Options On Serving California Divorce Summons When Spouse Out Of State

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with Divorce661.com. And I what I want to talk about today is the two different ways you can serve your spouse If they live out of state.

If you notice on the FL-115,this is the proof of service of summons. So we’re talking about serving the initial documents once you establish a case for the court in California. One of the options is what’s called a mail and acknowledgement service and specifically doing a registered or certified mail with return receipt requested.

This is on page 2 of the 115.So if you and your spouse are amicable and you do have a spouse out of state, you can, when they say you, someone else has to do it. Someone has always has someone else always has to serve the summons and petition and you can do that by mail. You can do that by mail within California using a notice of acknowledgement form 117.

But when you are serving a document out of state and you’ll still use the 117,you need to do it by certified mail and you need to do it with return receipt so you have evidence that it was delivered and signed for by your spouse or just slightly different when the other party lives out of state.

Now, let’s assume that your spouse is not amicable. Now with our clients that’s not the case because we only work with amicable clients, so this is never an issue. But that said if they refuse to sign or maybe they’ve moved and they no longer are at that address that you don’t know where they live. The next option is simply going to be doing it by personal service which is the standard normally.

If you don’t know where they live, my recommendation is you contact a process server company in that state and find one that is also a private detective of sorts that can do some type of background search and they can do a search and maybe find where they are listing their credit cards, or maybe they did a lease application or something like that because they do have to be served for the 6 months to start.

So if you filed for divorce, you know, two months ago, but you still haven’t been able to get them served your six months has not started yet. That six-month cooling-off period. So get a private detective service who’s also a process server. There are many of them out there. You can use a service like napps.org, it’s basically a site where you can enter a zip code or an area of where the other party lives and locate a Iicensed process server anywhere in the country.

Tim Blankenship Divorce661.com. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

YOU Are The ONLY Reason We Can’t Finalize Your Divorce Case

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

YOU are the only reason we can’t finalize your divorce case.

What do I mean by this statement? I mean that we can handle any amount of complexity of cases related to assets and debts, children, child support and spousal support. There is nothing that can stop us from finalizing your divorce case, except you or your spouse.

We’ve helped clients with 8 children. We’ve helped clients with 10 homes. We’ve helped clients with millions in assets.

That is not an issue for us.

What is an issue for us is when clients hire us and then fall out of agreement or no longer are amicable and stop cooperating with the process.

That is the only thing that can stop us from being able to finalize your divorce.

And here is why.

We only work with 100% amicable spouses who will ultimately come up with an agreement. We will put you through the divorce process, complete and file all the paperwork with the courts. We will do it all.

However, if you and your spouse at some point fall out of agreement or decide no longer to cooperate, that stops us from being able to finalize your divorce case.

Why?

Because in order for us to finalize your divorce case you both have to sign the Marital Settlement Agreement that outlines all the terms and agreement related to your divorce.

So even if we prepare everything as you provided and agreed to, even if one party simply decides they are not going to sign it at the very end, this stops us from being able to submit it to court. This is because even though we’ve drafted the agreement, it is not an agreement if not signed by both spouses.

Los Angeles Superior Divorce Court Extends Court Closure Until May 12, 2020 – COVID-19

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

On May 15th, 2020 the Los Angeles Superior Court extended their March 17th order to extend the court closure due to COVID-19 until May 12, 2020. The court is closed to all non-essential business.

Keep in mind that the court is still operational. The courts are still allowing for new divorce cases to be filed and are processing existing cases. The closure only affects the ability to enter the courthouse and to attend hearings which have all been continued to future dates.

Our team continues to work here at Divorce661 and are processing new cases daily.

Los Angeles Divorce Court Closed Covid-19

Divorce Judgment Will Supersede Petition & Response

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

The judgment you submit in your divorce, whether through an agreement or through trial, will supersede any requests you make in either your filed petition or response.

For this reason, what you “request” in your petition or response is just that, requests. They are not requests that will be granted per se, rather they are just an indication to the other party what is on your mind as far as what you are thinking at the time of filing.

For this reason, the filing of the petition and response is mostly boilerplate, statistical information only.

In this episode, we’re talking more about the difference between a default case. A true default meaning no agreement, and a default with an agreement which means with an agreement obviously. I had a client contact me a few weeks ago that was trying to go through the Self Help Center.

I think I did a video on this. Just the frustration and time he put into going down there and all the issues he ran into anyways. He called us, retained us, so we could wrap everything up which we have. The interesting thing is he called me today saying that court called him, which I’ve never heard of that happening in all my years and thousands of cases the court calling someone.

