San Diego Divorce – Legal Separation – Annulment – Custody Law Attorneys

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Divorce: A divorce, or dissolution, ends your marriage. After you get divorced, you will be considered a single person for legal and tax purposes. You will be free to get married again.

If you get divorced, our law firm will assist you in requesting that the Court enter orders such as child support, spousal support, custody and visitation, division of property, and other orders. You do not need to file for a divorce to file for a domestic violence restraining order.

For married persons to file for divorce, you must meet California's residency requirements. If you do not meet the residency requirement, you still have the option to file for legal separation.

There is also a mandatory six-month waiting period before your divorce may become final. Your attorney will assist you in settling many issues in your case before the six-month waiting period is over to expedite the finalization of your divorce.

The law firm of Wilkinson & Finkbeiner also assists in the dissolution of domestic partnerships:

Differences between divorces of married persons and domestic partners:

• Residency - Domestic partners who have registered in California have agreed to the jurisdiction of the California courts to end their domestic partnerships - even if they move away or have never lived in California.
• If couples have become domestic partners (or their equivalent) in other states, they can file in California to end their domestic partnership if at least one of them is living in California. The residency requirement applies.
• Partner support there will probably be tax consequences involving partner support orders, which differ from traditional spousal support orders.

The law allowing for domestic partners to obtain dissolutions, legal separations and annulments is a relatively new concept in the United States. There is much law that is still uncertain regarding property, custody and tax issues. Contact the qualified attorneys at Wilkinson & Finkbeiner to assist you with these uncertainties.

Legal Separation: A legal separation does not end a marriage or domestic partnership. You cannot marry or enter into a partnership with someone else if you are legally separated and not yet divorced. A legal separation is for couples that do not meet the residency requirement or do not want to get divorced but want to live apart and decide on money, property, and parenting issues. Couples sometimes prefer separation for religious reasons.

The date of separation is a legal term that is important for both legal separation and divorce actions. The date of separation occurs when the parties physically separate from one another, and at least one spouse or partner subjectively intends to end the relationship and does not intend to reconcile with their spouse or partner.

You do not need to meet California's residency requirement to file for a legal separation. If you file for a legal separation, after you meet the residency requirements you may file an amended petition to ask the court for a divorce.

After you file for legal separation, you can ask the judge for orders like child support, spousal support, partner support, custody and visitation, domestic violence restraining orders, or any other orders you may request with a divorce case.

Annulment/Nullity: Occurs when a court declares your marriage or domestic partnership is not legally valid. A marriage or domestic partnership that is incestuous or bigamous is never valid. By court order, other marriages and partnerships may be "void" because:

• of force, fraud, or incapacity;
• one of the spouses or partners was too young to legally marry or enter into a domestic partnership; or
• one of the spouses or partners was already married or in a registered domestic partnership.

Annulments are very rare and require a court hearing to establish the nullity. Having an experienced attorney assist you is of paramount importance, because there are many difficult concepts and theories of law associated with nullity actions. If you have children, you may have to establish parentage before the court will order child support payable by the other party.

Child Custody and Visitation: In California, there are two types of custody. The first is called legal custody, which means the parent having legal custody is charged with making decisions regarding their childs health, welfare, education, religious upbringing, and other important issues. Generally, parents share legal custody jointly.

The second type of custody is called physical custody, which means the amount of actual time a child spends with a parent. This number (in the form of a percentage) is important, and may have significant effect on child support orders.

Parents that separate will need to have a plan for deciding how they will share and divide their parenting responsibilities. This plan can be called a parenting plan, a time-share plan, or an agreement ("stipulation") regarding child custody and visitation. Although both parties may sign the agreement, courts are not bound by that agreement. The court will always refer to the childs best interests before affirming any custody arrangement between parents.

Generally, either parent may have custody, or the parents may share custody. If the parents can't agree, the court will make a decision at a hearing. The court will usually not make a decision about custody/visitation until after the parents have met with a mediator. Mediation is a key component of custody and visitation cases, and should be given significant attention by parents.