Providing A Divorce Community Service In Santa Clarita

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

When we started our Santa Clarita divorce service, we never thought it would be considered a community service.  But after one of our clients spoke of it that way, well, I guess it actually is.

We are not a non-profit business, so how could we consider ourselves providing a community service?  Especially when were are talking about divorce?

This was stated to us in the form of a review someone left for us.  They basically said that because we have produced and written so many articles and videos about California divorce, that we have made learning and understanding the divorce process easy to find and understand.

And it is true that we have done those things.  I think over 1000 articles, 200 videos and at least 100 podcasts as of this writing on October 22, 2013, and we will continue to do more every day.

But now that they got me thinking about it, that is not the only reason I think we provide a community service in Santa Clarita with our divorce service.

Another reason I think it is a community service is because of the amount of money we save people on their divorce in California.

Before we started this business, you had only 2 options.  Hire an attorney, and we know how much hiring an attorney for your divorce costs.  Or attempting to do your own California divorce.  Neither of these options is idea.  The first is very expensive and the latter is, well, you don’t want to be doing your own divorce.

Whether it is truly a community service or not, we do feel good about the divorce service we provide in Santa Clarita.  And it is not just Santa Clarita that we provide our divorce service in.  We only mention it because this is where our brick and mortar office is located.

But we can complete your divorce case anywhere in California, so make sure to give us a call.

 

Review Of Divorce661.com | Santa Clarita Divorce Legal Service

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have been getting a lot of reviews lately from our happy clients and we wanted to promote them on our blogs.

On October 18, 2013, we received another review from one of our clients.  We don’t like to ask for reviews, so we don’t get a ton, but we are glad when people take the time to do us the great favor of leaving a review for our divorce business in Santa Clarita.

Here is the latest review that was left on our Yelp listing:

“Thank you Tim Blankenship!! 

I give Tim and his staff high accolades. They are professional, friendly, timely and well organized. Tim and Aja answered every question quickly and in a straight forward manner.

What’s amazing is Tim’s website is chock full of info and easy to understand how-to-videos. If you got the time and no dough, you could complete your paperwork on your own. Talk about being of community service. I mean, wow!!

For those that don’t have the time to do it on your own, SCV Legal Doc Assist is the way to go! Tim offers a great service at an affordable rate.

Lawyers should be worried!”

Here is a link to our Review of Divorce661.com – Santa Clarita Divorce Legal Service on Yelp.

On of the reasons we have been successful in this industry and received great reviews is because we really focus on customer service.

We have a full team to assist you, starting with our full time receptionist to make sure that your phone call gets answered every time.

We also have 3 full time assistants working continuously on your case and available to answer your questions at any time via phone or email. I have been fortunate to hire folks who have a servant’s heart.  This is especially useful being in the industry of assisting people with their divorce.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this review of Divorce661.com and our Santa Clarita divorce legal service.

We are a licensed and bonded  legal document preparation service that specializes in divorce in California.  We are headquartered in Santa Clarita, CA but can assist you anywhere in California with your divorce.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Top 5 Reasons Your California Divorce Was Not Finished

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We have been doing this a long time and we have heard it all. We have helped clients finish their divorce as much as 18
years after they “thought their divorce was finalized”

This can be a nightmare for some, especially if you have already been re-married… Yes, that has happened…

But don’t worry, we can help finalize your divorce.

Lets talk about the top 10 reasons your divorce was never
finalized..

#1 Reason – You did not finish your case!

Don’t get mad at me, I wasn’t there. But really, this is an obvious reason, right?

What we have found from people who did not finish their case is that most of them THOUGHT THEIR CASE WAS FINALIZED.

#2 Reason – You went to a hearing and the judge made orders.

When you go to a hearing and the judge makes orders, they are JUST TEMPORARY ORDERS until final judgment is entered. We have found that many people think that once they go to court that the case is over when the judge makes orders. So far from the truth.

#3 Reason – Final Judgment in your case was never entered.

The judge may make some orders at a hearing or trial, but unless those orders are memorialized on a final judgment, submitted to the Court and signed by the Judge, your case is not completed.

#4 Reason – You made an error on your judgment paperwork.

This is a big one. The forms are confusing and all it takes is one mistake to fowl up the entire judgment. Some people submit their judgment and move and don’t receive notification that their divorce judgment was rejected.

Make sure you receive notice of entry of judgment!

#5 Reason – You did not comply with the divorce procedures leading up to your judgment.

This could be something as small as not completing a proof of service correctly.

There are all types of reasons your divorce was never finalized.

A lot of it will be procedural issues. Things you did wrong during the process.

But don’t worry, we can help. We can clean it up and wrap up your divorce for you.

Anywhere in California, we can assist with finishing up your case. Just give us the case number so we can see what has been done.

We will also need to see what documents you have previously filed, but we can talk about that later.

Call us at 661-281-0266.

Divorce661.com | SCV Legal Doc Assist Search

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you are searching for a divorce service in Santa Clarita online, you will most likely come across one of our blogs or Google adwords advertisements.  But today I was wondering how Google search was listing us when searching directly with our business name.

