In any family law action, whether it be divorce, legal separation, paternity or any other type of case, when custody or visitation is in dispute, the matter must be mediated. The Court provides a qualified mediator to mediate these issues. In Sacramento County, and in most California counties, attorneys are not allowed to be present during the mediation process. It is the mediator's role to use his or her best efforts to encourage an agreement on these issues in accordance with what the mediator feels is in the best interest of the child or children.

In Sacramento County and many other Northern California counties, if an agreement is not reached, the mediator will make a recommendation to the Court. At that time, either party may request that the recommendation be made an order of the Court. Either party may also dispute the recommendation and request a hearing. No agreement or recommendation is legally effective between the parties unless it has been made an order of the Court. The mediator may interview the child or children during this process.

Parentage is determined by either parent, mother or father, filing with the Court a Petition to Establish a Parental Relationship. If there is a question of whether or not true parentage exists between a father and a child, blood tests will be taken of the mother, child and alleged father. Blood tests are usually sufficient to determine whether or not there is a parent-child relationship; however, if it is unclear, there are more sophisticated testing that can be done. Prior to parentage even being determined, the Court may make orders as to custody, visitation and child support. Parents who marry after a child is born can have parentage determined in dissolution proceedings.

In the State of California, the law provides that a parent, whether married or unmarried, shall have frequent and continuing contact with his or her child or children. A court may make a determination of custody and visitation in divorce, legal separation or nullity, paternity cases, and those involving domestic violence.

A parent, whether married or unmarried, also has the responsibility to support his or her children. The payment of child support however, is not a condition precedent to enjoying parenting time with your child or children.

In Orange County the mediations department is sometimes called upon by the court to conduct either an emergency child custody investigation or a regular child custody investigation. The results of either one of these investigation will be made to the court, usually in writing but often orally (emergency) and may contain recommendations concerning custody.

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJEA) was enacted to deal with our mobile society, and the UCCJEA deals with the specific question of where an action for custody should be heard. The general functions of the UCCJEA are:

1. To avoid conflicting orders in different states;
2. To promote cooperation between states to determine which state is the more appropriate state to make decisions affecting a child or children;
3. To make sure that custody litigation takes place in the state where the child has the closest connection and where the more significant evidence regarding the child's care, education, etc., exists;
4. To discourage continuing litigation over custody issues;
5. To deter abductions or the removing of children in order to obtain custody awards;
6. To avoid the relitigation of custody decisions of other states;
7. To facilitate enforcement of custody orders of other states; and
8. To promote and expand the exchange of information and other forms of mutual assistance between the courts.

California law provides that both parents have a general obligation to support their minor children, both natural and adopted, whether or not the parents were married. Child support can be requested by one party from the other through an action for dissolution, legal separation, nullity, paternity or a domestic violence action.

In general terms, child support is based upon the incomes of both parties, which parent has custody and how much time the non-custodial parent has with the child or children. Once the information is collected, a computer program, used by both attorneys and judges, calculates support.

Child support is always modifiable and may be changed when either party's financial circumstances change or there is a change in the custody or visitation schedule. The revised law effective July 1, 1992 in most cases dramatically increased the level of support being ordered. A consultation with an attorney utilizing the computer program will give you an idea of the possible increase or decrease in the amount of support you are paying or receiving.

Since collaborative law is designed solely for the purpose for settlement negotiation, neither attorney involved may become the "attorney of record" and represent the client in court. This takes away "positioning," personal attacks and the threat of court as a weapon during negotiations. This is particularly important in cases where the parties are not on the same emotional and financial footing.

Collaborative negotiation has tangible benefits that are not readily seen until the process has begun. Since the parties make a commitment not to litigate, the parties and the attorneys devote all of their efforts to a negotiated settlement (agreement) in an efficient and cooperative manner. Further, the parties develop a rapport with both attorneys. This takes away from the mistrust and fundamental differences each party brings to the divorce process that can cause mediation to fail or create prolonged litigation. Both parties can actively participate in their cases while, at the same time, having their interest protected--thanks to the presence of attorneys. Each party can only benefit by a process that does not involve court intervention, requires full disclosure and exchange of information and provides an opportunity for the parties and attorneys to engage in effective problem solving in a totally confidential manner.