Not sure if that was really the court or not, but they were telling him that because he had put TBD, to be determined, on a property declaration. We’re talking about the FL 160s that he attached to his petition.

He needed to come back in and re file his petition and amend his property declaration, so he called me with some concerns saying that the court was saying there are some issues. The problem was that the court is confused over the difference between a default and a default with agreement.

In the conversation I just had with him, I advised him that yes, it would have been correct where he would have had to amend the petition and update his property declarations from the TBD, to be determined, to an actual value amount with a proposed division of the asset if it was a default without an agreement.

Because he said he would be able to get signatures from his wife we were able to simply have a default with an agreement which will supersede any requests in the petition. That’s why I’m always harping on what a default with an agreement, why it’s so much better than default without an agreement.

You have so much more latitude in what you can do so if you completely screw up the petition and your property declarations are screwed up, and in fact, in our videos, we tell you do not attach a property declaration to your judgment unless you know it’s going to be a true default.

The agreement we put together for you in your judgment that both of you will sign will supersede any requests in the petition that was filed to start the case. Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

I’m Not Separated Yet So What Date Of Separation Do I Use On California Divorce Petition?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com. In this episode, we’re talking about what to use as the date of separation for your divorce. Very commonly I’ll have people get started with us in the divorce process here in California, and I will ask them what the date of separation is, and they kind of have a blank look on their face and.

They’ll say something to the effect of well, we’re not legally separated, or we’re not separated we’re still living together. That’s a very common answer, and you may find yourself in that situation as well. The issue is you need to have a date of separation when you file for divorce. When you list it on the petition, you need to have a date of separation. You cannot leave it blank.

I see that many times when people are starting their divorce paperwork on their own. You need to have a date of separation on there if no date in the past makes sense like you started living on the couch a month ago or one spouse moved out 6 weeks ago, something like that. Then just use the date filing for the date of your divorce.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

Avoiding Child Support Order In Divorce Judgment By Agreement

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

On this episode, we’re talking about child support and how to request either no child support or to 0 out the support order.

The reason I bring this up is many of our clients want to have no support as part of their divorce, but the problem is that child support is mandatory in the state of California, so you have to have child support. I’ve done multiple videos on this.

You cannot waive child support, but you can set up your child support to be set with a zero support order. There’s a bunch of additional legalese that has to be incorporated into the child support order when you do that, but it is possible.

An example is, I had someone give me a call they’ve been trying to do their own divorce working through the court’s Self Help Center. She said, Tim, I’ve been to court, and they’re telling me I need a disso master because I wanted zero support order and she had found one of my other videos I had done online.

I said well why don’t you just go down to the facilitator and have them do your disso master report? She said she did go see the facilitator and the facilitator’s exact words are “child support is mandatory”.
That someone has to pay and not a negative way, but this is either the wife is paying the husband, or the husband is paying the wife after divorce based on the custodial agreement and the incomes between the parties.

So, when you go through court, I guess the point of this story is if when you go through the court process, you don’t have any options. You’re going to have to follow California law, and that’s one of the benefits of using my service.

Many of our clients, it’s a very popular option, that folks are going through an amicable divorce, they have an amicable custody or parenting plan, they just don’t want the child support built into the divorce.

So, what do you do? Well, if you go through the court and do it on your own or go through attorneys, you’re going to have child support one way or another. You’re going to pay, or your spouse is going to pay, and that’s just the way it’s going to be.

If you use my service, you guys have so many more options. We can package up your divorce case however you want. If you don’t want there to be child support as part of your divorce even though it would normally be required, that’s fine I can take care of that. There’s a way of doing it.

Again, there’s special legalese. It has to be packaged up a certain way, but again it’s a very popular option. Most of our clients who do not want a child support built in we get that done, and it’s not a problem because we know exactly how it needs to be drafted in to accomplish that.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

Do I Need A Detailed Child Custody Plan In California?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com. In this episode, we’re talking about California child custody agreements and parenting plans. Basically, what you can come up with and what is required by the courts as far as a parenting plan?

People have asked me what’s required. Like how much detail does the court need as far as a custom plan? Here’s the answer.  The courts do not need a detailed parenting plan at all. All they need to know is how you are going to label your custody.

Meaning, are you going to have joint legal and joint physical or is one party going to be the sole physical custodial parent etc.? You don’t need an actual detail plan. For people who want to have an open parenting plan and not a specified plan, you can simply say joint legal, joint physical, and reasonable right of visitation to the other party.

