Mediation is about calmly discussing each other’s point of view on a situation and coming together to make a fair and honest settlement that will satisfy both parties. Always keep an open mind during the mediation process so that you can input your opinions but also understand the other person’s view as well. You may not have thought about how the dispute has affected the other person, but mediation is about trying to understand how the incident has impacted both parties and by doing so, you can easily reach a suitable resolution.

Take into consideration the other party’s settle solution and clearly state what you were hoping the dispute would settle with. If all goes well with your mediation and you come to an agreement, you will be more satisfied with this path rather than going in front of a judge. Going to court in front of a judge is very often lengthy and expensive. You also have no say on your verdict because it is the judge who makes the decision, not you.

In mediation, you will assemble in a indifferent area and confer the disagreement with a mediator there. Mediators are trained to help in legal disputes without getting emotionally involved. With this option you will not have to going infront of a judge and the mediator will not force your to a decision nor make any choices for you.

If mediation works for you, then you can rest easy knowing that it was a just result that both you and the other party have come together to agree upon. In court, the judge would have made the decisions for both of the parties.

If you are unable to come to an understanding in mediation, you can still opt to go to court and have a judge decide on the outcome of your case, but there is nothing to lose in choosing to go to mediation first.

Along with all the other forms you’ve filed, you should have included forms requesting items like child support orders, domestic violence protection orders etc. These are temporary orders that a judge will make. These types of cases can get difficult and it’s in your best interest to seek the advice of a lawyer or family law facilitator.

These 1st forms are petitions for your divorce and when you file them it is regularly called the ‘first appearance’. Registering the forms will call for a filing fee and the clerk will let you know how much it will be. If you cannot afford to pay the fee you can request that it be waived.

-The Marriage Petition: requires you to give fundamental notes about your marriage. It can also be used to ask for court orders.

-Summons Form: It’s a very good idea to read this form thoroughly because it contains a mass of data that will be useful to you for the duration of your divorce case. It also holds some information about some restraints that will limit what you can do with your assets and belongings as well as your children.

-Property Declaration: Complete this form by listing all your property and debts which you and your spouse have gathered unitedly during your marriage.

-Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act: You need to complete this form if you and your spouse have minors under the age of 18.

-Child Custody and Visitation Application Attachment: Must be completed if you desire to ask the court for custody and visitation orders. Though the Child Custody and Visitation Application Attachment is optional, it’s best to use this form because it contains more detailed information about schedules etc.

2. Make sure you have all your paperwork reviewed by an attorney or family law facilitator to guarantee that all the facts are present so that there is no holdup in your case.

3. You will need to find out if there are any further forms to complete with your court clerk. Ask your court clerk or attorney.

4. Make more copies of all your forms, one for yourself, one for your partner and the originals will be filed with the court.

When discussing earnings, community property extends to encompass the things you’ve bought with your earnings and to determine whether an item is community property or not, you must simple look at the source of the money that the item was purchased with. If the money use to obtain the item was earned during your marriage or domestic partnership, then the item is considered community property. An example would be: If you purchased a stereo with money that you’ve been saving yourself, but that money was earned during your marriage, then the stereo is therefore considered community property.

Debt collected during your marriage or domestic partnership is also community property and must be divided once you are separated. Even if the debt was made by one spouse/partner, if it was accumulated during your union, then it belongs to both of you and will be divided equally between you.

Even pension plans and retirement benefits are community property and it is best to seek professional legal help to find out about all your community property.

Joint physical custody means that the child will live with both parents where the child will spend a scheduled amount of time living with one parent and the remainder of the time living with the other. This arrangement does not necessarily require that the child’s time be equally split between both parents. This arrangement is often dependant on everyone’s lifestyles and what is best for the child. When one parent cares for the child more than half of the time, this parent if often referred to as the ‘primary custodial parent’.

Sole physical custody means that child lives with one parent the majority of the time and visits the other parent on occasion.

It has been known that a judge will order joint legal custody of a child but not joint physical custody which means that both the parents will be able to make important decisions about the child’s care but the child will live the majority of his time at one parent’s household. The parent who does not have physical custody usually has visitation with the children.

A few of the issues that a couple might have difficulty coming to an agreement on might be things like:

-Custody orders
-Visitation orders
-The validity of a prenuptual agreement
-How to end a marriage
-The date of separation.

There are several reasons why a marriage would be considered void:

-Incest
-Bigamy
-Under age marriage
-Insanity/unsound mind where a person in the marriage or domestic partnership does not understand the nature of a marriage or domestic partnership
-Fraud where the marriage is a result of a fraudulant act
-Force where the marriage or domestic partnership is a result of a forced consent
-Unable to consumate the marriage

To obtain an annulment, you must be able to prove one of the above reasons that your marriage should be considered void. This act may be a difficult task so it’s important to get professional help when trying to prove a marriage or domestic partnership should be legally void.

-A visitation order is when a parent is with the child for less than half of the time. It is best to prepare a visitation schedule so that it will reduce conflicts and confusion when it comes to important events and holidays.
-A supervised visitation is when a parent/child visitation must be overseen or supervised by someone from a professional agency, by another adult or even by yourself. This is done for the child’s safety and well-being or in cases where a child and parent need to get better acquainted or familiar with each other for instance, when parent and child haven’t seen each other in a long time.
-An order for no visitation is issued that it’s in the best interest of the child to have no contact with a parent because it is deemed harmful for a child to visit a parent, either physically and/or emotionally.

Irreconcilable differences refers to the couple having such significant differences that it makes it impossible to carry-on making a life together. There is no need to specify what the difficulties are and the court will allow a divorce under these circumstances. This is the most common grounds given for a divorce.

Incurable insanity is almost never used as a reason for divorce but if utilized, there must be medical proof given to validate the accusations when the petition is filed with the court.

For an Orange County divorce attorney contact us.