Family Law Blog

A Gavron warning is a statement by a California family court, usually made when it orders spousal support, telling the supported spouse that they are expected to make reasonable efforts to become self-supporting. It is authorized by Family Code section 4330(b) and named for In re Marriage of Gavron (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d 705. The warning […]

Form FL-120, the Response (Marriage/Domestic Partnership), is the document a spouse or domestic partner files to answer a California divorce, legal separation or nullity petition. Once you are served with the Petition (form FL-100) and Summons (form FL-110), you have 30 days to file and serve it. Miss that window and the petitioner can ask […]

Yes. California is a community property state. Under Family Code section 760, property acquired during the marriage while living in California belongs to both spouses equally, and section 2550 requires the court to divide the community estate equally at divorce unless the spouses agree otherwise. For Orange County spouses and couples dealing with divorce, property […]

Spousal support in California has no fixed term written into the law. For marriages under 10 years, the working assumption is support for about half the length of the marriage. For marriages of 10 years or more, the court keeps the power to order support indefinitely, which is where the so-called 10-year rule comes from. […]

California does not recognize common law marriage. Living together for seven years, ten years or thirty years does not make a couple legally married in this state, and no amount of shared bills, shared children or shared last names changes that. California does, however, recognize common law marriages that were validly formed in a state […]

In California, the date of separation is the date a complete and final break in the marital relationship occurred. Under Family Code section 70, that break requires two things: one spouse told the other spouse they intended to end the marriage, and that spouse’s conduct was consistent with that intent. For Orange County spouses and […]

California divorce forms are standardized statewide, published by the Judicial Council, and available free. That is the good news. The complication is that there are dozens of them, and which ones you need depends on your circumstances. This sets out the divorce paperwork in the order you will actually use it, and flags the forms […]

Child support in California does not stop by itself in every situation, and the assumption that it does causes real problems. Parents keep paying past the end date, or stop before the obligation actually terminates and accumulate arrears. Here are the rules, the exceptions, and the steps that actually end the obligation. The General Rule […]

An emergency custody order in California is granted where waiting for the normal hearing process would expose a child to immediate harm. The procedure is called an emergency ex parte request, and it moves in days rather than weeks. It is also frequently misused, and a request that does not meet the standard damages your […]

An uncontested divorce in California is a divorce where both spouses agree on every issue—property, debt, support, and any custody arrangements—so the legal process can move forward without a judge deciding disputes. For individuals and couples in California, especially in Orange County, who want a simpler alternative to contested litigation, that often means a faster, […]