Orange County Divorce Lawyer

The divorce lawyers at Wilkinson & Finkbeiner, LLP, represent men’s rights and women’s rights in dissolution of marriage matters throughout Orange County.  We dedicate our practice to ensure fathers and mothers receive the best legal representation available.

Knowledgeable Southern California Divorce Lawyer

Our Orange County divorce lawyers handle every aspect of your dissolution of marriage.  This includes child custody and child visitation, child support, spousal support and division of community property and separate property. We understand that each issue in a divorce can cause unique emotions and financial challenges.  Our divorce attorneys will be compassionate and understanding during your difficult transition no matter what the family dynamics.  California is a “no fault” divorce state, so if either party believes irreconcilable differences have arisen, a divorce judgment can be obtained regardless of whether one spouse objects to the divorce.

Our divorce attorneys handle all types of cases, including:

-Uncontested Divorce or Uncontested Dissolution of Marriage – Both parties agree to the terms of all issues involved in the divorce.  An uncontested divorce is amicable in nature and resolved quickly.  Advantages of an uncontested divorce include limited attorney’s fees and costs and cooperation between the parties and counsel.

-Contested Divorce or Litigation of Dissolution of Marriage – These cases usually involve complex divorce matters resulting in trials.  Issues that arise can include high value assets, high wage earners, breaches of fiduciary duty, self-employed individuals, corporations, partnerships, stock ownership, or attorneys fees.

-Annulment – Concerns void or voidable marriages where fraud, undue influence, lack of capacity, bigamy, or other facts are present qualifying for the annulment of a marriage. 

-Dissolution of a Domestic Partnership – Dissolving a domestic partnership occurs when same-sex partners register their domestic partnership or one domestic partner is over age 65 and qualifies to register their partnership with the California Secretary of State.  Division of quasi-marital property, community property, separate property, employment benefits, as well as issues of spousal support can all have significant tax consequences that must be addressed.

-Summary Dissolution – Is a method for obtaining a divorce where there are no children, no real property, few or minimal assets and minimal or no debts and there are no issues of spousal support.

-Legal Separation – Legal Separation matters result in the division of property, assets, debts, and obligations but the parties continue to remain married.  A legal separation can be converted to a divorce judgment in the future but hiring an attorney to assist you with the process would be wise.

The Four Stages of a Divorce, Annulment or Legal Separation:

There are four stages in any divorce, annulment or legal separation proceeding. These stages include: the initial filing, disclosures and discovery, temporary orders, and final resolution.

The first stage is known as the initial filing stage. This involves one party initiating the case by filing a request for a divorce, annulment, or legal separation.  The initiating party is known as the petitioner while the other party is known as the respondent.  Generally, there is no advantage to filing first.  Upon filing the initial paperwork, the opposing party must be served with process in order for the case to move forward.  Serving a party with the initial pleadings can be challenging if the opposing party lives outside the United States or if they purposefully avoid service.  Note that a party to the case cannot serve any of the pleadings in the case. 

The second stage is the financial disclosure and discovery stage.  During this stage each party completes their financial disclosures including a schedule of assets and debts as well as an income and expense declaration.  If a party believes the disclosures are untruthful or inadequate, they have the option of initiating the process known as discovery.  Discovery is the process of obtaining more information about certain issues in a case.  There are numerous discovery methods; the most common of which include depositions, request for production of documents or interrogatories (i.e. written questions).  All responses to discovery are signed under penalty of perjury by the responding party and such information can generally be used at a settlement conference or trial.

The third stage involves obtaining temporary orders or relief.  Temporary orders remain in effect until the final terms of the judgment are entered.  Examples of requests for temporary orders include, but are not limited to requests:  to set child custody or visitation, child support, spousal support or attorney’s fees.  Other requests for temporary orders can include the appointment of an expert, special master, minor’s counsel 0r discovery referee. 

The final stage of any divorce, annulment or legal separation is to determine the final terms of the final judgment.  If an agreement cannot be resolved by informal settlement efforts, the parties and their attorneys will attend a mandatory settlement conference (known as a MSC).  A mandatory settlement conference is usually conducted at the court where a neutral mediator will sit with the parties and their attorneys to advise each side of the strengths and weaknesses of their theory of the case.  If the parties agree to the terms of the judgment at the mandatory settlement conference it is imperative the terms are recited into on the record in front of the Judge with the parties acknowledging their agreement.  In not done correctly, one party could change their mind about the settlement terms and enforcement of the agreement becomes far more difficult.  If no agreement is reached at the MSC, the case proceeds to trial.  Trials involve each party testifying in front of the judge.  Trials are expensive from both a financial and emotional standpoint.  However, in certain instances trials are unavoidable.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in all four stages of any divorce, annulment or legal separation proceeding. 

Contact an Orange County Divorce Lawyer

For further information or to discuss your dissolution matter, please call to schedule a free confidential consultation with an experienced Orange County divorce lawyer at 714-667-0045. The parking and confidential consultation are free.