(0:00 – 1:14)
Hi everyone, I’m Dr. Michael Mantell, privileged as always to be joining Bonnie Rabinovitch-Mantel, who is the owner and managing partner of the Primus Family Law Group. Hi, Bonnie. Hi, Michael.

How are you doing on this lovely California day? My goodness, it is beautiful today. Yes, it is. And we’re lucky we live in San Diego, California and work here.

That’s what I want to talk about today, because this topic has come up a number of times. A couple has been living somewhere in San Diego County for quite a long time. Their marriage takes a turn.

They decide they’re going to separate divorce. He moves away. Now they’re going to file.

Where do they file? He’s living up in Palo Alto and she’s living in San Diego. What happens? How do they handle this? Well, you know, Michael, that’s actually very procedurally driven in order to be able to file in a specific county within San Diego, because obviously California is huge, right? And so you can end up being many, many hours away while you’re still in the same jurisdiction. So it depends.

(1:15 – 2:05)
If you have been living over three months in the county, then you can file in that county, in that place. But if you haven’t, so in your scenario, somebody just moves to somewhere else in California, most likely the case is proper venue where all the evidence is in San Diego. So whoever is in San Diego and has been living there the longest should file there.

People do play games though, because if nobody does anything for three months, the person who’s all the way up in Northern California can file there. And that means the person here is now doing the fight up there. So if you want to keep your fight close to home, then I suggest you file where you’ve been living the longest.

(2:06 – 2:54)
So if the couple splits and he says, I’ve had it, I’m getting out of here, and he moves up north, let’s say, because we are in Southern California. Correct. Is your advice that it would be wise for her to file right away here in San Diego? Yes.

Keeps the case closer to where not only she is, but also where the evidence is, because they’ve done all their, you know, all their financial, all those stuff here. And there’s a couple of other points. If you have children, the court’s going to want to know where the children have been living for proper venue, because we’re not going to, all the evidence, the children’s doctors, the schools, all the evidence about what’s in the best interest of the children is in San Diego County.

(2:54 – 4:06)
And so if a couple splits, and again, he decides to move up north, what if she moves up, she takes the kids and she goes up north? Can she file up north? She can, if she waits three months, and she’s in the proper area, and she’s established that as her home, yes. Otherwise, now the advice is on him. She takes the kids up.

You better start the process here, so that custody and visitation will be determined here. Boy, it’s complicated, isn’t it? It’s a little bit intricate. It can look very daunting.

It’s a little bit intricate, but with a skilled attorney to help you guide you through these rules, you’ll stay a little bit out of trouble. And so if people want to be in touch with a skilled attorney to stay out of trouble, how can they reach you and your team at Primus Family Law? They can reach us directly at 619-574-8000, and you will be put on one of our calendars for a free 30-minute phone or Zoom consultation. Sometimes you want to see who you’re getting.

(4:06 – 4:24)
Otherwise, you can reach us online at www.PrimusFamilyLaw.com. There’s a form you can fill out. There’s a live chat agent you can speak to that’ll get you connected to us immediately. Bonnie, I rarely do this, but I have one more question.

(4:25 – 5:13)
Sure. Does it matter in terms of what the advantages are to a couple, whether they file in San Diego County or LA County or Northern? Does that matter? Is there a benefit to filing one place or another? There are different rules. For example, LA is not a recommending county.

When I say recommending county, if you have children and you want to make custody and visitation orders, San Diego makes you go to state-paid mediation, whereas LA doesn’t. Sometimes you get maybe perhaps quicker into court in LA, but they don’t have the benefit of somebody who’s already spoken to you about what you all want to do. It’s really dependent on what your goals are.

(5:13 – 5:17)
Right. This is why people need to be in touch with you. Give us the number again.

(5:17 – 5:28)
Sure. It is 619-574-8000 or www.PrimusFamilyLaw.com.