Resident attorney Deborah E. Jurgensen is a general practitioner, with an emphasis in Family Law. Family Law is a broad term that encompasses primarily dissolution of marriage (formerly known as divorce), child custody and support and spousal support.

California has “no fault” divorce – meaning a married couple can end their marriage based on what they term'irreconcilable differences.'
Many moons ago, one had to allege a pretty dark reason to get the court’s approval to divorce such as accusing the other spouse of adultery, alcoholism or insanity.

California is a community property state – one of only eight of our fifty states with this kind of marital property scheme. Community property is all property acquired by a husband or wife, while married and living in California, that is not separate property. (See Family Code Section 760)

Separate property is property either party owned before marriage, or received during marriage through inheritance. Thus, community property is pretty all encompassing. If one spouse works outside the home for wages, and the other stays home with children, for example, any wages earned by the spouse outside the home are considered community wages, including any pensions earned. One spouse may not shield their income the other spouse by putting it in their own name, or transferring it to someone else (with some exceptions such as income derived from property owned before marriage). The injured spouse can set these kinds of transfers aside.

In addition, if there are children, both parents are presumed to be fit for custody and control of the minor children.
Long gone are the days when custody was automatically awarded to the mother. The court looks to what is the best interest of the child, and promoting stability for the child.
For example if a child or children of the marriage have always attended a neighborhood school, and staying with one parent in that neighborhood would afford the child stability and continuity, all other things being equal, the court will give strong consideration to continuing the child(ren) is their neighborhood school.

Parents are responsible for the care and support of their children until they reach the age of majority, which is l8 in California, or up to age 22 if the child stays in school.

Each parent must contribute to the care and support and courts look to the income level of each parent before determining child support obligations.

Spousal support can also be awarded in dissolution cases (formerly termed “alimony”) – but it is not automatic.
The spouse requesting spousal support has to make a showing to the court’s satisfaction that he or she is entitled to spousal support. Factors the court considers include length of the marriage, each spouse’s income, whether one spouse gave up a career to stay home with minor children, the lifestyle and circumstances during the marriage and other factors.

Dissolution is nosy business. Parties will have to provide the court with income and expense declarations, and further intimate information if there is a custody dispute. A modern trend in family law is “Collaborative Family Law” - a process where the parties and their attorneys agree to work details out with as little stress as possible – a kindler, gentler approach. If parties can set aside any bitterness, grudges and history, the collaborative approach is terrific– especially when there are children involved. No matter what kind of split parties with children may have, the advice best taken is DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE SPLIT IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN. EVER!