Marshall S. Zolla

Marshall S. Zolla is a Certified Specialist in the field of Family Law, a distinction granted by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. With more than 55 years of experience, his expertise is vast and includes prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, retirement plan benefits, complex business valuations, issues concerning business valuation, real estate and estate planning and religious differences in child custody matters.

Mr. Zolla majored in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating cum laude in 1960. He received his Law Degree from Berkeley Law at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1963, and was admitted to practice in California in 1964.

Mr. Zolla is a member of the State Bar of California, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association, and the California Association of Certified Family Law Specialists. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He served for many years as a mediator for the Family Law Department of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Mr. Zolla frequently lectures before legal and professional associations on evolving family law issues. In addition, he served for 30 years as an Editorial Consultant and Commentator for California Family Law Monthly, published by Matthew Bender & Company.

Mr. Zolla has authored and published in professional journals the following articles:

• Matthew Bender California Family Law Monthly, Editorial Consultant, Bi-Monthly Case Comment, 1988 – 2019
• Author: Incorporating Personal Values into Advance Healthcare Directives, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, October 2015
• Author: The California Lawyer’s Grey Fog of Uncertainty: Assessing a Client’s Diminished Mental Capacity, Updated and Reprinted, California Family Law Monthly, November 2014
• Co-Author: Mediation Confidentiality vs. Breach of Spousal Fiduciary Duty: The Clash of Enshrined Public Policy Titans, California Family Law Monthly, June 2012
• Author: The California Lawyer’s Grey Fog of Uncertainty: Assessing a Client’s Diminished Mental Capacity, University of California, Los Angeles/Continuing Education of the Bar Tax & Estate Planning Conference, May 2012; U.S.C. Tax and Probate Institute 37th Annual Trust and Estate Conference, November 2011
• Author: Publication of 2012 Chapter in CEB publication entitled Estate Planning 2012, Chapter 9, Family Law and Estate Planning Crossover Issues, May 2012
• Author: Publication of Chapter in Nationwide Book Published by Aspatore Books entitled Inside the Minds: Strategies for Family Law in California, 2011 Edition, Chapter Title: Evolving Family Law Issues and Strategies
• Co-Author: Publication of updated 2009 Chapter in CEB entitled Dividing Pensions and Other Employee Benefits in California Divorces, Chapter 2, Initial Procedures and Pre-Trial Orders, April 2009
• Co-Author: Publication of Chapter on Fiduciary Duty Between Spouses in the 2008 Family Law Symposium Reference Book, Los Angeles County Bar Association, May 2008
• Co-Author: Publication of Chapter in new CEB publication entitled Dividing Pensions and Other Employee Benefits in California Divorces. Chapter 2, Initial Procedures and Pretrial Orders, January 2007
• Co-Author: Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders [ATROS]: Protector of the Status Quo or Impermissible Restraint on Alienation? California Family Law Monthly, November 2005
• Co-Author: Marital Duty: Fiduciary Duty Between Spouses, Cover Article, Los Angeles Lawyer, February 2004
• Co-Author: Health Care and Family Law: An Unhealthy Alliance, California Family Law Monthly, June 2003 [updated and reprinted Los Angeles County Bar Association Family Law News & Review, September 2004]
• Co-Author: Religious Divide: Time for Another Look at Religious Upbringing Provisions in Prenuptial Agreements, California Lawyer, June 2002
• Author: Lasting Wishes: California’s New Health Care Decisions Law, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, December 2000
• Author: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Modern Family Law Practice, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, July/August 2000
• Author: Religious Differences in Child Custody and Visitation Disputes, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, November 1998
• Co-Author: Guards of the House: As Agents of the Court, Guardians Ad Litem Face Substantive and Ethical Dilemmas in Family Law Proceedings, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, July/August 1997
• Co-Author: Promises, Promises: Enforcement of a Prenuptial Agreement in California May Founder on Three Conflicting Standards of Law, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, December 1995
• Co-Author: The Perpetuation of Shattered Hearts: The Disturbing Conflict Between Dependency Court and Family Law Jurisdiction, Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, July/August 1993
• Author: Evaluation, Division and Proof of Retirement Plan Benefits Incident to a Marital Dissolution Proceeding
• Author: Solving the Problems of Unmarried Couples: Close Encounters of the Uncertain Kind
• Author: Prenuptial Agreements and Freedom of Contract in California

Mr. Zolla is active in numerous community and charitable organizations. Mr. Zolla studies with and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He served as an officer and a member of the Board of Trustees of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Union for Reform Judaism and Vice-Chair of the Department of Jewish Family Concerns. He is a member of the Los Angeles Board of Advisors of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, served as a member of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, and also served on the National and Los Angeles Board of the American Jewish Committee. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.

On April 1, 2009, Marshall S. Zolla and his wife, Barbie z”l, were honored by the American Jewish Committee (“AJC”) with the prestigious 2009 Community Service Award, honoring their life-long commitment to community service.

Mr. Zolla has for many years had an AV Preeminent rating with Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, 2005-2022, and is also listed as a Super Lawyer in the Southern California Super Lawyers, 2004-2022.

Read the California Family Law Monthly Case Commentary.