Criminal Defense & Family Law
Attorney

Until you are legally separated from your spouse, any new property and any new debts will be subject to being divided between you and your spouse. In California, temporary spousal support might be ordered while your divorce is pending and is payable from the date the petition of dissolution was filed until a final judgment of dissolution is issued. If you are seeking temporary support while your divorce is pending, consult a Hanford, CA family law attorney to petition the court on your behalf. The amount of temporary support will depend on the income levels of you and your spouse. California uses a universal formula to assist the courts with addressing the issue of temporary spousal support. The spousal support calculator determines a specified amount of temporary spousal support that is to be paid by the paying spouse. The court is permitted to make adjustments to this calculated amount, if it finds the amount to be unjust when considering other factors.

California is a community property state. Other than property that was owned by only one of the spouses before the marriage, property that was inherited by only one specific spouse, and recovery from a personal injury lawsuit, all marital property is to be considered community property. The court will divide community property in any way the judge finds to be equitable when considering any disparity between the income of the two spouses, each spouse’s commitment to the children, and each spouse’s future earning potential. All pensions, other retirement accounts, and employment benefits are also community property and will be divided equitably, meaning that these assets too can be divided in any way that the judge finds to be fair; they do not have to be split in even portions. If both spouses happen to have similar retirement accounts, for example, the judge may choose to simply award each spouse their own accounts. A skilled family law attorney in Hanford, CA should always be consulted before entering into any agreements regarding property division.

California requires a minimum six-month waiting period before your divorce can be finalized. However, this is not to be considered a guarantee that your divorce will not take longer than six months to be completed. If issues are contested and mediation, other forms of alternative dispute resolution, or trial is necessary, the entire process could easily take a year or longer and require extensive work with a family law attorney in Hanford, CA. The cost of your divorce will very much depend upon whether or not you and your spouse can come to an agreement on the major issues of property division, finances, and child custody. The total cost for a divorce in California, including attorney’s fees, can range from $5,000 to $35,000, depending on whether or not your case ends up going trial and whether that trial requires experts, like child custody evaluators.

A person who intends to commit a crime and takes significant steps toward completing that illegal act but fails to complete the act, can be found guilty of the separate crime of attempt. However, very early preparation will not usually be found to be legally significant enough to bring a criminal attempt case.