Divorce Attorney in Sacramento, CA

Divorce cases have several components. You, your spouse, and your attorney will need to discuss several factors in your divorce, including:

• Division of marital property - Anything that you and your spouse bought while you shared finances needs to be equitably distributed. In some cases (those with large assets, like real estate) this may mean liquidating certain assets and splitting the proceeds between both parties. However, you and your spouse may not split any assets you each owned before your marriage.
• Child custody - This is often the most bitterly-contested part of a separation. In California, child custody has two main parts. First, it decides which parent a child will live with. Second, it determines which parent may make medical, educational, religious, and other choices regarding a child's upbringing.
• Child support - if one parent has a significantly higher income than the other, a divorce may require a child support ruling. The court may mandate one parent to make monthly payments to the other, depending on which parent has custody of a child and each parent's income. After a court has ruled in favor of child support, a parent may pursue legal action if their former spouse doesn't pay.
• Spousal support- Similar to child support, spousal support (alimony) refers to a monthly payment from one former spouse to another. These situations occur when one party makes significantly more money than the other. It allows the lower-earning spouse to maintain their standard of living post-divorce.

In many divorce cases, these components may be bitterly contested between each party. Additionally, the parties may have difficulty negotiating with each other one-on-one do to the highly emotional nature of these cases. Because of these factors, choose the attorneys of the Stutz Law Office to handle your divorce.