Two roads through the same door.
Almost every family matter resolves one of two ways. Which one you are on determines the cost, the timeline, and how much of it happens in public.
1Uncontested — you both want it resolved
When both people want it over, we paper the agreement, file it, and it is done in months at a flat fee.
- Flat fee quoted before we start
- Usually resolved in three to six months
- Mediation available if you are close but not agreed
- Nothing argued in open court
2Contested — you need someone in the room
When agreement is not possible, temporary orders come first and tend to set the pattern everything else follows. The early hearings matter most.
- Temporary orders for custody and support
- Formal discovery into income and assets
- Custody evaluation where children are involved
- Trial only if settlement truly fails
What the court is actually deciding.
Four separate questions, often decided on different evidence and sometimes at different times. Confusing them is the most common and costly mistake.
Legal and physical custody
Who makes decisions, and where the children sleep. They are separate questions and are frequently split.
Child and spousal support
Calculated from income and parenting time. Accurate income disclosure matters more here than argument does.
Division of property and debt
Community property is split; separate property is not. Which is which is where most of the dispute lives.
Attorney's fees
Where there is a significant income gap, a court can order the higher earner to contribute to the other side's fees.
Flat where we can, hourly where we must.
You will know which one applies before anything begins, and we will tell you honestly when a case does not need a lawyer at all.
First consultation
Thirty minutes, no obligation
Uncontested matters
Quoted in writing before we start
Contested matters
Billed in six-minute increments, itemised monthly
Some things cannot wait for a hearing date.
A court can act within a day when the situation requires it. These are the situations that qualify.
Safety and protective orders
A protective order can issue the same day it is requested, and can determine who stays in the home.
A child taken or about to be moved
Emergency custody orders exist precisely for this, and can be sought without notice to the other parent.
Money cut off or assets disappearing
Courts can order temporary support and freeze accounts while the case is pending.
The attorney you meet is the attorney who handles your case.
Dana Whitfield has handled more than 900 custody and dissolution matters and will be the one in the courtroom with you.
Straight answers.
One lawyer cannot represent both sides. In a genuinely uncontested matter one spouse can retain counsel and the other can review independently.
On the child's best interests — stability, each parent's involvement to date, and the practical realities of school and work.
Yes, where circumstances have changed materially. Income changes and relocations are the most common grounds.
California has a six-month minimum from service. Uncontested matters finish close to that; contested ones take considerably longer.
Find out in one call whether you qualify — and what you get to keep.
No cost. No obligation. No judgment.
(800) 555-0142