Family Law Firm in Woodland Hills, California

Walzer & Melcher LLP

21700 Oxnard St.
Suite 2080
Woodland Hills, California 91367
USA

(818) 591-3700

(818) 591-3774

www.walzermelcher.com

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Law Firm Overview

The Law Offices of Walzer & Melcher LLP is an experienced, dedicated law firm located in Woodland Hills, California. Our firm is committed to resolving divorce cases by settlement. When that cannot be achieved, we provide strong and effective representation at trial. We are one of the most respected family law firms in California.

We limit our practice to divorce cases in Los Angeles or Ventura counties, and premarital agreements or post-marital agreements under California law. We are experts in the law, know how to handle a case efficiently, and care about our clients. Our typical client is a business owner, executive, professional, athlete, or trust fund beneficiary going through a divorce in Los Angeles or Ventura County. We also specialize in preparing premarital or prenuptial agreements, post-marital agreements, and cohabitation agreements for clients who want protection from California community property and spousal support laws.

Our office is in the Warner Center Plaza in Woodland Hills, California. We file all of our Los Angeles County cases in the downtown Los Angeles family court. We serve all areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Our local clients typically reside in Woodland Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Tarzana, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Santa Clarita, Valencia, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Hidden Valley, Malibu, Topanga, or Pacific Palisades.

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Property Division; Interstate & International Family Law; Divorce Taxes; Post-marital & Cohabitation Agreements; Expert Witness.

Practice Areas Description

Walzer & Melcher LLP provides legal representation on the following areas of practice:

- Family Law

We represent clients in divorce, custody and paternity matters. We also draft premarital, post-marital, and cohabitation agreements. Our typical client is a business owner, executive, professional, or trust fund beneficiary. We are knowledgeable about other areas of law, such as real estate, corporate, partnerships, pensions, taxation, trusts and estates, and criminal, which allows us to better serve our clients in complex matters. However, we only handle family law cases. This is a highly specialized area of law. Beware of attorneys who dabble in family law.

- Custody & Visitation

Custody and visitation issues are an important aspect of family law. There are two types of custody - legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to your decision-making authority regarding your children, such as choice of school, childcare, religious instruction, and other major decisions. Physical custody refers to how much time you spend with your children. It is often difficult for parents to come up with their own agreement regarding custody and visitation. If parents must move out of the area for a job, the logistics of parenting become much more difficult and parents may not be able to reach an agreement. If parents are unable to reach an agreement, a court must decide their custody issues. At that time attorneys are needed to litigate the issue.

- Property Division

One of the objectives of the divorce process is to divide your real and personal property. In California we divide property according to community property law. This means that all property that is acquired by you or your spouse during marriage will be divided between you and your spouse equally - unless it was a gift or inheritance, or was acquired before marriage. Walzer & Melcher has the expertise to handle the division of assets in simple and complex cases. While most of our cases are settled out of court through negotiation, we are prepared to litigate issues that cannot be resolved between the parties.

- Child Support

Child support is the amount of money the court will order one parent to pay the other parent each month for the support of a child. California has a formula for calculating child support called "guideline child support" which is calculated by using a computer program. The program bases its child support order on the income of both parties, the time each parent spends with the children, and other factors. Parties can always agree to a different amount of child support as long as the child's needs are met. Our team can calculate a guideline child support order.

- Spousal Support

Spousal support, or alimony, is the amount of money the court orders the higher wage earning spouse to pay to the other spouse every month. Spousal support can be a temporary and/or a final order by the Court. Temporary spousal support is typically based on a formula. Generally, the guideline for temporary spousal support is 40% of the higher wage earner’s income, less 50% of the other party's income. A final or "permanent" order of spousal support can have a termination date or be ordered indefinitely. In short-term marriages, generally those that are less than 10 years in length, the court will usually order spousal support be paid only for a time period often equal to half the length of the marriage.

- Paternity

A paternity action establishes the parentage of a child. Establishing parentage means determining who are the legal parents of a child. Parentage must be established before a court can order visitation, custody, or child support for a child whose parents were unmarried at the time of his birth. There are many legal, financial, and ethical issues involved with paternity actions and they can be very overwhelming for both parties involved. If the parties cannot agree on parentage, the Court can order genetic testing. If DNA tests show that you are the biological parent of the child in question, you can be held responsible as a parent even if you only had one sexual encounter. This means you will be responsible for paying child support. You also have rights to custody of your child.

- Premarital Agreements

Premarital agreements establish, in advance, how property will be treated or divided at the time of a divorce or death. They also can limit the amount of spousal support that will be paid if the parties divorce. There are many different types of prenups - some do away with community property entirely and replace it with another plan. Other agreements confirm what the parties have coming into the marriage and allow for sharing of income earned during marriage. The partners at Walzer & Melcher are experts in drafting and litigating premarital agreements. They lecture and write on various aspects of these agreements regularly.

- Interstate & International Family Law

Interstate and international family law disputes arise with couples that were living either in other states or other countries file for divorce, paternity, or custodial rights in California. In some cases, only one party resides in California. Other times, people obtain judgments in other countries or states, but now live in California and have unpaid support issues, unsatisfied money judgments, or children who have been abducted by one party and taken to California to find refuge. We have extensive experience in handling interstate and international family law disputes. Our knowledgeable staff will be able to guide you through this complicated process.

- Divorce Taxes

Many tax issues arise when spouses or registered domestic partners separate or divorce. When structuring a marital settlement agreement, the family law attorney needs to be aware of these issues or one or both parties may get stuck with substantial taxes and related penalties.

- Mediation

Mediation is the process by which a neutral attorney meets with both parties. The mediator discusses settlement options with them and helps them come to a final decision regarding all the issues in their divorce, without court intervention. The mediator does not represent either party, but instead acts as a neutral to help them come to an agreement. The mediator then drafts a settlement agreement which becomes a final judgment. The mediation process is confidential. It is recommended that the parties have their own counsel to advise them during the mediation process and review the final agreement.

- Expert Witness

Mr. Walzer and Mr. Melcher provide consulting services to other family lawyers regarding complex issues and disputes with clients. They also serve as expert witnesses on the standard of care in legal malpractice actions involving family lawyers.

- Appeals

When a party loses a divorce case at trial, he or she can ask the appellate court to examine the trial record and decide if a legal mistake was made. There is no new evidence presented on a divorce appeal. The procedures and rules for divorce appeals are completely different than those for a family law trial. The purpose of an appeal is to determine whether the trial court judge made a legal error. If so, then the case may be sent back to the trial court with instructions to correct the mistake. We can help you determine if your divorce case is proper for appeal. There are specific rules regarding appeals. If it is not done correctly, the appeal will be denied. We are familiar with the rules and procedures for divorce appeals and can guide your case through the process.