Family Law Litigation/Unbundled Services   When mediation and collaborative negotiation are not practicable or suitable for your situation we continue to offer traditional litigation services. Our attorney’s stand committed to vigorously representing your interests while being mindful of our overall philosophy of, where possible, resolving cases to the benefit of our clients. An Overview of the Litigated Divorce Process     Since 1970 the process of divorce in California has been known as a 'Dissolution of Marriage'. In a dissolution action the parties are referred to as the 'Petitioner' and the 'Respondent'. The Petitioner is the spouse who initiates the dissolution proceedings, either the Husband or the Wife. The other spouse, who is responding to the request for dissolution, is the Respondent.   Initiating the Process: A dissolution proceeding begins with one party filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The Petition is then served (typically personally) upon the responding party. The date of service of the Petition on the Respondent is a significant date, as it signifies the commencement of the required six-month waiting period between the start of a dissolution and eligibility to request that the marital status of the parties be terminated.   The Dissolution process includes all issues relating to dissolving your marriage, including identifying and dividing community assets and debts, making determinations about custody and visitation and the financial aspects of your divorce to include addressing any requests for child or spousal support. If all issues are not resolved at the end of the six-month period, and you would like your marital status terminated, you may proceed to terminate the status of your marriage by requesting a bifurcation of the marital status. If, the other party does not voluntarily agree to do this then this request would need to be made by noticed motion. It is important to note, that until your marital status is terminated you are not free to re-marry. Once the other spouse has been served they have thirty (30) in which to file a Response to the Petition for Dissolution. If there are immediate concerns that need to be addressed such as custody, child support, spousal support, and property control issues or restraining orders, it is customary to file an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to obtain a hearing date for temporary orders on these issues. At the time of the hearing on the Order to Show Cause temporary orders may be made. This may include orders as to which spouse will have primary physical custody of the children, what amount of support should be paid by one spouse to the other spouse and whether or not one spouse should be excluded from the former marital residence. These orders are temporary and are designed to provide some degree of stability during what is a traumatic period for all parties. Exchanging Documents: Thereafter the parties are obligated under California law to exchange a Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure, which will include a current Income and Expense Declaration and a completed Schedule of Assets and Debts together with the appropriate attachments. Depending upon the facts and the amount of voluntary disclosure that has been made it may be necessary to engage in a process called Discovery. The process of Discovery is designed to obtain the information that will be necessary to resolve all issues by way of a Marital Settlement Agreement or in the event that no agreement is reached by a contested trial. The process of Discovery can be time absorbing and therefore expensive to clients. Obviously, the amount of expense involved will be determined by how extensive the Discovery process is. Typically, Form Interrogatories being served on the other parties will suffice. Form Interrogatories are a list of questions that address a number of different areas regarding the marital relationship that must be answered together with any supporting documentation. This form of discovery may be inadequate where there is less cooperation and it may be necessary to implore other discovery techniques such as Subpoenas, Demand for Copying and Inspection of Documents, and Depositions. The attorney will discuss with you the appropriateness or otherwise of any of these discovery tools and the additional costs that may be involved.   Settlement or Trial: Once the Preliminary Declaration of Disclosures have been exchanged and/or discovery completed the parties are in a position to draft a Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA). This is an agreement that will be reached between you and your spouse drafted by the attorney's, which will provide for the division of community assets and debts, custody and visitation, and support for children and/or spouse. Where the parties have arrived at such an agreement, that agreement is incorporated into a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage, which is signed by a Judge and made an order of the court. No personal appearance may be required of either party at a hearing if this process is followed. A more complex dissolution proceeding where there is little cooperation or trust between the parties, may have to be set for Settlement Conference and Trial. Please rest assured that as regards our office attempts will always be made to try and settle your case without the necessity of going to Settlement Conference and Trial, but sometimes that is the only option and when that is the only option we will aggressively advocate your position.   A trial date will not be requested until the entire discovery is completed. Depending on which County your case is from there may be a local rule that requires attendance at a mandatory Settlement Conference before the Trial date. The mandatory Settlement Conference is a last opportunity for the case to be resolved before going to trial. You will typically have the assistance of a temporary Judge at this proceeding. If the case does not resolve at Settlement Conference the matter will proceed to trial.  At trial you will present your witnesses: you may testify, experts may testify regarding the value of property or assets such as retirement accounts or the value of any business. An expert may be called to provide the court with advice regarding custody and visitation. After hearing the evidence the court will make a ruling and a Judgment will be entered which will be binding on all parties.   Final Points: The above information is intended to provide you with a very general guide through the process of a Dissolution of Marriage. The amount of time and effort involved in a particular dissolution proceeding may vary greatly depending upon the parties and the issues presented. It is important for client’s to realize that while their case may have similarities with that of a friend or colleague there are oftentimes subtle nuances that will mean the outcome will be very different. It is important to bear in mind that each case turns upon its particular facts and circumstances. We believe that the more informed a client is about the general process the more likely their expectations may reflect more realistic goals as to their divorce process and coping with delays’ that were not anticipated and additional costs. Limited Scope Representation Recognizing the high cost of Family law litigation we try to provide clients with cost effective alternatives to full service representation.  