Dissolution of Marriage (divorce)
The purpose of a proceeding for marital dissolution is to dissolve the marriage and restore the parties to the status of single persons, divide the community estate, determine the custody of children, and, if the respondent is subject to the court's personal jurisdiction, settle the parties' financial responsibilities regarding spousal and child support.

Legal Separation San Diego
A proceeding for legal separation has the same general purposes as that for marital dissolution, except that a judgment of legal separation does not terminate the parties' marital status. Thus, legal separation is essentially a device to determine and settle the spouses' financial responsibilities to one another and to their minor children, as well as to determine child custody. A judgment of legal separation might be sought for religious or other personal reasons, such as the ability to retain certain spousal health or survivor benefits. A party might also initially petition for legal separation when the state or county residency requirements for a dissolution proceeding have not yet been met, and then amend the petition to seek dissolution when residency is established.

What is Community Property?
Community property is generally defined as ''all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in [California],'' except as otherwise provided by statute.

Child Custody Rights San Diego
The most basic of parents' rights with respect to their children is the right to custody. A parent's interest in the custody of his or her children is a cognizable and substantial right that extends to all parents, and is within the protection of the federal due-process and equal-protection clauses.

Child Support San Diego
The mother and father of a minor child have an equal responsibility to support of the child. Equal responsibility exists regardless of which parent has custody of the child. However, it is presumed that a parent having primary physical responsibility for the children contributes a significant portion of available resources for the support of the children. The statewide uniform child support takes into account each parent's actual income and level of custodial responsibility for the children in setting child support amounts.

Spousal Support
The duty of spousal support encompasses the obligation to pay the debts of the spouse, provided that the debts are for ''necessaries'' of life. What is necessary spousal support is determined according to the parties' station in life.