Family law, with an eye on what happens after the case.

There is a mandatory six-month waiting period from the date the respondent is served (or appears) before a marriage can legally be terminated. Nothing finalizes faster than six months, even by full agreement. An uncontested matter with a complete written settlement often concludes at roughly that mark. A contested case involving disputed custody, a family business, real property or support disagreements commonly runs twelve to twenty-four months in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The waiting period is a floor, not an estimate.

By the best interests of the child, a standard set out in Family Code § 3011 that directs the court to weigh the child’s health, safety and welfare, any history of abuse, habitual substance abuse, and the nature and amount of contact with both parents. California distinguishes legal custody (authority over decisions about schooling, health care and religion) from physical custody (where the child lives), and either can be joint or sole. Contested custody matters are generally routed to mandatory Child Custody Recommending Counseling before a judge decides.

Child support is set by a statewide algebraic guideline formula (implemented in software the courts use) driven principally by each parent’s net disposable income and the percentage of time each has the child. Departures from guideline are permitted but must be justified. Temporary spousal support is commonly calculated by local guideline formula; long-term spousal support is different, requiring the court to weigh the fourteen factors in Family Code § 4320, including the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, and each spouse’s earning capacity. Accurate income disclosure is fundamental to all of it.

California is a community property state: assets and debts acquired during the marriage are generally owned equally, and the community estate is divided equally on dissolution. Property owned before marriage, or received during it by gift or inheritance, is generally separate. The difficulty is almost never the rule. It is characterization and tracing: a house bought before marriage but paid down with community earnings, a business founded before but grown during, a retirement account that spans both. Those questions are where the real work sits.

Yes. Custody, visitation and support orders are modifiable on a showing of a material change in circumstances: a relocation, a substantial change in income, a change in the child’s needs, or a parent’s change in circumstances. Support in particular should be revisited when income changes materially, because an order does not adjust itself and arrears accrue at ten percent statutory interest. Waiting to file is expensive: modifications are generally effective from the filing date, not from when the change actually happened.