Santa clarita divorce lawyer discusses initial consultation

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Rob:                Good afternoon everyone. We are here with Santa Clarita, family law and divorce attorney, Rand Pinsky. Hello Rand.

Rand Pinsky:   Good Morning, Rob.

Rob:                Rand, I want to talk to you today about what people can expect at their first consultation with you as a divorce attorney. Can you walk us through the process?

Rand:              Absolutely. The first consultation is probably one of the most important times of the meeting between the attorney and the potential client. Something has happened that has now made this individual decide that, they want to speak to an attorney. Two of the main reasons are either, one, they are contemplating divorce, or two, they're the spouse that just got served with divorce papers and they're not sure what has to happen.

The bottom line for both these types of people is at the initial consultation, we want to give them plenty of education about the divorce process, so that they can make informed decisions about where they're going and how the divorce process should work.

Rob:                And so you kind of serve as that a guide letting them know what their options are, and what routes they can take.

Rand Pinsky:   Absolutely, it's similar to a guide on a river.

Rob:    Oh, like a river rafting.

Rand Pinsky:   Like river rafting. You don't want to go down, let's say the Kern River on the rapids, the first time by yourself without any help and assistance.

Rob:    Right.

Rand Pinsky:   The family law attorney, myself, we can provide that guidance. We know where to turn, and we know where the pitfalls are, and we can make that journey a lot simpler and less stressful than what it can be without the guide.

Rob:                Now I understand that there are a lot of decisions that need to be made during this divorce process. But there are three major areas in particular. First, the children. Can you address that?

Rand Pinsky:   Well, sure. I would say that the first concern of every divorce case that I've seen in the last forty years is... What about my children? The courts are very concerned about that. Your family law attorney should be very concerned about that. And the question becomes, what is in the best interest of a minor child? So the courts have a very educated and good system that helps the court decide, what's best for the child. There are many different steps to it, and as we go through the initial consultation, we do address these different steps.

Rob:                So issues such as child custody, child visitation, things like that would be addressed?

Rand Pinsky:   Absolutely, yes.

Rob:                Now what about the second major area? The issue of support. Spousal and child support.

Rand Pinsky:   Now that's a very important topic also. You will have the spouse that comes in that says, "How am I going to take care of my children?" You're going to have the spouse that comes in and says, "I don't want pay through arms and legs to do this, because I think the other parent is going to waste this money away." So we spend a lot of time talking about, how child support is structured.

We talk about something called the dissomaster, which is a tax program that helps judges and attorneys determine what the proper level of support should be for children. We also have the issue with spousal support. Depending on the terms and the situation of each particular marriage, the court will consider whether or not spousal support should be awarded in any particular case.

Rob:                And during the initial consultation do you also talk about, property division? How the assets are going to be divided.

Rand Pinsky:   That's always a concern. So we do talk about community property. Quite simply, community property is anything that's been acquired during the course of the marriage. Doesn't matter whether the husband or the wife is the one that acquired it, or whose money may have paid for it. So we do talk about property.

Rob:                Okay. So if someone did want a guide as they go down this river, sort of speak, if somebody wanted a river-guide, such as yourself, how would they get in touch with you?

Rand Pinsky:   The best way is to go to my website, randpinsky.com. Or you could always call me, (661)295-4644.

Rob:                Rand Pinsky, thank you so much for spending time with us today. If folks need help with their divorce matter or family law matter, they can certainly get in touch with you, and we thank you for your time.

Rand Pinsky:   Thank you, Rob.