Practice Areas

Dissolution (Divorce) and Termination of Domestic Partnerships

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California uses a "no fault" system for dissolutions, which means that you do not need to provide a reason for the divorce beyond "irreconcilable differences." This simply means that you and your spouse or domestic partner are unable to work out the issues that have led to the breakdown of the relationship. 

There are many elements of a divorce or termination of domestic partnership that may apply to your situation. You may need to establish child custody and visitation schedules, establish child and/or spousal support, divide assets and debts, determine whether to keep or sell the family residence, and more. Or you may only need some legal guidance as you work with the other party to properly fill out and file the paperwork. Contact Alkire Law at (510) 761-5792 for a free half-hour consultation to discuss options. 
 

Child Custody

Decisions about the custody of your child can be a highly charged issue in a family law case. Ms. Alkire understands this and always puts the best interests of your child first. 

There are two types of child custody in California, legal and physical. 

Legal Custody
Legal custody addresses who makes important decisions in the child's life. This can include decisions about education, child care, medical practitioners, religion, and where the child lives. 

Legal custody can be joint, meaning both parents have the right to make these decisions. When parents can successfully co-parent they are able to work together to reach these decisions through open communication and collaboration. 

Ms. Alkire understands that this is not always possible, especially in contentious divorces and custody cases. In these cases, Ms. Alkire will work with you to fight for your child's best interests by identifying your concerns and goals and then crafting a legal strategy to achieve the best possible outcome. 

Physical Custody

Parents share joint physical custody when the child lives with both parents approximately equally. The timeshare does not need to be exactly a 50-50 split.

Sole physical custody is usually awarded to the parent with whom the child resides most of the time. In these cases, the other parent will often have visitation time scheduled with the child. 

Perhaps physical custody's biggest impact is in cases where one parent wants to move to another county or state. A parent who has sole physical custody may have a stronger argument for moving the child with them. However, there are a number of elements that judges weigh when dealing with a request for a "move-away" and it always comes down to what is in the child's best interest. It is important to talk with a skilled attorney to determine your rights if you are thinking of moving, or if you are opposing a move-away request.