Having two attorneys involved would seem to produce the same cost as litigation. It really does not. In a traditional setting of two parties, two attorneys, costs quickly add up with court appearances (and the time spent waiting for the case to be called), preparation for court, depositions and other formal discovery methods. Collaborative negotiation allows the parties to focus on their own issues and control the process as compared to the control attorneys and the court have in litigation.

Collaborative negotiation is a conflict resolution process also called collaborative law or collaborative practice. This relatively new process is a joint effort by both parties and two attorneys to work out the existing issues. Collaborative negotiation is very similar to mediation with many of the same benefits (particularly saving both parties time and attorney's fees). As with mediation, it is also voluntary.

Should collaborative negotiation prove not to work for either party, he or she may unilaterally, and without reason, terminate their role in the collaborative process and proceed along the more traditional path of individual representation and court intervention.

Either or both attorneys may also withdraw from the process. If that is the case, the other attorney and the parties may continue in the process without the former attorney or substitution counsel may be retained.

The roles of the attorneys are very important to the process and are carefully defined and limited. The attorneys act to encourage and explore the entire range of settlement options and alternatives. The attorneys exchange information, research and ideas and commit themselves (and the clients) to resolving the issues.

It is very likely that the first meeting will be spent collecting information from each party, their positions and desires. The attorneys will then review the information to seek out possible solutions and explore the entire range of settlement options and alternatives. It is at this point that it is very important that you have chosen a qualified attorney, usually someone with specialization in family law, so that he or she may best analyze all options available to you and your spouse, including considering all tax ramifications of any agreement you may enter into.

After all of the information has been gathered and reviewed, negotiations can then begin. It is important that all of the information has been gathered and looked at so that any practical proposals for settlement can be considered. It would not be a good idea to agree to divide a 401(k) plan if there is no idea as to its value and what the potential tax consequences may be. It may even be necessary to seek outside assistance from a CPA, actuary, or real estate appraiser.

It is at this stage that it is imperative that each party and their attorneys take a pragmatic stance on the issues to encourage settlement and, if reasonable, compromise to reach this settlement. Recently approved Guidelines and Principles Governing the Collaborative Law Process and the Stipulation and Order Re: Collaborative Law have come into use in formalizing and completing the process.

Some people feel that they are sophisticated enough or that their case is simple enough that the expense of an attorney is not justified. Getting divorced is one of the most complicated and significant events that many people will ever encounter. The outcome of your divorce will have far reaching consequences and you need to obtain the best outcome possible. If your divorce is really uncomplicated with only a few disputed issues, a mediator may be able to help to resolve those issues. It is never a good idea to sign complicated legal papers that you do not really understand or to make agreements when you really do not know what other choices you may have. If you have been married less than five years, have no children together, own very limited property, and meet all other criteria, you may me able to utilize a "Summary Divorce." Information about this process is available at the clerks office. Lawyers are not involved in this type of divorce at all.

Realistically, most divorces take between six and eighteen months. Very simple divorces can be completed in a much shorter period of time.

How much the process costs really depends on the degree of conflict that has to be resolved.

If circumstances warrant, the court may issue ex parte orders. Such orders are made in exceptional circumstances when the court concludes that immediate intervention is needed to address a significant problem. Such orders are the exception and not the rule. Ex parte orders can be requested and ruled on in a very short period of time - with in a matter of a day or two.

730 refers to section 730 of the California Evidence Code, which provides that the court may appoint an expert to offer an opinion an issue that is before the court. Experts will investigate the situation and offer "expert" opinions to the court. The court will consider the opinions but the final decision in matters before the court rest with the court and the court is not permitted to simply rubber stamp the expert opinion. Experts may be appointed by the court to make recommendations concerning child custody, property valuations, or even to determine cash flow from a business.

