California Family Law Attorneys Representing Northern California
- Pakpour Banks is based in Davis, CA, and is proudly serving Davis, Woodland, Sacramento, West Sacramento, Vacaville, Dixon, Fairfield, Roseville, Elk Grove, and surrounding areas.
- Our team has been successfully representing cases in Yolo County, Sacramento County, Solano County, Placer County, Colusa County, El Dorado County, and Yuba County.
- Our office is at 1712 Picasso Avenue, Suite B, in Davis, and we handle family law cases in the Superior Courts of seven Northern California counties.
When you’re facing legal challenges in family court, you’re probably asking three big questions: What happens to my children? What happens to my marriage? What happens to my property and finances? Legal decisions made about your family can have life-changing impacts. We know you want those decisions to be right. The skilled Northern California family law attorneys at Pakpour Banks LLP can help you make the right decisions. We have experience, we are compassionate, and we offer a wide array of family legal services.
We Can Help Protect Your Children and Your Parenting Rights
Child custody decisions made against you can be emotionally devastating. The Northern California family law attorneys at Pakpour Banks LLP work hard to eliminate and minimize devastating outcomes in custody and parenting disputes. Whatever the relationship you have with the other parent of your child, we know you want your child to be ok. We want your child to be ok too.
Parentage
If not already handled, the first thing any parent who wants to be involved with their child needs to do is legally establish that they are the parent. Establishing parentage is often necessary if you weren’t married to your child’s other parent before they were born. If you want to be involved with your child, we can help you make sure the law recognizes you as a parent. If you believe the court made a mistake by naming you as the parent of someone’s child, we can also help you dispute parentage.
Custody
If you don’t live with your child’s other parent, the family court needs to decide who has physical and legal custody of your child. The court makes its custody decisions based on what is in the best interests of your child. The court often enforces reasonable custody agreements that parents develop together. But if you don’t have a good relationship with the other parent, you might have to fight hard against them to prove that your desires for legal or physical custody are in your child’s best interest. Stakes and emotions can run high in these situations. It’s best to have a skilled lawyer as your advocate in court.
You Do Not Have to Figure This Out Alone
Big Family Decisions Deserve Calm, Clear Guidance.
Separation, parenting plans, and support questions can feel overwhelming, especially when your family’s future is on the line. Pakpour Banks LLP can walk you through your options and help you decide what comes next. Schedule a consultation and talk it through at your own pace.
Schedule a ConsultationMODIFYING CURRENT ORDERS
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in modifying their current orders. Unlike a criminal trial, or most civil matters, the orders of a family court judge may …
VISITATION
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in visitation or parenting time disputes. At the outset, the word “visitation” is, in most cases, a misnomer. Most parents …
MEDIATION
Divorce mediation is about you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse deciding your own divorce and what is best for the both of you and, most importantly, your children. Pakpour …
GRANDPARENT VISITATION
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in grandparent visitation cases. Grandparents play a critical role in many children’s lives. That being said, parents have a constitutional right …
ESTABLISHING OR DISPUTING PARENTAGE
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in Parentage or Paternity Actions. When you have a child with someone during your marriage, the law presumes that child is …
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in Domestic Violence disputes. Domestic violence, or what is recently being referred to as “intimate partner violence,” is abuse perpetrated against a spouse, …
COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE
Many divorces end up being contentious and filled with litigation, and our mission is to save our clients from the stress of all that. When you contact our office about collaborative…
PROPERTY DIVISION
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in property disputes. California is unique in that it is one of the nine community property states (ten if you count …
SPOUSAL SUPPORT
Pakpour Banks LLP provides legal services to individuals involved in Spousal Support disputes. During marriage, spouses have a duty to support one another under the California Family Code. That duty may …
We Can Help You Take a Proactive Approach to Property Division in a Divorce
Typically, the best solution to a problem is prevention. Prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements can help you prevent protracted and contentious fights in divorce court by allowing you and your spouse to agree about how to split assets while you’re still on good terms. These kinds of agreements must be fair, voluntary, and give each party the opportunity to seek legal counsel. If you want a solid agreement that helps you avoid conflict, it’s best to have a good attorney draft the agreement. If your pre/postnuptial agreement doesn’t pass legal muster, you’ll likely need to work out your differences in family court.
We Can Stand Up for Your Rights to Property, Safety, and Peace of Mind in a Divorce
Navigating a divorce can be harrowing when you’re in the midst of proceedings and debilitating in the aftermath. We don’t want either of those experiences for you. If you can’t agree, the divorce court decides who gets child custody, who pays child support, how to divide assets and debts, what right each spouse has to spousal support, and whether protection orders are necessary. These are all potential hot-button issues that often set off bitter and explosive struggles in court. Successfully arguing your position on these issues is also a matter of knowing the important details to analyze and highlight for the court’s understanding.
Pakpour Banks LLP has been successfully arguing clients’ cases in front of the family court for years. If you don’t think you can handle a battle in court, we can help you with alternatives to divorce litigation. These alternatives include:
- Divorce agreement negotiation,
- Mediation, and
- Collaborative divorce.
Even if you aren’t able to come to a full resolution using these alternatives, the processes are still useful. These alternatives can help you fine-tune your issues, needs, and potential solutions before heading before a judge for a final decision. With fine-tuning, you can spend less time in court. Less time in court often means fewer costs, less stress, and more overall satisfaction.
Unfortunately, not every divorcing couple can resolve their issues outside the courtroom. If it’s time for you to fight for your rights before a family law judge, we have the experience and skill to handle that fight on your behalf. We represent both clients ending same-sex unions and those ending opposite-sex unions.
