You may have heard about divorces that drag out for years, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You should by all means take the time to make sure that your divorce is handled properly, and that your rights under California are respected, as the financial and relational implications can follow you for decades in some cases. But, in many cases, long drawn-out divorce cases which result in unnecessary expense and delay are avoidable, and the parties involved can reach just and beneficial results within a matter of months, not years.
Here are 3 steps you can take to reach your goals and move on to your next chapter of life, while working towards the results you deserve in your California divorce.
Gain a Clear Understanding of Your Finances, Needs, and Post-Divorce Goals
It is hard and time-consuming to get the results you want in your California divorce if you are not clear on what your goals are, and if they continually change over time. To be clear, your California divorce will involve resolution of the following issues, among other things:
- Who gets the family house
- Who will maintain ownership and control of family business interests
- Who will receive what portion of savings/checking accounts, stocks and mutual funds, retirement funds, pension benefits, etc.
- Who will have ownership of vehicles, furnitures, jewelry, heirlooms, appliances, and other personal property
- Whether spousal support will be paid post-divorce from one party to another, and how much and for how long
- Whether there will be shared or sole custody of the children, and on what schedule (including parental responsibilities, holiday and vacation schedules, etc.)
- Who will have the right to make important decisions on behalf of the children (education, religion, medical needs, etc.)
- The terms of child support (which should be figured out in conjunction with custodial matters)
Understanding what you want out of the divorce also involves understanding what property you currently have between the two of you, what your budget will be in the future (including caring for children), and what you will need for the life you want.
By doing this work of both understanding your present situation and looking to what you will need in the future, you can avoid long, drawn-out matters involving delay because the parties are not clear and constantly shifting on what they are seeking.
Work With an Experienced California Family Law Professional
You do not have to do all of the work listed above on your own, and a California family law attorney can work with you to understand what the current value of your property is, what you may be entitled to in a divorce, what obligations you may have to the other spouse, and – most importantly – how to best go about reaching the goals that you have for your divorce, while avoiding delay.
There is a widespread myth that working with a family law attorney slows down the process of getting a divorce. While you certainly want to avoid working with an unethical attorney who delays the process for his own gain (reading reviews, checking an attorney’s disciplinary record, and getting comfortable with an attorney through a consultation can help you avoid this), working with a solid family law attorney can be far more efficient in completing your divorce than attempting to learn, understand, and implement the complex procedural and substantive aspects of California divorce on your own.
Take Action to Build Consensus With Your Spouse
The biggest impediment to reaching a timely divorce in California is when spouses cannot agree on the important issues of a divorce and decide to litigate those matters in court, which leads to delays in waiting in a backlog for court hearing on a wide variety of issues, and having to file various court documents and argue in front of a judge over issues that could otherwise simply be submitted to the court for approval.
Many divorcing couples never have to argue before a judge, and can appear only once in court to obtain their divorce, but this is achieved only when they are able to reach a consensus on the important issues necessary to resolve the divorce.
You don’t have to like the other party to do this, you only have to be willing to work with them and potentially compromise on matters to get an overall great result. Mediators are available to help in this process, and your family law attorney can provide options and strategies for building an agreement that avoids delay and reaches the timely result you deserve.
For any questions on family law in California, contact the Law Office of Kelley C. Finan today to schedule a consultation to discuss your circumstances.