• Spousal support
• Property division
• Child custody
• Child support

Negotiation Support

Drafting of various agreements/contracts and skillful negotiating of these types of legal documents:

• Financial agreements
• Property/real estate contracts
• Settlement agreements
• Court proceeding documents

Litigation Support

Dan has been successful in achieving results for his clients both in and out of the courtroom. When litigation becomes necessary and it is clear this is the most effective means of achieving results, Dan is a strong litigator who will go to battle for you. Some of the most common legally contested areas include:

• Property and asset division
• Community vs. separate property
• Child support
• High-net worth scenarios
• Retirement and real estate investments
• Business ownership, family businesses, and inheritance

Litigation can be a long and painful process, but at times, it can be the best and only option when high-value assets or highly contested custody is involved. Dan’s strong level of experience will help guide you through the complexities of litigation and reduce some of the burden involved in going to trial.  

Pretrial Discovery

• Tools to uncover facts and evidence for use for success in trial 

Interrogatories

• Questions sent to other party to be answered under oath, helpful in avoiding surprise testimony at trial

Request for production

• Obtaining documents and tangible properties

Depositions 

• Sworn testimony from involved parties and witnesses involved (if any)

Mediation 

• A viable option to consider to avoid litigation

Sometimes real estate and other property can be challenging to valuate and divide fairly among all parties involved. Dan’s years of dealing with real estate and real property will help you determine what is considered community or separate property.

• Separate property often includes property acquired before the marriage  or property received after marriage, by bequest or a gift
• Profits and rents of property acquired prior to marriage
• Debt division, IRS tax debt, stock options
• Suspected hidden assets
• Family businesses, real property, inheritance, retirement accounts, etc.

Common law marriage is not recognized in California, but cohabitating couples may be have rights to some property and financial right. These actions are called Marvin claims. Dan has dealt with these types of claims and is able to provide guidance in this area.

• Must be filed as a separate claim and not considered a family law issue
• Oral contract or agreements could be enforced like any contract between unmarried people

Pursuant to California Code Section 4320, where the judge in the case considers many factors in the final ruling.

• Ability to pay support
• Age and health of party
• Domestic violence history
• Duration of marriage
• Earning capacity
• Standard of living

Whenever children are involved, we completely understand what an emotional and stressful process this can be on everyone involved. There are two categories of custody considerations:

Legal Custody

• Who will make major decisions for your child’s well-being, such as medical and what school they will attend

Physical Custody

• Joint – Where your child will spend their time primarily 
• Sole – One parent has sole custody and may have visitation rights with the other parent

Establishing parentage through genetic testing

This process is almost never challenged in California.

Post-divorce issues and agreements

Reasons for modification 

• Income has changed for either parent
• Job loss
• Incarceration 
• Additional children 
• Time spent with either family 
• Health or education

• A contract you sign before marriage
• Used as a precaution for future legal issues 
• Useful when many assets are involved
• Does not cover child custody or child support issues 
• Each party must have independent legal counsel or waive the right to independent counsel before agreement is signed