Lake Sherwood Divorce Attorney
Family Law and Divorce Law Firm in Lake Sherwood, CA
At Richard Ross Associates, we have an uncommon level of professionalism, personal service and skills in divorce and family law. Our firm's founder, attorney Richard Ross, is a California Board Certified Family Law Specialist, one of only a few in the area. He has a background in psychology and interpersonal relations and is highly skilled in working towards a resolution in the most difficult cases. The firm is known for high quality work in family law and divorce.
If you are considering a divorce, it is important that you get accurate information and counsel from a Lake Sherwood divorce lawyer before you file papers. Although our firm has taken over representation in many cases in which an individual felt that his or her interests were not being managed correctly, having our legal team on your side early in the process can be an advantage to you. We do not begin the process of divorce with an adversarial approach. The attorney is trained in collaborative law, and if there is a real option to resolve issues in contention through this process or through careful negotiations with the opposing attorney, we may be able to help you to avoid litigation and a divorce trial.
Should it be impossible to come to an agreement, we can move forward to trial. We have extensive experience at trial, and our cases are prepared carefully. We have access to some of the most respected expert witnesses that can be called upon to provide testimony when necessary, from forensic accountants to child experts and others. Your future financial health can be heavily impacted in a divorce. We can advise you about what to expect with regard to child support, spousal support and property division, and the formulas that are applied in this state for these matters. The duration of your marriage, the educational level of each spouse, the ability to earn a living, and the number of shared assets all must be fully evaluated.
There are several methods by which a settlement can be reached. It can be superior to make these arrangements without involving the court. Reaching a settlement without a trial allows you to move ahead with your new life without the problem of a trial hanging over your head. When a trial must take place, you want to ensure that your case is presented professionally to the court. Our decades of experience at trial in divorce and other family law matters could be a great advantage to you, should it be necessary.
Quality Representation for Your Complex Family Law Matters
There are a considerable number of highly personal issues that are resolved in family court. Family law matters that we address include domestic partnerships, domestic violence, a post decree matters such as modifications of existing court orders, a request to move-away, establishing paternity and our firm does it all. We are involved in all areas of family law and can advise regarding any such matter. Our Lake Sherwood divorce lawyer can help you get any such matter resolved and is prepared to advise you and answer your questions about these issues. Contact the firm either by phone or email for a fast response.
A high percentage of marriages end in divorce. When a divorce is inevitable, it is an extremely emotional and stressful time, and there are many issues on the table that must be resolved. Marriages of long duration usually have extensive community property and finding a way to fairly split property can be a challenge. Both parties may want certain items, or there could be contention about who should get what. Sorting out these matters fairly takes a great deal of negotiating skill.
There are many ways property could be divided, based upon the situation. In some cases, a one-time payment could be arranged, while in others, selling property may be necessary. The property that was accrued over the term of the marriage is most often considered to be community property. If there was a prenuptial agreement in place, its validity will have to be determined. There are many cases in which a prenuptial is later challenged in property division, sometimes by us and sometimes by the other side. No matter how complex your situation appears, you can trust our firm to have the insight and skill to propose various solutions to these critical financial matters. We are highly experienced and skilled in working with the opposing attorney and hammering out the details, with our client's interests and rights as our only focus and concern. Call upon our professional legal team for information about divorce or family law.
Dedicated TO CLIENT CARE & SUCCESS
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I heartily recommend him to anybody in need of a well qualified, results-oriented, family law specialist.
“I would not hesitate to, again, retain the legal services of Richard Ross.”
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Our family and our dignity have been restored.
“Mr. Ross and his supportive, competent staff put their hearts into their work and literally turned our lives around.”
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The results far exceeded my expectations.
“The entire staff at Richard Ross Associates really helped me through my divorce and they were with me the whole way.”
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Extremely thorough and professional!
“Richard has helped me through a very difficult divorce and I can't say enough good things about him.”
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Polite, caring, and quick to respond.
“Richard Ross is a subject matter expert in the field of family law.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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This is very important: If you have separated from your spouse before one of you has filed for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, avoid agreeing to and placing into effect a temporary parenting plan arrangement regarding the children unless you will be able to live with this arrangement after the divorce papers have been filed. Once you begin a parenting plan that seems to be working, it becomes the "status quo." It is very difficult to convince a mediator or judge to change the status quo, especially if it is working or appears to be working and is not detrimental to the minor children.
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If you have not received a judgment dissolving your marriage before the end of the year, you may file an individual tax return under the status of "married, filing separately" or a joint tax return with your spouse. You should consult your accountant as to the advantages of these options. You may obtain special information booklets regarding tax information for divorce or separated individuals from your local IRS office or read the IRS booklet online.
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To file an action for divorce, also known as dissolution of marriage, a person must have resided in the state of California for six months and in the county where the action is filed for three months prior to filing the petition in court. This is true of either the petitioner or the respondent - either person can meet the test and allow a filing. If your spouse meets the residency requirement, you can file even if you do not meet it yourself.
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The court can and usually will order you to move out of your residence if your spouse convinces the court that you have been violent toward your spouse or threatened your spouse. You could be given ex-parte notice to be in court the next day because your spouse is seeking an order to make you move out and stay out. You can be ordered to leave immediately and not return even if your spouse is not on the property title or lease agreement! Once you are ordered to leave, it is not likely that you will be allowed to return.
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Before you get a divorce, photocopy all relevant financial documents that you can obtain and store them off-site with a trusted friend or relative. Do not store them in the trunk of your car where they can easily be found and removed by your spouse. There may be both personal and strategic reasons not to tip off your spouse that documents are being reviewed for a possible dissolution proceeding. Make copies of documents that you find in the residence and return the original documents to their original location as soon as possible so that your spouse won't notice that they are missing. It is often advisable to make the photocopies when you are sure your spouse is away for an extended time, such as during a workday. It is advisable to gather as many relevant financial documents as possible while they are still available and before they have been removed or destroyed by your spouse. This will significantly reduce the cost of divorce litigation if the documents do not have to be recovered later. It will also permit us to get a true picture of all community assets and debts as soon as possible.
