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Divorce. The word itself conjures up images of courtroom battles, emotional meltdowns, and scorched-earth tactics. But amidst the wreckage, amidst the storm of hurt and anger, there is often a sliver of hope: the possibility of resolving your differences with your soon-to-be ex-partner in a civil...

Whether you are starting the divorce process or it has already been finalized, you can always ask for a modification to your visitation schedule. When there is a signed agreement and court order (known as Stipulation and Order)  in place, your former spouse or partner may disagree. But your attor...

The date of separation is the marker of the end of the marriage. Why is this important? California is a community property state. When two people marry, they have equal ownership of all property, assets, and debts.  Everything before the date of separation is community property subject to equal d...

This is an option you have to protect your children. It doesn't matter if you are newly separated or are divorced. If you are considering filing a request for emergency custody, then you are involved in a serious matter.  An emergency custody hearing is to ensure the safety of your child. We will...

One of the most contradictory concepts about divorce is that to make it easier, you will have to talk and negotiate with the very person from who you are trying to gain emotional distance from.  By recognizing the stages of how people mentally overcome a divorce, it might make it easier on both o...

Adjusting to life after a divorce is difficult for everyone involved. For children used to having one house, suddenly splitting their time between two households is a major adjustment. That is a two-way street – for parents used to having their children home all the time, suddenly spending time a...

The divorce process can be emotionally challenging. It can also take a long time. Many spouses find they have to communicate throughout, which can be the last thing they want to do. They may find themselves bursting out into frustration and conflict every time they speak to their spouse. This may...

Most parents' first consideration when getting a divorce is what will happen to their children. Divorce can be profoundly emotionally impactful on children. Over half of all marriages end in divorce, which means that plenty of parents are children of divorce themselves. They know how it feels. So...

The stress of the holidays. The stress of being newly divorced and a co-parent. What will happen when they collide? It'll be manageable, we promise. You may experience varying degrees of stress, but you will make it through with these tips from Ahluwalia Law.  Review your parenting plan....

The last few months sealed your spouse's fate—you tried, and tried, and tried to work things out, but all that together time during the coronavirus pandemic laid bare the fact that you aren't meant to be married anymore. However, you know from your friends' stories what's in store for you next: t...

When you fall out of love with your spouse and decide to move forward with a divorce, you are probably wondering how your other labor of love—the small business that you've spent so much time and money on—will be handled during the legal proceedings. Wondering might be a little generous; you are ...

For a moment, consider this scenario: Tomi and Jerry have been married for seven years, have no children or ownership in real property (they have lived in the same apartment complex in Fremont for the duration of the marriage), own a few trinkets here and there, but do not have a large amount of ...

It's the conversation you are dreading: having to tell your children that you and your spouse have decided to divorce. You don't want to let them down and have to watch them process this news that is, to them, earth-shattering. However, you know it must be done. To make this discussion easier on ...

Many California spouses are currently going through a situation similar to this fictitious scenario: It's been obvious for a while now that your marriage isn't working. It started with a small sense that something wasn't right, that something changed about your husband after you two married and m...

From the leaders of groups that deal with families in crisis:  Susan Myres, President of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) Jill Peña, Executive Director of AAML Dr. Matt Sullivan, President of Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Peter Salem, Executive Di...

The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys has recognized the exceptional performance of California's Family Law Attorney Madan Ahluwalia, Esq. as 2019 10 Best Family Law Attorney for Client Satisfaction. The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys is a third-party attorney rating organiza...

Restraining Orders and Child Custody Gaining joint or sole custody of your child is hard enough without a restraining order hanging around your neck. Restraining orders (sometimes referred to as protective orders) are useful tools for parents to keep themselves and their children safe, but if you...

Suppose you have a civil or commercial dispute with an individual or entity located in a different country. How would you go about serving pertinent documents to them? Dozens of countries have attempted to address this issue by signing a multilateral agreement, The Convention on the Service Abroa...

Mike and Lynne have decided to file for divorce after five years of marriage. He discovered that she was seeing someone else and, although hurt and angry, he agreed to work with Lynne to end the marriage with as little stress and contention as possible. Below is an overview of the steps that Mike...

Rob and Catelyn were only married for two years before they realized that they weren't happy together. Both later admitted that they had entered the marriage with unspoken assumptions: he didn't want children, but she believed that after they married, he would change his mind. She wanted to stay ...

Most ex-couples assume that once their Final Judgment of the Dissolution of Marriage is filed, the terms of the divorce are permanent. That's partly true, as California courts frown on arbitrarily changing one's divorce decree. However, the law also recognizes that life is not static and will sup...

Jason and Kira knew that divorce did not end their relationship with each other. They had two beautiful girls, which meant that they would be attending graduations, weddings, and possibly the births of future grandchildren together. Although their marriage had not been a happy one towards the end...

Although Tracy constantly complained about the marriage, she was furious when Brad took the initiative by filing for divorce. Her first response was to threaten his access to the children by yelling, “You'll never see your kids again!” When the court prevented that outcome by granting joint lega...

“Mommy?” It's your four-year-old daughter, Ada, and she's using that voice. The one that is usually followed by “I spilled juice on the rug” or “Spot ate a crayon.” You look up from the computer. Ada is standing in the doorway to your home office, one foot extended to show you the hole in the sol...

When Kari was a teenager, she loved documenting her life. She still has a MySpace account floating around somewhere, its photo pages and diary entries full of evidence that she had a fun and fulfilling childhood. Now, as she faces the necessity of documenting her injuries due to domestic violence...