Q. Tell us about yourself and your practice.
A. My practice is limited to family law matters, including representation in marital dissolution proceedings (divorce), legal separation proceedings, proceedings relating to child support, spousal support, custody and visitation. I provide legal services in several manners. I practice collaborative law, which enables me to represent clients in settling their divorce cases without threat of going to court. In a collaborative case, both parties agree that their attorneys will not represent them in adversarial court proceeding. Instead, the collaborative lawyers work with the clients to reach mutually acceptable out-of court settlements.
I have also trained in family law mediation which allows me to work as a neutral mediator helping both parties negotiate their settlement.
I also represent clients in traditional family law litigation proceedings involving contested court hearings, including custody and support hearings, and divorce trials.
In addition, I represent individuals regarding premarital and post-marital agreements. I am certified as a family law specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and maintain the highest AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the most widely known national law directory. More information concerning the services I provide is available at our firm’s website, www.helonmanfredo.com/practice-areas.html
Q. Do you offer a free initial consultation?
A. I charge my standard hourly rate for most initial consultations. I do so in order to avoid having to charge a higher hourly rate which would be necessary, if I were to provide free consultation services.
Q. I have engaged your services, what happens next?
A. A case plan is developed for each matter. Much will be depend on the type of representation that is involved. If the case is a collaborative divorce where the parties agree to stay out of court, we will coordinate our efforts with the other spouse and his or her collaborative attorney to initiate a series of meetings to address the issues in their case. By working collaboratively, the parties will determine their priorities and schedules, and collectively decide with the guidance and input from their attorneys how best to resolve their situation. On the other hand, a court-based case will involve preparation for and attending court hearings. In all cases, financial information and information about the children’s situation and the parties’ goals and concerns will need to be gathered and evaluated.
Q. How long do you take to process a divorce?
A. California law requires at least a six month “cooling off” period in order to terminate a marriage. Usually settling the property, financial and parenting plan issues will require more than six months to resolve, but that is often up to the willingness of the parties to come to a resolution. If it is necessary to go to court to resolve issues, the case may last several years. There are certain requirements that the parties must fulfill in all divorce cases, whether adversarial or cooperative. These include providing full and complete financial disclosures and supporting documentation to the other spouse. It may also be necessary to obtain appraisals and valuations of assets, which can lengthen the time it takes to resolve the case.
Q. What is an uncontested divorce?
A. An uncontested divorce means that one of the parties does not oppose the granting of the divorce and the other party’s request for relief in the proceedings. This often occurs where there are no or minimal assets or debts to divide and there is no objection to the proposed parenting plan, if there is one, and any amount of support that may be requested. If a party objects to the relief being requested by the petitioning party, the objecting party should file a response to the petition and either proceed with negotiation of a settlement or ask the court to resolve the issues. Anyone considering not opposing a request for dissolution of marriage should obtain legal advice and carefully consider the consequences.
Q. Who will have to pay alimony in a divorce?
A. Alimony, now referred to as spousal support, is awarded by the court after consideration of numerous factors required under the law. These factors include the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, the earnings of the parties and their earning capacities, the health, education, age, and training of the parties, whether someone sacrificed career opportunities to raise the family, and whether a child support order is involved. The law is gender neutral—a husband or wife may be required to support the other party, depending on circumstances. Because there are many factors that must be considered in each case, it is difficult to predict with precision what a court might order for spousal support, and what a judge does in a particular case may not be a reliable indicator of what the judge would do in another case.
Q. What is a marital settlement agreement in a divorce?
A. A marital settlement agreement is a written agreement entered into by the divorcing parties that contains the terms and conditions of their settlement. These agreements typically include the division of the marital property and debts, the parenting plan for the children, and provision for payment of child and/or spousal support. The marital settlement agreement is typically attached to the judgment of dissolution of marriage and becomes part of the judgment. Some lawyers prefer not to use a marital settlement agreement and instead have the parties sign a stipulated judgment of dissolution of marriage containing the terms of the settlement. The marital settlement agreement when attached to the judgment, or the stipulated judgment, becomes the order of the court subject to various enforcement remedies.
Q. Can both parties use the same lawyer?
A. There are significant risks to both parties using the same lawyer because of the potential for conflict of interest. I do not engage in joint representation of divorcing couples for that reason. A lawyer serving as a neutral mediator, and providing legal information to both parties as part of the mediation is generally in a better position to avoid the potential for conflict of interest since a mediator is not providing legal advice. Also, a party in mediation will be encouraged to obtain independent legal advice and guidance during the mediation process.
If one of the parties does not use a lawyer and the other party engages my services to represent him or her, I always make it very clear that I am only working on behalf of my client, that I do not give the other party legal advice, and that they are strongly encouraged to consult with an independent attorney during the process.
Q. How long do you have to be married before you can file for a divorce?
A. There is no minimum length of the marriage to be eligible to file for dissolution of the marriage. There are minimum residency requirements in order to be able to file a petition to dissolve the marriage in California. The petitioner must be a resident of the state for six months and the county in which the case is filed for three months prior to filing the dissolution petition. A petition for legal separation can be filed without meeting the minimum residency requirements for dissolution of marriage. |
