Irvine Divorce Attorney Serving Orange County & More

An accomplished Irvine divorce attorney from Seastrom Tuttle & Murphy provides the highest level of service and representation for clients during a Divorce. The Dissolution of a Marriage involves negotiating critical issues such as:

Our Orange County divorce lawyers are prepared to assist you every step of the way with compassion and expertise, particularly if you are facing a high net-worth divorce with substantial assets at stake.

What To Expect During Your California Divorce

The divorce process presents different challenges for different people. Whether you and your spouse are largely on the same page or you are expecting to have several issues to resolve, it is important to have a clear plan for moving forward, and it is equally important to be prepared to adapt your plan as unexpected questions arise.

Preparing for your divorce starts with ensuring that you have a clear understanding of the process. In order to make informed and strategic decisions, you need to know what you can expect at each step along the way. When you choose Seastrom Tuttle & Murphy to represent you, your Orange County divorce attorney will advise you at all stages of your divorce, including:

  • Pre-Divorce Planning – While you will have time to think through issues and make decisions during your divorce, planning ahead can give you a roadmap for sticking to a strategy that serves your long-term best interests. Our Orange County divorce lawyers will work with you in advance of your divorce to explore all pertinent issues, all potential concerns and all of the options that you have available.
  • Filing for Divorce (or Responding to Your Spouse’s Divorce Petition) – The formal divorce process starts with the filing of a divorce petition in the appropriate court. Our attorneys will prepare your petition (or prepare a response to your spouse’s petition) that fully preserves your legal rights.
  • Choosing the Most–Effective Method of Resolution – In California, there are a few different ways that divorcing spouses can come to terms. One option is to negotiate the terms of their divorce with the advice and representation of their attorneys. Mediation involves seeking additional guidance from neutral third parties, and litigation provides a judicial resolution for spouses are unable to reach an agreement.
  • Identifying and Characterizing Assets and Income – Distributing divorcing spouses’ community assets and establishing spousal support and child support presents some unique challenges in California, especially in high net worth divorces. Our Irvine divorce attorneys are intimately familiar with all of the issues involved and can provide advice and recommendations that are custom-tailored to your individual circumstances. We have particular experience dealing with these issues in high-end divorce cases.
  • Negotiating Property Division and Financial Support – While litigation is an option, most divorcing couples resolve their differences by mutual agreement. With our attorneys’ decades of experience in divorce negotiations, and the mediation process, we can help steer your divorce toward a favorable out-of-court resolution.
  • Developing a Parenting Plan – If you have children, developing a parenting plan will be a critical aspect of your divorce. Today, divorcing parents have more options than ever, although all custody-related decisions must still reflect the best interests of the children involved. Our attorneys can work with you and your spouse’s legal counsel to structure a parenting plan that achieves your goals and satisfies the requirements of California law.
  • Mediation and Litigation – Each Irvine divorce attorney at Seastrom Tuttle & Murphy has significant experience in divorce settlement and litigation. If pursuing one of these options is in your best interests, we can use our experience to maximize the advantages of the process while continuing to pursue an efficient resolution.
  • Finalization and Post–Divorce Planning – When finalizing your divorce, it is imperative to ensure that your settlement agreement and divorce decree accurately reflect the terms to which you have agreed. There may be various post-divorce planning considerations as well, and our attorneys can continue working with you once your marriage is over to tie up any loose ends.

Contested or Uncontested: You Still Need an Irvine Divorce Attorney

Understandably, most of our clients are interested in pursuing an uncontested divorce. Contentious disputes cost time and money, and they can ultimately lead to decisions about the parties’ future being left in the hands of a judge.

However, while we agree that it is generally in everyone’s best interests to work toward an out-of-court resolution, we also caution our clients against placing too much emphasis on the distinction between “contested” and “uncontested.” In California, the term “uncontested” refers to a scenario in which the spouses have already agreed to the terms of their divorce and are submitting their settlement agreement (or “stipulated judgment”) to the court for final approval. As a result, when many people think about pursuing an uncontested divorce, what they are really thinking about is seeking to achieve an “amicable” resolution.

In our experience, many people also conflate an uncontested divorce with a do-it-yourself (DIY) divorce. The California Courts’ website even provides DIY forms on its uncontested divorce page. But, due to the risk of overlooking important issues and making other costly mistakes during the process, the DIY approach should generally be reserved for only for the simplest of divorces.

At Seastrom Tuttle & Murphy, our Orange County and Irvine divorce lawyers measure our success by yours. If you want to resolve your divorce amicably, we will tailor our representation accordingly. This is the approach we take in the majority of divorce cases. However, while we focus on reaching mutually-agreeable terms, our ultimate priority is to protect your best interests; and, if a more forceful approach is required, we will do what is necessary to ensure that the outcome of your divorce is in full service of your legal rights under California law.

The Importance of Skilled Legal Representation in a Divorce

With all of these considerations in mind, when preparing to end your marriage, you need to explore your options and make decisions based on the advice of skilled legal counsel. There are too many issues – and there is too much at stake – to rush through the process or make decisions based on incomplete information. An Orange County divorce attorney can guide you every step of the way, and we can make sure that you feel confident in the outcome of your divorce.

Schedule a Consultation With an Irvine County Divorce Attorney at Seastrom Tuttle & Murphy

If you would like to speak with an attorney about your divorce, we invite you to schedule a confidential initial consultation at our matrimonial law offices in Orange County, CA. To request an appointment with an Irvine divorce attorney at your convenience, call us at 949-474-0800 or inquire online today.