Family Law Issues Are Often Ongoing—We Can Be with You for the Long Haul
If you feel like the ongoing terms in your divorce decree or family court order have put you in an untenable bind because of recent life changes, remember that you can ask the court to change its orders when there is a significant change in circumstances. Also, you might be able to change orders if you and your ex agree on all terms of the change. Whether you need to negotiate a new agreement with your ex or convince the court to change your orders, we can help ensure that the terms of a new order or agreement are as fair as possible to you.
Northern California Family Law Questions, Answered
You start by filing a petition for dissolution in the superior court of a California county where the residency rules are met. Generally, one spouse must have lived in California for six months and in that county for three months before filing (Fam. Code § 2320). Yolo, Sacramento, Solano, and Placer counties each have their own local filing procedures.
At least six months. California will not end a marriage until six months after the respondent is served or appears in the case, whichever comes first (Fam. Code § 2339). Disputes over custody, support, or property often take longer, while early agreements can let the case finish soon after that waiting period ends.
California is a community property state, so the community estate is generally divided equally unless the spouses agree otherwise in writing, with limited exceptions (Fam. Code § 2550). Property and debts acquired during the marriage are usually community, while separate property is treated differently. Businesses and retirement accounts can make valuation and tracing more complicated.
Courts decide custody based on the best interest of the child, with the child’s health, safety, and welfare as the primary concern (Fam. Code §§ 3011, 3020). Judges look at factors such as any history of abuse, substance abuse, and each parent’s contact with the child. State policy favors frequent, continuing contact with both parents when it is safe.
California uses a statewide guideline formula that is presumed correct. It is based on each parent’s net disposable income, the percentage of time each parent has the children, and the number of children (Fam. Code §§ 4055, 4057). A court may depart from the guideline only in limited circumstances supported by evidence.
Spousal support depends on the facts of each case. Courts weigh factors such as each spouse’s earning capacity, the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, age and health, and any history of domestic violence (Fam. Code § 4320). A marriage of ten years or more is presumed to be of long duration (§ 4336).
Often yes, but you generally need to show a significant change in circumstances, or both parents can agree to a change. Examples can include a job loss, a relocation, or a change in a child’s needs. Until a court approves a new order, the existing order stays in force, so keep following it.
Mediation uses a neutral third party to help you reach agreements, and California courts generally set contested custody and visitation issues for mediation (Fam. Code § 3170). Collaborative divorce is a voluntary process in which both spouses and their attorneys commit to negotiating a settlement outside of court. Domestic violence cases follow separate procedures.
You ask the family court for a restraining order by filing a request, and a judge may issue a temporary order while the case is pending. A hearing on the request is generally held within 21 days, or 25 days for good cause (Fam. Code § 242). If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Parentage can be established through a presumption under the Family Code, a voluntary declaration signed by both parents, or a court judgment. For example, a person is generally presumed a parent if married to the child’s birth mother at birth, or if they take the child into their home and openly hold the child out as their own (Fam. Code § 7611).
Family Courts We Serve in Northern California
Where your case is filed depends on the county where you or your spouse lives. Here are the family courts for the areas we serve.
Yolo County (Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento): Yolo County Superior Court, 1000 Main Street, Woodland, CA 95695. Family Law Division: (530) 406-6704. The Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator are on the second floor and can be reached at 530 406-6794.
Sacramento County (Sacramento, Elk Grove): William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, 3341 Power Inn Road, Sacramento, CA 95826. The Family Law Self-Help Center and Facilitator’s Office can be reached at 916 875-3400.
Solano County (Fairfield, Vacaville, Dixon): Solano County Hall of Justice, 600 Union Avenue, Fairfield, CA 94533. The Family Law Facilitator’s Office (Solano Legal Access Center) is in Room 205 and offers free help Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.
Placer County (Roseville): Placer County Superior Court, Hon. Howard G. Gibson Courthouse, 10820 Justice Center Drive, Roseville, CA 95678, 916 408-6000. The court’s Self-Help Center is in the same courthouse and offers telephone, video, and in-person appointments.
El Dorado County: The Family Law Department and the Family Law Facilitator/Self-Help Center are at the Placerville Building C Branch, 2850 Fairlane Court, Suite 120, Placerville, CA 95667. The Facilitator can be reached at 530 621-5098. The South Lake Tahoe Branch is at 1354 Johnson Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150.
Colusa County: Colusa County Superior Court, Courthouse Annex, 547 Market Street, Colusa, CA 95932, (530) 458-5149. The Family Law Facilitator and Self-Help Center can be reached at 530 458-0598. The court asks for the original plus two copies of documents presented for filing.
Yuba County: Yuba County Superior Court, 215 Fifth Street, Suite 200, Marysville, CA 95901, (530) 740-1800 (Family Law, ext. 5). The Family Law Facilitator and Self-Help Center are in Suite 318 at 530 740-1850.
Self-help staff at these courts can explain forms and procedures, but they cannot give legal advice or represent you. That is where an experienced family law attorney makes the difference.
Our California Family Law Lawyers Are Here to Win the Family Law Solutions You Need
Families come in many shapes and sizes, and so do the solutions to their legal problems. At Pakpour Banks LLP, we strive to fulfill all your family law needs with minimal conflict and cost. We also have multiple resources, techniques, and approaches for tailoring legal solutions to your unique needs. We are vigorous advocates and compassionate counselors who want to help you move forward in the healthiest ways possible. If you and your family need help, we’re here to answer the call. You can reach us or contact us online.
Our firm speaks Spanish.