Another type of action, separate from a dissolution, is a legal separation. A legal separation greatly resemble an action for divorce except that the parties are not free to remarry. One major advantage of filing a legal separation action is that, unlike a dissolution, there are no residency requirements.

A legal separation is not to be confused with the date of separation as explained in "Facts About Divorce." A person does not have to obtain a "legal separation" before filing a divorce.

A modification is a change of an existing order. A party who wants to modify a court order must follow the same rules as in the initial action. The first step would be to file a motion with the court asking for the change. It is the burden of the party bringing the motion to demonstrate a change in circumstances that would justify the requested modification.

A Nullity Judgment restores the parties to the status of unmarried persons and results in the parties being free to remarry immediately. While a divorce dissolves the existing marriage, a nullity judgment erases the marriage and its implications from the onset, as though the parties had never married.

A Judgment of Nullity, or annulment, may be obtained under any of the following circumstances:

• Incest;
• Bigamy;
• Lack of informed consent to the marriage;
• The husband or wife of the prior marriage was believed to be dead at the time of the subsequent marriage, but in fact was not;
• Unsound mind;
• Fraud;
• Force, unless afterwards the party who was forced into the marriage freely cohabited with the other party as husband and wife; or
• Either party, at the time of the marriage, was physically incapable of consummating the marriage, and the incapacity appears to be incurable.
• Most people believe that time is a factor in obtaining an annulment. That is not necessarily the case. It is true, for most of the conditions, an action must be filed within four years of the discovery of, for example, the facts constituting fraud.

Also unknown to most people is that, even though a Judgment of Nullity voids the marriage, you may be able to obtain support, a division of property and restraining orders. Children do not necessarily bar a party from obtaining a Judgment of Nullity.

OSC stands for Order To Show Cause. It is simply the name of the hearing where parties are asking for temporary orders or orders before trial or for modification of existing orders.

This type of hearing is used because the court will set the hearing date relatively soon and issue temporary orders before trial. The court will not set a trial date until both sides have completed their disclosures and discovery which may take several months. Parties often need orders long before trial and this type of OSC is referred to as an initial OSC. This is an extremely important hearing and may impact your case for a significant period of time. OSC's are also used to modify existing orders. This type of OSC is referred to as a post judgment OSC or Motion.

Orange County has a direct calendar, which means once you have been assigned to a court and the time has passed for objecting to that court, that court will be your primary court. That court will be primarily responsible for hearing your case, but occasions may arise because of the courts calendar that your case is temporarily assigned to another court for a particular hearing.

Courts are permitted to order one party to contribute to the other attorney fees when there is a disparity of income or available assets between the parties so that both parties have equal access to the court. Courts may also issue attorney fees orders in the way of sanctions for unreasonable behavior.

There is a common belief in our society that only the wealthy can benefit from a premarital agreement; that is not true. Homeowners, single parents, business owners, grandparents and professionals are just a few who could benefit from a premarital agreement. Even individuals who are just starting out in life may choose to enter into a premarital agreement.

You should not enter into a premarital agreement until:

1. You have had an opportunity to read its contents;
2. You have consulted with an attorney who specializes in Family Law to find out whether the premarital agreement is right for you. This should not be the same attorney who drafted the document; and
3. You have had time to think about it.

Also unknown to most people is that, even though a Judgment of Nullity voids the marriage, you may be able to obtain support, a division of property and restraining orders. Children do not necessarily bar a party from obtaining a Judgment of Nullity.

The premarital agreement is a powerful tool. With it, the parties can override California's community property presumption and keep separate property separate. A good example of this would involve earnings. In California, wages and earnings acquired after the date of marriage (and before the date of separation) are community property. However, the parties can stipulate in a premarital agreement that all wages and earnings shall be separate property.

Another area where a premarital agreement is helpful is where one party owns a house prior to the marriage and this is where the couple choose to live after they get married. The house is the separate property of the person who bought it. However, the community can earn an interest in the house by virtue of making the mortgage payments with the couple's earnings. In order to avoid this outcome, the parties can stipulate in a premarital agreement that the community will not earn an interest in the house as a result of community earnings contributing to the mortgage payments.

