What is Family Law?
Family law includes all matters related to the rights of spouses, parents and children. Our firm handles the following family law matters: divorce, division of property, legal separation, nullity, parentage actions, child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, domestic violence, and pre-marital and post-nuptial agreements. We handle complex property issues including division of businesses, stock options, and pensions.

A certified specialist is an attorney that has successfully satisfied the requirements of the California Board of Legal Specialization. To become a certified specialist in family law, the lawyer must have practiced family law for the required number of years and represented clients in a broad range of family law proceedings. The lawyer must pass an extensive written examination administered by the State Bar of California that is focused on family law issues. The lawyer is required to fulfill stringent continuing legal education requirements. Each lawyer also has to re-certify every few years and keep their practice focused in their particular field of expertise. For more information about family law certified specialists, please visit www.californiaspecialist.org

Donna Gibbs offers mediation services to those clients who want to work together to structure their divorce settlement. Individuals who choose mediation agree to work with their spouses in a cooperative, non-adversarial way to resolve their disputed issues. The mediator is a neutral third party who assists the spouses. This process relies on the parties to be the principal negotiators, with the mediator helping to keep the process structured and focused on interests and solutions that work for both parties. The mediator does not act as an advocate for either party. The ultimate resolution may look like the probable outcome in law, but the process offers the parties the most freedom to find solutions that may work best for them.

It is impossible to estimate the cost of a divorce. The ultimate cost depends on many factors such as the complexity of the issues involved, the degree of cooperation between the parties and attorneys, whether the matter proceeds to trial or settles through negotiation.

California law requires that parties wait a period of six months between the time they file and serve the petition requesting the divorce and the time that their divorce becomes final. After the six month time period has passed, the parties can request that the court finalize their divorce. The divorce does not automatically become final after six months.

No. The internet can be a good source of information but you should not rely on the internet for legal advice. Many of the divorce sites on the internet are not specific to California: although the information may be accurate for some states, it may not apply here.