Frequently Asked Questions
Divorce
How long does it take to get divorced?
If you and your spouse are in full agreement, cooperative, and available, the process could be done in one month (but under California law, your divorce would not be effective for about six months). If there are some issues, but they are worked out, it might take about six months. A more complicated and contested one could take a year, two or more (for the most hotly contested and complicated divorces only).
There are alternative solutions to divorcing that while may not be appropriate for your situation, you will want to explore. Collaborative divorce, a newer concept, is aimed towards resolution from the start. Legal separation provides an alternative to those who do not wish their marital status changed, at least not yet, but wish to have order placed on their lives concerning custody, support, property, and restraining orders. Nullity or annulment is available for a tiny percentage of relationships where, for example, there was bigamy or other substantial problems from the inception.
Custody
If my husband is the sole bread-winner of the family, will he automatically get full custody of the children?
No. Issues of financial wherewithal are handled through support orders. The best interests of the child are paramount in determining custodial arrangements. Custody is determined on a case by case, child by child basis. Sometimes shared or joint custody arrangements are made, whereas in other situations, one parent is the primary custodial parent, and the other parent, has a certain percentage of scheduled timeshare with the children. Immediate orders can be obtained where necessary for the protection of the child.
Support
How do I know if I am entitled to spousal support?
Spousal support orders consider numerous factors, including, the length of the marriage, the earnings of each party, the established lifestyle during the marriage, the health, age, and education of the parties, whether there has been domestic violence, and several other factors. The longer the marriage, the more likely a spousal support order will be issued, at least for some period of time.
There are two basic concepts in spousal support (formerly referred to as "alimony"): jurisdiction to award support and actual support orders. A marriage of ten years or more is presumed to require the Court's maintenance of jurisdiction (power) to award support, regardless of whether actual support orders are found to be necessary. However, marriages of less than ten years, frequently result in both a maintenance of jurisdiction and actual support orders.
Unreported Income
My husband (or wife) works "under the table." He does not report most of his income on our annual tax returns. I believe that he may deny that this cash income exists. I am afraid that I will not be able to get enough child or spousal support/alimony to live on.
This question concerns a lot of people and the courts are very familiar with this issue. There are several ways to prove that someone is earning money and there are severe consequences for a spouse who is proven to have lied to the court or his spouse about his actual income.
Businesses
A substantial amount of income of our business is not included on the books. My spouse knows it. Is this income, which bypasses the books, included if and when the business is valued for purposes of division?
Yes. Income of the business means just that. The issue of not including it in the books, or having a "second set" of books, may raise substantial tax issues, but the family law court will expect that all of the income of the business will be included in a contested case, and you can bet that one of the spouses will likely want it too.
Attorneys Fees
My husband just left me. I have no money. He has a lot of money. How do I get an attorney?
There are several alternatives in a family law setting provided for by law to help you get an attorney. Attorneys in family law matters have several ways to get paid, including having, by contested Court Order if necessary, your spouse pay for your fees.
Paternity
I was never married to the other parent of my child. I want to be able to see my child. I have been unable to resolve this issue despite my previous attempts to do so. What can I do?
A paternity action can establish who the parents are, what the custodial and timeshare rights are, and who pays child support and how much.
Settlement
My spouse and I wish to resolve things without a lot of expense. Neither of us wish to fight. We want to have our divorce completed quickly and without a lot of expense. What can we do?
This is a very good start. Agreements can be reached concerning all aspects of the relationship (marital status, custody, support, property, etc.). So long as both parties wish to work together towards a resolution, the process can be less painful, less expensive and, most importantly, less damaging to the children, if you have children.
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