Many parties want to address support with a premarital agreement. A waiver of child support is not enforceable.

Premarital agreements, more commonly known as prenuptial agreements, are agreements that are entered into prior to marriage and dictate the distribution of property in the event of a dissolution.

If you are willing to try to learn to talk to each other, then it's worthwhile to try mediation. Mediators have been professionally trained to help people to build agreements and to learn to communicate with each other. If you're willing to try, mediators can get you talking.

You can always stop mediating and begin litigating. Most mediators believe that's almost never the right solution, because of the stress and toll it takes on your and your family (not to mention the expense), but it's always an option.

Courts

• Lengthy & time consuming. Much of the money you spend on legal fees will be for time waiting in court;
• Scheduling conflicts between courts and litigants cause expensive delays;
• Judges have little time to hear the details of your case, often less than 5 minutes, because they are often assigned more than 30 cases per day (each);
• You may only get a minute or two to testify about your case, if you get to testify at all;
• You can't predict the outcome of your case because it depends on a virtual stranger making the decisions for you;
• You may have to make decisions about settlement in a split second in a crowded hallway;
• No confidentiality - all court files are public records. Soon, they will be available online;
• Costly--each hour your lawyer spends waiting, you pay, even if no progress on your case is made;
• Stressful;
• Courts by their adversarial nature encourage combat, which is not conducive to a health family life after the legal proceedings are over.

Mediation

• Faster because you determine the schedule and issues;
• Cost-effective because you control the cost, which is usually about 1/10 to 1/3 the cost of a typical divorce case;
• Less Stressful because you make the decisions that you'll be living with;
• You control the outcome, and because of this, agreements made in mediation typically work better and are more thoughtful and detailed than those negotiated in the courthouse hallway minutes before a divorce trial;
• You have the flexibility of taking time to consider how a decision will affect your family in the long term. You can try out agreements before you sign the Judgment or Agreement;
• Confidential - so confidential, in fact, California law prohibits mediators from testifying in court;
• Healthier for your and your family, since part of mediation is learning to communicate better, which is especially important when children are involved.
• You can always go to court if it doesn't work;

Many mediators offer an initial consultation so that you can meet the mediator, ask questions about mediation, and decide if you'd like to try using mediation to settle your divorce or Family Law matter. The mediator or Dispute Resolution Associate will explain the process, and you can ask any questions that you wish.

The actual Mediation process involves sitting down at a table in a neutral location where both parties will have the opportunity to present their stories in a balanced and non-confrontational way. There are only two steadfast rules, and you can add additional ground-rules if you like:

1. One person speaks at a time.
2. No name-calling.

Everything flows from there in an orderly and organized fashion. Each person gets a chance to tell their side, and typically you'll decide together with the mediator who goes first and how long they speak. You can respond to what the other person says, but you will wait until it's your turn to speak. Next, the mediator typically will make a list of the issues and decide which to discuss first. You'll work through each issue until there are no more issues left, writing up your agreements as you go.

Sometimes, people find they need more information before they can make an agreement or before the session can continue. When that happens, the mediator can either go on to another issue, or stop the session and make another appointment, so that you'll have time to gather the information you need, or speak to your accountant, lawyer, or other advisor(s). Mediation works best when people don't feel rushed to make an agreement and when they have all of the information they need to make a good agreement.

Even if you cannot agree on everything, you will probably be able to agree on some things. Each issue that you resolve in mediation translates into less time in court, less legal fees and less aggravation for you. And, for those issues you could not agree upon, at least you understand what those issues are, and where you stand. At the very least, you will feel like you tried your best to reach an agreement before resorting to court intervention.

Sometimes new information, proposed solutions, or the passage of time makes it possible to resolve a previous disagreement, so even if you don't resolve your issue immediately, you may be able to resolve it a week or two later, without having to go to court. Because mediation is flexible, you're free to schedule an additional appointment at any time. You're also free to stop the mediation at any time if you don't feel you're making progress toward resolution.

