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In California, a divorce is formally called a "Dissolution." A dissolution occurs when a marriage formally ends. The length and complexity of a dissolution proceeding depends on the assets of the parties and the willingness of each spouse to cooperate in the division of property. assets (retirement accounts, stocks, checking/savings accounts, etc.), child custody/visitation, child support, and spousal support. 

In California, a nullity of marriage occurs when there is a void or voidable marriage. A void marriage or domestic partnership treats the marriage as if it never actually existed. However, this comes with a high burden and occurs in limited instances, including: (1) incestuous marriages/domestic partnerships;  and (2) bigamy. A voidable marriage will become valid if the parties ........ The grounds for a voidable marriage are also limited, and include: (1) un-consentable age; (2) unsound mind; (3) fraud; (4) forced consent; (5) physical incapacity; or (6) prior existing marriage/domestic partnership. 

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In California, “domestic violence” refers to violence committed against persons with who he or she has a relationship. These relationships may include: (1) current/past spouses; (2) current/past boyfriends and girlfriends; (3) children; (4) family members; and (5) cohabitants.

A domestic violence proceeding begins with the protected party filing a Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order ("TRO"). Under TROs, the Courts can make personal conduct orders, property control orders, child custody/visitation orders, etc. These are granted or denied with no notice to the restrained party, and their purpose is to provide immediate protection to the victims. The hearing on the TRO must occur within 21 days of being issued. It is imperative that if you file and/or are served with a TRO that you do not wait to contact an attorney at the last minute. 

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In California, there are two aspects of child custody - legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the parent(s) who will make the important decisions for the child, including issues such as medical care, education, travel, religious activities, and general welfare. Physical custody refers to the parent(s) the child lives with o a given day. Physical custody can be classified into three categories: (1) joint, (2) primary, and (3) sole. 

Joint physical custody typically means that the parents have an equal, or near equal, timeshare with the child. Primary physical custody occurs when one parent maintains the child's primary residence, and the other parent exercises a more limited parenting time (40% or less). Sole physical custody is often reserved for the more extreme cases, typically including child abuse, neglect, domestic violence, etc. In these cases, the non-custodial parent often has extremely limited parenting time, or even no parenting time. 

Supervised visitation is also frequently ordered when the visiting parent poses a potential harm (physical or emotional) to the child, which means that a neutral third party is selected to supervise one parent's time with the children. 

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Let's face it - living in San Diego is expensive. This has forced many parents to consider moving out of the county or even the state all together. There are many motivations behind wanting to move, ranging from employment opportunities to a cheaper, more affordable location. However, if the moving parent shares custody of their child with another California resident, moving is not as simple. Typically, the moving parent must have the other parent's written approval to move with the child out of the County of San Diego, or a court order. 

A primary custodial parent has the presumptive right to relocate with the child. It is then up to the objecting parent to prove that the move is detrimental to the child. If the parents share joint physical custody, then the consideration is made based o what is in the child's best interest.

Among the factors that the court ordinarily should consider when deciding whether to modify a custody order in light of the custodial parent’s proposal to relocate with the child are the following: the children’s interest in stability and continuity in the custodial arrangement; the distance of the move; the age of the children; the children’s relationship with both parents; the relationship between the parents including, but not limited to, their ability to communicate and cooperate effectively and their willingness to put the interests of the children above their individual interests; the wishes of the children if they are mature enough for such an inquiry to be appropriate; the reasons for the proposed move; and the extent to which the parents currently are sharing custody.

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In California, both parents have an equal obligation to financially support their child. This obligation continues until the child reaches 18 years old. However, if the child is still in high school and has not graduated, then child support will continue until the child turns 19 years old or graduates high school, whichever occurs first. The Courts use a system called "Dissomaster," which calculates guideline child support. The two most important things when it comes to calculating child support is the timeshare and the parents' gross monthly income from all sources. 

The goal behind spousal support is that the supported party is supposed to become self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. In marriages of "short" duration, meaning less than ten years, a "reasonable period of time" is defined as one-half the length of the marriage. However, the current laws do not limit the Court’s discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time. In marriages of "long" duration, meaning ten years or longer, the Courts have more discretion over the termination date. 

Obtaining a support order is essential.  The court cannot order support for a party and/or child for a period prior to a party making a formal request through court action, unless retroactivity is preserved under Family Code section 4009. Once a support order is obtained, if the payor fails to pay, the order bears interest at the legal rate, which is presently 10%.

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Under California law, a person who has suffered harassment may seek a temporary restraining order. Civil Harassment Restraining Order differs from Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in that the person doing the harassing has no close familial relationship with the victim. For example, a Civil Harassment Restraining Order applies to a neighbor, roommate or even a stranger. 

You may seek a Civil Harassment Restraining Order if you are worried about your safety because you are being stalked, threatened, harassed, and/or sexually assaulted. However, the course of conduct must be such as would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress to the victim. The restraining order can include a variety of different orders, including  orders preventing personal conduct by the harasser, order the harasser to stay away from the victim, the victim's home/work, and even the victim's family.

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