Based in San Jose · Serving Santa Clara & Alameda Counties
Vijay Law represents clients in high-conflict divorce, contested custody, and complex asset division cases — with substantial experience in family law matters that intersect with domestic violence restraining orders.
Family law in California governs divorce, legal separation, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, asset and debt division, restraining orders, and post-judgment modifications. High-conflict family cases — involving contested custody, hidden assets, abuse allegations, or complex valuation issues — are fundamentally different from standard divorces. They turn on litigation skills, evidentiary discipline, and the ability to try the case. Vijay Law is built for the family cases that are going to be fought, not negotiated quietly.
Temporary And Permanent Orders That Shape Children's Lives
Valuation, Allocation, Control Of Operating Businesses
Community vs. Separate Characterization; Tracing; Valuations
QDROs, Vesting Issues, Executive Compensation
Duration, Amount, Modifiability; Decades Of Post-Divorce Impact
Primary Residence, Investment Properties, Character Determinations
Guideline, Deviation, Retroactivity, Enforcement
When Domestic Violence Is Part Of The Family Law Picture
FC § 2030/2032 Need-Based Fees; FC § 271 Sanctions For Misconduct
Standard divorces resolve through negotiation, often with limited contested issues. High-conflict cases involve sustained litigation: contested custody, hidden assets, abuse allegations, complex valuations, and refusal of standard resolution mechanisms. The practice skills required are fundamentally different. Many family lawyers handle only mediated or uncontested divorce cases which do not involve contested court hearings.
Community property is property acquired during marriage by either spouse, with limited exceptions for inheritance, gifts, and premarital property. California is a community property state, and community property is divided equally on divorce. Tracing is required when separate and community property have been commingled.
The standard is the best interest of the child under Family Law section 3011. The court considers the child’s health, safety, and welfare; any history of abuse; habitual substance abuse; and the nature of contact with each parent. Joint legal custody and joint physical custody are the default starting points absent specific concerns.
Family Code Section 3044 establishes a rebuttable presumption that awarding custody to a parent with a finding of domestic violence within the prior five years is detrimental to the child’s best interest. The presumption can only be overcome by clear evidence under specified factors. It is the single most significant custody provision in California family law for cases involving domestic violence. The existence of this statute is one of the reasons so many domestic violence restraining order orders (DVROs) are filed.
Discovery tools include subpoenas to financial institutions, depositions, interrogatories, and document requests. Forensic accountants are retained for complex cases. Lifestyle analysis is used when income claims do not match spending patterns. Tracing through business records can reveal undisclosed accounts. Disclosure motions and sanctions are available for non-disclosure.
Client Testimonials
Vijay is a thorough gentleman. He listened to me like a counselor would, then shared his acumen in the best possible language. I felt safe and much better by merely knowing my legal options and rights.
Hand down the best lawyer with a wide range of experience from immigration to litigation.
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. The way Mr.Vijay handled the case from explaining the details to me, filing motions with all the details included, and email communication between you and DA was outstanding.
We were very much worried about my life the way the case was leading too. But, everything was handled by you smoothly and professionally. My family and I are so grateful to you. It exceeded beyond our expectations. Thank you so much sir again for everything you did in this case.
Vijay is a knowledgeable and helpful attorney. He was there for me and helped me through a difficult incident. He was able to work with the prosecutor and I received a favorable outcome. Mr. Dinakar communicates with his clients, tells them the possible outcomes, and delivers results. Do your research, he is reputable around town and is a straight shooter. 5 stars for Vijay and his firm. He’s one of the better CD lawyers in SJ and I value his help and support. Don’t look for anyone else, hire Vijay for your legal needs.
I had 2 felonies charges regarding insurance fraud claim. My Naturalization(citizenship) petition was on hold due to felonies. I met Vijay regarding my case. His first free initial consultant is very transparent. So I hired him. He understands the important of immigration consequence with criminal charges & impact on professional career.
