers to who makes decisions about the child’s health, education, extracurricular activities, and more. Courts make a broad range of custody orders: A Judge may order pure “joint” custody where parents have equal custodial time (physical custody) and equal decision-making authority (legal custody). On the other end of the spectrum, a Judge may order very limited visitation (as little as a few hours per week of supervised visitation) with one parent and primary legal custody to the other parent.
Child Support
Child support in California is based on a mathematical formula strictly applied (with very limited variation) by courts based on each spouse’s income (or earning capacity and the amount of time each parent spends with the child. While W-2 income is easy to prove, a self-employed spouse’s income generally requires gathering evidence and proving the spouse’s income. Our firm has the expertise to ensure fair child support orders, including modification of an existing order based on outdated or plainly false evidence.
Temporary Spousal Support
Spousal support (while the divorce is pending) is paid by the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse in order to allow the supported spouse to maintain the marital standard of living. The amount of spousal support a court may order is not formulaic, rather many factors affect the court’s decision. Divorce310 is experienced in representing clients to achieve their goals relative to spousal support orders, whether a spouse wishes to increase, decrease, or terminate spousal support.
Permanent Spousal Support
Spousal support (alimony after divorce judgment) is paid by the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse in order to allow the supported spouse to maintain the marital standard of living. The amount of spousal support a court may order is not formulaic, rather many factors affect the court’s decision. Divorce310 is experienced in representing clients to achieve their goals relative to spousal support orders, whether a spouse wishes to increase, decrease, or terminate spousal support.
Domestic Violence
Courts may issue domestic violence restraining orders prohibiting a spouse from physically attacking, harassing (including phone calls), destroying personal property, or disturbing the peace of another party. High conflict divorce and child custody frequently involve allegations (real and imagined) of domestic violence.
Property Division
California is a community property state, which means that all property acquired during the marriage by a married person is presumably the property of both spouses. Exceptions to this rule are when property is purchased (during marriage) with the separate property of one spouse or property is gifted to a spouse during marriage. After separation, property acquired by either spouse is separate property. The salary and earnings of either spouse belongs to both spouses (the community), even if the money is deposited into a separate bank account. Similarly, a business established by either spouse during marriage is community property. A home purchased during marriage is likely community property and relatively simple to divide. If a home is purchased by a spouse before marriage and mortgage payments are made (using community funds) during marriage, the analysis is more complicated.
Mediation
“Mediation” is a process in which a neutral person, the mediator, facilitates communication between spouses in order to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement. Evid. Code §1115(a). A “neutral person” is one who lacks decision making authority.
Civil Litigation
The firm represents individuals in a broad range of civil matters during all phases of litigation, ranging from pre-litigation negotiation, mediation, discovery, and trial if necessary. Contact Divorce310 to discuss a strategy to achieve your objectives.
Attorney Fee Disputes
If your former lawyer is attempting to collect legal fees, or you believe you paid too much money for your lawyer, then you may have a right to compel (force) the lawyer into participating fee arbitration. Compared to litigating in court, arbitration is a relatively informal type of trial which results in an “award” which is similar to a court’s judgment. Time is of the essence if you are involved in an attorney fee dispute. Contact David Weber to discuss the particular circumstances of your case.