What most people think of as a family law case is a divorce case. Divorce, also known as a dissolution of marriage, is a legal proceeding brought by either spouse to terminate the marriage. Along with the termination of the marriage, other issues are decided such as division of property, determination of the appropriate amount of spousal and/or child support, if any, and child custody and visitation.

However, family law is not limited to divorce cases. Also included under the general heading of "family law" are paternity cases, cases defending or enforcing child support provisions, domestic partnerships, as well as adoption cases.

Do I need to prove fault to get a divorce?

California is a "no fault" state. That means that anyone who wants a divorce is entitled to one for the reason of "irreconcilable differences." Essentially if one spouse says that they can no longer get along with the other spouse, then the court will grant a divorce.

Who gets the property in a divorce?

California is a "community property" state. What this means is that most property that is acquired by either the husband or the wife during the marriage is community property and is essentially owned equally by both the husband and wife. 

The opposite of community property, is separate property. The most common reason that property is determined to be separate is that it was acquired either before or after the marriage, or was a gift directly to one spouse.

When the marriage is over the husband and the wife will each get their own separate property and one-half of the community property. For example, when Dick and Jane got married Dick already owned a 1994 Toyota Camry, Jane already owned a 1995 Honda Accord, and a month after marriage they purchased together a $200,000 home. At the time of divorce, Dick will get his Camry, Jane will get her Accord, and each will get one-half of the value of the home.

Who gets custody of the children?

It is the policy of the State of California that there be frequent, continuous, and ongoing contact between both parents and the children. However, in most divorce cases the court will be required to determine which parent shall be the "primary custodial parent."

The standard that the court tries to use is, "What is in the best interests of the children?"

Sometimes this is an easy question to answer, for example if one parent is in jail, then that parent will not get custody of the children. However, other times this question is extremely difficult to answer, for example when both parents are honest, loving, caring and responsible.

When both parents are equally fit, then the court will usually place the children primarily with the parent who has been the primary caregiver. The primary caregiver is the parent who is primarily responsible for the everyday needs of the children, in other words, who feeds them, who picks them up from school, who helps them with their homework, etc.

What about visitation with the children?

Occasionally when both parents are equally fit, and each has performed a substantial caregiving role, then the court may order an equal custody split. However, what will usually happen is that one parent will get primary custody and the other parent will get visitation.

Visitation is time for the non-custodial parent to spend with the children. If the parents are friendly and reasonable, then the terms of the non-custodial parent's visitation may be quite vague and/or undefined. This is because when the parents can get along with each other, then the court does not need to specify exact pick-up and drop-off times. When the parents are not friendly, then the court will usually order specific pick-up and drop-off times so that each parent is aware of their rights and obligations.

What about alimony?

The term "alimony" is actually no longer used in California. This is because alimony means payments made by a man to his ex-wife. What is now used is the term "spousal support." This is because either spouse may be ordered to pay spousal support to their ex-spouse.

The purpose of spousal support is to attempt to maintain the spouse who earns less at the standard of living that was enjoyed by both spouses during the marriage without unduly affecting the standard of living of the spouse who earns more. For most middle income couples, actually maintaining such a standard of living is impossible, and the court will simply order an amount, if any, that will try to equalize the income of each spouse. In making such an order the judge hearing the case has substantial discretion to determine the amount of spousal support.

In many cases there will be no spousal support ordered because the husband and wife are both working and each making similar incomes.

What about support for my kids?

Unlike spousal support, when a couple divorces and there are children, there will almost always be an order requiring one parent to pay the other child support. In nearly all cases, the non-custodial parent will be paying some amount of child support to the custodial parent.

Again unlike spousal support, child support is rigidly determined by a mathematical formula that the judge must use. In determining the amount of child support, the judge hearing the case has almost no discretion to determine the amount and will, in almost all cases, simply order the amount that the formula produces.

Like spousal support, child support in many cases is used to attempt to equalize the income of the parents in proportion to the amount of time that the children spend with each parent.

Can I still get support for my kids if I was not married?

Yes. While the type of case that will need to be filed will be different, the results will be the same. Marriage, or lack thereof, does not affect the obligation to pay child support.

However, if the parents were never married, there will be no possibility of obtaining any spousal support.

What if something changes?

California has what is known as the "changed circumstances rule." In essence this means that if the circumstances change, then the basis for the orders has been changed, and any such orders should be changed. This rule applies to spousal support, child support, child custody and child visitation, and any orders affecting these issues usually can be changed when circumstances change.