San Diego Divorce Lawyer

To file for divorce in California, either spouse must be a resident of the state for at least 6 months or 180 days. They must also live in the county where they file the divorce petition for at least 3 months prior to filing. Note that California is a no-fault divorce state, which means the spouses only need to cite “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of the breakdown of their marriage, rather than a fault ground, such as adultery.

A typical divorce process involves the following steps:

1. One spouse files a divorce petition and serves it on the other spouse (the respondent).
2. The respondent has 30 days to file a response to the petition.
3. One of the spouses may request temporary court orders by filing for an Order to Show Cause hearing, where the judge will issue temporary child custody, support, and restraining orders.
4. The spouses will engage in discovery, where they exchange information and documents relevant to the divorce. One of the required aspects of discovery is the Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure, where each spouse lists their community and separate property. The parties are also required to exchange income and expense declarations.
5. After discovery, the spouses and their attorneys will discuss a settlement, which may take the form of a Marital Settlement Agreement, mediation, or, if the parties are unable to agree on all the issues in the case, trial.
6. After the parties sign the Marital Settlement Agreement or the trial has concluded, one of the attorneys will prepare a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, and the court will mail a Notice of Entry of Judgment to each attorney.

Some common issues involved in a divorce negotiation, especially a high-conflict divorce like the ones Attorney Leigh K. Galyon handles, are child custody disputes, child support orders, alimony orders, and division of assets. A Marital Settlement Agreement (or trial) will decide these matters between divorcing spouses.

Resolving Disputes Through Mediation

One way to settle a divorce is mediation. Mediation provides spouses the opportunity to negotiate a divorce settlement in a structured setting through a trained third-party mediator. The mediation process fosters cooperation between partners and removes the unpredictability and uncertainty associated with litigation, as it will allow both spouses to negotiate their divorce issues openly with each other without the stress and publicity of a courtroom.

Mediation often reduces the time and costs of divorce and, more importantly, puts the decisions in the spouses’ hands. Rather than defaulting to a judge’s decision, spouses in mediation can make their own decisions for their and their family’s future. Our experienced negotiator at Leigh K. Galyon, APC can help obtain the most equitable divorce settlement, including a fair child support agreement and a healthy child custody arrangement.