Legal Question in Family Law in California

Likely if she contests by going to court to seek custody, child and spousal support. I've seen this situation and it also happened to me. If you and your wife can agree on joint legal custody, child support, spousal support, visitation schedule, she won't need an attorney. At the beginning, try to cooperate.

Possibly. There is a three-page form of factors that the court must consider in deciding whether to allocate fees at all, and how much of the other party's attorneys fees to order paid by the earning spouse. If you are multi-millionaires and with $100,000 in the bank and securities that could be liquidated easily and at a profit that she will get half of, the court will order some assets advanced to her out of the property division and she will have to pay her fees out of her share of that, not your salary or assets. On the other hand if you are a doctor with a $400,000/yr surgical practice, all your assets are tied up in upside down mansion you bought at the top of the market, and she's been a stay at home mom for 15 years with your kids ages 13, 11 and 8, you can pretty much count on paying a substantial portion of her fees.