Helpful documents include recent tax returns, pay stubs, bank and investment account statements, mortgage or lease documents, any existing court orders, and if children are involved, school and medical records that reflect the current parenting arrangement. The more context you can share, the more focused and useful your first meeting will be. If you cannot gather everything before we meet, we can work with what you have and identify what we will need going forward.

The answer depends on what is at stake. If you and your spouse agree on everything, have no minor children, and your marital estate is straightforward, an uncontested process may be manageable with some guidance. But if there are children involved, significant assets, a business, or any disagreement about support or custody, the risk of not having legal representation increases substantially. Even well-intentioned agreements reached without counsel can have provisions that are unenforceable or that create problems years later.

Family law cases in California carry real legal and financial consequences that follow you long after the case closes. Decisions made during divorce, custody, or support proceedings are not easily undone. Our attorneys have over 40 years of combined experience handling these matters for clients throughout Woodland Hills, the San Fernando Valley, and the greater Los Angeles area.