FILING FOR DIVORCE

At The Law Offices of Steven E. Springer, we bring more than 30 years of combined experience to our management of California divorce cases. Our clients come to us when their marriage has already ended. Therefore, our job is to focus on the future — to ensure that our clients emerge from the legal process of divorce in the best position possible to move forward with their lives.

If you’re planning to file for divorce or have been served with divorce papers, you may be wondering:

• What does divorce mean for my children?

• What property rights do I have in divorce?

• As a mother who has worked outside the home before, am I still eligible for alimony?

• What if our children are still very young?

• As a stay-at-home mom, what if I need retraining to find a suitable job?

RESOLVING YOUR CONCERNS 

Our divorce lawyers provide a comfortable and supportive environment for you to discuss your concerns on every issue from property division and support to child custody and child visitation. We’ll discuss how you envision your life after divorce and work with you to set reasonable goals for your divorce negotiations. You can rely on our attorneys to complete tasks related to your case promptly and communicate with you regularly and candidly about our progress. We’re determined to provide representation that’s both thorough and affordable.

Factors that Complicate Divorce in California

As family lawyers serving San Jose, Morgan Hill, and Fremont, our firm often encounters obstacles that complicate a divorce, such as:

• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. If valid, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements can actually alter the law to be applied when deciding issues of the divorce.

• Military divorces. Military divorces pose their own challenges related to spousal benefits, which may not have vested.

• Domestic partnerships. Our firm negotiates dissolutions to domestic partnership agreements in Santa Clara County and Alameda County under the California Family Code.

• Interstate and international divorces. We deftly handle interstate and international divorces, which almost always involve jurisdictional disputes, especially when children are involved.

RELIABLE DIVORCE COUNSEL IN SAN JOSE, MORGAN HILL, AND FREMONT

When married couples start contemplating divorce, they’re naturally upset about the end of a relationship they had counted on to last a lifetime. And when they don’t know how California divorce law operates, they experience additional anxiety throughout the process.

At The Law Offices of Steven E. Springer, we understand how worries multiply when the future looks uncertain. For many years, we’ve given our distressed clients clear and thorough answers to their pressing family law questions, such as:

• What do I have to prove to get divorced in California?

• What happens if my spouse and I currently reside in different states?

• Is there a “cooling-off” period for divorce in California?

• How does the court decide if I receive/pay alimony?

• How can I ensure that I am awarded custody of my children?

• How much child support can I expect to pay/receive?

THE BASICS OF CALIFORNIA DIVORCE LAW

Until you’re able to visit one of our offices in Morgan Hill, San Jose or Fremont, we offer this brief summary of California divorce law:

• No fault. The California Family Code governs divorce throughout the state. California is a no-fault state, which means that you don’t have to prove anything negative about your spouse in order to divorce.

• Irreconcilable differences. Most petitioners for divorce cite irreconcilable differences, which allows the couple to retain a great deal of privacy during their divorce.

• Residency requirement. California has a residency requirement, which means that one spouse must have been living in the state for six months prior to the divorce being filed and for three months in the county where the case is filed.

• No waiting period. California does not have a waiting period. When spouses live in separate states, the petitioner can file in the state where he or she thinks the law is more favorable.

• Community property. Petitioners should consider that California is a community property state, which means that property acquired by the couple during the term of the marriage is subject to an even split.

• Child custody. California, like other states, is guided by the principle of “the best interests of the child” and favors stability. If both parents were active in the children’s lives, the court leans toward joint custody. If one parent was absent while the other was the primary caretaker, the latter usually receives sole custody.