Moradi Neufer is a San Francisco family law firm, representing spouses, parents, and domestic partners in divorce, custody, support, and high-asset property division throughout San Francisco County. The firm’s attorneys are known for handling complex cases involving startup equity, stock options, and community property.
If you’re searching for a family attorney in San Francisco, chances are you’re not dealing with a simple, cookie-cutter case. San Francisco is a city of dual-income households, equity compensation, property spread across multiple counties, and complicated timelines and that shapes almost every divorce, custody, or support matter that comes through our doors.
We built our practice around that reality. Since 2009, our family law attorneys have represented entrepreneurs, engineers, physicians, and stay-at-home parents across San Francisco in matters ranging from straightforward uncontested divorces to multi-year litigation involving stock options, restricted stock units, and closely held businesses. Whatever brought you here a filing you need to understand, a custody schedule you’re trying to protect, or simply the search for the best family law attorney in San Francisco we can help you figure out the next right step.
We’re a full-service family law firm, and San Francisco has been part of our footprint since day one. That matters because family law here isn’t generic; it’s shaped by the city’s tech economy, its cost of living, and a court system with its own local rules, its own calendars, and its own way of doing things. We know Departments 403 through 406 and 425 at the Civic Center Courthouse, and we know the difference between how a Readiness Calendar plays out on a Monday morning versus a Tuesday law-and-motion hearing. That local knowledge shortens the learning curve in your case and helps us set realistic expectations from day one.
We also run our cases as a team. Every week, our attorneys sit down for a roundtable to walk through active cases, which means your matter benefits from more than one perspective, not just the attorney whose name is on your file. And we’re direct with our clients. We tell you what you need to hear about your case, not just what’s easiest to hear, because that’s what actually protects your interests in the long run.
Family law covers a wide range of situations, and our San Francisco team handles the full spectrum from a single custody modification to a multi-year, high-asset divorce.
California is a no-fault divorce state, so neither spouse has to prove wrongdoing to file the standard is simply that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. To file in San Francisco County, at least one spouse must have lived in California for six months and in the county for three months before filing. Every divorce, contested or not, is subject to a mandatory six-month waiting period from the date the other spouse is served before it can be finalized. We help clients through every version of this process, from amicable, paperwork-driven divorces to contested cases that require hearings before a family law judge.
California recognizes both legal custody (the right to make decisions about a child’s health, education, and welfare) and physical custody (where the child lives), and parents can share either in different combinations. San Francisco judges start from the child’s best interests, without any gender-based assumptions, weighing each parent’s involvement, any history of abuse or substance use, and for children fourteen and older the child’s own preference. Before a contested custody matter goes in front of a judge, San Francisco generally requires parents to attend mediation through Family Court Services at the Civic Center Courthouse. We prepare clients for that mediation and, when an agreement isn’t possible, represent them in the hearing that follows.
Child support in California follows a statewide guideline formula built around each parent’s income, the amount of time each parent spends with the child, and available tax deductions and San Francisco courts are required to order that guideline amount unless there’s a specific reason to deviate, such as a child’s extraordinary medical needs. Spousal support works differently depending on timing: temporary support (paid while a case is pending) is generally calculated in San Francisco using a local formula roughly 40% of the paying spouse’s net income minus 50% of the receiving spouse’s net income, adjusted for taxes while permanent support has no formula at all. Instead, a judge weighs factors like the length of the marriage, each spouse’s earning capacity, age and health, and the standard of living during the marriage.
California is a community property state, which means income and assets acquired during the marriage salaries, retirement contributions, and equity compensation are generally split equally, regardless of whose name is on the account. In San Francisco, that’s rarely simple. Startup equity, incentive stock options, RSUs that vest over years, and partnership interests all raise timing questions: was this earned before the marriage, during it, or after separation? We regularly work alongside forensic accountants and valuation experts to trace separate versus community property and make sure our clients aren’t shortchanged on assets that don’t look like a typical bank account.
