California Family Law Lawyer Attorney Blog /Blawg

Community Property

California is a community property state. All property that is purchased or acquired during marriage, or transmuted (converted) to community property during marriage is community property.

The husband and wife in a marriage, each own an undivided one half interest in all community property of the marriage.

Community property is not divided, unless divorce proceedings are initiated, or upon the death of either the husband or wife.

Community property can be either real property or personal property. Community property can also be businesses, pension plans, or any other type of tangible thing that is acquired during marriage.

Community property is ordinarily one of the major issues involved in divorce actions.

Quasi Community Property

Quasi community property is property that is acquired outside of the state of California during marriage. Although married couples may have purchased property in a state that is not a community property state like California, the property will basically be treated as though it were community property for purposes division in a divorce action in the state of California.

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Child custody issues in California family law can result by way of the initiation of dissolution of marriage proceedings (divorce), legal separation, annulment, or paternity proceedings. Child custody issues can arise even if the parties are not legally separated, but living apart.

There are several classifications of child custody in the state of California such as; Sole legal and physical custody, primary physical and legal custody, joint physical and legal custody, and no right to custody.

With respect to marriages, the father or the mother are equally entitled to custody of the minor children of the marriage, before a court ordered is entered. If you are contemplating a divorce, filing for divorce, legal separation, or living apart, it is very important to obtain court orders which articulate your rights to child custody as soon as possible. Without court orders, a child who is let's say is living with the mother (or father) could be legally taken by the other parent absent court orders. If you have minor children of the marriage, it is important to file an order to show cause for child custody along with any petition for dissolution of marriage, or legal separation paperwork, so that you can get a court order articulates your rights to child custody.

The court primarily focuses on what's in the child's best interests when it determines who is entitled to what type of custody of a minor child of the marriage. Although it sounds simple, child custody and visitation issues with respect to California law are quite complicated, and should not be litigated without the help of an experienced attorney.
In the old days it was thought that children should be with their mother. However, modernly the court looks at many factors in determining who gets what type of custody of minor children. If you are a mother, you should not assume that you will automatically get custody of the children. If you're a father, you have an equal chance of getting primary custody of the children.

Entire law books have been written on the subject of child custody.

If you have a child custody issues in Southern California and want a free consultation on your case, give our law firm a call at 818-584-8831 extension 1 or you can click here to go to our family law website.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2006

Going through a divorce is arguably one of the worst things you'll have to go through in your life. Emotionally, going through a divorce is analogous to go into a death in the family. The proper term for a divorce in the state of California is "dissolution of marriage."

The difference between a divorce and legal separation, is that in a divorce, formal dissolution of marriage paperwork has been filed with the court to terminate the marriage, whereas a legal separation can occur either by filing papers for legal separation with the court, or by one of the parties in a marriage deciding to separate with the intent to permanently end the marriage. It should be noted that a legal separation can occur even if the parties still live together.

The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that in the case of an annulment, the marriage is void, voidable, or not legal from its inception. In most cases it's much more difficult to obtain an annulment, then a divorce.

A divorce involves the legal termination of a marriage by court order. A divorce is not final in California until a court of competent jurisdiction issues an order stating that the marriage has been terminated.

In California, there are two types of dissolution of marriage proceedings are available; (1) Summary dissolution of marriage, and (2) Standard dissolution of marriage. Most marriages will not qualify for the summary dissolution of marriage procedure that is available in California.

Marriages can be contested proceedings, uncontested, or by way of a default judgment when one of the parties cannot be located, or refuses to participate in the proceeding.

California is one of the so-called "no-fault" divorce states. The most common ground for requesting a divorce in the state of California is irreconcilable differences. A party can also request a divorce on the grounds of death, or insanity.

The most common issues involved in a divorce case in the state a California are: dissolution of marriage, child custody, child visitation, child support, alimony which is actually known as spousal support in California, family support, the division of community property, determination of separate property, the division and/or allocation of community businesses, and the division and/or allocation of retirement plans.

Due to the complex nature of family law litigation in the state of California, we highly recommend retaining an attorney to represent you. Our law firm can represent you in your divorce proceeding, and all the issues related thereto. Our law firm can also provide limited representation for you with respect to certain issues related to your family Law case. We can even do document preparation for you if you decide not to retain an attorney. You may check out our family law website by clicking here now, or you may call us now for a free consultation at 818-584-8831 extension 1.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. © 2006

The Law Offices of Norman Gregory Fernandez & Associates is a Southern California Law Firm that handles many types of legal matters including Family Law Cases. We handle Family Law matters throughout the Southern California.

We are pleased to announce the creation of our new Southern California Family Law Blog / Blawg.

The purpose of the Blog will be not only to educate the general public about the various aspects of California Family Law in the State of California, but we will also publish valuable links, news, and other information related to California Family Law.

Articles will be written by Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez and other guest authors.

As time goes by the wealth of information that will be published in this Blog will grow tremendously. We invite you to bookmark our Blog.

If you have a Family Law matter in Southern California, you may contact us for a free consultation through our Family Law Website by clicking here, or you may call us directly at 818-584-8831 extension 1.

By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. , Copyright 2006.