Family Law Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The straight forward answer is Yes. All child custody and visitation orders that are already in place remain in full force and effect.

The Courts encourage parents to work together collaboratively, even during the COVID-19 Pandemic, to ensure that they are acting in the best interest of the minor children’s health, safety, and sharing the rights and responsibilities of raising their children.

You want to ensure that you follow the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and the Governor’s orders meaning that you are limiting the possibility of exposure to your children and your family.  Read More

Finding an Affordable Divorce Lawyer near you is sometimes a difficult question, as the answer is not straight forward.

Your solution may be to do an Internet search for something like: ‘Best Divorce Attorney Near Me in Oceanside CA‘, if you live in Oceanside, California, but this isn’t truly accurate to the abilities of the Family Law Firms that you will find in a “Near Me” Search.

Fischer & Van Thiel, LLP’s advice would be to also do your own research into these Lawyers and Attorneys individually through Client Reviews on their websites, on other Legal Association Business Directories, and Social Media to get a wider view of the resulting quality of their services.

The “6-Month Rule” is known as a “Cooling-Off ” Period, and is a mandatory period before the legal status of a marriage can be terminated and the parties deemed divorced.

Family Code § 2339 states in pertinent part, “…no judgment of dissolution is final for the purpose of terminating the marriage relationship of the parties until six months have expired from the date of service of a copy of summons and petition or the date of appearance of the respondent, whichever occurs first”. 

Public policy favors the continuity of marriage, and this six month period is intended to give both parties an opportunity other avenues to divorce like Divorce Mediation Services to be sure their differences are truly irreconcilable and reconciliation is not possible.  Read More

The California Divorce Process will take at least 6-months from the date the person filing for divorce (divorcer) officially lets his or her spouse or domestic partner (divorcee) know about the divorce. Yet, the divorce case can take much longer, but it cannot be faster than the 6 months.

This 6-month divorce finalization period is a mandatory waiting period required by California Law so no couple can be divorced faster than 6 months. You should easily be able to get all your divorce paperwork turned in to the Family Law Court and get your divorce judgment approved, but the divorce itself will not be final until at least 6 months after starting the case.  Read More