CA Family Law Specialist cheat sheet

Residency: a dissolution petition requires the petitioner to have resided in California for six months and in the county for three months immediately before filing (Fam. Code § 2320); a registered domestic partnership dissolution has no residency requirement but requires the partnership to have been registered in California.

Service of process: respondent has 30 days after personal service to file a response (Fam. Code § 2020); if served outside California, the response period is extended per CCP § 413.10; default judgment requires proof of service, the 30-day waiting period, and compliance with Fam. Code § 2336.

Mandatory disclosure: preliminary declarations of disclosure (Fam. Code §§ 2104, 2105) with income and expense declaration, property declaration, and two years of tax returns must be served before judgment; final declarations are due before trial or entry of judgment; noncompliance can bar the other party's ability to compel and can support attorney fee awards under § 2107.

Six-month waiting period: a judgment of dissolution cannot be entered until at least six months after the date the respondent is served or appears (Fam. Code § 2339); the status of the marriage may be terminated earlier only on grounds of incest or bigamy.

Summary dissolution (Fam. Code § 2400): available if married or in a registered domestic partnership for under five years, no children (born or adopted) of the relationship, no real property, community personal property valued under $25,000, separate property under $25,000 each, no debts over $6,000, and both waive spousal support and financial disclosure beyond the required forms.

Nullity: void marriages (bigamy, incest) may be adjudicated without residency; voidable marriages (minority, prior existing marriage, unsound mind, fraud, force, physical incapacity) require a petition and proof of the statutory ground (Fam. Code §§ 2200-2210); putative spouse doctrine protects the good-faith party's property and support rights.

Bifurcation: the court may sever the status of the marriage from other issues (Fam. Code § 2337) upon finding irreconcilable differences and adequate protections for the other party; reserved issues proceed later.

Pleadings and amendments: a petition must allege the statutory grounds and the residency facts; amendments to conform to proof are liberally allowed before judgment, but a new cause of action or new party may require leave and may affect the six-month clock.

Attorney fees and costs: need-based awards under Fam. Code § 2030 are available during the pendency of the proceeding and must be just and reasonable; § 2032 applies to post-judgment enforcement and defense; sanctions for uncooperative conduct may be awarded under § 271.

Custody standard: all custody determinations are governed by the best interest of the child (Fam. Code § 3011), considering the child's health, safety, and welfare, any history of abuse, and the nature and amount of contact with both parents; frequent and continuing contact is the policy (§ 3020).

Joint legal custody does not require equal physical time; sole legal custody may be ordered where the parents cannot cooperate or where one parent's conduct is detrimental; a parent's relocation is evaluated under the best interest standard and the § 3044 domestic violence presumption.

Domestic violence presumption (Fam. Code § 3044): a finding that a parent perpetrated domestic violence within the preceding five years creates a rebuttable presumption against awarding that parent sole or joint custody; rebuttal requires proof by a preponderance that awarding custody is in the child's best interest, considering the § 3044 factors.

Guideline child support formula (Fam. Code § 4055): CS = K [HN - (H%)(TN)], where CS is child support, K is the combined income percentage, HN is the high earner's net disposable income, H% is the high earner's percentage of time with the child, and TN is total net disposable income of both parents; the court may deviate under § 4057 only with written findings.

Income for support includes wages, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, and imputed income based on earning capacity (Fam. Code § 4058); the court may consider a parent's deliberate underemployment and the lifestyle of the child's household.

Duration of child support: support continues until the child reaches 18, or 19 if still in high school full time and not self-supporting (Fam. Code § 3901); the court may extend support for an adult child who is incapacitated and unable to maintain themselves.

Spousal support: temporary support is commonly based on the Santa Clara guideline (40% of the higher earner's net income minus 50% of the lower earner's net income, adjusted for child support); long-term support is governed by the Fam. Code § 4320 factors, including marriage length, standard of living, earning capacity, and contributions to the other's career.

Marriage of length: a marriage of ten years or more is generally treated as a marriage of long duration, and the court retains jurisdiction over spousal support indefinitely unless the parties agree otherwise; the court may set a reasonable termination date for shorter marriages.

Parentage: the Uniform Parentage Act (Fam. Code § 7600 et seq.) governs; a voluntary declaration of parentage signed at birth or later has the force of a judgment; a presumed parent under § 7611 may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, and genetic testing is weighed under the best interest standard.

