All California couples with minor children who are ending their marriages must prepare a joint parenting plan, sometimes called a "custody and visitation agreement." Some divorcing spouses use child custody and visitation issues as weapons to bludgeon the other spouse...
Comprehensive, Effective
Family Solutions
Firm News
Tips for getting custody of your pet in a California divorce
In light of the new California law that treats pets like family in divorce, you have a lot to consider when splitting up. If you see your dog, cat, guinea pig or snake as your own family, you want to keep as much custody as possible. The last thing you want is to lose...
Guidelines for dividing assets and debt in a California divorce
California courts usually expect divorcing couples to prepare a mutually agreeable plan for splitting their assets and debts. However, some couples cannot reach such an agreement, and the court is required to step in. Couples also misunderstand the effect of the...
Understanding the differences between a divorce and an annulment
When married couples in Sacramento decide to end their marriages, they most commonly think that a divorce is their only option. In most cases, this assumption is correct. Other factors, however, may make an annulment a preferable option. Apart from the procedures that...
Enforcing an order for spousal support in California
The subject of spousal support can be one of the most contentious issues in any divorce in Sacramento County. When the court issues its final order declaring the parties to be divorced and setting an amount and schedule for alimony payments, many people feel that the...
Law concerning custody of pets takes effect on January 1
California's community property laws can present unexpected issues in a divorce. How does a couple divide a valuable work of art? Or divide a valuable antique piece of furniture? And what about the family dog or cat or parrot? Until this past year, California judges...
How mediation can ease the stress of getting divorced
Most Sacramento residents who are contemplating a divorce are aware that the process is often stressful, emotionally painful and exhausting. What many people in this position do not realize, however, is that using a divorce mediator can make the divorce process far...
What happens if one spouse does not sign the divorce papers?
Divorce has many challenges. Those difficulties will only compound if one spouse does not want to sign the proper paperwork. California has recently passed new laws, some of which will make the divorce process simpler. However, many spouses believe they cannot...
Lawyer Avenatti ordered to give luxury assets to wife in divorce
Michael Avenatti is a Los Angeles attorney who has garnered an outsize share of media coverage in the last several months by representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her dispute with President Donald Trump about an affair she allegedly had with him several...
Hiding assets in a divorce in California is a bad idea
When a divorce becomes nasty, one or both parties may use tactics that they would never use in their business or social lives. One of the most common tactics is to hide marital assets from the other spouse. This behavior is usually based on three incorrect...