Disclosure During Uncontested Divorce | Santa Clarita

When you go through a divorce, one of the biggest elements is the disclosure process.  This means disclosure of your income and expenses as well as a detailed schedule of assets and debts.

I am asked why we have to complete the disclosure process when it is an uncontested divorce.  The easy answer is because the courts say we have to.  But in reality the disclosure procedure is very important, even in an uncontested divorce.

Divorce is all about disclosure if you think out it.  It boils down to dividing up what you have collectively.  What you had before marriage and after separation is yours (Separate Property) and what you accumulated during marriage (Community Property) is supposed to be divided equally.

This is why the courts want you to complete all the disclosure paperwork.  The only way the court can know if the property and debt is being evenly divided is if it is disclosed.  But in an uncontested divorce the court will generally not get involved, so the disclosure process is meant to inform the parties of what is on the table to divide.

The best way to do your disclosures during an uncontested divorce is for one of the spouses to do theirs first.  In most cases, the disclosures will be almost identical, except for perhaps a few accounts that the other spouse opened that you are not aware of, etc.

So what we do in our office is work with one spouse to complete their disclosures.  We get everything copied, signed and served on the other spouse.  Then we make a duplicate set, but change out the party information on the paperwork and ask the other spouse to add anything that is not on the disclosures.

Completing the disclosures this way during an uncontested divorce makes it a much more simpler process.  Be careful!  Nobody likes doing the disclosures because they are a pain in the butt.  Don’t get hung up on it, just get it done.

If you need assistance completing your financial disclosures during divorce please give us a call.  We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in the divorce process.  We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA and serve all of Los Angeles County.

Is Your Divorce In The San Fernando Valley?

If you have been reading our blogs, you know that we have multiple sites that are dedicated to certain geographic locations.  And we like to talk about our new sites when we get them up and running.

We have just created a new divorce paralegal site with great information about the divorce process and our services in the San Fernando Valley.  You can also visit our new site at www.paralegaldivorcesanfernandovalley.com

Yes, we know it is a long name, but it does speak for itself.  We are hoping that the search engines will pick it up faster for this reason so we can get the word out about our affordable divorce service in the San Fernando Valley.

You may have come across our other site which you can find at www.divorce818.com.  This site also talks about divorce paralegal information in the San Fernando Valley, but it also has information about all the cities that fall within the 818 area code.  If we do any type of paid advertising it will probably be with the divorce818 site due to its length.

We will attempt to get as much information about our paralegal divorce San Fernando Valley blog out on the net so that folks have access to our self help videos that can show you how to complete the divorce process and navigate the court system on your own if you wanted to.

Short of that, we simply wanted to have a place folks can turn to for trusted information about the divorce process in the San Fernando Valley.

If you are going through a divorce in the San Fernando Valley, you should know that we are the only divorce paralegal service that specializes in divorce.  We also have a 100% online divorce service.

For more information about our San Fernando Divorce paralegal service, please give us a call or visit www.paralegaldivorcesanfernandovalley.com

Santa Clarita Divorce Blog A Wealth Of Information

As the only Santa Clarita divorce blog providing self help divorce information, our site is really starting to become the go to source for information about divorce for the self represented client.

Our goal has been to put out so much content about divorce in Santa Clarita that we literally appear on every search you could think of as it pertains to divorce.  And it is starting to work.

It takes time to build a credible blog.  This is true both in the eyes of the All Mighty Google and our potential clients and local community.

Slowly but surely we are gaining traction and getting the word out about our affordable divorce service which is headquartered in Santa Clarita and serving all of Los Angeles County through our online divorce solution.

We are using multiple ways of gaining attention on the web.  We have our YouTube channel which we produce about a video per day, letting folks know about our business and even producing “how to” videos on completing the divorce paperwork.

We have a daily Divorce Podcast which provides information about divorce and our company.  All of this information is tied back into our Santa Clarita divorce blog into a single source where it can all be found.

We are finding that many people are reading the content on our divorce blog, watching the divorce videos and listening to the podcast. This is a great way to educate yourself about the divorce process which will ultimately assist you when it comes time to filing for divorce.

We hope you enjoy all the divorce information we are putting out on the web.  You are always welcome to call us for more information about our divorce services and how we can help you get through your divorce.  Until next time, happy reading.

Process Of Filing Divorce Papers | Santa Clarita

If you are representing yourself during divorce and are going to file your own divorce papers, this article will explain the process on how to do this. First thing, you need to find the right divorce papers you need to complete in order to file.

These initial divorce papers are the first set of forms that you will take to the court to file so you can open your case and get assigned a case number. When you file your divorce forms, there is a certain way you need to have your forms.

The courts are very particular about how you prepare your forms.  first off, you can simply use the appropriate divorce forms by using the courts website to access the free fillable forms.

That way you will make sure to use the correct forms. Also, the forms need to be hole punched a certain way.  When the  courts file your forms, they use a 2-hole punch at the top of the form.  When you go to file, make sure that your original forms have the 2-hole punch.

Then have 2 copies of each of the forms you are filing.  One copy will be for your records and the other one will be used to serve on your spouse. You can watch this video where we go into more detail on how to file your divorce forms.

