Frequently Asked Questions

First, try to take a deep breath. A divorce is not easy, it’s hard on you and your spouse, and if you have children it is especially difficult.

There will be some hard decisions to make, and the process will take some time to complete. The best thing you can do for yourself is to take one step at a time and follow the guidance of an experienced divorce lawyer who will protect your interests.

California is a no-fault divorce state. This means that a divorce can be granted under the cause of “irreconcilable differences” which means that a married person who would like to end the marriage can do so, even if the other spouse would like to stay together.

All divorce in California follows a similar process, which is:

1. One spouse files a divorce petition and serves it on the other spouse (called the respondent).
2. The respondent then has thirty days to file a response to the petition.
3. One of the spouses may request temporary court orders by filing for an Order to Show Cause hearing. At this hearing, the judge will make temporary child custody, support, and restraining orders.
4. The spouses then engage in discovery, which is the process by which they exchange information and documents that are relevant to the divorce. One of the required aspects of discovery is the preparation of the Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure.
5. After the discovery is complete, the spouses and their attorneys will discuss settlement of the case. If the case is resolved by agreement, one of the attorneys will prepare a Marital Settlement Agreement, which should include all of the terms of the agreement.
6. If the parties are not able to agree on all of the issues in the case, a trial will take place.
7. After the parties sign the Marital Settlement Agreement or after the trial has concluded, one of the attorneys will prepare a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. This is the document that contains all of the court’s orders. The judgment is filed and the court mails a Notice of Entry of Judgment to each attorney.

The exception, is that under some circumstances you may qualify for a summary dissolution.

To qualify for a summary dissolution, you must have been married for less than five years, have no children, don’t own real estate, and have relatively limited property and debts. There is still some paperwork that needs to be filed and you still have to wait six months before your divorce becomes final, however, you don’t have to go through a lot of the procedures and appearances required for a regular divorce.

Of course all divorce cases are unique and there will be challenges to overcome in ever case. Brett Thorsteinson works with you to build a case tailored to your needs and interests, and he works to protect those interests throughout the entire process.

Contact Thorsteinson Law to help you with your divorce. We provide complimentary consultations, and are dedicated to bringing you a lasting resolution.

Start Divorce Process

In the divorce process, there will be forms and documents you will need to complete and sign. One of those forms is called a Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure (PDD). The PDD is used to provide full and accurate disclosure of all assets and liabilities in in the marriage. It’s called preliminary because it is a starting point and a way to get all parties working towards providing accurate information so the divorce process can go as smoothly as possible.

Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure

The Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure is completed in the early stages of the divorce process. All assets and liabilities are disclosed regardless of the characterization as community or separate, along with a disclosure of all income and expenses of each party.

The Preliminary Declaration of Disclosure must meet the following guidelines:
• There must be a full disclosure
• Must be accurate
• Include all assets
• Include all liabilities
• The disclosure must be made early on in the proceedings, although there is no specific time rule
• It doesn’t matter whether you think the asset or debt is a separate property item, you still must disclose
• You must also fully and accurately disclose all income and expenses

There are different strategies and ways a divorce can be handled after the initial divorce filing. Your choice in divorce attorney can greatly effect your results. However, generally speaking, the divorce process consists of five steps after the initial filing.

After you file the initial paperwork for divorce the following five steps will occur, each with their own nuances and additional processes to help your divorce go as smoothly as possible.

Five Steps After Initial Divorce Filing

1. Temporary divorce order: You or your spouse may ask for a hearing so a judge can decide any temporary child custody, visitation, and support or restraining order disputes.

2. Discovery process: This is an exchange of information about each party’s assets, income and liabilities. In California, there are mandatory preliminary and final disclosures that must be made by both parties.

3. Agreement: You, your spouse and your lawyers will work on permanently resolving the issues mentioned in the dissolution.

4. Trial: If you are unable to reach an agreement, you and your spouse will go to court and a judge will make the decisions to resolve the conflicts.

5. Judgment: A final judgment ending your marriage can be entered six months after the day your spouse was served with the initial divorce paperwork. The court does not automatically end your marriage when the six months have passed.

Keep in mind that not every divorce will require all these steps, but these are the steps that occur in many divorce cases.

