Coping Strategies for Lawyers Going through and Orange County Divorce
If you are a lawyer who is going through a divorce in Orange County, it can hit you in a uniquely personal and emotional way. You built your career helping others walk through challenging legal matters, and you did so with confidence.
When the shoe is on the other foot, however, it can leave you feeling uncertain and uncertain of where to turn for the help you need. Yes, you’re a lawyer, but this doesn’t mean you don’t need skilled legal guidance on your side. The good news is that you know exactly what to look for in an experienced Orange County family law attorney.
The Terms of Your Orange County Family Law Case
The terms of your Orange County family law matter don’t change in response to you being a lawyer, but how your terms are resolved can be affected. The basic terms – as applicable – include:
- Division of your community property
- Child custody
- Child support
- Spousal Support
- Domestic Violence
- Valuation of you law practice
- Validity of your premarital agreement
The same coping strategies you’d encourage your own clients to implement also apply to you, and they include cutting yourself some slack, preparing for some difficult emotions ahead, and retaining an experience family law attorney as soon as you’re able to do so.
The Division of Your Community Property
In California, everything that you and your spouse acquired while you were married is classified as community property, and upon divorce, these assets are divided equally between the spouses. This means that if you started your law practice during your marriage, it’s community property and must be addressed in your family law matter, and this can be a hard pill to swallow.
You will need to compensate your spouse for fifty percent (50%) of the value of the practice. Generally, this means half of the value as determined in a settlement or by a judge.
Child Custody
In California, child custody is addressed in relation to physical and legal custody. Physical custody refers to parenting time while legal custody addresses each parent’s decision-making authority. Orange County family law courts are motivated to award each parent a considerable amount of parenting time and to keep both parents involved in the decision-making process whenever possible.
It can help to recognize that your career will not directly affect the child custody terms. If, however, your spouse stayed home with the children while you worked 24/7 running your practice – that fact will be relevant to a future custody arrangement. Courts want to hear about the status quo. This refers to your children’s current living situation, and if it is working well for them in terms of their home, school, and community. The non-working spouse may have a strong position based on status quo. However, they may have to return to work which would change the status quo.
Of great significance is the fact that the judges in Orange County family law courts are taught that parents should share equal time, 50/50 physical child custody wherever possible. However, be careful what you ask for – you will very likely get it.
By strategizing terms that work for everyone involved, you’ll be better prepared to protect your parental rights, and an experienced family law attorney can help you put together the right strategic plan.
Child Support
As a lawyer, you’re likely to earn more than your divorcing spouse – especially if they stayed home with your children while you focused on building your practice. As a lawyer, you’re very likely to have the child support obligation in your Orange County divorce, and this is true even if parenting time is divided evenly between the two of you. The higher earner generally makes the child support payments, and the fact that your former spouse may receive more parenting time than you further supports this outcome.
Child support is determined by a computer program called Dissomaster. Many factors are considered in the formula. The formula generates a guideline child support amount and the Orange County family law judges follow that formula 99% of the time.
Spousal Support
In California, spousal support is intended to afford the recipient the time and support necessary to gain greater financial independence through one of the following:
- Further education
- Job training
- The acquisition of job skills
Sometimes, Orange County family law judges include specific provisions that are designed to help keep the recipient on track in terms of financial self-sufficiency.
The bottom line when it comes to your Orange County family law matter is the fact you are a lawyer can indirectly affect each of the applicable terms, which makes it that much more important for you to stay focused and to find the right family law attorney to help establish the best strategic plan and put it in place.
You Need an Experienced Orange County Family Law Attorney Backing You Up
Attorneys are often surprised by the emotional impact of their own divorces, and the best coping strategy is protecting your rights while working through your emotions. The well-respected Orange County family law attorneys at Minyard Morris have the compassion, experience, and drive to help. learn more by contacting or calling us at 949-724-1111 today.