Child custody evaluations: the court may appoint an evaluator under Fam. Code § 3111; evaluators must meet statutory training and licensing requirements, and their reports are advisory, subject to cross-examination and the parties' right to present rebuttal evidence.

Community property: property acquired during marriage while domiciled in California is community property (Fam. Code § 760); separate property includes property owned before marriage, acquired by gift or inheritance, and rents, issues, and profits of separate property (§ 770).

Presumption of community property: property acquired during marriage is presumed community; the party claiming separate status must trace the property to a separate source by a preponderance of the evidence (Fam. Code § 852; Pereira and Van Camp apportionment for business profits and improvements).

Community estate division: the court divides the community estate equally unless the parties agree otherwise (Fam. Code § 2550); personal injury awards are community property except the portion attributable to pain and suffering, which is the injured spouse's separate property (Fam. Code § 780).

Premarital agreements: enforceable only if in writing, signed by both parties, and not unconscionable at the time of enforcement; the party against whom enforcement is sought must have had at least seven days to review and either independent counsel or express waiver (Fam. Code § 1615); voluntary waiver of spousal support requires independent counsel or a knowing waiver.

Transmutation: a married person may transmute separate property to community property or vice versa only by an express written declaration (Fam. Code § 852); a transmutation must be evidenced by an express declaration, and the court may consider extrinsic evidence to determine intent.

Statute of limitations: a spouse may bring an action to set aside a transaction for fraud or undue influence within the statutory period; a breach of fiduciary duty claim is governed by the applicable limitations period, and the fiduciary duty of the spouse managing community property is set by Fam. Code § 721.

Fiduciary duties: spouses owe each other a duty of good faith and fair dealing, including full disclosure of assets and liabilities (Fam. Code §§ 721, 1100); a spouse who breaches the duty may be liable for the other's attorney fees and for 100% of the value of undisclosed or misappropriated community assets (§ 1101).

Business valuation: the court may use the Pereira approach (allocate a fair return on separate capital and treat excess as community) or the Van Camp approach (reimburse separate capital for reasonable value of services); the choice depends on which approach better reflects the community's contribution.

Evidentiary privileges: the marital communication privilege (Evid. Code § 980) protects confidential communications during marriage; the privilege does not apply to communications made in furtherance of a crime or fraud, and it may be waived by the holder.

Domestic violence restraining order (Fam. Code § 6200 et seq.): a protective order may issue ex parte with a noticed hearing within 21 days (or 25 if service by mail); the court may order stay-away, move-out, custody, support, and batterer intervention, and the order may be renewed for up to five years or permanently under § 6345.

Firearm prohibition: a person subject to a domestic violence restraining order is generally prohibited from possessing firearms under Fam. Code § 6389 and federal law; the court must order relinquishment and may require proof of sale or surrender.

Support enforcement: the Department of Child Support Services may enforce support orders through wage assignment, license suspension, tax refund interception, and contempt; arrears accrue interest at 10% per year (Fam. Code § 685.010), and a support order is not retroactively modifiable before the date of filing a motion to modify (Fam. Code § 3653).

Contempt: willful failure to pay support or comply with a custody order may be punished by contempt; the court must find the ability to comply and a willful failure, and the contemnor has a right to counsel if jail is a possible sanction.

Modification: a change of circumstances must be shown for a change in custody or support; the court may modify a support order based on the parties' changed incomes, and the modification generally applies from the date of filing the motion.

Ethics: an attorney may not communicate with a represented party (Rule 4.2), may not disclose confidential client information without consent (Rule 1.6), and must avoid conflicts of interest in representing both spouses; a lawyer may not advance funds to a client except for costs and litigation expenses (Rule 1.8).

Attorney-client privilege and work product: communications between attorney and client are privileged, and an attorney's impressions, conclusions, and legal research are protected work product; the privilege survives termination of the relationship.

Mandatory reporting: an attorney who learns of child abuse in the course of representation may be required to report under Penal Code § 11166, but the attorney-client privilege may limit disclosure; the attorney should consult the rules and the court before disclosing.

Fee agreements: a family law attorney should have a written fee agreement; contingency fees in family law are generally prohibited where they promote dissolution or affect the amount of support or property settlement, and fee awards may be based on need and ability to pay.