Daniel Curtis McCammon

I am a Certified Family Law Specialist and represent clients in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and select matters in the Central Coast and Sacramento area. I work with clients of all background, including business owners, homemakers, those with 7/8 figure wealth, attorneys, doctors, therapists, teachers, and military servicemembers and veterans. I also work with forensic accountants, therapists, mediators, loan officers, real estate agents, and attorneys in other fields to holistically resolve your family law issues.  I have a lot of experience in high conflict custody matters, including domestic and international move away, domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health issues. While I litigate, I settle many of my cases because I maintain good relationships with my fellow family law attorneys, the Court, and other professionals, and work hard to know the facts of your matter so I can quickly work to resolve the matter with your partner/spouse. I strongly believe in the principal of informed consent. You will know where you stand and what decisions you can make so you can make the best choice for yourself and your family.  

I love the practice of family law. I know it's an unwanted service, but one that is necessary. People often come to me when they have been victims of abuse, made personal mistakes that have caused an end of a marriage or relationship, or simply have grown apart. It's hard for many people to let go of the past and the end of the relationship and move forward. That is why I work with a variety of family law related experts (financial planners, forensic accountants, life coaches, real estate professionals and therapists) to help you divide assets, heal, and take control of your future and the legacy you want to leave your loved ones.  

9/29/26: Self-Belief in Children:

The greatest strength a parent can help instill in a child is believing in themselves. Self-belief matters. Children who lack self belief give up. They do not want to go to school. They do not want to keep playing sports. When they fail, the iPad is their safety zone. Long term, a lack of self belief will impact their friendships, their academic and workplace performance, and how they navigate relationships. Children that beleive in themselves keep trying after getting a C on a test, losing a competition, or lose a friend. They are more inspired to learn. They study harder. They set goals and meet them. They can resist negative peer pressure. 

How can parent's help their children beleive in themselves? 1) Support them when they put in the effort. Don't focus just on perfection. You weren't so do not set an unrealistic standard. 2) Pay attention when your kids talk to you. They will notice if you do not, and that will hurt their self esteem. 3) Normalize mistakes. It happens. So get up and lets do it again. They will learn that not getting it right is part of the process. 4) Don't compare your children to others. Everyone is an individual with their own set of strengths and challenges. Avoid comparing one child to another. Children grow to resent that and it impacts their self esteem.

Co-parents who are able to lift their children up create long-term, healthy outcomes for their children. Make that your legacy.

10/1/26: Victory!:

I'm exhausted. An all-day trial defending false allegations of child abuse. A near all day/nighter working on the case, the testimony, and the cross examination. Preparing for numerous witnesses, parents, case workers, evaluators. Preparing to have to question a young child that had come from foster care system and researching the best practices to question someone whose hasn't reached puberty. It's a rarity for me to have to question children, since most of the time Court's use private evaluations and minor's counsel. This was a unique case. I learned so much today. I was congratulated by multiple court staff on handling a child the right way. Procuring the right testimony from children is difficult. It requires you to obtain trust, dance around the substantive information, and find gaps in their recollection. You cannot call them a liar, but you expose weaknesses in their recollection, expose coaching and undue influence, and also humanize a client. Vice versa, the right preparation can also bolster claims of child abuse. I'm grateful for a good result for a client. I am also saddened that a family had to get to this point. To bring in a child, with all this pressure to have to make statements about their parents. If you are an attorney who has to handle these types of cases, please be sensitive to children if you have to question them. They can be afraid, have self doubt and are under a lot of pressure. Smile, make your questions simple, show kindness, and laugh a little. Even if you are cross examining, they deserve to feel that this is a safe space. That's good lawyering in tough moments.

10/6/26: Determining Jurisdiction in Child Support matters:

If parents live in two different states, and you are considering obtaining an order for child support, it's important to determine what state has jurisdiction to make orders for child support. There are two types of jurisdiction. Personal and subject matter jurisdiction. Personal is jurisdiction over the person, which means you have been served in a state or have minimal contacts with that state (you visit the state for timeshare, conduct business in the state, etc.). Subject matter would be over a particular issue. Typically, the dispute over jurisdiction arises over personal jurisdiction.

Once a state issues a child support order, that state keeps jurisdiction until the Court reliniquishes it later (UIFSA). So, it is critical to determine at the outset whether or not you should dispute jurisdiction. The best practice is to consult with a family law attorney in your own state, as well as the state the other parent lives, and get a rough estimate over what child support would be in both states. Then, you would need to also determine whether or not there are valid factual/legal disputes over jurisdiction.

Some states cap child support (Ex. Texas). California does not. That is why Elon Musk filed a Parentage action against his ex Grimes in Texas because his child support would be capped at $2,700 per month for three children. In California, he would have paid astronomically more in support because child support for high wage earners is based on the need for the children to experience similar standards of living. For instance, Halle Berry pays her ex $8,000 in monthly child support for one child! Elon Musk is a trillionaire, so he could have been expected to pay even more than that.

10/7/26: 

We all have people we meet in life who change the course of our lives in ways we can’t predict. And while time passes, whether it's been two, five, ten, or twenty years, people and circumstances change, and life takes us places we never expected to go. But some people remain important, even when life looks very different than you once imagined it would.

Not everything meaningful has to have a particular ending to have been meaningful. Time doesn’t erase everything. So, be grateful for what you learn, what you experience, and for the person you become because of connections that shape you. 

10/7/26: California Has Banned Child Marriage: 

Last week, Govenor Newsom signed AB 1267, which prohibits minor children from marrying starting on January 1, 2027. He signed this bill next to advocate Courtney Stodden, who was allowed to marry a 50 year old man at the age of 16. This bill was long overdue. Too many teenagers have been caught up in abusive marriages or pawned off by their parents to typically older men. This will no longer be allowed to happen.

Happy to have a conversation about your family issues and can be contacted at my office by phone, email, in person meetings at the office, Zoom/Google Meet, WhatsApp at 949. 287. 8301 , and Google Voice at 949. 287. 8301.