When your done, you should leave the court with 2 copies of what you filed.  They should all be “Conformed” copies, meaning they have been stamped by the clerk of the court.

The court will keep your original documents.  In most cases these first divorce papers must be personally served on your spouse. It is a good idea to keep a folder and organize your documents so you can easily locate them.

You will need many of your divorce forms that you originally filed when you go to prepare and submit your judgment. We specialize in providing an affordable divorce solution.

We are located in Santa Clarita, CA and serve all the courts in Los Angeles County through our 100% online divorce service.  Please give us a call for more information.

Court Closures Not To Effect Santa Clarita Divorce Cases

The Los Angeles Superior Court System announced on November 14th, 2012 that there would be an additional 10 courthouses that will face closure.  Non of the closures will effect our Santa Clarita divorce cases as the court closures do not impact family law courtrooms.

I have included the original announcment below.

Lawyers will find it hard to move personal injury cases along, Consumer Attorneys President-elect Brian Kabateck said after being briefed on the court’s plans, which include directing most PI cases into just two master calendar courtrooms.

Los Angeles County Superior Court will stop hearing cases in 10 courthouses, shutter a dozen criminal courtrooms and cram many personal injury cases on to just two calendars, court leaders told a select gathering of lawyers in a meeting Wednesday.

Presiding Judge Lee Smalley Edmon confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the court is launching a major restructuring in the coming months to prepare for a 2013-14 deficit that could reach $80 million.

The targeted courthouses are in Huntington Park, Whittier, Pomona North, Malibu, West Los Angeles, South Los Angeles (Kenyon Juvenile), Beverly Hills, San Pedro (the main courthouse and Beacon Street annex) and Catalina. Edmon said the courthouses may stay open for limited functions, like court filings or settlement meetings. But trials and hearings once held in those locations will be moved elsewhere, she said.

“The difficulty I have with all of this is our court system was designed to be a neighborhood court system,” Edmon said. “Unfortunately our budget has been cut so much that we’re not going to be able to continue that level of service.”

The closures and consolidating will lead to “a large number of additional layoffs,” she said, although the exact figure and timing of those job losses hasn’t been determined yet.

The large-scale closures come in response to four straight years of steep budget cuts and to Governor Jerry Brown’s directive that trial courts spend down almost all of their local reserves starting in 2013-14. Los Angeles County Superior Court has lost 875 positions over the past four years due to layoffs, attrition and elimination of vacant jobs, Edmon said.

As part of the court’s redesign, many personal injury cases will be sent to just two master calendar courtrooms in a single location to sort out all pretrial or settlement matters. Each of those judges is expected to have as many as 8,000 cases under his or her jurisdiction at any one time.

“If you have a matter that has to be heard … there’s just not going to be the resources to quickly and adequately handle these matters,” said Consumer Attorneys of California President-elect Brian Kabateck, who attended the Wednesday morning briefing.

Court leaders and lawyers are still discussing ways to send complex or catastrophic civil cases to so-called independent courts that set their own calendars. No one is sure how those cases will be identified, however.

Lawyers “think all of our cases are catastrophic,” Kabateck said.

Plans also call for shrinking the number of courthouses that hear specific types of cases. Small claims cases, now heard in 26 courtrooms, will be handled in just six court facilities across the county. Courthouses that handle landlord-tenant disputes will drop from 26 to five. The 24 courthouses that hear collections cases will shrink to just two. The court will also eliminate any remaining reporters in civil cases and reduce the number of courtroom assistants, Edmon said.

The planned closures and consolidations will affect 37 judicial officers and 279 court employees who handled 429,085 filings in the last fiscal year, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Reassigned judges will be given work that they can do without courtroom staff, Edmon said.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service specializing in divorce.  Please give us a cal for more information about our affordable divorce solutions.

What Does Personal Service Mean During Divorce

As a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in divorce, we spend a lot of time serving divorce papers back and forth and filing documents with the court.  We also spend a lot of time educating our clients and potential clients on how the divorce process works.

When it comes to divorce, the process of serving documents is very important.  There are certain documents that can be served by mail and others that have to be served personally.

Figuring out which divorce forms have to be personally served and which can be served by mail is the hard part.  But we are going to clear that all up right now.

As far as divorce is concerned, there is really only a few things that need to be personally served.  If we are talking strictly about divorce, then the only documents that need to be personally served are the initial divorce documents, namely the Summons and Petition.

In most cases, just about everything else that you file with the court can be mail served.  Mail serving your document simply means that you mail the documents to your spouse, but you still need to complete a proof of service.  In most cases, you don’t have to file a proof of service for mail served documents.

For instance, when you complete your declaration of disclosure, which consists of the income and expense declaration and schedule of assets and debts, you can mail serve them to your spouse.  Just remember to complete a proof of service and file the declaration regarding service of declaration of disclosure.

One important thing to remember is that you cannot personally serve the divorce documents to your spouse.  You will have to find someone who is over 18 years old and not a party to the divorce.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in the divorce process.  We provide a 100% online divorce service and serve all of the Los Angeles County area.  We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA and can be reached at 661-281-0266.