Family Law
Family Law Division Info
The Family Law Division handles cases in which people are ending a marriage or registered domestic partnership, identifying a child’s legal parents, determining custody and visitation issues, establishing or enforcing child and spousal support or dealing with domestic violence issues.
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- Family Law FAQs
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- Domestic Violence
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- Family Law Local Rules (pdf )
- Trial Rules and Procedures (pdf )
- Fee Schedule (pdf )
- Calendars
- Dept. F501 Standing Orders (pdf)
Family Law Resources
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Click on the topics below for more information.
A Dissolution of Marriage or Registered Domestic Partnership (Divorce) is a legal action that ends marriage or a registered domestic partnership.
For more information visit the Court's Divorce/Separation Self Help page.
A legal separation is a legal action filed by a married person or domestic partner who wants to stay married or in the domestic partnership, but also wants to resolve all other issues, such as child customer, child and spousal support and property division.
For more information visit the Court's Divorce/Separation Self Help page.
A nullity of marriage or domestic partnership (Annulment) is a legal action to determine that a marriage or domestic partnership is not legally valid. An annulment restores the parties to the status of single persons, as though they were never married.
For more information visit the Court's Divorce/Separation Self Help page.
This action can be used by a married couple to end the marriage. This action is very limited and can only be used by a married couple who meet certain requirements.
For more information visit the Court's Divorce/Separation Self Help page.
Domestic partners are defined as "two adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in a intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring."
For more information visit the Court's Divorce/Separation Self Help page.
Spousal Support is the legal obligation to contribute to the economic maintenance of his or her spouse after a dissolution, legal separation or nullity of a marriage or domestic partnership. When a couple legally separates or divorces, the court may order one spouse or domestic partner to pay the other a certain amount of support money each month. This is called ‘spousal support’ for married couples and ‘partner support’ in domestic partnerships. It is sometimes also called ‘alimony’.
For more information visit the Court's Divorce/Separation Self Help page.
Information about child custody, visitation, child support, paternity, adoption, mediation, facilitation, and more can be found on the court's Families and Children Self-Help page.