It can make the case very difficult when the parties cannot seem to agree on anything, or if one of the parties decided they wanted to hide assets and not be cooperative with the process, because generally, some form of cooperation would be needed, and they would want to be able to try and settle a case, which is why I advise my clients that they should cooperate.

I do not like representing clients who are not willing to be part of the process, or someone who would try to be an obstructionist or someone who tries to play games. I want my side to be able to turn over what we need to turn over, and I want to make sure we research everything properly so we know what we are dealing with. It can certainly be difficult when the other side plays games so sometimes the judge would need to intervene and pass court orders. This would even apply to a civil case, although people can be difficult in family law cases, and that can be one of the worst things.

Another difficulty is when one person is just not a good parent and they may implement corporal punishment to a very high degree, to the point that Child Services might get involved. Cases can become very difficult and can really turn into a nightmare for the parent whenever Social Services gets involved, because those cases tend to get pulled out of Family Court and taken into the Dependency Court, where the Dependency Court judge can make rulings that would overrule what the Family Law judge had ordered which makes those cases difficult.

What Are Some Misconceptions About Divorce?

People sometimes do not know what the community property laws are, so one of the most common misconceptions comes down to somebody owning a house prior to being married. The person would think that their house was their own separate property, which it would have been at the time, but if there was no written agreement or anything like that, then once they got married, their spouse would start acquiring an interest in that house due to the fact it was becoming a community property interest with each payment that was paid towards its mortgage.

When it comes time for divorce, one spouse would claim the house as being theirs, and although it would be their house and a separate property interest, there would be some conflicts or calculations that would need to be done to determine the actual ownership interest in that house.

What Happens When One Of The Parents Gets A Boyfriend Or Girlfriend?

There might be a situation where one person got a new boyfriend or girlfriend and the other spouse did not like that new person. People are allowed to date, but one parent could feel that they did not necessarily want their child around the new person, although when the parties split up they would not necessarily get control over who their child was around unless for some reason, that person was a really bad person, in which case the court could intervene.

What Happens If One Party Does Not Want The Divorce?

Basically, parties who are at least willing to cooperate with the process can make the process go smoother, although parents or spouses who do not want to be separated from each other, could be an issue that comes up where they make things difficult for the other. It would be a really difficult situation if one parent wanted a divorce whereas the other did not, because then everything could become a battle.

In these cases, the judge might have to decide everything just because one spouse did not want to be separated from the other, and the spouse who did want to be separated would have a right to be divorced. Sometimes the case would just have to be moved through the court system to ultimately get the divorce for the parties.

How Long Could A Divorce Potentially Take?

The parties would need to have lived in the current county for 3 months, which in the state of California, would be 6 months for them to be eligible to become divorced. The courts are generally backlogged, and things could become worse if the parties did not have an agreement, so it could take a year or so to get divorced just because they would need court dates and trial dates. Each county in California is different, and Los Angeles County is obviously is a big county so it could take a while longer to get a court date for the trial.

With regards to timeframe they would probably be looking at a year if no agreement had been reached, but even if there was an agreement, the parties would still have to wait for six months because that is just the way the system works. It would also depend on their date of separation. The time frame might be altered if they had been separated for a while, although generally speaking, it could take 6 months and realistically speaking, it could be a year or more.

Things tend to come up in divorce cases and it would be very important to address the issues so the parties could know what the issues were, determine whether or not they wanted to have the trial and then ultimately get to the trial date if there was no agreement. There is no jury trial in California for family law cases, although criminal cases and civil cases do have a jury, so the judge would decide the case, the custody issues, visitation issues, spousal support, and child support in a family law case, if the parties could not determine it for themselves.

I have been a former deputy public defender, deputy district attorney, and I have done jury trials. There are no jury trials in family law, which is what I focus on now so the parties have to leave it in the hands of someone in a black robe, which is not necessarily ideal for both parents.

Most people do not want the government to necessarily tell them when, where, and how things would happen with their life and their children. They would not necessarily want the judge to tell them that they would be able to see their children on a certain date at a certain time or whatever they came up with. They encourage people to come up with their own custody plans because the parenting plans are very important.

It could drag out the case for a while if the parents did not agree. Parents want to get a judgment on custody issues in a divorce. There are so many factors in a family law court but it would be safe to say that it could take a year, although there are cases that could take 2 years but sometimes it could take a little less than that, or sometimes it could take a little bit more so it would just depend.

The point is that the parents and the spouses should try to cooperate. I want the people who are considering hiring me to cooperate and be part of the process, and I want them to be the kind of people who do not want to play games. Let's get down to business, let's figure out what needs to be done with the case, if we can reach an agreement with the other side, great.

If I have to deliver a bad news to the client and tell the client how it is, then I am going to have to tell the client how it is.  If I have to tell the client that he or she has to pay spousal support based on the factors that are involved, then that's what's got to be done and then we move from there.

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