Family Law Blog

A status conference in California family court is a court event where the judge checks on the progress of your case, sets deadlines, and decides what needs to happen next to keep it moving toward a final judgment. It is not a trial, and it usually is not where contested issues like custody or support […]

Gray divorce is the term for a divorce between spouses who are 50 or older, usually after a long marriage. In California, the same community property and spousal support laws apply at any age, but the issues that matter most change: retirement accounts and pensions, Social Security, long-term spousal support, the family home, and health […]

The Moore Marsden rule decides how much of a home bought before marriage belongs to the community when community funds paid down the mortgage after the wedding. The house stays the buying spouse’s separate property, but the community earns a share equal to the principal it paid plus a matching percentage of the appreciation during […]

In California, you change your name after divorce by asking the court to restore your former name, either in the divorce judgment itself or, if the divorce is already final, with form FL-395. Family Code section 2080 says the judge shall restore a birth name or former name when a party asks, and the signed […]

Summary dissolution is California’s short-form divorce for couples with a brief marriage, no children together, no real estate, and few assets or debts. Both spouses file one joint petition (form FL-800), nobody goes to court, and the marriage ends six months after filing unless either spouse revokes. The eligibility criteria are strict and set by […]

A military divorce in California follows the same Family Code as any other divorce, but it also brings in federal rules that can change timing, strategy, and long-term outcomes. Community property is still divided equally, custody is still decided by the best interest of the child, and support still runs through the statewide guideline; what […]

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. […]