Law Office of Thomas E. Bouman Attorney at Law

Law Firm Overview

Our offices are conveniently located, just off Highway 101 at Lawrence Expressway and Kifer Road, right on the borderline of the two “high-tech” cities of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, across the street from the “Sunnyvale Costco”.

When you first contact our law office, we will help you schedule a convenient appointment for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION, during which we will discuss all the issues of your case and give you an estimate of the fees and costs for your case.

Family law dissolution cases generally consist of 5 main issues, and not all of the issues will be present in every case. Those issues are:

1. Status of the parties – the parties are married when the proceeding commences and will be single when the case concludes.
2. Property division – the community assets and debts are divided equally between the parties. The parties are free to agree to any division appropriate to their desires, but the court only has jurisdiction to order an equal division of the community assets and debts.
3. Spousal support – one party may be awarded spousal support from the other party. Whether or not spousal support is awarded is a complex issue and involves numerous factors. Some of the more important ones are the length of the marriage, the age and health of the parties, the skill levels of the parties, and the present income and historical income of the parties. The underlying questions are the ability of one party to pay spousal support, the need of the other party for spousal support, and the ability of each spouse to be self-supporting. The parties may agree to the amount and duration of spousal support or may even agree to a lump-sum buyout. If the parties cannot agree, the court will make orders for the amount and length of spousal support, or may reserve the issue or may terminate either or both of the parties' rights to receive support.

If there are minor children of the marriage, the following two issues will also need resolution:

1. Child custody and visitation – Custody and visitation of minor children (those under 18 years of age) are often contentious issues. Before the parties separated, each party had "100% custody" and access to the minor children. After the parties separate, whatever one party has as a percentage of time with the children is not, by the status of being separated, available to the other party. So the parties could have an 70/30 time share, a 50/50 time share or could share time on some other percentage basis. The parties can agree to an appropriate time share or the court will order a time share that is in the "best interest of the children".
2. Child Support – Child support is ordered pursuant to a complex formula that involves many factors, two of the most important of which are the time share percentage each parent has with the children and the absolute and relative incomes of the parties. Several computer programs to easily perform the calculations are available and are approved for use by the Judicial Council. However, the parties often dispute the input numbers that are used to perform the calculations.

Each of the 5 potential issues may have its own degree of complexity, from very simple to highly complex. Clients often see those issues “through a glass darkly” and we help them precisely define and clearly see the issues and the impact the different solutions may have on their life and the lives of their families.

When you retain our law office to represent you, we immediately focus on your needs, both immediate and long-term. We provide you with an analysis and projection of what to expect at the different phases in a case, both as to the early temporary arrangements and court orders and the permanent orders and judgment at the conclusion of your case. We update those projections as the case strategy develops and changes over time. We help you to treat your case as a process, not an event.

We know that every case is different but, more importantly, we know that there is one constant that permeates all cases – the case always belongs to you and not to judges, experts, the attorneys or anyone else. In the end, it is your life that is impacted by the process. We never forget this important concept and are dedicated to make your life as easy and convenient as possible both through and after the process.

Areas of Practice

• Bankruptcy Law
• Custody & Visitation
• Divorce (Dissolution)
• Family Law 100%
• Trusts
• Annulment (Nullity)
• Paternity
• Prenuptial Agreements
• Step-Parent Adoption
• Child Support
• Spousal Support
• Living Trusts and Wills
• Legal Separation
• Child Custody
• Wage Assignment
• Criminal Law
• Workers Compensation Law
• Employment Law
• Administrative Law

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Bankruptcy Law, Criminal Law, Employment Law -- Employee, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employee, Employment Law -- Employer, Wage & Hour Laws -- Employer, Estate Planning, Trusts, Family Law, Adoption, Alimony & Spousal Support, Child Support, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Paternity, Prenuptial Agreements, Probate & Estate Administration, Workers' Compensation Law