FAQs

To help you begin the divorce process, we have addressed the questions most frequently asked by our clients.

You have a choice for how you want to approach your divorce. You can choose to retain an attorney to represent you in Court, you can choose private Mediation or Collaborative Divorce, or you can represent yourself. All approaches will address key issues including child custody, child support, spousal support, and division of property

To prepare for the divorce process it is helpful to have a sense of what is important to you as you envision your post-divorce life. Common areas to think about include whether to remain in your home, your income and your expenses, how to divide your assets and debts, support and child sharing.

When you go to court, you are represented by an attorney who presents your case to a judge in a public setting. Documents considered by the judge are maintained in a publically accessible court file and the scheduling of hearings is determined by the court’s busy calendar. Traditional litigation is the most costly way to divorce – both emotionally and financially. An alternative approach is Mediation where the parties work together in a private confidential setting with a neutral mediator who helps them craft a customized, mutually negotiated Settlement Agreement – the legal document that sets forth your agreements relating to all issues including child sharing, child support, spousal support, and division of property. In Mediation, the parties control the timing of each session, the issues to be addressed, whether to include attorneys or outside experts in the process and the terms of the settlement. Also, because the two parties agree to work cooperatively to resolve their differences, Mediation is far less costly, both emotionally and financially, than litigation. For more information about Mediation, please see Practice Areas.

There are two costs involved in the divorce process; court filing fees and mediation/attorneys fees. The court assesses a $435 filing fee for each party. Additionally, there may be other filing fees for documents filed with the court during the divorce process.

Attorneys fees that you will incur to resolve your Family Law matter vary widely based on a number of factors including your approach to the divorce process, your preparation, schedule, willingness to reach an agreement, and complexity of your family and financial situation. Mediation can be the most cost-effective approach to divorce as you have more control over the process and you can minimize the costs if both parties reach an agreement within a reasonable period of time.

If you choose Mediation, Donna M. Encinas will assess the complexity of your family and financial situation and will provide you with an estimated timetable and cost for completion of the process.

In California, the soonest that your marital status can be terminated is six months and one day from the date the non-filing party is served with the Petition for Dissolution.

California is a community property state. Generally, if you acquire property or incur a debt during the marriage it is characterized as community property and the community property assets and debts are divided equally. Separate property is the property that a party brings into the marriage that still exists or is received during the marriage by inheritance or gift. Separate property is usually awarded to the holder of the separate property. In the context of Mediation or Collaborative Divorce, the parties can reach a creative settlement to meet the needs of the family. In some cases that includes agreeing that property, normally considered to be separate property, be treated as community and that community property be unequally divided.

It is important to consider more than just the bottom-line value of an item when dividing your assets and debts. For example, there may be tax consequences that may impact how to best divide your assets and debts. If you reach an agreement in Mediation or through the Collaborative Divorce process it becomes the basis of a legally binding court order.