Vijay was so patient enough; he took multiple court dates to resolve case in my favor. He communicates very clearly. He also wrote multiple letters to submit my status to keep alive my naturalization petition in USCIS.
Finally, my 2 felonies charges dismissed & converted into Infraction charge. My naturalization petition approved & got citizenship certificate.
He is very responsive & also available to discuss during late evening & weekend. He is very friendly, professional & detail orientated. I would highly recommend him for criminal case.
I don’t know how to say thanks to Vijay.
Before I came to him I had hired two other attorneys, and trust me those behaved like the gang mans. Nice at the beginning to get the money and stated playing with the matter to see it gets worse so that they can milk you more (just like the drug dealers does).
I strongly suggest you should try Vijay if you have already troubled by other attorneys like my case or in fact he better be your first attorney in any case. You can only compare him with others only if you had hired others before.
First of all we are very happy to have identified Vijay for our case. He is such a brilliant and skilled attorney and particularly man of actions. His sincerity in following up case to completion was speedy and commendable. Would definitely recommend him as he is very approachable and friendly.
Vijay Dinakar is BY FAR THE BEST LAWYER I’ve ever seen. I need more than 5 stars to express my gratitude to Vijay. He is the ideal lawyer you expect from watching movies. He is very knowledgeable and more important than that, he is a hard worker. I value more his work attitude because independently of the outcome, I believe he is working very hard in my case, and as a result he will win my case. He is a winner!
I have worked with many lawyers but he is by far the best in the business. He got my case completely dismissed !! I am glad to have consulted him..
I am glad that I approached Vijay to help me with my DV case. He is a good person, very knowledgeable, logical and has a calm but a rational approach. He was very strategic and focused on the relevant points. He was sharp, impactful and picked up important cues during the trial and strongly advocated for me in the court. Although the prep for my case was very last minute, he was great. Me and my family are very grateful to him, for helping me out in a very stressful time. I would certainly recommend him to friends and family.
Excellent hardworking lawyer.
I am grateful for the outcome produced by Mr. Vijay after hearing in my domestic violence restraining order trial. Vijay is a very knowledgeable attorney who provides so thorough answers to questions. He talked nonstop for over one hour explaining all possibilities that I would face. I felt hopeless at the time that I will have immigration problems but I am surprised when I am told by Vijay the case would not be filed in criminal court. Then Vijay helped with the family restraining court. This case went on for too long because but finally we did trial and I had many texts that proved the lies and plan. Vijay is confident in court and we had planned and won. Hopefully, nobody gets into these terrible cases but a good attorney can help you out of it.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for an extremely satisfying representation
Providing 5-star and saying Mr.Vijay Dinakar is a good attorney would still be an understatement considering many 10/10 positive reviews and his excellent representation in my case. I write this review hoping it would help someone like me who has spent hours checking reviews online, consulting many attorneys while trying to hire a good one and finally found the best. I have known attorney Vijay Dinakar for over one and a half years now. He did what he promised me in my complicated case involving several other cases. In fact, Vijay Dinakar’s aggressive representation in the court room ensured more than a favorable result. I couldn’t be any happier about going with this law firm. He is non-judging, very patient and composed which helped in dealing with the emotionally draining legal case. While I cannot divulge the details of my case, I can say that Vijay Dinakar got me an excellent victory giving me an edge over the opponent in my other cases. Thanks to his outstanding representation. He is one of those rare attorneys who does not file anything we ask for by taking Fee. He is very ethical and always did what was right and favorable to the client. He is easy to reach and always available to answer my questions. With my experience as a client, I would just say to keep calm and trust Vijay Dinakar. He has always stayed on top of things. Highly responsive Reachable – Always, through mail/text/phone call Fee – Very reasonable. He has put more efforts and time towards my case than the Fee he charged me. All the reviews about Vijay Dinakar Law Firm will prove to be true once you have the initial consultation. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Vijay Dinakar Law Firm to anyone in need of an extremely satisfying legal representation.
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