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FAQ
What is a Certified "Family Law Specialist"?
A Certified Family Law Specialist is an attorney who is licensed in the State of California to practice law and additionally is certified by the Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California, as possessing expert knowledge in the area of Family Law.
In California lawyers are either general practice lawyers or certified by the State Bar of California as specialist in a particular field of law.
An attorney who is a certified specialist in family law has the designation of "CLS-F" after his or her name.
What is "Family Law?"
Family law consists of the legal cases or situations that come under the jurisdiction of the Family Court.
The following types of legal matters are a partial list of cases that would come into the family court:
- Dissolution of marriage
- Legal separation
- Annulment
- Paternity
- Pre- and post-nuptial agreements between spouses,
- Support for spouses and children
- Child custody
- Child visitation
- Division of community property
Do I need a Certified Family Law Specialist in my family law matter?
There are two significant advantages of retaining a certified specialist in family law.
- You have the assurance from the State Board of Legal Specialization that the specialist attorney has attained expert knowledge in the field of family law. Since general practice attorneys are not board regulated one cannot know the knowledge and expertise of the general practice attorney in a family law matter.
- The expertise of a certified specialist attorney provides the client with a better chance to achieve his/her goals with a more cost effective effort.
How can a lawyer help me in a complex case?
Issues of great importance in a family law matter include:
- Child custody
- Property characterization (community or separate)
- Property division
- Identification of assets and income
An issue is complex when a court may rule either way on an issue by virtue of the diverse case and statutory law.
Several Examples:
- A business owner takes additional funds out of his business to pay litigation costs.
Is he incurring a debt or is he receiving additional income? Determination of this issue would impact the amount of support to be paid.
- A father disciplines his children.
Is he committing domestic violence, causing him to have limited visitation, or is he a good parent that has a valid claim for joint custody?
How can a lawyer help me in a simple case?
A lawyer can help to resolve a simple case by applying his or her knowledge of the law to achieve a long lasting resolution by non-litigation means.
For Example:
- A potentially contested case resolved by lawyer mediation
Uncontested divorces may be completed through the drafting of a Marital Settlement Agreement. A Marital Settlement Agreement is the agreement of the parties that is turned into a court approved/ordered contract.
When spouses reach an agreement it is tremendously important to turn this agreement into a comprehensive and binding agreement that is approved and ordered by the court.
The purpose of a Marital Settlement Agreement is to resolve the dispute now. It must also be able to stand up to challenge -- possibly years after the agreement is made.
My spouse and I want to settle our case by mutual agreement. Can we use a mediator or paralegal to create all of the documents?
You can, but by utilizing the services of an attorney experienced in family law one maximizes the chance of achieving a comprehensive resolution of all issues.
Using a family law specialist also increases the likelihood that the documents will stand up to subsequent challenge.
I want the legal protection from a lawyer but I am concerned that once lawyers are involved everything will be litigated in court -- at great expense!
Unfortunately some lawyers have a reputation of litigating everything.
Mr. Huguenor has practiced family law since 1972 and has been board certified as a specialist in family law (Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California) since 1981.
By far, most of his cases settle out of court. If a legal matter must be tried in court, Mr. Huguenor is very experienced in court litigation.
FOR ASSISTANCE WITH FAMILY LAW IN SAN DIEGO
CALL TOM HUGUENOR TODAY AT 858-546-4868
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