Valley Village Divorce Lawyers
Los Angeles Office
Experienced & Professional Divorce Lawyers Valley Village Los Angeles Residents Trust
Divorce touches every part of a family’s life, from where the kids sleep at night to how retirement savings are divided. It can be emotionally draining, and the decisions made along the way can shape your finances and your relationship with your children for years.
Holstrom, Block & Parke, APLC is a reputable California family law firm with a Los Angeles office that helps Valley Village residents move through divorce with clarity and confidence. Our Los Angeles family law attorneys give every new client personal attention and a clear plan from the start. In addition to Valley Village, we represent clients in nearby communities including North Hollywood, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Toluca Lake, and Burbank.
To schedule a free consultation with an experienced Valley Village divorce attorney, call (855) 827-6639 or fill out our online contact form to get started today.
Guiding Valley Village Families Through Divorce
At Holstrom, Block & Parke, our family law attorneys handle both contested and uncontested divorce, along with the custody, support, and property division issues that come with it. We take a family-centered approach. When children are involved, we work to reduce conflict whenever possible, because long custody battles take a real toll on kids’ well-being. At the same time, we stand firm when the other party threatens a client’s interests, and we are ready to act as your legal advocate in court.
How Divorce Works in California
Every Valley Village divorce is governed by California law. Understanding a few key rules before you file can help you protect yourself and avoid costly surprises:
Filing Requirements and the Divorce Timeline
To file for divorce, at least one spouse must have lived in California for six months and in Los Angeles County for three months immediately before filing. If you have not met those requirements yet, you may be able to file for legal separation first and amend the petition once you qualify.
Divorce proceedings begin when one spouse files a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and has it formally served on the other spouse, who then has 30 days to file a response. Both spouses must exchange financial disclosures listing their income, expenses, assets, and debts. The earliest a divorce can become final is six months after the respondent is served or first appears in the case, even if every issue is resolved sooner.
Valley Village divorces are filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Family law cases from much of the San Fernando Valley are handled at the Van Nuys Courthouse East, located at 6230 Sylmar Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91401, although the court assigns filing locations by ZIP code. An experienced attorney can confirm the correct courthouse and make sure your case is filed properly.
Community Property and Your Assets
As a community property state, property and debts acquired during the marriage are generally presumed to belong equally to both spouses and must be divided equally in California. Separate property, such as assets owned before marriage or received by gift or inheritance, typically stays with the spouse who owns it. When separate and community funds have been mixed, known as commingling, the spouse claiming separate property must usually trace it back to its separate source.
The family home is often the most significant asset. If it was purchased during the marriage, it is usually community property. If one spouse owned it before marriage but community funds paid down the mortgage, the community may have an interest in it. Spouses can agree that one will buy out the other’s share, sell the home and divide the proceeds, or in some cases delay a sale to give children stability. Our Los Angeles property division attorneys help clients evaluate these options and divide assets fairly.
Child Custody and Child Support
California courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child, considering the child’s health, safety, and welfare, any history of abuse or substance use, the child’s relationship with each parent, and other factors. Legal custody is the right to make decisions about a child’s education, health care, and welfare, while physical custody refers to where the child lives. Parents can share either type jointly, or a court can award it to one parent. A parenting plan sets out each parent’s parenting time, holidays, exchanges, and decision-making responsibilities.
Meanwhile, child support is set using a statewide guideline formula. California child support calculations are based mainly on each parent’s income and the percentage of time the child spends with each parent, with add-ons for costs such as work-related childcare and uninsured medical expenses.
Our child support and child custody lawyers in Valley Village help parents build workable parenting plans and make sure support is calculated correctly.
Spousal Support
Temporary spousal support may be ordered while a divorce is pending, often based on a formula. Permanent spousal support, ordered in the final judgment, is not set by formula. Instead, the court weighs the factors in Family Code §4320, including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s earning capacity, the marital standard of living, the paying spouse’s ability to pay, and the receiving spouse’s needs.
The length of the marriage also affects how long support lasts. For marriages under 10 years, a reasonable duration is generally considered half the length of the marriage. For marriages of 10 years or more, California presumes a marriage of long duration, and the court may keep jurisdiction over support indefinitely. The Los Angeles County spousal support attorneys at Holstrom, Block & Parke can help you understand what to expect and present the evidence that matters.
Choosing the Right Path for Your Divorce
No two divorces follow the same process. The right approach to navigating divorce in California depends on how much the spouses agree, how much they trust each other, and how complex the issues are. An experienced divorce lawyer can help you choose the path that fits your situation and adjust if circumstances change.