Because California defaults to community property, couples who want a different arrangement need a prenuptial agreement before the wedding or a postnuptial agreement afterward. These agreements carry strict legal requirements both spouses generally need independent counsel for the agreement to hold up and we draft and review them for San Francisco clients who are protecting a business, incoming equity, or separate property they’re bringing into the marriage.
San Francisco cases tend to bring a few recurring wrinkles that a general-practice attorney may not see often. Equity compensation is one of the biggest: a meaningful share of the cases we handle involve unvested stock options, RSU grants, or founder equity that requires real financial analysis, not guesswork. The city’s cost of living also shapes support calculations and custody logistics, especially when one spouse is relocating within the Bay Area or beyond. And San Francisco’s population includes a large number of domestic partnerships and LGBTQ+ families, who face some legal questions like parentage that look different than they do for a straightforward marital divorce. We built our practice to handle exactly these situations, not around them.
Clients have described our attorneys as tough where it counts, approachable throughout the process, and able to explain complicated Bay Area financial and custody issues in plain terms. You can read more client experiences on our testimonials page.
Whatever your family law situation looks like, you deserve representation you can trust and a clear sense of what happens next. Our San Francisco family attorneys are ready to talk through your goals, whether that means an uncontested divorce, a contested custody matter, or a high-asset case that needs careful financial analysis. Call 415-231-7295 or fill out our contact form to schedule a consultation.
California imposes a mandatory six-month waiting period from the date the other spouse is served before any divorce can be finalized, even if both sides agree on everything. In practice, contested San Francisco divorces involving property division, custody, or support disputes often take twelve to eighteen months or longer, depending on the Unified Family Court’s calendar and how much the parties disagree.
California is a community property state, meaning most income, assets, and debts acquired during the marriage including salary, stock options, and retirement contributions are split 50/50 regardless of whose name is on the account. Separate property (owned before marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance) generally stays with the original owner. Bay Area couples often need a forensic accountant to correctly trace what’s community versus separate.
It’s not legally required San Francisco’s Family Law Facilitator’s Office (Room 509 at the Civic Center Courthouse) helps self-represented parties prepare paperwork but even ‘uncontested’ divorces can hide costly mistakes around retirement accounts, equity compensation, or support waivers. Many couples use an attorney to review or draft the settlement agreement even when they’re not litigating.
San Francisco judges decide custody based on the child’s best interests, with no legal preference for either parent. The court looks at each parent’s involvement, any history of abuse or substance use, and the child’s need for stability. Before a contested custody hearing, parents are generally required to attend mediation through Family Court Services at the Civic Center Courthouse before a judge will rule.
Restricted stock units, incentive stock options, and other equity compensation earned during the marriage are typically community property, even if they haven’t vested yet but the analysis depends heavily on the grant date, vesting schedule, and whether the equity was earned before, during, or after separation. This is one of the most contested issues in San Francisco tech-industry divorces and usually calls for a financial expert.
San Francisco’s Unified Family Court sits inside the Civic Center Courthouse at 400 McAllister Street, Room 402. That’s where you file divorce, custody, and support paperwork, and where the Family Law Facilitator’s Self-Help Center and Family Court Services mediation are also based. It’s about a ten-minute walk from our office at 50 California Street.
Yes, either spouse can request support during a divorce (temporary support) or after it’s final (permanent support). San Francisco County generally calculates temporary support using a local guideline formula (roughly 40% of the paying spouse’s net income minus 50% of the receiving spouse’s net income, adjusted for taxes). Permanent support isn’t formula-based; the judge weighs the marriage’s length, each spouse’s earning capacity, and the marital standard of living.
A legal separation lets spouses divide property, set custody and support terms, and live apart without ending the marriage itself, which matters for things like health insurance or immigration status. A divorce (dissolution) legally ends the marriage and can’t be finalized in under six months. Some couples file for legal separation first and later convert it to a divorce.
Look for a firm that regularly handles cases like yours high-asset or business-owner divorces call for different experience than a straightforward custody modification. Ask about their experience in San Francisco’s Unified Family Court specifically, how they staff cases, and how they communicate. A consultation is usually the fastest way to tell whether a firm’s approach fits your goals.
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