You and your spouse have decided to divorce.  You have minor children, under the age of 18 or 19 and still in high school.  What do you do about the children?  Do not hesitate to contact child custody lawyers.  Orange County, California family law attorneys all deal with child custody.  Get an attorney’s advice from the beginning of a divorce proceeding, because what you set as precedent may be difficult to change later.  In other words, what you set up for custody and visitation during the interim of a divorce may be what the Court deems is best for the children.  The Court may use the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” theory and just leave the custody and visitation as it is.  It is in the best interest of the children that you and your spouse work together to keep them in a stable environment with the least amount of change as possible.  However, without legal guidance you may end up with a custody and visitation schedule that you do not want.

Another situation that comes up often is that a mother or father lets the minor children stay with the other parent and the other parent refuses to give the children back.  Again, immediately call some child custody lawyers.  Orange County, California has many lawyers who will give you a free consultation.  The first thing that any attorney will tell you is that without a Court order, law enforcement cannot do anything for you.  Unless, there is domestic violence involved where the children are in danger, law enforcement will tell you that it is a civil matter.  They cannot force the parent to return the child or children because there is no order telling them which party has legal or physical custody.  So, talk to some child custody lawyers.  Orange County, California attorneys can file an immediate hearing to get a Court order.

If there are reasons to suspect that the minor child or children are being physically harmed or if threat of physical harm is evident, the Court will hear the case in an Exparte hearing.  Which means little or no notice is required to the other party and the hearing can be put on the Court’s calendar the next day.  Also, if there is a threat that the minor child could be taken out of the state or country, your attorney can go in Exparte and ask the Judge to make immediate orders.  There are ways to protect your children.  Do not take any chances.  If you need a child custody lawyer in Orange County California, click the link above and read more.

Choosing the right lawyer to handle your divorce can be a very confusing and frustrating time.  You may have complex issues to resolve such as child custody, support issues, division of marital assets and debts, to name a few.  First, you must know the correct court to file a divorce case.  If you or your spouse is residing in Orange County, California for six (6) months or more, a divorce case should be filed in the Orange County Courts located at the Lameroux Justice Center in Orange.  It will be imperative that you hire an Orange County divorce lawyer who is familiar with handling divorce matters at the Orange County courthouse.  Hiring an Orange County attorney is important because every Courthouse has different local rules that the lawyers must follow.  An Orange County divorce lawyer will know how to navigate the system and be familiar with the file clerks as well as the Judge’s clerks to make sure that the filing of legal documents goes smoothly.  Most importantly, an Orange County lawyer will know the Judges and the Commissioners sitting on the bench. This is important because the attorney will know the personality and disposition of every Judge or Commissioner who happens to be ruling in your case. Of course, the ruling in a legal matter must follow the laws and statutes of a State and county.  However, an Orange County divorce lawyer will be familiar with how your particular Judge or Commissioner likes to do things and how the case should be presented.  These are issues that you do not need to worry about if you have a good OC lawyer representing you in your case.

What To Look For When Hiring Your Attorney

Below are some important things to consider when hiring an Orange County divorce lawyer.

1.    Does your attorney have experience in Family Law matters?  This is obviously important because you want your attorney to be experienced and specialized in divorce.

2.    Is the attorney an Orange County divorce lawyer who practices mainly in the Orange County courts?  You want your lawyer to know the people and be familiar with the people who are going to effect the decisions made in your case.

3.    Is the attorney going to have the time to handle your case?  Many divorce lawyers are very busy and they are in Court almost every day.  This is not a bad thing.  It is good that your attorney is at the Court getting exposure with the Judges and Commissioners.  However, make sure that your lawyer is not too overbooked so that you can get the best representation possible.

4.    Personal attention and communication is a very important aspect of hiring a good Orange County divorce lawyer.  Anyone who finds himself or herself beginning a divorce, in the middle of a divorce or trying to finish one, is constantly in need of legal and emotional help.  It is the job of your attorney to represent you and your needs to the best of his or her ability.  You need an attorney who will take the time to listen to your needs and be able to communicate to you what is going on in your case.

5.    Professionalism is also an important characteristic of an attorney.  Orange County lawyers sometimes get a bad reputation because of the way they handle themselves in a Courtroom.  You need to choose an attorney who has integrity and a good reputation among his or her co-workers, associates, opposing attorneys and Judges and Commissioners.

Hope that helps!