Zolla Law has extensive experience handling complex legal and financial issues in high net worth cases. The firm’s clients include doctors, lawyers, entertainment executives, politicians, professional athletes, and business executives. In high net worth and high profile cases, we prepare a team to support our clients, which includes working closely with forensic accountants, business managers, and attorneys that specialize in estate planning, real estate, tax, and entertainment law.

Our firm understands the sensitive issues associated with child custody and visitation. Because each child and each set of parents have individual needs, concerns, and circumstances, we work closely with mental health professionals and co-parenting mediators to determine a parenting plan in the best interests of the child. We often recommend that the parties participate in individual therapy and co-parenting mediation to help the child cope with what may be a difficult transition, and help the parents learn how to better communicate with one another.

Our firm is experienced in negotiating and litigating child support cases, including many cases involving extraordinarily high income earners. Many relevant factors and tactics must be considered, including the earning capacity of the parties, tax implications, high income earners/departure from guideline child support, and imputation of income for the computation of child support. The complexity of these cases mean that we work closely with qualified forensic accountants, financial experts, and lifestyle consultants to analyze the facts and the law to obtain the best results for our clients.

Zolla Law has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating customized Prenuptial Agreements. We provide both technical expertise and wise counsel for our valued clients. We work closely with accountants and business managers to make the requisite full disclosure of financial information required under California law. We also work closely with estate planning counsel to make certain that provisions of the Prenuptial Agreement dovetail with the client’s estate plan. Our office is sensitive to both the emotional and financial aspects of these agreements.

A Postnuptial Agreement is entered into after the parties are married and serves as a financial planning tool. A well drafted Postnuptial Agreement can prevent future disputes. Parties should keep in mind that spouses owe each other fiduciary duties, unlike unmarried people. There exists a higher legal duty to disclose all information material to their assets and debts.

More people than ever are living together without the formality of marriage. To avoid future problems in the relationship, many parties enter into a Cohabitation Agreement to define matters such as real property, investments, and expenditures. Absence of a well-crafted agreement leaves open the risk of differences between the parties causing potential conflict. We have many years of experience negotiating and drafting these agreements and counseling clients where substantial financial worth, property, income, inheritance, retirement benefits, and estate planning issues, among others, are involved.

Zolla Law prides itself on representing unmarried parents navigating the process to obtain orders protecting their custodial rights and rights to child support. This process necessarily involves establishing and maintaining a healthy co-parenting relationship.

Our firm prides itself on moving a case proactively forward to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution. In most cases, resolution to family law disputes are reached in the context of mediation. Our firm has extensive relationships with retired judicial officers. We will guide you through the process to provide a favorable and creative outcome, while avoiding the stress and uncertainty of litigation. In low-conflict dissolution proceedings, alternative dispute resolution and mediation are highly effective.

In the appropriate case, we work collaboratively with counsel for the other party and closely with neutral accountants to resolve and settle a case. At the beginning of the case, we will sign a Collaborative Law Stipulation, which sets forth the scope of our services. This unique process can be very effective when the right clients and attorneys are involved.

Zolla Law serves clients and other law firms on a consulting basis incident to family law and estate planning crossover issues. In a consulting capacity, we can participate in the litigation process to advise of the best strategy to achieve a meaningful resolution. In addition, our firm is frequently retained as expert witnesses in the family law context.