Pls advice:Questions on Divorce with a young child in state of CA?

Question

Hi
I live in the state of California and I have a few questions on divorce. A bit of a background on myself : I work in a high tech firm in silicon valley in a senior position. My husband is in R&D S.w engg. We have a 10 month old son. My husband earns about 40% more than I do. Our house is on both our names. We have 401 K accounts but have seperate bank accounts. Questions:
1)How much does a divorce typically cost in CA ?
2)How long does the process take ?
3)For a 10 month old, who will get the physical custody of the child ? None of us have any substsance abuse b/ground
4)How will the property division work? I paid 70% of down payment but my husband pays mortgage every month.
5)What about child support ? Even though I have decent income, can the judge grant me child support ?
6)Last but not the least- how is life out there for working single moms ??
Many many thanks

Answer 1

This website talks about everything from property to child custody to child support

good luck in your divorce..

http://www.divorcemag.com/CA/faq/#ChildCustody

Answer 2

first off, you should post on divorcenet.com
1) if you and hubby can come to agreements, the divorce can run in the hundreds-no lawyers. with lawyers, expect to pay many thousands, especially if you 2 are bickering over things
2) 6 months minimum in CA, often much longer
3) mom should get physical custody of an infant
4) married = 50/50. no matter who paid what if the house was bought during the marriage. also, you will each be entitled to a portion of the others retirement. even if money is in a separate account, it may be seen as marital property and subject to community property rules (50/50)
5) yes, you can get child support. if ex wants joint custody with 50/50 time with the child-expect much less in the way of child support
6) not easy. Divorce is an awful, time consuming, expensive mess.
Try to do it amicable yourselves, but sounds like you are heading towards attorney involvement as you sound very concerned about your finances.

Answer 3

from what i know its like this a divorce can cost any where from 300 and up its more if there is a child involved and property and if you have been married longer then 5 years so the cost can go from there as for how long it should take 6months and 1 day unless you guys argue about a lot of stuff and so on and so forth as for who gets what that depends if you ask for something more then 50% which is all you are entitled to then he has to agree to give it to you and you to him so if you say i want the house he can say OK well buy me out or give me the "blank" and the "blank" which you fill in the blank this is because California is a 50/50 state so it does not really matter who paid for what and how much community property is community property that's why even house wives still get half even though they may not have put actual money in to the purchase of a home or other items child support is for your child not you so a judge can and usually will order it and again because he is little you will get more then likely joint custody where he may have him for part of a week and then you the other unless their is a reason this wont work such as breastfeeding again you guys can work that out as well and still have joint custody but he gets him like every other weekend and 2 days out of the week every week and then you work out things like babysitter and who can OK what for doctor and so on as for life of a single mother i can only tell you what my friends say and that its not to bad a lot of people have kids but just like single women with no kids you still got to watch out for the jerks!

Answer 4

you are asking some very specific questions. since you already have a list in mind i would go to a competent attorney and present them with it. most attorneys will not charge for the initial consultation and they will be able to answer your questions with credibility. as to the last part of your question i am a male so i can't help with that. I wish you the best of luck