The holidays can be stressful for anyone but if you are a parent going through the divorce process or have recently divorced, this is a particularly challenging time of the year. Here are some tips to help divorcing parents of young children survive and thrive this festive season: Plan ...

In order to change your name after getting a divorce in California, you will need to take the following steps: 1. Complete an, “Ex-parte Application for Restoration of Former Name After Entry of Judgment and Order.” FL-395. Indicate the case number, the date that the judgment of...

Two common questions people ask when thinking about getting a divorce are… if we choose divorce mediation, how long will it take and how much will it cost? How Long Will It Take? The length of mediation is largely dependent on the complexity of the issues involved and the degree to which both...

When a couple divorces, the court looks at the best way to divide both party’s debts as well as their assets. Just as there are community and individual assets, there can be community and individual (separate) debts. For example, if one spouse decides on a student loan to pay for school during...

A well-written child custody agreement within your divorce agreement will help you co-parent children more successfully after divorce. It is the most important document you will craft as parents and deserves your best effort. It can be 1 page long or 20 pages long, but it must detail how you plan...

Local residents may have seen this recent Bee article about how budget cuts are affecting service at family law courts. Bottom line: with court staff downsizing, the general public can expect to wait in even longer lines and experience greater delays when filing documents with the court. There...

While Divorce Mediation is recommended for most separating couples, there are instances in which mediation would not be the best choice. If there have been serious incidents of physical or verbal abuse in the relationship, there is a likeliness that the abused party would feel intimidated by the...

Continuing with the theme of our previous post, Designing a Workable Parent Plan, today’s post talks about the impact of divorce upon children at different stages in their development and how that can affect your parent plan. What you need to cover in a plan for a young child is different from...

This video helps explain spousal support and how it is calculated. Enjoy!

FLC attorney Mark Johannessen was recently featured in a KCRA report on how to gather your financial information together prior to divorce. Click here to watch the video.

The short answer is yes, with one little exception I'll get to later. There are a variety of reasons people choose to file for legal separation instead of divorce - religious reasons, financial reasons, or perhaps you just have not resided in California long enough to qualify to file for divorce...

Many people believe that in order to obtain a divorce in California, they must be “legally separated” first.  This is not true.  Legal Separation and Divorce do not necessarily go hand in hand, although the process for obtaining each one is nearly identical.  You do not need to obtain a...

Here is a video on Legal Separation. Find out why it is used and when it is sometimes appropriate.

Please join team Family Law Center and accept the challenge to raise donations to support the Komen Sacramento Race for the Cure on May 8, 2010 in the fight against breast cancer. You can help by registering to walk or run with us, or by donating generously to the Komen Sacramento Race for the...