If you are getting a divorce and need a divorce lawyer to represent you, the Law Office of Ilona Antonyan will help negotiate a settlement, assist you with your legal paperwork, or represent your interests in court to ensure that you get everything that you are entitled to. We will be with you from beginning to end. We handle both non-contested and highly contested divorced.

The Certified Family Law Specialists at our firm underwent rigorous training in met the high standards set by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization to handle complex and high profile cases. We are experts on division of marital property, custody and visitation disputes, paternity, child and spousal support, high-asset marital dissolution, business valuation, post judgment modification of orders, prenuptial and marital agreements.

Requirements For Divorce In California

There are a couple of basic requirements that must be met before filing for divorce (also called dissolution of marriage) in the state of California. The spouse initiating the divorce proceedings must have been a California resident for at least six months, as well as a resident of the county where the divorce petition is being filed for at least three months.

California is a no-fault state, which means that neither party has to be "at fault" in order for a divorce petition to be filed, and one person can file for divorce even if the other person does not wish for the marriage to end.

Filing For Divorce

Once a spouse files for divorce and serves the petition on the other spouse (known as the respondent), a six-month waiting period must pass before the marriage can be officially dissolved. The spouse who is served the divorce petition has 30 days to respond. If the respondent does not respond to the petition, a court may assume that both spouses are in agreement about the divorce and a "default" will be rendered in the case. A divorce petition may also include a request to the court to issue temporary orders regarding child support, child visitation, spousal support, domestic violence/restraining orders, paternity issues, and property valuation and division matters.

Discovery

During the discovery process, both spouses must exchange information regarding their financial and personal circumstances. This includes information about joint assets and income, separate property and income, as well as any debts. Occasionally, there is a need for formal discovery, including an exchange of documents and interrogatories (questions asked and answered), as well as depositions (sworn statements) made regarding matters needing to be resolved such as income, visitation, retirement accounts, hidden assets, the validity of a pre-nuptial agreement, tracing funds, and more.