Campoy & Bertram, L.L.P., a provider of expert family law services in Sonoma County for over ten year, offers expert legal advice and assistance in Divorce, Legal Separation, Child support, Child custody, Child visitation, Spousal support, Division of property, Grandparent’s rights and Restraining orders.

Campoy & Bertram, L.L.P., provides effective, affordable legal services exclusively in the area of family law. The firm is conveniently located in downtown Santa Rosa at 509 Seventh Street.

Family Law
When people think of family law, they usually think of divorce. However, family law can involve many other things than the dissolution of a marriage. For instance, family law can involve custody issues between parents who were never married, adoption of children, grandparents seeking a guardianship or visitation rights with their grandchildren. It also can involve restraining orders between parents, parents and their children, on anyone in a dating relationship.

Divorce
Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage. California is a no-fault state and therefore either spouse can obtain a divorce (technically a dissolution of marital status) without proving fault of the other party. Typically, dissolutions involve issues of spousal support, child support, child custody, and property issues. It is our opinion that any sensible agreements that can be reached between the spouses regarding these issues will decrease the emotional and economic pain that is so often a part of dissolutions. To the extent that we can provide our clients with information and advice to help them settle their matter, we do so. However, sometimes spouses cannot reach an agreement and it becomes necessary to litigate. In these instances, we represent our clients throughout the litigation process until the case settles or is decided by a judge.

Child Custody
Child custody can create the most emotional and difficult issues between parents. When considering what kind of custody and visitation arrangement you want with your child(ren) keep in mind two overriding considerations that should be applied. First, that whatever the arrangement is, it must be in the best interest(s) of the child(ren). The child is of primary concern in deciding custody and visitation, not the parents. Second, the best interests of the children usually involve frequent and continuing contact with both parents.

In ordering spousal support under this part, the court shall consider all of the following circumstances:
   (a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account all of the following:
   (1) The marketable skills of the supported party; the job market for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop
those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
   (2) The extent to which the supported party's present or future earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote time to domestic duties.
   (b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party.
   (c) The ability to pay of the supporting party, taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
   (d) The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage.
   (e) The obligations and assets, including the separate property,
of each party.
   (f) The duration of the marriage.
   (g) The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party.
   (h) The age and health of the parties, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party where the court finds documented evidence of a history of domestic violence, as defined in Section 6211, against the supported party by the supporting party.
   (i) The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party.
   (j) The balance of the hardships to each party.
   (k) The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time.  Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a "reasonable period
of time" for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage.  However, nothing in this section is intended to limit the court's discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time, based on any of the other factors listed in this section, Section 4336, and the circumstances of the parties.
   (l) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.

Dividing your property
During your marriage, you have likely amassed assets as well as debts. Together, these can be thought of as "property interests". For most California residents, if such property interests are in dispute, then they must be characterized by applying California community property law. When you hear the term "community" imagine when yourself, as an individual, married your spouse, another individual. The union of these two individuals formed the community. From that moment forward, all efforts by either spouse can be thought of as community efforts. Consequently, wages earned by a spouse during marriage are usually community property. Not all assets and debts acquired during marriage are necessarily community property. A spouse may own property before marriage or a spouse may receive an inheritance during marriage. Under these circumstances, and a myriad of others, a property interest may be characterized as one spouse's separate property, community property, or a mixture of both. If property disputes are brought in front of a California court, the judge will divide the community property equally (unless otherwise expressly governed by a statute).

Disclaimer
Thank you for visiting the Campoy & Bertram, L.L.P., web site. Our web site has been prepared for informational and reference purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should not rely on any information contained in this web site regarding a legal problem. We recommend that you always consult with a qualified lawyer. We welcome electronic mail, but please be advised that, unless you are already a client of Campoy & Bertram, L.L.P., your e-mail will not be protected by the attorney-client privilege and may be subject to disclosure to others. It is important to note that the use of e-mail to transmit sensitive information is not recommended. In some states, this web site may be considered advertising. To the extent, if any, that this web site does not comply with state laws concerning lawyer advertising or other ethical issues, Campoy & Bertram, L.L.P., expressly disclaims any intent to solicit clients. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.