That’s sufficient enough for the court. They’re not going to kick that back and say no we need a parenting plan. If you want an open schedule for people that maybe have schedules that change frequently, law enforcement officers, nurses, firefighters, people that have a changing schedule, you may not want a detailed parenting plan.

It may not be workable because maybe your schedule changes frequently. Now in the alternative, you can have a detailed parenting plan so if you have a good relationship with your spouse and the open parenting plan works that’s great. But if you want to have some detail or specificity of your parenting plan, you can have as detailed as a plan as you want.

You can attach the attachments that are part of the court orders. You can have a joint legal custody attachment. You can have a physical custody attachment. You can have a detailed plan where you are laying out every hour and every minute who picks up in what vehicle. I mean you can get as detailed as you want. It’s not necessary, but you can have an open plan, a very detailed plan, or anything in the middle.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.come. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

We Have No Property Together | Common Mistakes With Assets During Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com. In this episode, we’re talking about assets and debts property. Not just real property. Not just a home but when we say property we’re talking about any type of assets and debts.

Commonly we’ll have people tell me is when I say, hey, do you have any property to divide or any assets or debts divided they’ll commonly say no we don’t have anything together. Well having something together, and what they mean is in each other’s name, meaning they each have assets of death in their own name but not combined assets and debts.

That’s not how that works in a California divorce it is about when the asset or debt was acquired. Regardless of whose name it’s in.

==>Need Help With Your Divorce? Check Out Our Full Service Divorce Solutions<==

So, if you guys acquired an asset or debt during the marriage, a credit card in your spouse’s name, a car in your name, it’s considered a shared asset or shared debt. Doesn’t mean you have to divide it, it just means it has to be addressed and has to be confirmed to one of you or the other.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

How To Serve California Divorce Papers When Amicable

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a better way to serve your divorce documents when your case is amicable. I’ve said this a million times.

The reason I’m bringing this up is I had a client this week who is trying to do his own divorce, hadn’t used us, hadn’t called us for advice, try to do his own divorce. It was amicable, so he goes down to court files his paperwork, and then he has someone serve his wife. The wife is at work. Process server shows up at work, you’ve been served. You know how it goes.

You’ve seen it on television. People don’t like that. I don’t care how amicable your divorce is, if you have your wife or your spouse served paperwork it’s going to start you down a dark road. No one likes to be served. There’s a different way of doing it. We never have our clients served by a process server or anybody for that matter.

==>Need Help With Your Divorce? Check Out Our Costs<==

There’s a way you can have a single form signed. You just provide it to your wife or your spouse or your husband. You provide them a form. You give them copies of the paperwork. They sign a form saying they acknowledge receiving a copy of it and everyone’s happy.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.come. I hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.

Pomona Divorce Court Rejecting Judgments That Don’t Include Withholding Order FL-195

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Hi, Tim Blankenship here with divorce661.com and today we’re talking about some issues we’re seeing, in this case particularly with the Pomona Courthouse.

So, when you file for divorce and you’re doing your judgment, we’re talking about the FL 180, the final paperwork, you’ll notice at the bottom it says this judgment contains provision for child support or family support. It’s letter H on page 1.

What this is telling you is that if you have a child support order, then you need to attach an FL 191. The FL 191 is a child case registry form. Now, it says you have 10 days to do that after you file the judgment, so in most cases we are not ever filing this case registry form, although the judgment form says it’s required and we’ve never had any issues.

Recently we’ve been having issues with the Pomona Courthouse wherein they are rejecting judgments that do not have the case registry form attached at the time of submission of the judgment, so of course we’re now complying with that and making sure we’re doing that.

Obviously, there is either a new clerk or a new judge who is in there and is making sure or demanding that that be turned in. In addition, Pomona is also now making it mandatory that, when there is a child support order, that a FL 195 Withholding Order also be attached.

They’re not even allowing that to be something that you guys can agree upon. I’m going to do another video about what to do about that FL 195, which is the Withholding Order. Many people who are paying support do not want to have support being paid directly from their employer, or maybe they just don’t want their employer knowing they’re paying child support.

It is sort of a personal issue and I get that. If you have a Pomona case, we’re not seeing this in any other courts right now except Pomona. Pomona is requiring and they are rejecting judgments if there is no case registry form and if there’s no withholding order when there is child support involved.

Tim Blankenship, divorce661.com. Hope you’re having a great day. We’ll talk to you soon.