Count your six months What happens next, and when.6 months + 1 day 
The first consultation.60 minutes Family law · Encino
Divorce, custody, support, property and restraining orders, each explained in plain words. See what happens next and when, then book a consultation when you’re ready.
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California is a no-fault state: you don’t have to prove anyone did anything wrong. One spouse needs to have lived in California for six months, and in the county for three, before filing.
The earliest a divorce can be final is six months and one day after the other spouse is served with the papers, or first appears in the case, whichever comes first. The paperwork in between decides everything else.
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Legal custody is about decisions: school, health, religion. Physical custody is where the children live day to day. Parents can share either one, or both.
If you can’t agree, the court sends you to a child custody counselor first, before a judge decides. A plan you write together usually lasts longer than one handed down.
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Child support follows a statewide formula built on both parents’ incomes and how much time the children spend with each. We run the numbers with you before anything is filed.
Spousal support after the judgment is weighed against a list of factors in the Family Code, including how long the marriage lasted and what each spouse can earn.
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California is a community property state. What either spouse earned or bought during the marriage is generally split equally; what you owned before, or inherited, generally stays yours.
Both spouses have to share a full list of what they own, owe and earn, signed under penalty of perjury. That list is where most of the work, and most of the savings, happens.
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If you are in danger right now, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline answers day and night at 1-800-799-7233.
A domestic violence restraining order can order someone to stay away from you, your children and your home, and a judge usually decides on a temporary one the day you file, or the next court day. We help you ask.
Book a consultation6 months + 1 dayThe earliest a California divorce can be final, counted from service.
$250 first consultationSixty minutes, credited if you hire us. Sample
Office or videoEncino, or a video call from somewhere private.
ConfidentialWhat you tell us in a consultation stays private, even if you don’t hire us.
A California divorce in six steps. Most of the time goes into the fourth one; the sixth can’t come before the six-month date.
Put dates on itOne spouse files a Petition and a Summons with the court in the county where you live.
An adult who isn’t you hands the papers to your spouse. The six-month clock starts here.
Your spouse has 30 days after service to file a Response.
Each of you lists what you own, owe and earn, signed under penalty of perjury.
You settle the terms together, or a judge decides the parts you can’t agree on.
The judge signs it. Your marriage ends on the date it names, never sooner than six months and one day after the clock started.
Custody Custody gets decided on paper. We help you write the paper in enough detail that you don’t have to negotiate every Friday.
If you can’t agree, the court sends you both to a child custody counselor before a judge decides. We get you ready for that meeting.
Talk about custody
Sample Court filing fees are separate and paid to the court. If you can’t afford them, you can ask the court to waive them.
You won’t find promised outcomes or past results here. Every family is different, and California’s Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 bars a lawyer’s communications from being false or misleading, including by creating expectations the facts may not support.
In danger right now, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline answers day and night at 1-800-799-7233.
A restraining order can tell someone to stay away from you, your children and your home. We help you ask for one, and we’ll only contact you the way you tell us is safe.
Ask about a restraining orderIt’s on every page, bottom right. Click it, or press Esc twice, and this site turns into a weather search. Back won’t bring you here.
It can’t erase your browser history. If someone checks your phone or computer, use a private window.
Meet us in the office, or by video from a room where nobody can listen in. The first consultation is an hour; you leave knowing your options and what each one costs.