In the state of California, divorce lawyers can help couples end their marriages or domestic partnerships using the three following legal procedures:

Divorce

Divorce is the most common way of ending a marriage or domestic partnership. Unlike in other states, in order to get a divorce in California, there is no need to prove any wrongdoing on the part of either spouse. “Irreconcilable differences” can simply be cited as the reason for divorce. Your divorce lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga cannot file your divorce paperwork unless you have resided in California for the past six months and in San Bernardino County for the past three months. However, exceptions will be made for domestic partners who were married in California but currently reside in a state which will not recognize or terminate their domestic partnership agreement. Even if you file your papers immediately, the divorce will not be legal until the state-mandated six-month waiting period has passed.

Because California is a community property state, legal assistance is often needed to divide marital assets at the time of divorce. A divorce lawyer can make sure you get your fair share of the marital assets, whether they consist of cash, property, investments, or business holdings. Plus, a lawyer can also assist you with alimony, child support, custody, and visitation agreements

Summary Dissolution

A summary dissolution is essentially a quicker, simpler divorce process for couples who have been together for less than five years. Ask your divorce lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga for details.

Annulment

Annulments are used to end marriages or domestic partnerships that were never truly legally valid in the first place. These cases are rare, but they do still occur from time to time. In order to get an annulment, one of the following must be proven to the satisfaction of a judge:

• The parties are related by blood
• The marriage or partnership is bigamous
• One of the parties entered the marriage while physically or mentally incapacitated
• At the time of the marriage, one of the parties was under 18
• One of the parties was compelled to enter the marriage by force or fraud
• One of the parties was married to or in a domestic partnership with someone else prior to the marriage, and that prior relationship was never legally terminated but instead only assumed to be terminated due to the an absence of at least 5 years.

No waiting period applies to annulments, beyond the wait for a court date.

Terminating a marriage or domestic partnership by any one of these three methods is a complicated legal process. Hiring a divorce lawyer in Rancho Cucamonga will be crucial to your success, so make sure you choose your counsel wisely.

Just because your divorce has been finalized doesn’t mean that your divorce lawyer’s job is over. Even after all the agreements have been signed, they are hardly set in stone. Life changes may occur for you or your ex-spouse, which will require modifications to be made to your alimony, child support, and/or custody agreements. Working with the same divorce lawyer in Upland who drafted the original agreements is often the best way to make modifications quickly, efficiently, and to your benefit. After all, your divorce lawyer in Upland is already intimately familiar with the details of the case as well as with the attitude and tactics of your ex-spouse’s lawyer. They can help you get the modifications you need in the following areas:

Alimony

Your alimony requirements were set at the time of your divorce, based on your income and needs as well as those of your ex-spouse. When either person’s income changes significantly, the alimony agreement should be reviewed. One spouse may no longer require high alimony, or the other may no longer be able to pay it. Either way, the agreement must be modified for the sake of both parties.

Child Support

Child support agreements also often require modification. As the child grows, he or she may require additional support for things like school or medical treatment. These costs should be shared by both parents, and the child support agreement would need to be updated to reflect that. Dramatic income changes can also lead to child support modifications. For example, the spouse paying child support might get laid off or fired, making it impossible for them to continue with the past level of child support. Or, they may receive a substantial bonus or raise, in which case the spouse caring for the child is entitled to ask for an increase in support payments.

Child Custody

The primary goal of child custody arrangements is always to do what is in the best interests of the child, for their physical and emotional well-being. Occasionally circumstances change so much that the current custody arrangement becomes untenable. The child may need to be removed from a dangerous or unfit home, or, in happier circumstances, a parent who was previously deemed unfit for custody may have reformed themselves to such an extent as to now merit some type of shared custody. Either way, your divorce lawyer in Upland can help you make the necessary modifications for the good of your child or children.

The current divorce rate in the United States is hovering right around 50%. Sometimes, even if you are all in, your spouse one day decides that he or she simply does not want to be married anymore. Whether or not you are being forced into a divorce, or you want the divorce yourself, it can be a hard and challenging life obstacle.  If you ever experience the unfortunate circumstance of getting divorced, there are many things that have to be decided upon. This is where a family law attorney in Upland, CA, can be highly beneficial to you. They can be very helpful in cases such as alimony, child custody, child support, and property division.

Sometimes, if you have been married for fifteen years or more, you can request alimony. Alimony is a payment made from either the husband or wife to their ex spouse in order to help them maintain the quality of life they had during the marriage. There are a lot of factors that play into this, and this is something your family law attorney in Upland, CA will have to discuss with you. There are different types of alimony, sometimes it is only temporary until you can get back on your feet, and sometimes it is permanent. If you think you may qualify, then it is a good idea to speak with your attorney.

If there are children involved in a divorce, then things can get a bit messy. It can be difficult to discuss and decide who should have custody and when. In many cases, your family law attorney in Upland, CA will attempt to settle things outside of court, which is beneficial for every party. Not only does this save precious time and money, it can help both of the parents have more of a say in what they want and what they think is best for their child. It helps when the decision is within the parents’ terms, because then things can hopefully be more civil between them.

Sometimes, child support is an issue that comes up in cases of divorce. While this is uncommon in cases of equal custody, if it has been determined that one parent is more suitable than another, or that a parent does not want to care for the child half of the time, then it is often ordered that they pay child support. Your family law attorney in Upland, CA, can help you determine whether or not your situation is one in which child custody may be an issue, and if so, what you need to do in order to make sure it is of highest benefit to the child. As you can see, a family attorney can be very helpful when deciding what legal actions are needed for your individual case.