It takes trust and time to get in the good graces with Google.  And it takes a lot of people searching for your business to list you in the actual search bar.  We are glad to say that we have met those two parameters.

Take a look at the image below and you can see that Google already knows what I am searching for when I only partly enter our business name.

scv_legal_doc_assist_google_search_image

 

 

 

 

 

We have been serving Santa Clarita, providing affordable divorce services to the community.  Word is really catching on and we are processing about 10 divorce cases per week. I know that seems like a large number and I still can’t believe how many divorce cases are completed by our office here.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce and focuses on providing an affordable way to get your divorce completed.  As a neutral third party, we are able to work with both parties to get your divorce completed as quickly and painless as possible.

If you are considering getting divorced in Santa Clarita or anywhere in Los Angeles County, we can help.  We have even started taking cases throughout California.

If you have any questions about our service please feel free to give us a call.  We would be happy to explain our service to you so you are comfortable with working with us.

I think you will find us to be the most knowledgeable people in the industry as it pertains to divorce.  You can reach us at 661-281-0266.

California Divorce | Not Filing Response To Save Money

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

California Divorce | Not Filing Response To Save Money

If you are filing for divorce in California and your plan is to save money by not filing a Response to divorce and file a default case, you will want to read this.

There is a better way to file your California divorce if you are trying to save money by not filing a Response.  Let me explain.

I have had a few clients come to our office who had started the divorce process on their own.  They said they plan on filing a default type divorce because they don’t want the extra cost of having to pay the filing fee for filing the Response.

I ask them if they filing a default because their spouse is not cooperating or does not want to participate.  Their answer was, “No”.  They said their spouse is in agreement with the terms of the divorce and the only reason they are filing a default divorce is to save the money on the filing fees.

So these folks are using a default divorce as more of a strategy to save money, but not for the real reason the default divorce is there for.  It does work to save money, but there are some downsides to the default divorce.  Especially if you and your spouse are in agreement.

First, let me tell you about this better way to save money on the filing fees when you are in agreement on your California divorce.   It is called a California default divorce with agreement. We have written a complete article on that which you can read by clicking on the previous link.

With the California Default Divorce with agreement you will still be filing the Request To Enter Default, but you will be doing so not after 30 days, but along with the written agreement.  This way you and your spouse and file for divorce, save money by not paying a response fee and still enter into a written agreement.

The benefits to this are that divorce by agreement are much less scrutinized by the Courts and you can split up your assets pretty much however you decide.  If you file a true default case, the Court is going to require that you evenly distribute your assets and debts, even if is not a fair and equitable division.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation service that specializes in California divorce.  We can help complete your divorce case anywhere in California.

Please feel free to give us a call.

 

 

California Default Divorce With Agreement

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

California Default Divorce With Agreement

The California default divorce with agreement should be the most talked about type of divorce.  But it is not.

Why do I say this?  Because the California default divorce with agreement is the most cost effective way of completing your California divorce.

The California default divorce with agreement combines a “true default” style divorce where the responding party does not file a response and does not pay a filing fee with the Uncontested divorce case where the party is involved in the case and will sign a written agreement.

More easily said, you can file for divorce and enter into a written agreement with your spouse and they do not have to file a response to do this.

Let me say this another way.  One of you can file for divorce.  The other spouse does not need to file a response and you can both still be involved and signed a written agreement.

Why then would you ever want to respond in a divorce case?  If your divorce is contested and you have attorney’s you will almost always file a Response.

But when you are working together in your divorce, a Response is not necessary.  So why don’t the courts talk about this?  The simple answer is, “Money”.  The courts don’t want you to know that you can get divorce and have a divorce with agreement with no response filed because they want their filing fee.  They want the other party to respond and pay the fee.  That is the only reason I can think of.

The California default divorce with agreement is also known as a Hybrid divorce.  It is called a hybrid divorce because it is a Hybrid between the true default case and the uncontested case.  You won’t find any mention of a hybrid divorce or California default divorce with agreement anywhere on the Courts websites.  They talk only about the Default, Uncontested and Contested divorce cases in California.

If you and you and your spouse are going through a California divorce and are working together toward an agreement and want to save money I recommend you use the California default divorce with agreement.  It will save you money and you get all the advantages of submitting a divorce with agreement.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in California divorce.  We offer affordable flat fees and can help you prepare your California default divorce with agreement case anywhere in California.

 

Santa Clarita Divorce Service Slows Due To Government Shutdown 2013

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I did not give much thought to the Government shut down until it directly impacted my Santa Clarita divorce service.  As the Government shutdown went into its second week, I started to notice a little bit of a slowdown in the amount of calls our office received.

At first It did not cross my mind that there could be any impact on our Santa Clarita divorce service nor did I attribute the slower pace of new clients to the Government shutdown.

Then I received a call from Federal employee who was calling to get information on our divorce service in Santa Clarita.  He lived in Palmdale and said he was furloughed due to the shutdown.

