Frequently Asked Questions About Family Law:

WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA?  California employs a "no-fault" divorce concept. A Dissolution of Marriage (divorce) can be granted if the Court finds that "irreconcilable differences" have led to an "irremediable breakdown" of the marriage, and that no waiting period, counseling or assistance by the Court would help to reconcile the marriage. A divorce can be granted if one spouse desires to terminate the marriage and the other does not.
WHAT ARE THE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING A DIVORCE? At least one of the spouses must have been a continuous resident of the State of California for at least six months and a continuous resident of the County where the case is filed for at least three months prior to filing the divorce case.
WHAT IS AN ANNULMENT?  An annulment is a proceeding to nullify a marriage from its inception, and is granted only in extraordinary cases on very limited grounds. The most common grounds for annulment are fraud and bigamy. Trials are always required in annulment cases. It is wise when filing for an annulment to also ask in the Petition for a divorce, in case the Court determines that the facts of the case do not qualify for an annulment.
HOW IS CHILD SUPPORT DETERMINED? Child Support in California is determined according to the Child Support Guideline, a complicated mathematical formula mandated for use by all California Courts by the legislature since 1992, in order that people in one court or county get treated the same as people with similar circumstances  in another court or county. Child support is based on the parties' respective incomes and their time-share of their children. The Courts and attorneys use computer programs to determine Guideline Child Support.  Certain factors may affect the amount of child support ordered, including but not limited to certain hardships, the need to support minor children of other relationships, health problems, child care expenses to enable a spouse to work or attain an education, as well as other factors.
HOW LONG IS CHILD SUPPORT PAID?  Child support must be paid until the child becomes 18, unless the child has not yet graduated from high school in which case child support continues until the child has graduated from high school or turns 19, whichever first occurs. The law does not empower judges to make a parent support a child beyond that point, unless the child is physically or mentally disabled.
CAN COURTS DELAY THE SALE OF THE FAMILY RESIDENCE?  Where children are involved, the custodial parent may or may not, depending on circumstances and the existence of other assets, be allowed to live in the residence with the children for a specified period of time after the divorce is finalized. If so allowed, during that period of time, the spouse who lives in the home is usually required to make all mortgage, property tax and homeowners insurance payment when due. The house must be sold when there are no longer any minor children of the parties residing in the house or on any date or occurrence of any contingency specified by the parties or the Court.
WHAT IS SPOUSAL SUPPORT AND HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?  Spousal Support used to be referred to as "Alimony." Spousal Support is usually set two times during a case, initially as temporary support pending trial, and finally, at time of trial or settlement. Whereas Child Support is uniformly  set across the state of California by the Child Support Guideline, each county employs its own (or another county's adopted) Temporary Spousal Support guideline, which provides a proposed amount (as opposed to a mandatory amount) for Temporary Spousal Support pending trial. The purpose of Temporary Spousal Support is to maintain the "status quo" pending trial. Permanent Spousal Support is usually not the same amount as Temporary Spousal Support, and is based on a large number of factors, including the marital lifestyle of the parties, the income and assets of each, the duration of the marriage, and other factors too detailed to set forth here. For marriages of short duration, the Court generally awards Permanent Spousal Support for approximately half the length of the marriage. For long duration marriages (usually those of 10 years or more), the Court generally awards Permanent Spousal Support until death or remarriage.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A DIVORCE?  The time to obtain a divorce varies from a minimum of six months to a couple of years in most instances, or even longer in extraordinary cases. The divorce is final when the Judge signs the Judgment of Dissolution and the Judgment is entered.
MUST I GET DIVORCED IN COURT?  Yes, it is necessary for a person who wants a divorce to file an action for Dissolution of Marriage, to have necessary papers (including a Petition and a Summons) properly served on the other spouse, and to have the case processed by the Court, whether the case is settled by the parties, or tried before the Court.  If it is settled, the process can usually be accomplished without the necessity of a hearing.  All parties are required to comply with a disclosure requirement imposed by the legislature to ensure that each party apprises the other party during the case of his or her assets, obligations, income and expenses before the Court will let the case proceed to judgment. If the other spouse fails to respond to the Petition within the allowable 30 day response time, a party may proceed by default, in which case, the other spouse will then not be allowed to participate in the case.
WHAT IS A SEPARATION, AND WHAT IS A LEGAL SEPARATION?  "Separation" is different from a "Legal Separation". Separation occurs when one spouse decides that the marriage is over with no present intention of resuming the marriage. Usually, some overt act or communication is required in order to separate, and parties may differ as to when separation occurred. Once a separation has occurred, the parties' earnings become their separate property, instead of community property. A Legal Separation is totally different from a separation. It is a legal status similar to that of a Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce), where all issues other than marital status are resolved but the parties remain married, i.e., the Court sets the rights and responsibilities of the parties with respect to child custody, child support, visitation, spousal support (alimony), property and debts, but they remain married to each other. Legal Separation is also known as "Separate Maintenance". A Legal Separation case can be converted into a Divorce case before a Judgment of Legal Separation has been entered.
WHO GET CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN AND WHY?  Unless the parties agree between themselves as to custody, the Judge makes a determination of what custody arrangement is in the "best interest of the child."  The Judge will make a decision as to Legal custody (the person who is empowered to make major decisions concerning the child's health, education and welfare, whether sole or joint), and as to Physical custody (where the child will reside - whether sole or joint). Many factors go into the determination of the child's best interests, including bonding, degree of participation in the child's life, issues concerning appropriateness of conduct or lifestyle of a parent, abuse, etc. Sometimes the Court may refer the matter to a psychologist to evaluate and test the parties and the children to assist the Court in making its decision.