We therefore offer clients with more limited resources “Limited Scope Representation.” This way a client who is possibly unable to retain our office for an entire divorce or proceeding may retain our services for an important Order to Show Cause Hearing, or to draft a Marital Settlement Agreement, or to simply help draft Responses for hearings or Answers to Discovery. Such client’s no longer have to be turned away frustrated at the high cost of “full service” representation thus jeopardizing important legal positions but  may now elect a modified service that meets their immediate needs, legal representation within their current financial circumstances. Child Support Child Support is a parent’s first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor child(ren). Each parent has an equal responsibility to support the child(ren). The state of California has a mandatory uniform child support guideline to determine the amount of child support. The court cannot deviate from this guideline amount unless it finds a different amount other then the guideline amount is in the child's best interest or the application of the guideline amount is unjust for number of reasons specified in the Family Code. The guideline formula takes into account a number of different factors. However, it is important to note that the child support guideline formula does not take into account your expenses such as rent, food, car payment, insurance or credit card obligations. Therefore the court has no power (except in very limited circumstances) to consider expenses. In general terms child support is based on the gross income of the parties, and the percentage of time that each child spends with each parent. Other factors may include mandatory deductions for health insurance, union dues and retirement. If you would like to have your California guideline child support calculated please do not hesitate to contact our office. A wage assignment will be ordered at the time the order for support is made. The wage assignment is then served on the payor's place of employment and the employer is required by law to honor the wage assignment and deduct the child support from the payor's wages or salary. The party receiving child support does not report child support as income for federal and state tax purposes and the party paying child support is not entitled to take a deduction for child support payments Custody and Visitation     Every party who has a dispute about custody or visitation in California must attend mandatory Custody Mediation. Mandatory mediation is designed to provide the parties an opportunity to meet with a neutral qualified professional to address their concerns regarding custody and visitation. Mediation is not designed to be an adversarial process. Often time's parties are able to reach an agreement in mediation with the assistance of a good mediator. However, in the event an agreement cannot be reached between the parties and depending upon which County your case is from the mediator may make a recommendation to the court as to what they believe is in the best interest of your minor child(ren). This recommendation may be reached after their interview and assessment of your, minor child(ren), and any collateral contacts including day care providers and school personnel. You will be provided an opportunity to provide collateral information such as letters, photographs, calendars that you think may be relevant to the mediator's decision, provided you have served a copy of that documentation on the opposing party, otherwise the mediator will not consider your information. A judge must give custody to one or both of the parents, or, in some cases, another adult based on the best interest of the child(ren). Factors considered include the child(ren)s health, safety, and welfare as well as any history of abuse by one parent. If custody is awarded to a non-parent, the judge would have to believe that giving custody to either parent would be detrimental or harmful to the children. The court will consider what a child(ren) wants if the child(ren) "is of sufficient age and capacity to reason." The judge is not required to follow the child(ren) wishes. It may be difficult to determine a child(ren) true wishes if the child(ren) have been coached by one or both of the parents. Legal Custody: the right and the responsibility to make decisions relating to the health, education and welfare of a child(ren). Physical Custody: the right and responsibility to make day to day decisions effecting a child(ren). Joint Legal Custody:  means that both parents shall share the right and responsibility to make decisions relating to the health, education and welfare of the child(ren).  It is common, absent good reason, for the court to order joint legal custody. The purpose of joint legal custody is to allow both parents to have the right to take part in major decisions affecting their child(ren). Joint Physical Custody: means that each parent will have a significant period of physical custody. Joint physical custody shall be shared by the parents in such a way as to ensure the child of frequent and continuing contact with both parents. It does not mean that the child(ren) must spend equal amounts of time with each parent. Sole Physical Custody:  means the child(ren) shall reside with and under the supervision of one parent, subject to the power of the court to order visitation to the other parent. Domestic Violence     Domestic violence is defined as violence that occurs in the home typically between spouses, family members, or partners. In most Counties the court has adopted procedures that permit us to go into court on an emergency basis and request emergency orders to protect victims of domestic violence, without notice to the perpetrators. These emergency orders include residence exclusion orders, stay away orders from the victim’s school, work, and home as well as temporary custody orders if children are involved. In order to get a long-term temporary restraining order the victim must prove that they are afraid of the perpetrator based on past incidents of abuse and the threat of future incidents of abuse. The grant of a permanent restraining order grants the victim protection in the event the perpetrator tries to violate it the police may be called and the perpetrator arrested. There are consequences to the alleged perpetrator of a permanent restraining order to include child custody and parenting time restrictions that may be imposed, your ability to carry firearms will be restricted and it may negatively impact your ability to obtain certain Federal and State employment positions or licenses. In addition if it alleged you violated the restraining order you may find yourself facing criminal charges. Whether you have been accused of domestic violence or you believe you are the victim of domestic violence it is important that you seek legal advice relating to the specifics of your case. Paternity     Paternity is defined as: the state or condition of being a father. This type of action arises when parties, who were never legally married to each other, are the parents of a child. Either the mother or the father can file a Petition to Establish Parental Relationship. The Petition can be filed before the child is born and the other parent can be made responsible for certain prenatal costs once paternity is established after the birth of the child. Once paternity is established the court now has jurisdiction to make decisions regarding support, custody and parenting time. It is important if there is any question or lingering concern about paternity that you request a blood test. If, you fail to ask for a blood test and a Judgment of Paternity is established against you, you will not be permitted to challenge the paternity of the child years down the road if those doubts arise again. If, a default Paternity action was taken against you, there may be limited relief to request blood tests after a Judgment of Paternity has been entered. If, you have more questions in this area please contact our office.