He stated that he wanted to file for divorce, but now that he has not been at work for over 10 days, it was going to make it difficult to pay our fees and the Court fees.

This is when it struck me that the Government shut down was having an impact on my business.  I would have never thought that this would occur.

But what accounts for the slow week or two I have had?  Not all my clients are Federal employees, so there must be something else.  Is it the fact that it is October and we are starting into the holidays?

Or is it consumer confidence (or lack of consumer confidence) that is being created due to the Government shutdown.  Even stocks are taking a hit due to investor confidence.  Then when it seemed that there were some positive talks, the stock shot up 300 points.

I wonder if any other Santa Clarita small business owners have felt a slight slowing or thought that the Government shutdown might be responsible for a reduction in clients and sales.

These were just some rambling thoughts I had this Friday.

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in providing affordable divorce services in Santa Clarita.

Establishing Paternity During California Divorce Process

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

This article is about establishing paternity during the California divorce process.  This pertains to you if you had a child with your spouse before you were married.  In particular, we are going to discuss an often missed issue when filing the Petition in your California divorce.

If you are getting divorced and had a child born before you were married, you will have to establish paternity. This is basically a fancy way of having a legal proceeding where the court says that the father, is in fact, the father.

The good news is that if you are getting a divorce, you can establish paternity during the same divorce process. You won’t have to file a separate paternity action with the court.

What I want to discuss now is about filing the actual divorce Petition in California.  When you fill out the Petition, you have to state certain statistical facts such as the date of marriage, date of separation, who gets legal and physical custody, etc.

What a lot of people miss checking off is the box on page 2 of the Petition under number 7(d).  It says”

Determination of parentage of any children born to the Petitioner and Respondent prior to marriage.

If the two of you had a child born before the marriage you need to check this box.  If you do not check this box, the Court will not check to make sure you did or not.  The problem is if you do not check the box and try to finish your divorce, the entire case will be rejected when you go to submit your judgment.

Even worse is that you will have to file an amended Petition and re-serve the Petition on your spouse.  And guess what?  You now have to wait the 30 days again before you can file your judgment.

We are a licensed and bonded divorce paralegal service (legal document assistant firm) specializing in California divorce.  Please give us a call for more information or assistance with your divorce in California.

Santa Clarita Paternity Court Service | Establish Paternity

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

We get a decent amount of Paternity cases in our divorce office in Santa Clarita and realized we don’t write much about it.  We are going to take a few days to discuss paternity and what it means.

If you have a child before you are married, you will need to establish paternity.  This means to have the father of the child officially determined by the court to be the father.

When you have a child prior to marriage, the mother is obviously known as she gave birth.  When you are married, the husband of the marriage is presumed to be the father.  But without being married, there is no presumption of who the father is.

This means Paternity needs to be established.  It Is important to establish paternity because technically, until the father has been established “as the father” they don’t have any real legal rights to custody or visitation, etc.

And if your are the mother, and hoping for child support, until who the father is, has been established, the court cannot make orders for child support.

A paternity case follows suit pretty much as the divorce process does.

The paperwork is different, of course, but how you file and serve and request order are pretty much the same.

You will need to first file a petition to establish paternity.  This petition will need to served on the other party.  In most the cases we have handled, there is no dispute over who the father is.  We are just working on officially having the father established.

In many cases, the father may appear on the birth certificate or may have signed a declaration of paternity in the hospital. These all help in establishing paternity with the courts, but you still have to file a paternity case with the court to officially establish who the father is.

Does Facebook Marketing For Divorce Services Work?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

I have a divorce paralegal business in Santa Clarita, CA and have done well with online marketing.  I have been experimenting with Facebook advertising and wanted to share what I have learned and perhaps get comments from others in the divorce industry such as attorneys and mediators, etc.

I have spent more time than I would like to admit on testing Facebook marketing.  I have placed advertising on the right hand side of Facebook.  You know the annoying ads on the right hand side.  Honestly, I don’t even notice that there are ads there anymore.  I did get lots of clicks but no  conversions or phone calls that I can say translated into new business.

I then started seeing business’s market by using the “Related Posts” on Facebook.  After several hours I did figure out how to property use the promoted posts and I did get some business out of it.  I also got a lot of people liking my page.

It seemed like this was a good way of advertising at first, until I saw how much I was being charged.  I had set a daily budget of $100 and Facebook made sure to eat all that money up every day.  I could not figure out why my costs were so high when  the estimated price per click was supposed to be less than a dollar each.

What I learned is that folks clicking on the ad did not necessarily have to click on “like” which was what I was after.  So the net result was I was spending $7.00 per like on Facebook.

Unless someone has another thought on the matter, my impression is that it is not worth $7.00 just to have someone like my page.  I don’t even pay $7.00 per click on Google Adwords.

So do you think Facebook Marketing works for those providing divorce services?  I would have to say that my campaign was a wash.  The business generated on the promotion was just enough to pay for the ads.  Not something I necessarily want to duplicate.

We are a licensed and bonded divorce paralegal service (Legal Document Assistant).  We specialize in providing affordable divorce services in California.