Most courts have mediation services that address child custody disputes. The mediator meets with both parents in an effort to get both parents to come to an agreement on the living arrangements for their child(ren). Parents are often able to reach an agreement in mediation on issues of child custody. If the parties do agree, the mediator will prepare a written memorandum of the agreement and that will be submitted to the court and become an order of the court. Mediation Departments can be either reporting or non-reporting. Orange County Mediation reports only whether or not an agreement was made and only provides the court with actual agreements. Riverside and Ventura County actually report recommendations to the court even when the parties have not reached an agreement. Mediation services are not the same as Child Custody Investigations.

Divorce mediation is a non-adversarial means to resolve issues raised in a divorce or legal separation. Such issues include property division, spousal and child support, child custody and visitation. The parties meet jointly with a mediator to learn of their rights and responsibilities to themselves and their spouse. The contemplated result is a written agreement encompassing a resolution of all of the issues of the marriage. Mediation can be used by couples at any stage of the separation and divorce process - even couples who have previously divorced through the court system and wish to resolve new problems.

Mediation is an approach to a dispute which lets you keep full control of the outcome. The only people making decisions are those involved in the dispute, unlike arbitration or litigation where a judge or an arbiter makes the final decision. Mediation typically consists of several joint meetings between spouses (or parents, if you are not married) which last 3-4 hours each. During those meetings, you and your spouse discuss the issues which need to be resolved in your case. The mediator is there to facilitate the discussion, assist with communication, provide information and suggestions, and use their specialized training to assist the two of you to resolve your differences and write up an agreement which is fair to both of you, and, if you have children, in their best interests as well.

Mediation allows the divorcing couple an objective forum in which to discuss their individual needs and work out a settlement of property, support, custody and visitation issues. The parties meet and work together with the mediator towards a settlement that is fair and agreeable to both parties. The settlement is then put in the form of a written agreement by the mediator. The written settlement agreement is then reviewed by another attorney of each party's choice and is processed through the court by that attorney without the need for intervention by the court.

All couples who are divorcing or splitting up (if not married) are good candidates for mediation provided:

1. there has been no domestic violence for which the perpetrator refuses treatment. If there has been domestic violence, and the victim and perpetrator have received treatment, we can still mediate but with specific safety provisions in place. If this is your situation, please let us know.
2. both spouses are willing to try to resolve their issues in good faith
3. both spouses agree to be honest about their financial situation and intentions regarding children. California law requires that spouses make a full financial disclosure to each other during a divorce, and we will help negotiate how that disclosure will be made, if this is an issue between you.
4. if there has traditionally been unequal bargaining power between the spouses, both spouses may wish to have an attorney with them at the mediation session. It's a mediator's job to make sure the discussion is balanced.

Mediation is cheaper because it's faster and more direct. Most people come to mediation willing to work on the issues and to learn how to communicate better. That willingness translates into a less expensive divorce because resolving a case is almost always cheaper than taking it to trial. Rather than speaking through lawyers, you speak with each other (with the mediator's help, of course) about your goals and issues. Even if lawyers are involved with your mediation, they aren't spending hours and hours in court waiting for the judge to be free to hear your trial or billing for endless back-and-forth phone calls about the smallest details of your case. Consequently, their fees are typically much lower than in a case which is brought to court to litigate.

Mediation is more effective because:>

1. you get a chance to fully discuss an issue before you agree on it
2. you can try out agreements before the judge makes the divorce final
3. you learn to communicate better which makes new and old issues less likely to turn into arguments, or worse still, days in court
4. you can take time in between each appointment to think about whether or not a proposed solution makes sense
5. if you need to change a solution before finalizing your divorce in court you can do it quickly and easily

Mediation is the most practical and healthy choice for a person to make when facing a divorce. It helps you avoid the stress of litigation, saves you money, and helps you put the unpleasantness of divorce behind you as quickly and peacefully as possible.