Uncontested Divorce
An uncontested divorce occurs when spouses agree on all terms, including property, support, custody, and parenting time. These cases are usually faster and less expensive. Attorney review is still crucial. A settlement agreement becomes a binding court order, and an agreement that leaves out assets, overlooks tax consequences, or uses vague language can be unfair or difficult to enforce. We make sure your agreement protects you and holds up over time.
Contested Divorce
A contested divorce involves disputes over custody, support, property, or other issues. These cases often require discovery to obtain financial records and other evidence, Requests for Order asking the court for temporary custody or support, and settlement conferences. The Valley Village family law attorneys at our firm handle every contested case as though the divorce required a trial, with thorough trial preparation from the start, while continuing to look for a favorable resolution through negotiation.
Mediation & Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative divorce is a structured, out-of-court process recognized under Family Code §2013. Each spouse hires a collaboratively trained attorney, and everyone signs a participation agreement committing to resolve the case without going to court. If the process breaks down, the collaborative attorneys must withdraw, which gives both sides a strong reason to settle. The process often uses a team approach, with neutral financial specialists and child specialists who help the family reach practical solutions.
Mediation is another option. A neutral mediator helps spouses negotiate their own agreement, while each spouse can have an attorney advise them between sessions and review the final terms. Both processes are private, typically less expensive than litigation, and better suited to protecting children from conflict. Our team of Los Angeles mediation and collaborative divorce attorneys can help you decide whether a collaborative approach or mediation fits your case.
High-Asset Divorce
High-asset divorces in California often involve multiple properties, investment portfolios, retirement accounts, stock options, RSUs, and deferred compensation. Each asset must be identified, characterized as community or separate property, and valued. Stock options and RSUs granted during the marriage but vesting after separation often require time-rule formulas to determine the community share.
Tracing is especially important when separate property was used to buy, improve, or pay down community assets, or when community funds were used to pay down separate assets. Careful tracing can protect separate property claims and support reimbursement rights when dividing property.
High-Net-Worth Divorce
In high-net-worth cases, the bigger financial picture matters as much as any single asset. Spousal support at high incomes depends heavily on the marital standard of living and on how bonuses, equity, and other non-salary income are treated. Trusts, out-of-state or international holdings, and the tax consequences of how assets are divided all require careful planning. A high net worth divorce lawyer works with forensic accountants to analyze income and cash flow, trace funds, and identify assets that may not be fully disclosed.
Complex & High-Conflict Divorce
Some divorces involve disputes over whether assets are community or separate property, suspected hidden assets, property or parties in multiple states or countries, or contentious custody issues. Our complex and high-conflict divorce attorneys in Los Angeles build a strategy for every part of these cases, managing difficult opposing parties while keeping the focus on the outcome you need.
Business Owner Divorce
When one spouse owns a business, the court must decide whether it is community property, separate property, or both. If a business started before marriage grew during the marriage, the growth may be apportioned using the Pereira approach, which credits growth mainly to one spouse’s personal efforts, or the Van Camp approach, which credits growth mainly to capital and market conditions. Valuation, including the treatment of goodwill, is often the most contested issue.
Our business owner divorce representation also focuses on protecting operations, so the company can keep serving customers and paying employees while the divorce is pending. Whether you own the business or your spouse does, we work to make sure business interests are valued accurately and divided fairly.
High-Profile and Celebrity Divorce
Valley Village sits near the studios of Burbank and Studio City, and many residents work in the entertainment industry. High-profile divorces call for extra attention to privacy and confidentiality. We help clients limit public exposure through confidential settlements, careful handling of filings, and, where appropriate, a private judge so hearings (and, if necessary, trial) take place outside a public courtroom.
We also help manage media attention and shield children from public scrutiny. Entertainment industry divorces often involve unique assets, such as royalties, residuals, intellectual property, production company interests, and guild pension and health plans. Characterizing and valuing these income streams, including those that continue long after the divorce, requires specialized knowledge.
Same-Sex Divorce
Same-sex couples may face unique issues when their relationship began before marriage was legally recognized. Some couples have a registered domestic partnership that predates their marriage, which can affect the length of the relationship for support purposes and the period during which community property was acquired. Parentage of children is another key concern. Even when both spouses are on the birth certificate, a court judgment of parentage or an adoption can provide stronger legal protection. Property acquired before marriage also requires careful analysis.
