introduction to family law

Family lawyers in California generally bring and defend parentage, dissolution (divorce), nullity, separation, domestic violence, and adoption actions, inclusive of custody, visitation, child and spousal support issues. Family lawyers also negotiate and draft premarital, marital, and transmutation agreements

family lawyers

Our family law firm accepts cases involving all family law matters, guardianship, and dependecy actions in Ventura County and Los Angeles Counties. Premarital agreements and other transactional mattters are accepted from clients statewide.

location

Our family law firm is located in Thousand Oaks, a city in Ventura County just off the 101 Freeway, near the Ventu Park exit.

communication and advertisement

This site is a communication in terms of Rule of Professional Conduct 1-400. The information in this family law site is not meant to constitute legal advice, and nothing in this site constitutes a guarantee, warranty or prediction regarding the outcome of any legal matter. Advertising in this site is limited to California. All photos and graphics are for artistic purposes only, and none of the images are those of staff or clients, unless otherwise stated. This communication is void where prohibited.

The Hall of Justice in Ventura has four departments, Departments 31 through 34, dealing with family law cases. Simi Valley has one, Department S-2. The Simi Valley court serves the Eastern County except for Newbury Park, while the Ventura Court serves the balance of the County. Adoptions, guardianships and juvenile cases are now heard by two departments in the newer courthouse on Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard.

Completing a family law case is becoming increasingly more complex and expensive if the case is contested. This is particularly true of custody disputes and complex property issues.

In these cases, experts often abound. Most difficult custody cases usually result in a formal evaluation process with full psychological testing, usually by an expert with a doctorate in psychology. Attorneys avidly seek assistance from forensic accountants, actuaries, appraisers and therapists.

There are other ways: it is possible to use private mediation for custody cases, and to conduct trials out of the courtroom. This, too, comes at a cost, but ADR or alternative dispute resolution has a strong following, and many good retired judges make themselves available.

The truth is that many matters could be worked out with the proper care and attention. Settlements may take as much work as preparing for a court hearing, but a party to a settlement is in control of the outcome. This philosophically, is a strong argument in favor of working out contentions. Another quantifier, that many overlook, is the emotional cost to a party. What value can be placed on swift resolution as opposed to being embroiled in a family law matter for a year or two?

Ventura County continues to provide a facilitator that assists self-represented individuals and also has a referral program to assist litigants to find a lawyer through the local bar association (Ventura County County Bar Association LRS), which may be reached at (805)650-7599.

Hopefully this site will provide some understanding to the different aspects of family law when many are fraught with complexity...you only have to read the cases to see that. Divorce is never easy. You have my sympathy.