Westlake Village California Family Law Blog

Most California readers have a basic understanding of litigation, at least insofar as what the term itself means and the fact that it refers to a court process. With regard to divorce mediation and collaborative law, however, confusion often sets in because, although both are processes for settling divorce out of court, they are also different from each other in several ways. To determine a best course of action in a particular set of circumstances, a concerned spouse will want to learn as much as possible about each option in order to make a well-informed decision.

When spouses choose to mediate a divorce, it is usually because they wish to avoid confrontation and want to settle their differences in as economically feasible a fashion as possible. Each spouse hires an attorney to help protect his or her interests during mediated sessions. In a collaborative process, an arbitrator or panel of arbitrators oversees the sessions, acting in place of a judge, with discretion to make decisions after evidence and testimonies are presented.

When a California court makes decisions that pertain to child care or financial provisions after divorce, both parents must adhere to the terms. While there are sometimes legitimate reasons for requesting modification of a court order, a parent cannot simply take matters into his or her own hands. The court must grant the request and issue a new ruling before custody or child support arrangements are changed.

The father of a child in another state wound up in serious legal trouble when he stopped paying child support. In fact, he reportedly failed to send payments for seven consecutive years. The man was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant and pleaded guilty to the charges against him. This led to a judge ordering him to pay restitution of nearly $13,000.

People made fun of Gwyneth Paltrow for using the term "conscious uncoupling" to describe her divorce. In fact, she even derided the term herself later on, but that shouldn't diminish the thoughts and theory behind it. This divorce approach works especially well in helping the children through this challenging time full of changes over which they otherwise have little to no control.

Couples here in California and elsewhere in the country don't have to rely on the traditional and adversarial courtroom divorce any longer. If you fear that you will come out of your divorce in a bad place, you should know it doesn't have to be that way.

A decision to file for divorce is definitely not something to be taken lightly, especially if children are involved. California parents often worry that if they end a marriage, they will struggle to provide for the ongoing needs of their children. This is particularly true in cases where a parent has sacrificed a career during marriage to stay home full-time and raise a family. Learning as much as possible about state child support laws ahead of time may help alleviate stress during court proceedings.

A judge overseeing a divorce case involving custody, visitation and support will rule based upon the specific evidence presented in court. The state, however, provides uniform guidelines regarding child support issues. A judge may take many factors into consideration to determine whether a parent should pay child support, as well as how much the payments should be, how often they are made and through what means. One of the first issues most often considered is the income of both parents.