Provinziano and Associates

05/29/2026

California gives divorcing couples real choice in how their disputes get resolved. Court offers full appellate rights but a public record and a judge you don't pick. Arbitration offers privacy, scheduling control, and a specialized decision-maker, but limited ability to challenge a wrong outcome.

We're curious how people weigh that trade-off. General perspectives are welcome, but please don't post anything that amounts to legal advice.

05/28/2026

In complex divorce and separation cases, financial transparency is critical.

Attorneys often work with forensic accountants to analyze financial records, trace assets, and evaluate businesses where income or profits may not be immediately clear.

Techniques like financial tracing and detailed review of accounting records can help uncover the true financial picture — particularly when one spouse has historically managed the finances.

05/28/2026

A lot of people assume divorce arbitration in California is just a more formal version of mediation. It isn't.

A mediator helps both spouses negotiate toward an agreement, but doesn't decide anything. An arbitrator does decide. In binding arbitration, both spouses present evidence, the arbitrator issues a written award, and once the court confirms it, that award becomes enforceable as a judgment — the same as any family court order.
That distinction matters a lot, especially in high-asset cases where the financial stakes are real and the appeal rights after a binding award are narrow.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://provinziano.com/blog/divorce-arbitration-in-california/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=divorce_arbitration&utm_content=mediation_misconception

05/26/2026

Divorce arbitration in California can be a strong fit for complex financial disputes — business valuation, separate vs. community property tracing, stock options, deferred compensation, real estate allocation.

What's worth knowing before agreeing to it: custody and child support are treated differently. A judge still reviews custody against the best-interest standard and child support against the statewide formula, regardless of what the arbitrator decided. Parents can use arbitration to work through those issues, but the court has the final word.

The full guide walks through where arbitration works well and where its limits are.

🔗 Read the full article here:

Divorce arbitration is a private, binding alternative to a courtroom trial where both spouses submit contested issues to a neutral expert who issues a final

05/25/2026

Today we remember the service members who gave their lives in service to this country.

Our offices are closed in observance of Memorial Day. We'll be back tomorrow.

05/22/2026

Supervised visitation in California has no fixed end date. It ends when the original concern has been addressed and there's a record showing it.

That raises a real question for a lot of families: once a parent has built a consistent pattern of safe, child-focused visits, how much weight should that carry, and how quickly?

Curious how people see this. Thoughtful comments welcome — general perspectives only, nothing that amounts to legal advice.

05/22/2026

A lot of parents hear "supervised visitation" and assume the court is punishing them or ending their relationship with their child.

In California, that's usually not what's happening. Supervised visitation is treated as a safety measure. Under the state's public policy, the priority is the child's safety and welfare, alongside frequent and continuing contact with both parents when that contact is safe.

When a judge orders supervision, the court is usually requiring contact to continue under controlled conditions while a specific concern gets addressed, not shutting it down.

Knowing the difference matters, because how you approach supervised visits affects what the court does next.

Full breakdown here: https://provinziano.com/blog/supervised-visitation-in-california/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=supervised_visitation

05/20/2026

The Hague Convention isn't one thing. In an international family law case, it can mean several different treaties doing very different jobs.

There's the Hague Convention on international child abduction, which deals with how to get a child back when they've been taken across borders. There's the Convention on service of documents abroad. There's the Convention on enforcement of judgments. And alongside all of that, there are bilateral treaties between specific countries that govern how service and collections actually work in practice.
The Hague framework started largely with the Western alliance and Western Europe, but there's a parallel set of treaties across the Americas, including agreements involving Mexico and the Organization of American States, that apply when a case touches this region.

The work in an international family law case is figuring out, quickly, which treaties are actually in play, what the research shows, and how that applies to the specific facts. Every case gets a custom approach.

05/19/2026

Our Managing Partner, Alphonse Provinziano, attended the Public Counsel William O. Douglas Award Dinner as President-Elect of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, joined by 12 members of the Board of Governors. Former Vice President Kamala Harris was honored, and her message resonated with him: leadership doesn't end when a title does.

The evening brought the legal community together around weighty conversations, but one moment stood out, hearing about Public Counsel's work this year, including securing the redevelopment of veterans' homes in Los Angeles for wounded, disabled, and homeless veterans. That's the law being used as it should be: as a shield, and as a force for human dignity.

The Beverly Hills Bar Association has stood alongside Public Counsel for decades as one of its founding members. Evenings like this matter, not for the recognition, but for what they represent — a profession at its best.

05/18/2026

Supervised visitation in California doesn't run on a fixed clock.

There's no automatic end date. To reduce or end it, a parent generally needs a record of safe visits, completed requirements, no violations, and proof that the original concern has been addressed.

A step-up plan, moving gradually from professional supervision toward unsupervised time, often works better than asking the court to end everything at once.

If supervision is part of your case, the path forward depends on the specifics.

Read the full guide: https://provinziano.com/blog/supervised-visitation-in-california/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=supervised_visitation