DIVORCE

    Divorce is one of the more stressful periods of an individual’s life.  Our purpose is to assist an individual through this period, insuring that his or her rights are protected to the fullest extent possible under California law.

    There are three types of marital actions: dissolution (regular or summary), legal separation and nullity.  A judgment of dissolution may be granted on the grounds of irreconcilable differences that have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage, or incurable insanity.   A judgment of dissolution of marriage terminates the parties’ marital status, and each party is free to remarry, as of the date indicated in the judgment.  A judgment of legal separation, on the other hand, does not terminate the parties’ marital status, but either party may file a subsequent action to dissolve the marriage.  In the action for a regular dissolution, the court may make a wide range of orders in addition to decreeing the dissolution or legal separation itself, including, as applicable, determination on division of property, spousal support, child custody and visitation, child support, attorney fees and costs, restraining orders, and restoration of a former name.

    Summary dissolution has a much more limited availability than a regular dissolution. The summary dissolution procedure is available only if certain conditions are met.  In addition, either party to a summary dissolution may terminate the proceeding unilaterally at any time before entry of the final judgment.  As a result, a party seeking a summary dissolution, unlike a party seeking a regular dissolution, requires the consent, or at least the acquiescence, of the other party throughout the proceedings in order to obtain the judgment.   

    A judgment of nullity may be granted in limited circumstances only when a marriage is adjudged void or voidable under specified conditions listed in the applicable statutes, such as cases of incest, bigamy, where fraud is involved, where force is involved, where physical incapacity is involved, or where a  party is under the proper age, or is of unsound mind.