Military Divorce
Service members and their spouses face rules civilian couples do not. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) can allow an active-duty member to request a stay of proceedings when military duties prevent participation. The Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSPA) allows state courts to divide military retired pay as property. The 10/10 rule, which requires at least 10 years of marriage overlapping 10 years of service, determines whether the former spouse can be paid directly by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, but it does not decide whether retirement pay can be divided. Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage and custody planning around deployments also need careful attention. Our Southern CA military divorce lawyers understand how these federal and state rules fit together
Domestic Violence Divorce Cases
Safety is the first priority in any divorce where abuse is involved. Our domestic violence family law firm helps clients secure domestic violence restraining orders, create a plan for leaving safely, and build the evidence needed to show a pattern of abuse during custody proceedings.
This evidence can carry significant weight. Under Family Code §3044, if the court finds that a parent committed domestic violence against the other party or the child within the last five years, it must presume that giving that parent sole or joint custody would not serve the child’s best interests. That parent can try to overcome the presumption, but the burden falls on them. We also defend clients who have been targeted by false or exaggerated abuse claims.
Protecting Your Future Before and After Divorce
Divorce law is not limited to the divorce itself. It also covers planning ahead to protect your assets and dealing with what comes after the final judgment.
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement lets couples decide in advance how property, debts, and in some cases spousal support will be handled if the marriage ends. To be enforceable, premarital agreements in Los Angeles and throughout California must meet strict requirements, including voluntary signing, full financial disclosure, adequate time for review, and in many cases independent legal counsel. Our firm drafts agreements designed to hold up if challenged, and we represent clients who are enforcing or challenging existing agreements in divorce.
Post-Divorce Decree Modifications & Enforcement
When circumstances change significantly, such as a job loss, a relocation, or a shift in a child’s needs, custody, visitation, or support orders may need to be modified. A Los Angeles divorce modification attorney can help you request a change or respond to a request from your former spouse. When the other party ignores the judgment, our post-decree enforcement lawyers can step in. Remedies may include wage garnishment for unpaid support, contempt proceedings, and orders enforcing parenting time or property transfers.
Divorce Appeals
If the trial court made a legal error, you may be able to appeal to the Second District Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from Los Angeles County. An appeal must be based on legal error or abuse of discretion, not simply disagreement with the result. Deadlines are strict. A notice of appeal is generally due 60 days after notice of entry of judgment is served, and missing it can end your right to appeal.
An appeal is different from a motion to set aside a judgment, which asks the trial court itself to undo a judgment because of fraud, duress, mistake, or failure to disclose assets. Our family law appeal attorneys in Los Angeles County can help you decide which option fits your situation.
What Your Valley Village Divorce Lawyer Will Do for You
An experienced attorney makes a difference at every stage of a divorce. We start by explaining your rights and options under California law, so you can make informed decisions rather than reacting to the other side. We handle the paperwork and required financial disclosures, making sure everything is accurate, complete, and filed on time.
From there, we negotiate with the other party to reach a fair settlement whenever possible, while protecting your children’s well-being and your share of the marital assets. If an agreement cannot be reached, we advocate for you in court with thorough preparation and clear, persuasive arguments. Our services are tailored to your goals, whether that means a quick, amicable resolution or a firm stand in litigation.
Why Choose Holstrom, Block & Parke As Your Valley Village Divorce Law Firm?
Holstrom, Block & Parke brings statewide experience in family law matters to every case, with a Los Angeles office serving Valley Village and the surrounding San Fernando Valley. Our divorce attorneys in California, including several Certified Family Law Specialists, have centuries of combined legal experience and handle family law cases ranging from straightforward agreements to complex, high-asset, and high-profile divorces.
We pursue fair settlements whenever possible, but we prepare every case as though it may go to trial, so you are never at a disadvantage if the other side will not cooperate.
Contact Our Valley Village Divorce Lawyers Today For a Free Initial Consultation
You do not have to go through divorce alone. Whether you are just beginning to consider your options or are already facing a contested case, the attorneys at Holstrom, Block & Parke, APLC are ready to listen, answer your questions, and help you protect your children, your finances, and your future.
Call (855) 827-6639 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced divorce attorney today.
What Our Clients Are Saying About Us
With centuries of combined experience, the California family law attorneys at Holstrom, Block & Parke, APLC explore every legal avenue to achieve the best outcome. We’re proud to be ranked a Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers—a testament to our commitment to excellence and client success.
