Claudia Ribet

Claudia Ribet is one of only eleven lawyers in the State of California who is both a certified family law specialist and a certified appellate law specialist. She is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and has been a “Super Lawyer” for many years.

When Ms. Ribet takes a divorce case, the client knows that he or she will not only survive their dissolution matter, she or he will end up thriving after it. Ms. Ribet takes pride in flexible and creative problem solving. Because she is an appellate lawyer as well as a trial lawyer, she has a deep understanding of the complex issues that arise in dissolution matters, including division of assets, valuation of businesses, child custody matters, and child and spousal support. She has won the seminal appellate case, too, concerning breach of fiduciary duties.

Occasionally one party to a divorce may want to appeal the Judgment entered by the court because he or she believes that the judge “got it wrong.” As an appellate attorney, Ms. Ribet will evaluate whether the mistake that the party thinks the judge made will lead to reversal of the Judgment. If we believe that the error was not merely “harmless” then we will file a notice of appeal and take the case to the initial reviewing court, the California Court of Appeal. Sometimes, but rarely, a matter may even end up afterwards in the California Supreme Court. And when the other party initially appeals, the responding party will need to hire an appellate lawyer like Ms. Ribet to defend the trial judge’s decision.

Ms. Ribet has substantial experience arguing before the California Court of Appeal. Her published decisions from that Court are:

• In re Marriage of Rossi (the lottery case) (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 34
  Wife intentionally concealed lottery proceeds entitling former husband to award of entire amount.
• In re Marriage of Rose and Richardson (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 941
  Trial court is required to conduct de novo review of custody and visitation issues to determine child’s best interests where Judgment is not final.
• Amy G. v. M.W. (2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 1
  Wife of a man who conceived a child out of wedlock cannot come into court claiming the gender-neutral application of the parentage laws to her to oust the biological mother.
• In re Marriage of Sabine and Toshio M. (2007) 153 Cal.App.4th 1203
  Husband and wife could not lawfully release child support and spousal support arrearages accrued by husband before the parties entered into post-dissolution settlement agreement.
• Lappe v. Superior Court (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 774
  Family law declarations of disclosure are not protected from disclosure by the mediation confidentiality doctrine; pet. for rev. denied.
• C.C. v. L.B. (2024) 106 Cal.App.5th 1323, rev. den. (2025)
  Father lacked standing to pursue declaration as to existence of parent-child relationship with child and custody and visitation.
• In re Marriage of Brown (2026) – Cal.App.5th – (2026 WL 322574)
  Parents are precluded from contractually waiving or forgiving past due child support arrearages even after the child has reached the age of majority and there is no longer a current support order in place.

Ms. Ribet is often asked by other family law firms to assist at the Statement of Decision or pre-appellate stage of their cases. These stages are extremely important to assuring that the record on appeal contains everything that the reviewing court must consider as part of the appeal. Ms. Ribet has lectured to many bar associations and family law study groups on the issue of “preserving” the appellate record.

In addition to an academic understanding of the law, Ms. Ribet brings compassion and personalized attention to each and every one of her clients. Ms. Ribet brings the same energy she applies to her cases to her non-legal interests, including cycling, reading, and walking her Miniature Schnauzer.