San Marino Divorce Lawyer
Getting divorced is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life in San Marino, CA. Whether you’re considering filing for divorce or have recently been served with papers, it’s not something you should have to navigate on your own. You deserve to work with an experienced, trustworthy, and passionate San Marino divorce lawyer who can help you make the most of a difficult situation. Call us at (310) 271-6290.
At Berenji & Associates, we’re recognized leaders in family law disputes in San Marino and throughout Southern California. We strive to be a voice of reason and a system of support as our clients work through incredibly difficult aspects of their divorces – like how to divide marital assets, who will get custody of the kids, and how financial support should be handled.
You can trust us to help you fight for the best possible outcome for you and your family. Contact our law office serving San Marino, California, to set a time for a case evaluation today.
How Berenji & Associates Can Help You Navigate a Divorce in San Marino, CA
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by emotion as you’re going through a divorce. However, you cannot allow emotion to cloud your judgment or scare you away from doing what’s in your family’s best interests – especially if young children are involved.
Choosing Berenji & Associates to handle your divorce can make all the difference in the world.
Our San Marino family law attorneys have extensive experience handling all types of divorce disputes and an unrivaled knowledge of California divorce law. When you ask for our help, we’ll sit down to identify what you want to get out of your divorce and aggressively defend your best interests during negotiations with your spouse and their legal counsel.
Count on us to:
- Conduct a thorough accounting of your marital assets, including real property, vehicles, retirement and benefit accounts, bank accounts, business interests, and personal items
- Depose close friends, family members, and other parties with personal knowledge of your relationship with your children and your spouse’s relationship with your children
- Gather evidence that will be necessary to support any requests for child support, child custody, alimony, and/or restraining orders
- Attempt to secure mutually agreeable resolutions to the terms of your divorce using mediation, arbitration, or collaborative divorce approaches
- Work closely with experts in accounting, psychology, domestic violence, and other specialties
- Represent you at all hearings and, if necessary, at trial
Whether your divorce is contested or uncontested, it’s smart to have an attorney help you navigate the process. Mistakes can be time-consuming and costly. Working with an experienced divorce attorney in San Marino sets you up for success.
Call our San Marino, CA, law office to discuss your situation with our legal team today.
What Are the Requirements for Divorce in California?
Getting a divorce requires filing a lawsuit with your local court. However, before you can file for divorce, you’ll have to make sure that you (or your spouse) satisfy the state’s residency requirements.
You (or your spouse) must have lived in California for at least six months before filing for divorce and in your current county for at least three months before that.
Once you’ve satisfied these requirements, you can file your complaint with the local Los Angeles County court clerk and serve copies on your spouse.
How is Property Divided in a San Marino Divorce?
California is a community property state. When a couple gets divorced, marital assets and debts are typically divided equally between them.
While there are some exceptions, any property that’s acquired by either spouse after marriage is considered community property and, as a result, each spouse retains a 50/50 stake in it in the event of a divorce.
Any property solely owned by a spouse or partner before marriage is considered separate property and, in turn, not subject to distribution in a divorce.
It’s important to make sure that all marital assets and debts are fully accounted for during the divorce process. Our divorce attorneys in San Marino will conduct a full accounting of your estate with the help of financial experts.
Once we’ve compiled a list of community property, we’ll work with you to identify which assets (and debts) you’re most interested in retaining and work to negotiate terms that represent your wishes.
How Are Child Custody and Child Support Managed When I Get a Divorce?
When parents get divorced, they’ll be required to figure out child custody and, in some cases, child support before a judge will sign off on the dissolution of their marriage.
Child custody essentially involves establishing each parent’s rights in terms of physical and legal custody.
Physical custody involves where children spend their time, while legal custody has to do with the right to make decisions about a child’s health, welfare, education, and safety.
In California, child custody laws prefer that both parents have the opportunity to stay actively involved in a child’s life after a divorce. So, absent any evidence of drug and alcohol addictions, mental illness, domestic violence, or abandonment, the state will want to see shared physical custody. The parent who spends most of the time is considered the custodial parent, while the other parent is the non-custodial parent.
Our San Marino child custody attorneys can help you craft a parenting plan that prioritizes your children’s best interests. We’ll advocate to keep your children safe above all else.
Many times, the non-custodial parent is required to pay child support to help offset the costs of raising a child in San Marino. Our child support attorneys will gather the documentation and evidence needed to help you ensure that child support payments are calculated properly.
How Can Alternative Dispute Methods Help Me Get a Divorce?
All terms of divorce—including child custody, child support, spousal support, and property division—must be settled before a divorce can be finalized. Disagreements over minor details can potentially derail negotiations and extend the time it takes to get a divorce and move forward with your life.
At Berenji & Associates, we regularly utilize alternative dispute resolution methods to help our clients and their partners find common ground and resolve family law matters amicably.
Favored methods include:
-
- Mediation: Mediation requires spouses to attempt to resolve disputes with the help of a neutral third party. The mediator’s primary job is to help spouses see eye-to-eye, negotiate, and move toward a mutually agreeable decision. The terms are ultimately up to the spouses.
- Arbitration: Arbitration is effectively a private trial before a neutral third party. Both sides make their case before the arbitrator, whose decisions on the matters are binding.
- Collaborative Divorce: Collaborative divorce requires a commitment to resolve all terms of a divorce outside of the court. If a party brings a matter to trial, both spouses will be required to obtain new counsel and start over.
If alternative dispute methods aren’t successful, our divorce lawyers in San Marino will be fully prepared to be the aggressive advocates you need in your life right now. Our commitment to client justice and unrivaled ability to win is why we’re known as leaders in family law disputes in Los Angeles County.
We Handle All Types of Divorce Cases in San Marino
No two divorces are the same. When you’re searching for an attorney to help you navigate this complicated, stressful process, it’s important to choose one with experience handling all types of divorce disputes.
At Berenji & Associates, our San Marino divorce attorneys represent clients in all divorce and related family cases, including:
- Uncontested divorce
- Contested divorce
- LGBT divorce
- High net worth divorce
- Military divorce
- Business divorce
- Paternity
- Domestic violence
- Modification of orders
- Annulment
- Prenuptial agreements
- Child Custody and visitation
- Child support
- Property division
- Legal separation
Call our law office today to benefit from a team with over 45 years of combined experience handling divorce and family law issues.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced San Marino Divorce Lawyer
The terms of your divorce will be final. It’s important to fight for your best interests from the start. Berenji & Associates is here to help you navigate this difficult process with relative ease.
Our San Marino divorce lawyers are award-winning California litigators with over 45 years of collective experience. We’re known for our unwavering support of our clients and our determined approach to the cases we handle.
If you want to achieve the best results in your divorce, you’ll want our top-rated legal team fighting for you. Contact our law office in San Marino today to learn more about how we can be the difference-maker you deserve.