Walzer Melcher & Yoda LLP

Chairman: Peter M Walzer
Number of partners: 5
Number of other lawyers: 3
Languages: Spanish, Japanese (functional), Chinese (conversational)

Firm Overview:
The firm was founded in 1982. It has offices in Woodland Hills and Santa Monica. The firm exclusively practices family law. The typical client of Walzer Melcher LLP is a business owner, executive, professional, athlete, or trust fund beneficiary going through a complex divorce in Los Angeles or Ventura counties.

Recent Cases:  

In re Marriage of Brace (2020) CA Supreme Court. 9th Cal.5th 903:
Christopher C. Melcher appeared as Amicus Counsel and was granted oral argument before the California Supreme Court. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal asked the California Supreme Court to answer whether, under California law, a property acquired by spouses in joint tenancy is community property or if the spouses hold equal separate property interests in the joint tenancy. This is the second California Supreme Court appearance Chris has made on the two issues of characterisation of property and he won both. The prior case was marriage of Valli.

Grimes v. Mou (2020), 6th District:
The wife in this appeal claimed the family court should have characterised money she borrowed from her family in China as belonging to her family members, not as community property. Wife also claimed the award of spousal support was too low to meet the marital standard of living. Top family law attorneys Christopher C. Melcher and Steven K. Yoda successfully defended those rulings on appeal on behalf of the husband. The Court of Appeal affirmed the decision in full.

Monasky v. Taglieri (2020) 139 S. Ct. 2691:
The mother (Monasky) took an infant away from the father (Taglieri). The mother and father were both living in Italy. Mother took the baby to the US. Father filed an action to return the child to Italy.

The Hague Convention “addresses a pressing and never-ceasing policy problem—the abductions of children by one half of an unhappy couple” in order to gain an advantage in the child-custody determination accompanying the marriage’s dissolution. When one parent unilaterally moves the child within a nation, that nation’s domestic law is capable of resolving the dispute. But when a child is abducted across international borders, an agreement among nations was needed to provide a prompt and effective mechanism for resolving the dispute.

“The Convention’s mission is basic: to return children ‘to the State of their habitual residence,’ to require any custody disputes to be resolved in that country, and to discourage parents from taking matters into their own hands by abducting a child.”

“Habitual residence” is thus the linchpin of the Convention’s protections— the Convention is “based on the principle that the best interests of the child are well served when decisions regarding custody rights are made in the country of habitual residence.”

This case presents two questions regarding the Convention’s habitual residence standard—the standard of appellate review for district courts’ determinations of habitual residence; and whether an actual agreement between the parents regarding the place where the child will be raised is a necessary prerequisite to establishing the child’s habitual residence.

Peter M. Walzer filed an amicus brief for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers(AAML) supporting the father’s position in this appeal.

W.M. v V.A. (2019) 30 Cal.App.5th 64 :
Christopher C. Melcher was lead appellate counsel on an international child custody case involving a question of jurisdiction between California and the Republic of Belarus. The mother of the child is a professional tennis player. The client’s petition for writ of supersedeas was granted, prohibiting the removal of their baby. Alan Dershowitz appeared as co-counsel for the client and Laura Wasser appeared as opposing counsel. The client prevailed on appeal, with a holding that California has exclusive jurisdiction over the child.

Contacts:  

Divorce Litigation:
Peter M Walzer
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Divorce Mediation:
Peter M Walzer
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Property Division:
Christopher C. Melcher
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Child Custody:
Christina E. Djordjevich
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

International Child Abduction:
Steven K Yoda
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Spousal & Child Support:
Kristina L. Hohne
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Premarital & Postmarital Agreements:
Christopher C Melcher
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Cohabitation Agreements:
Steven K Yoda
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Foreign Premarital Agreements:
Peter M Walzer
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

International Family Law Jurisdiction:
Peter M Walzer
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]

Family Law Appeals:
Christopher C Melcher
Tel: +818 591 3700
Email: [email protected]