Retirement plans and pensions are typically the second largest assets in a marriage but they are often overlooked during a divorce because retirement can be years away. However, if the divorce is finalized without dividing the retirement and/or pension plan you could be losing out on a significant portion of the marital assets.
It is best for a pension to be divided at the time of divorce along with the other assets. In the case where the pension was not divided during the divorce, a court order or court approved settlement called a domestic relations order can provide for a pension plan to make payments to a former spouse.

As long as the domestic relations order meets certain requirements, most retirement plans will pay pension benefits directly to divorced spouses. Payments can be made for the life of the employee or retiree, and also after death (whether it occurs before or after retirement).

The rules relating to the division of pensions at divorce are complicated and vary from state to state and retirement system to retirement system. In addition, rights vary depending on when a divorce occurred. Many women (and men) were divorced when pensions were not considered to be marital assets, or before retirement plan rules changed to permit direct payment to former spouses.

Contact Thorsteinson Law, your trusted Long Beach, California divorce lawyer to help you with your retirement and pension accounts in a California divorce.

Alimony is payment made by one ex-spouse to another to help support them during and after divorce proceedings. It is usually ordered when the judge finds that the divorce caused economic consequences for one ex-spouse. Below are the four types of alimony along with the factors in alimony/spousal support.

Four types of Alimony

Temporary – This is also known, as “alimony pendente lite” is an ongoing payment that is made when a couple is separated or in divorce proceedings, but not yet divorced. It can include payment for divorce costs, daily expenses, and continues until the court determines permanent alimony.

Permanent – The amount awarded after the conclusion of divorce proceedings, paid on a regular, recurring basis. Permanent alimony is usually due indefinitely, but is subject to change under certain circumstances such as remarriage or cohabitation.

Rehabilitative – In situations in which one ex-spouse is not self-sufficient, the judge may order payment of rehabilitative alimony to provide financial support while searching for a job or while attempting to expand employment skills. This is typically ordered for a fixed period of time.

Reimbursement– This type of alimony was intended to balance the scales on any support provided for higher education or work training by one ex-spouse. It requires a regular payment to reimburse the sponsoring ex-spouse the tuition costs paid, or a portion of those costs.

Lump-sum – This is also known, as “alimony in gross.” If one ex-spouse does not want any property or items of value from the marriage, the judge may order a one-time lump-sum payment in replacement of the property.

How the court awards

Spousal support awards are generally based upon the needs and abilities of each party, and when deciding, judges look at the following factors:
• The duration of the marriage
• Health and physical condition
• The earning capacity of the parties
• Present income of the parties
• The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party;
• The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support
• The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage
• The jurisdiction of the marriage

Spousal support in California is meant to help ensure a divorced spouse can maintain a standard of living that resembles the standard of living they had during their marriage. This is important because it is common for one spouse to be untrained or out of the workforce for a significant amount of time and it is difficult for them to quickly attain work that provides the income they need to maintain an expected standard of living.

Spousal support in California is meant to help financially support the divorced spouse during the time it takes them to obtain employment that can provide enough income for the expected standard of living.

Only about 10-15% of all divorces or separations include any spousal support as part of the final divorce judgment or decree. However, it’s important to keep in mind that alimony will probably be the largest financial obligation you will incur as part of a divorce.

Typically alimony payments can be greatly reduced or eliminated when an ex-spouse moves in with their new partner or gets married.

If you have specific questions about alimony and divorce contact Brett Thorsteinson, your trusted and experienced divorce and family law attorney. Offices in Huntington Beach and Long Beach with free consultations.

In many divorces there is debt that needs to be considered. The type can vary but typically includes mortgages, student loans, credit cards, and vehicles. During divorce proceedings, couples will need to divide assets and debt.

Debt and Divorce

The general rule is that if your debt was incurred at any time during the marriage, it will be divided between both spouses. For example, if you had opened a joint credit card, each of you will be responsible for the balance regardless of who did the spending.

Instead of dividing each debt in half, the court may assign one debt to one spouse and another debt to the other spouse. This means that if you and your spouse had multiple credit cards, you may be asked to pay off one of the cards and your spouse may be asked to pay off other cards, keeping the total debt for each of you equal. Keep in mind that no matter which spouse is responsible for paying the debt, all jointly held account debt will remain on your credit report.

Credit Reports and Divorce

It is important to check credit reports after a divorce to make sure that they do not include any debts that have been paid off or that are attributed to the opposite party. However, if a joint debt was incurred during the marriage both names may still appear on the report.

