Divorce In Orange County - Your Choices

When you want to get a divorce in Orange County, you have choices that you need to make on how you want to divorce your spouse.  The decision to file for divorce is the biggest and probably one of the most stressful decisions two people will have to make.  After making the decision, there are different ways to complete the task.  The first questions to be answered will be whether the couple owns marital assets and debts to be divided.  Are there minor children of the marriage? What will the couple need to divide?  Is there are business?  Are there other financial issues to be resolved such as retirement funds, savings accounts, rental property, taxes?
Depending on how these questions are answered and how well you and your spouse “get along” will determine which legal path you will take to complete a divorce.

Litigation:

If you and your spouse do not “get along” and cannot communicate effectively with each other, litigating the case will most likely be your choice.  You hire an attorney to represent you to the Judge or Commissioner assigned to your case.  You may or may not have to go to Court to have the Judge decide on the issues of your case.  However, the job of your divorce attorney is to prepare your case and argue it before a Judge who makes the final decisions after a trial or hearing.  Let’s say you file a case to get a divorce in Orange County, California.  Usually support issues need to be resolved first, especially if there is a party who has not worked during the marriage and/or the couple has children to support.  If the parties cannot come to an agreement as to the amount of support, in the Orange County courts, you will get a Court date within 30 days of the filing of a Motion or an Order to Show Cause hearing. From there, the case is litigated or settled out of Court.

Mediation:

There are many couples who file for divorce in Orange County, California that opt for a mediated divorce.  Mediation is when a couple hires a trained professional, sometimes a family law attorney, to hear both sides of all the issues and attempts to mediate a settlement out of Court.  This method has been successful in many cases where the parties can get along and communicate with each other.  A third unbiased party, the mediator, is there to guide both sides in coming to an agreement.  All agreements are written and submitted to a Judge for review and signature.  However, it is up to the parties to come to a full understanding of all the issues in a divorce for mediation to be successful.  Both sides have the right to litigate an issue that cannot be resolved outside of Court.  Mediating a divorce in Orange County has become quite common.  Many couples are choosing to mediate a divorce because it is less expensive than going to Court and more amicable between the parties.

Collabortive:

A Collaborative divorce is becoming more and more popular.  The method has been used quite widely in the UK and Canada for some years.  Although the method has been around in the USA, recently it seems to have become more known and used in a divorce in Orange County.  In a collaborative divorce both parties have a “coach,” an attorney, and other supportive professionals used in resolving all the issues of a divorce.  Each party with his or her team signs an agreement to settle without the assistance of the Court.  However, if the issues cannot be resolved, both parties have the right to litigate.  The catch is that both attorneys on both sides must quit the case and they cannot represent the client in Court.  The professionals advocating this method have formed “collaborative divorce groups,” in order for the client to have access to all the support professionals that may be needed in a case.  For example, a financial accountant is accessible if parties need assistance in dividing a business or have other complex financial issues.  A child physiologist will be used if there are child custody issues that need to be worked out.  All in all, the collaborative method is less expensive than litigation and it involves both communication and agreement on both sides for the method to be successful.

If you need any help with a divorce in Orange County, please contact us by completing the form above, or calling us at (800)784-6670.