California is a community property state, so the law assumes that each spouse shares equal responsibility for the assets and debts accumulated during the marriage. However, it’s often a complex task to divide that pool in a manner that ensures a fair and even outcome.
To ensure that children do not fall into poverty because of divorce or out-of-wedlock birth, California has adopted child support guidelines and an effective mechanism for payment. However, the state gives family court judges latitude in deciding the final amount.
Divorce is very common among individuals who are 55 years of age or older. According to the most recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau, divorce rates were highest (approximately 43%) among men and women between ages 55 and 64. Going through a late-life divorce can be emotional yet liberating.
According to a 2018 child custody research study by Custody X Change, fathers in California are likely to get about 32.8% of child custody time. In the state of California, either parent can have custody of their children. Likewise, both parents can decide to share custody. However, should they be unable to agree, the family court can help determine custody based on the child's best interests and welfare.
Your home is an important part of your life, and many people invest significant time and money into building a home. Moving out of a home is an emotional and often difficult decision. What happens to the family home is a major question couples and courts have to address during a divorce.
If you’re a custodial parent of a child under the age of 18, and the non-custodial parent has stopped making child support payments. What can you do?
The Census Bureau’s Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2017 report indicates that only about 69.8% of custodial parents who were due child support in 2017 received at least some payments from non-custodial parents.
Many people believe family law only encompasses issues linked to divorce, such as child custody and alimony. In reality, family law includes many more legal processes than just divorce. It includes any area of the law involving family relationships, such as paternity, emancipation, adoption, foster care, and eldercare.
Families and individuals adopt children for all sorts of reasons. Some are unable to have children of their own. Some are single men and women or same-sex couples. Some want to give a child a good home when biological parents cannot or will not raise their child.
Recent studies have indicated that more than 20% of married men and 13% of married women have committed adultery with at least one other person. While the reality of learning that your spouse has been unfaithful can be devastating, the truth is, committing adultery can also have very real consequences on the divorce process as well.