Be sure to consult your divorce and family law attorney for recommendations on how to handle your divorce and debt. There are strategies that can be put in place before the divorce proceedings that can make debt easier to manage after your divorce is final.

Thorsteinson Law is your trusted divorce and family law attorney. With offices in Long Beach and Huntington Beach, we serve clients throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

At the end of the year many professionals and business owners review their tax strategies. Understanding how taxes are affected in a divorce is equally important. Some of the most common tax-related confusion is regarding the topics of support payments, dependency exemptions, and filing for taxes.

Filing status

Whether you are divorced at the beginning of the year or the very end – including the day of December 31st – your filing status options for that year are “Head of Household” or “Single.” You do not have the option of filing as a married person even if you were married for some part of a year.

Child dependents

It’s a good idea to make clear which spouse will claim the children as the dependents. The easy way to decide is to look at the custody schedule and see which parent has greater than 50 percent of the year with the children. That is the parent who will claim the children as dependents.

Child and spousal support

There are no deductions for paying child support. However with alimony (also known as spousal support), the paying spouse can take a dedication and the receiving spouse must claim the income.

Transfer of property

If the transfer of property (real estate, an investment account, a retirement account, cash, or personal property) is stipulated in the divorce, is not taxable.

Taxes in the year of divorce and the years following can be more complicated. If you are considering divorce consult with a CPA and a trusted divorce attorney.

Contact Thorsteinson Law to seek the advice of a family law attorney regarding taxes and divorce.

What Happens to the House in a Divorce

Who Gets the House in a Divorce can be one of the most contentious parts of a divorce, and for very good reason. When going through a divorce, it is important to understand all aspects of marital property, especially bigger things like your family home.

Deciding who gets the house in a divorce involves more than asking who wants it the most. You also have to consider mortgage responsibilities and whether you can afford the house based on your means.

Does It Matter Who is Listed on the Title?

Divorce lawyers often see controversy over who gets to stay in the family home. This is justifiable because the house is visible, valuable, and emotional. There are definitely good reasons to stand your ground, including continuity for the children, emotional attachment, and sometimes convenience. There are also bad reasons for desiring the house, including vindictiveness, ego gratification, and budgetary concerns.

Due to credit issues or spousal pressure, many married couples have the home’s title under one person’s name. In general, California law doesn’t give the title bearer too much weight and still considers the home community property. If there is only one spouse’s name on the title, this issue should be discussed at length with your attorney because it can be a grey area under California divorce law.

Sale or Mortgage

For obvious reasons, California freezes the sale or mortgaging of a home during a divorce. Even if the property is under a sole person’s name, a spouse or court’s approval is required to put your marital home on the open market. Also, your spouse can also file a “lis pendens,” which is a lien saying there is a claim on the title.

The decision to stay in your home during the divorce may have implications in your temporary spousal support payments. Your spouse can be living in the house temporarily under a court ruling, but this does not prevent you from asking for the home during the divorce trial.

In a California divorce, determining who gets the house is often one of the biggest points of contention between you and your spouse. A house is typically the family’s most valuable asset and sometimes there is an emotional attachment to the house as well.

There are many things to keep in mind when figuring out who will get the house or whether it will be sold, including: which spouse can afford to keep the house, tax implications, reimbursements, and if there are children, where the children will live.

The first step is to determine who owns the house. That may seem like a simple task but under California divorce law, it is not always a cut and dry issue. Most property, including a house, purchased during the marriage is considered community property and therefore would be divided during the divorce.

There are a couple of scenarios that make the issue more complex. What if the house was purchase before the marriage, or what if there is only one of the spouse’s name on the title? Generally speaking, a house purchased before the marriage will be considered that spouse’s property unless it can be proven that the other spouse contributed money towards the mortgage payments or for improvements made to the home during marriage.

If a house was purchased during the marriage but only one spouse’s name is on the title, California divorce law will generally not give the title too much consideration as it can be a common practice. However, having one spouses name on the title can cause some complexity and it is important that you bring it to the attention of your attorney quickly.

Additionally, California freezes the sale or mortgaging of a home during a divorce. Even if the property is under a sole person’s name, a spouse or court’s approval is required to put your marital home on the open market.

When asking the question “who gets the house in a California divorce?” there are many factors involved before a decision can be made. Contact Thorsteinson Law to schedule your consultation and discuss your situation.