I am an orange county California divorce lawyer. This article is one in a series of articles that delves into and explains the details of the divorce process. Please subscribe to my newsletter today, which is linked below. Once you do so you will have access to all of my past articles and will receive my future articles about divorce and how best to deal with the trials and tribulations that occur. This information is not intended as and should not be relied upon as legal advice or the creation of an attorney-client relationship. However, please do contact me at Jon@oc-family lawyers.com to set up a confidential, free, half-hour consultation. Thank you very much for reading!
Divorce sometimes comes as a surprise in but more often than this result of a conflict that’s been building up over a long period of time.
Regardless of how it happens, you must take these steps to protect your children, your finances, and yourself. And remember there is a right way and a wrong way. Follow these steps and you will protect your interests in a manner that is reasonable and fair.
Sadly, in divorce one spouse is often at a disadvantage and suffers detriment due to unequal bargaining power. If you follow these steps, however, you will not be disadvantaged. In a perfect world, you and your spouse would be able to workout all of your problems and reach a compromise in a reasonable fashion. Unfortunately, things often become adversarial. Follow the steps outlined below to protect your interests. Be aware, though, that you should make a good-faith effort to reach a compromise with your spouse before acting rashly.
To protect your children, if you have them, you must (1) get a TRO; (2) not allow your spouse to take the kids and leave; (3); stay in the family home and (4) insist on a 50-50 split for parenting time. First, Get a Temporary Restraining Order that explicitly prevents your spouse from taking the children out of state. You do not want to be fighting for custody across state lines. Doing this helps with the Second item, not allowing your spouse to take the kids and run. Third, if you move out you might be doing serious detriment to getting custody.
If you have already moved out, you should move right back in now! While this might cause stress try to defuse the situation and you might even try doing some sort of time-sharing arrangement until custody is sorted out. Fourth, do not settle for less than 50% custody. Your spouse does not have any greater right, legal or otherwise, to spend more time with the kids than you do. If you settle for less time now, you may be setting a precedent for the future. Insist on a 50-50 split.
Now to protect your finances and yourself: visit my website that is linked below to find out how to protect yourself and your finances. This entire article is contained at my site and while you’re there make sure to sign up for my newsletter! Thank you very much. Very truly yours, Jon D. Alexander, Esq.
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