Valencia Divorce Attorney
Offering More Than Four Decades of Family Law Experience
Going through family-related legal issues can be a difficult and heart-wrenching experience. It is stressful enough to deal with the emotional aspects of these types of family law issue or divorce cases, in addition to also having to deal with the technical and legal aspects. A qualified divorce and family law attorney can help you take some of the burden off your shoulders by walking you through the legal process and helping you ensure that your best interests (and the best interests of your family) are being protected. At Richard Ross Associates, we have a Valencia divorce lawyer, Richard Ross, who has been certified as a family law specialist by the California Board of Legal Specialization. This certification indicates that an attorney has reached high levels of knowledge and experience in this field and has been tested and reviewed by his or her professional peers. Family Law Attorney Ross offers clients more than 40 years of legal experience!
Guiding You Through Divorce and Other Family Law Matters in the Santa Clarita Area
At Richard Ross Associates, we assist individuals with various types of divorce. We help those who are undergoing divorce through out of court negotiation and collaborative law (meaning they are working together outside of the court system), and we also help those who need to go through contentious divorce litigation. In your divorce, we can work with you to protect your rights and your best interests as you work through matters such as child custody, child support, property division, spousal support and more. Besides divorcing couples, others who also tend to need assistance with these issues include married couples who are getting legal separations, those who are trying to dissolve domestic partnership and individuals who have already divorced.
Are you trying to obtain guardianship of a child who is not receiving sufficient care from his or her biological parents? We may be able to help you prove to the court that granting you custody would be in the child's best interests. Our family law firm can also provide legal support in many other types of matters, such as those involving paternity issues, stepparent adoption, annulments, prenuptial agreements and more.
Contact Richard Ross Associates for personalized service!
At our firm, our mission is to provide our clients with compassionate and personalized legal assistance. We are ready to help work to resolve your family law matter with as little stress and hassle as is possible. Let us provide you with the support you need-contact our firm today!
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.
