Redwood City, California Family Law Blog

One of the most difficult parts of a Redwood City divorce is determining where everyone should live, especially children. Traditionally, one parent would agree to move out of the family home and the children would be expected to travel back-and-forth between their parents' houses. However, a new trend, called "bird nesting," provides children with more stability. It allows them to stay in one home post-divorce, while the parents take turns living in the home. In fact, a new ABC comedy called, "Splitting Up Together," starring Oliver Hudson and Jenna Fischer, draws attention to this new way of living for families dealing with divorce.

Generally, bird nesting can be beneficial for both divorcing parents and their children, particularly if the parents can afford to maintain the family home, as well as separate living areas for them to live in when they are not staying in the home. From a financial perspective, bird nesting can be helpful becuase it allows ex-spouses to wait until the time is right to sell the house or move to another property. Many couples keep a bird nesting arrangement while they wait for the value of the house to increase or their lease to end.

While there are countless scenarios in which you may experience change in life, forming a strategy for certain changes can be challenging at best. If you are facing the end of your marriage, you might worry about how the outcome of your divorce could affect your financial standing.

Like many others, you may consider your financial future to be an essential part of life and wish to prepare for the financial aspects of divorce. While forming a strategy, it may be in your best interests to be thorough when identifying marital assets, as this may help you uncover any that were previously hidden from sight.

Readers may have heard that California is a community property state. This means that each spouse will receive half of any marital property, or assets acquired during the marriage. Therefore, one may assume that the property division process in a divorce must be fairly simple, the judge divides the couple's assets in half. However, the reality is that dividing property between exes during a divorce, even in a community property state, it is rarely ever that straightforward. While each spouse is entitled to half, there is no law that says everything must be split down the middle. And, having a divorce attorney on one's side to fight for what is important can ensure that they are satisfied with the final agreement.

If divorcing spouses can agree on all divorce issues, the court will not have to do much more than approve the ex-couple's final divorce agreement. Joseph R. Zoucha, Attorney at Law, can save considerable time by drafting a fair settlement agreement that keeps things amicable between ex-spouses.

California couples with children often must determine which parent will get joint and legal custody of their children after they divorce. Physical custody generally refers to where the child will be staying, while legal custody refers to who will make decisions relating to the child's life. Shannon Beador, one of the stars of Real Housewives of Orange County, is currently caught up in a battle with her estranged husband David over the custody of their children, as well as other divorce-related issues. The couple was married for over 17 years before separating in September 2017. The couple has three daughters, a 16-year-old and 13-year-old twins.

Shannon previously filed for divorce primary physical custody of the three children. David recently filed a response, challenging Shannon's child custody and support requests, as well as her request for spousal support. David is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the children, where the children would stay with him 50 percent of the time.